Fashion and the Covid-19 Reboot

Earlier this year, Milan was one of the cities that was worst hit by Covid-19. And yet, one of the most illustrious fashion events of the year, the SS21 edition of the Milan Fashion Week, just wrapped up in the city, presenting a mix of digital as well as live shows. Milan’s spirit, inextricably linked to its illustrious fashion scape, was well on its way to reviving.

And so is the worlds. For a few months, humankind relied heavily on cyberspace for communication and entertainment. Fashion, a luxury commodity struggling to survive while the economy floundered, tried to make do with glamorous, high-end virtual shows. But a virtual world can’t replace the real one and a virtual show simply can’t be the same as the live one.

How can the buzz of the catwalk and the front row be simulated with gadgetry? How can the fall of a garment, a well-placed stitch, the back and the side-seams be appreciated when seen through a computer screen? A virtual show tends to be more like a presentation, with designers zooming in on angles and details that they want to highlight. It was always acknowledged that it was merely a temporary replacement for its physical counterpart, only until the coronavirus was eliminated.

But with time, it became evident that the virus was going to be around for a while, and squaring their shoulders, mindful of a sturdy list of SOP’s ensuring some semblance of safety, runways around the world were rolled out again. The SS21 global fashion week season, always scheduled for around this time of the year, dabbled with a slew of live shows in New York, Paris and Milan. Guests could attend physically or they could opt to Livestream the shows digitally from their homes.