PARIS FASHION WEEK HAS BEEN BIG AND SMALL AT THE SAME TIME, BALENCIAGA HAS ONCE AGAIN LEFT ITS MARK
Let the party begin
As in the last two seasons, the Belgian designer Dries Van Noten limited himself to showing an online video, directed by Albert Moya, and a photo shoot, carried out by Rafael Pavarotti. The vivid color collection is inspired by the Holi festival in India. "The collective energy and joy of a noisy crowd, the fireworks, the rock and pop concerts, the Burning Man," reflected Van Noten in his collection notes. "Bring the passion and joy! Let the party begin." But a virtual party is less party than a real party.
Another Belgian designer, Christian Wijnants also decided to leave the catwalk for the time being. "I still didn't feel ready," he told FashionUnited. "The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la mode insisted, but we had to make the decision in the summer, and at that time the situation was still too uncertain to take such a great financial risk." Wijnants, who screened her film in Ibiza last week and released a section of her greatest hits in Paris, hopes to organize another show next season.
Van Noten is usually a fixture during Fashion Week. Their shows have always been well attended, especially for a brand that never advertises and was, until recently, completely independent. Last year he was one of the initiators of a movement of designers and other fashion professionals who aspired to a less rigid system.
Now that the "real" shows are back, and everything seems as hectic as before, it remains the question of whether there is much enthusiasm left for presentations and other digital activations, and for "slow fashion" in general. We will have to wait for the concluding figures from YouTube, Instagram and Chinese social networks to see if the absentees were right or not, and if the virtual shows and videos still have a future.
Because, there is no doubt, that it has been an unconventional Fashion Week. There were hardly any Asian viewers, except for European correspondents. But even from Europe, the delegations seemed smaller. So there were fewer Belgian and Dutch journalists than in the past. This is certainly due, as far as the Netherlands is concerned, also due to the limited media landscape, but generally also due to restricted budgets. Vogue editions managed directly by US publisher Condé Nast no longer send separate outfits to fashion weeks.
