VANCOUVER Fashion WEEK FW 21:

THE NEW WORLD OF THE  DIGITAL FASHION SHOW

Vancouver Fashion Week FW 21 is their second season of DIGITAL fashion shows, presented from April 16th-18th 2021. Since the COVID-19 global pandemic, the world has changed. The fashion events we once took for granted are now just memories. We now consume our fashion culture through social media, zoom meetings, and other digital means. While we all long for the days of interaction, the thrill of the lights and music, the ability to be immersed in an experience, the present circumstances makes it impossible. Therefore, the creative minds that have brought us fashion weeks around the world, have come up with a new means to showcase their work. The digital or virtual fashion show.

For so long, fashion week has been a staple event on the industry calendar. However, as we are all learning, the pandemic holds no exceptions. Fashion is no different. Things are changing. However, this change was not wholly brought about by the pandemic, and some elements will last into our post-pandemic world.

Cyberspace is transforming the way we live and work already. We are always looking at our phones, and most of us will have access to the internet, so you can see that digital takes over all aspects of our lives and pushes us into multidimensional ways of living. We have changed how we consume fashion, so maybe the way we present fashion weeks will need to change. I don't think we will ever want to live in a world without live events, but as we move forward, a digitally enhanced fashion week is our future.

VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK FW21

DIGITAL FASHION SHOWS

There are a couple of presentation styles in this new digital fashion world. One way is to mount a virtual fashion show. In this format, the participants gather in a studio and stage a fashion show which is live-streamed to the audience,this is much more like the traditional fashion show, usually presenting models walking a catwalk and being filmed. Some of these virtual fashion shows are staged in outdoor locations, designer's studios, and any other chosen site. Vancouver Fashion Week staged a partially virtual fashion show for SS21.

The second format is presenting filmed presentations by the designers and their creative teams. This framework is used as a portion of a live fashion for some time now. Often the runway shows at Vancouver Fashion week were accompanied by a filmed presentation. However, the change to using a filmed presentation only for a fashion show is a recent phenomenon.

While we all love the thrill of the live fashion show, there is certainly something to be said for the fashion film. For the creative team making the film, there are many options open to presenting their collections. Many will still use a more traditional form and show their garments on a runway. However, others will take us on a journey or tell a story. The most successful fashion films will use a hybrid. The emphasis should always be on showing the collection. These films allow a label to create and promote its brand, by using mood music, setting, and the collection itself. Here is an example of the most successful fashion films from Vancouver Fashion Week FW 21.

HARUMI HIYAMA 

Harumi Hiyama is a Japanese designer. The film presented here is an example of a fashion film showing a collection presented in an indoor studio. The environment creates the mood for the film, using a room with carefully chosen objects, decor, and blossoms. The room presented is whimsical, airy, and light reinforcing the qualities of the designer's collection. Notice that the emphasis is on the garments presented. (A review of this collection will follow this week)

AY LELUM THE GOOD HOUSE OF DESIGN

Ay Lelum-The Good House of Design is a second-generation Coast Salish Design House from Nanaimo, B.C. Ay Lelum the Good House of Design has produced a video that is a near-perfect example of branding. Ay Lelum is a brand that celebrates its First Nations background. In this film, Ay Lelum presents their fashion in natural environments with original music created and performed by this family collective. The film tells us who the designers are, what the message behind the label is and offers an invitation to join a celebration of their culture and fashion. The viewer has an up-close view of all the designer's collection, worn by real people, part of what this brand is.

DANNY REINKE

Danny Reinke is a German fashion designer presenting at Vancouver Fashion Week. The video presentation from Reinke is an excellent example of a filmed fashion show. In this film we experience a fashion show as though we were sitting in the audience.

IN CONCLUSION

Vancouver Fashion Week is not unique in presenting the FW21 fashion week in digital format. Around the world from, Helsinki, Shang Hai, New York, London, and many others digital is how the world is consuming fashion. As I reflect on this change to the traditional fashion show, I am conflicted. On one hand, is the traditional format of gathering together to watch models strut the runway in the latest style. Yet, on the other hand, is the digital format, open to the entire world to watch, engage through social and share with others. I have concluded that one is not better than the other, only different. The one thing I will miss from the live show is that rare moment when we see something so extraordinary that immediately, we reach out to others to confirm our experience. As the world opens back up, we will see what the impact of this time will be.

VANCOUVER FASHION WEEK F/W 21

The new normal for now at least is the fashion film. Vancouver Fashion presented three days of fashion films for the FW21 season. Over the next few days follow my blog to read all my reviews of the fabulous fashion .

MYSELF WEARING A MASK BY AYE LELUM THE GOOD HOUSE OF DESIGN

CIAO FOR J.ANDREW