COVID-19 has impacted every industry, and the fashion industry is no exception. It is true that the corona pandemic did not let big fashion shows happen in 2020 and 2021. Fashion hotspots like New York, London, Milan and Paris had to make up (pun intended) for the lack of press, media, and celebrities by holding virtual, digital, and/or online variations of their fashion weeks.
Their usual participants had to make their own arrangements to showcase their collections, too. The high price that brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Givenchy, Dior, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana etc. command comes from their unique takes on contemporary fashion & style. Here are a few highlights from the autumn/winter collections of these world-leading fashion brands:
Louis Vuitton: One of the most iconic fashion labels of all time drew from diverse sources – Greco-Roman antiquity, time travel & mythology – for its 2021autumn/winter collection. The chief collaborator on this odyssey was famed Italian atelier (fancy French for design studio) Fornasetti.
Chanel: With the usual place of its fashion show, the Grand Palais, under renovation & construction, Chanel showed off their AW21 collection at Castel, an upscale private club. The theme was a throwback to the 1970s, when models used to “do their make-up together, and have fun like a girls night in,” according to creative director Virginie Viard, who ran the show.
Givenchy: The idea behind their autumn/winter collection came from “monumentalising the everyday”, according to creative director Matthew M. Williams. It seemed to say that no matter whether you are dressing up or down, you can make it monumental in terms of your fashion.
Dior: Taking her cue from fairytales, Maria Grazia Chiuri organized a catwalk show (closed to audiences) at the iconic Château de Versailles. Interestingly, the teasers for the Dior collection were animated sequences created by 5 female illustrators from 5 different nations, based on how they interpreted & portrayed the idea of femininity in the male-dominated animation world.
Versace: The coming together of fashion and technology showcased by Donatella Versace in her AW21 collection stemmed from her realization that we are “living in a digital era of immediacy.” She is correct – we consume fashion and order clothes through the best apps in the market that we can find. The show used a 3D maze as a catwalk, highlighting the Greca motif.
D & G: Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are two long-standing stalwarts in the fast-moving fashion world. They partnered with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) to create tech-influenced designs. They showcased the iCub and R1 multifunctional humanoid robots, too, in their collection titled “Next Chapter”. It brought together technology and art in its fashion.
You can use all sorts of apps to browse through fashion collections from brands big and small, but After Online creates your personal style – no matter if it is one occasion, or day-to-day chic.
That’s why, as the world comes to grips with the New Normal and how to stay safe from coronavirus, we want you, our dear fashionistas, to move forward boldly and find your unique look. Agatha’s credo of “Go with your own style, let others copy your styling” is for one and all!