Fashion Getting Phygital: A Trend to Stay?
Fashion shows for top luxury brands are usually invite-only. These exclusive shows are very desirable to fashionistas — they all want to get that front row seat. During fashion week, photographers, buyers, influencers and press ram outside each location waiting to get a glimpse of the attendees. However, this was life before COVID-19. The importance of fashion is knowing how to stay relevant, how to stay in the discourse. All of this has now been disrupted.
What is the alternative for fashion brands when they can’t hold physical runways to show their product to the audience? What happens now that people are forced to stay at home, practice social distancing and reduce travel? What happens when there’s no audience?
Whilst some brands have held onto their traditional fashion shows, many others are now incorporating a “phygital” experience to online viewers. This new term means that brands are blending physical and digital experiences to further create immersive experiences. The invention combines so seamlessly with your daily lives, effortlessly becoming a convenient part in everyday tasks.
In February 2020, Milan Fashion Week first announced the transformation of their event to a digital format, renaming it to Milan Digital Fashion Week. This opened up the platform for brands to host social media panels and virtual runways. A phygital experience in fashion shows entails presenting the physical runway in a digital world. Taking on this new challenge, fashion brands can break away from the traditional form of runway shows, exploring new possibilities in presenting the new collection. Big brands, such as Gucci, took the original 20 minutes fashion show and reinvented it into 12 hours long live streaming on several different platforms. Websites such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook all became streaming runways for this event.
On the other hand, Miu Miu, took the approach of streaming the runway on Zoom with a live “front-row” audience. The front-row crew consisted of Elle Fanning, Chloe Sevigny and many more familiar faces appearing on digital screens during the live show.
5-year-old brand GCDS were more unconventional in their approach. They worked in virtual landscapes and rendered 3D models (including aliens) that walked down the aisle while animated celebrities watched in the front row.
All of these solutions received great feedback from critics and fans alike, leaving us with one question — could this be the future for fashion shows? These phygital shows reached more international audiences than ever before, whilst simultaneously reducing the carbon footprint of these shows. It opened accessibility to a wider audience, resulting in a surge in e-commerce sales growth worldwide. Furthermore, these shows challenge fashion brands to push for new innovative and creative ways to present their work.
Being in a digital world gives you the advantage and freedom of deciding what you want to show and how you want to show it. It has taken away the boundaries. Attending exclusive fashion shows has been a long tradition but due to time changing and technology thriving, maybe it’s time to look into alternative ways to rethink what is the new norm in the fashion industry.
