SWEATPANTS FOREVER!

Fashion is the purest manifestation of human art and communication which influences our everyday lives, and has continued to inspire us and generations preceding ours since eons ago. Whether we choose to view red carpet fashion as the ultimate inspiration or just an overdone, wasteful excess, the snowball effect of catwalk couture undeniably creates a halo of influence on our fashion trends and the styles we choose to wear, even in our everyday lives. The influence of fashion works like a pyramid. Fashion houses are the trend-makers, celebrities are the trendsetters. The styles chosen by them remain at the top, which eventually trickle down to a huge fan-base, even as a growing number of ordinary folks join in. With a rapidly turning media cycle championed by a couture-happy media a rapacious and craving fashion clientele is fed to capacity every season.

Much of the upcoming future of fashion is defined after 15-20 minutes of a catwalk display. Fashion shows influence style, materials, textile design, colours, printing techniques and even beauty trends. With the virus hitting Italy right in the midst of Milan fashion week (one thing in fashion over which Anna Wintour remains powerless) those silk-twill shirts and Hot Pants likely never saw our wardrobes and with our muses stranded, left cold at home, we seem to be stuck in our sweatpants, forever. Au revoir, pizzazz.

Having said this, it’s time to take your guts and paint them blue as we bring this series of tragic events under spotlight, with a compilation of all the major fashion galas and events--that didn’t happen.

Starting with the biggest kick in the kite, the greatest fashion extravaganza which any common neophyte looks forward to as much as a crackerjack fashionista, the one and only Met Gala. Scheduled for May 4 in New York, it was postponed indefinitely on 16 March. One day, that will not arrive on schedule, will be the opening of most awaited Costume Institute’s exhibition, ‘About Time.’

1. MET GALA 2020- Themed “About Time”- Fashion and Duration

Another major disappointment came from the postponement and eventually cancellation of one of the biggest music festivals, unique in its way as celebrities and commoners come together to set quirky trends, alike, that are sure to bring back one’s salad days - Coachella.

2. Coachella music festival

Partially weathering the storm, other big fashion events that were disrupted in the wake of the

virus attack are as follows-

FALL 2020 COLLECTIONS -

3. On ‘Climate change’, an apocalyptic vision by Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga

Armani: Giorgio Armani responded to the situation in Italy by barring a public audience at his fall 2020 runway show on February 23, and presented the collection in an empty theater.

Burberry: The British design house postponed its fall 2020 runway show in Shanghai originally scheduled for April 23.

Ralph Lauren: Scheduled for April in New York, Ralph Lauren cancelled his fall 2020 fashion show.

RESORT 2021 COLLECTIONS -

4. Best of RESORT 2020 from Prada, Gucci, Chanel, Dior and more

CDFA: The Council of Fashion Designers of America announced the cancellation of New York Fashion Week Resort 2021 on March 27.

Chanel: Forced to cancel its planned cruise show in Capri, the mythical beautiful Italian island, a ferry ride from Naples, in May, Chanel brought Capri to Paris for a digital presentation of its collection.

Dior: After postponing its Resort 2021 show in May, Maria Grazia Chiuri staged an all-singing, all-dancing homage to the rites, traditions and craftsmanship of the southern Italian region of Puglia for her Dior resort show on 22 July, held in the center of Lecce against a vibrant backdrop of colored light installations.

Gucci: After being cancelled initially, Gucci presented their collection “Epilogue” virtually in July.

Prada: Miuccia Prada presented her Resort 2021 collection in a video titled “The Show That Never Happened,” dismantling the traditional structure altogether and instead Invited five artists and photographers to create videos that showcased their own sensibilities—Prada through their eyes.

Versace: Developed remotely with her team, the collection rings as Versace’s battle cry for post lockdown self-confidence and optimism. Called ‘Versace Flash,' it is a dual-drop coed collection, tightly edited and ready to hit the stores running in a see-now-buy-now mode.

Apart from this, the entertainment industry was put on a pause too. From Lollapalooza, Stagecoach, Summerfest and some highly anticipated concerts and tours to the biggest Film Festivals, Award shows, Premiers and Launches, everything came to a crushing halt, further depriving us of our source for some major fashion inspiration.

5. The new normal at award functions.

The MTV VMAs which is normally held inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Centre shifted outdoors with little to no audience. Roughly around 16 artists performed from remote locations across New York City, including Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, The Weekend, BTS etc. The Globes snatched up the Oscars’ former date, moving to February 28, 2021 as the Academy Awards were pushed to April 25. After the festival's main venue, the Grand Auditorium Louis Lumière, was converted into a temporary homeless shelter, the physical edition of the Cannes Film Festival was cancelled. The Burning Man was cancelled and was instead decided to be presented virtually. The Governor’s Ball in New York City was cancelled. About a month before the April 29 show, the 2020 Billboard Music Awards were postponed by Dick Clark Productions and NBC. The Prague Film Festival was cancelled by The Czech Ministry of Health. San Diego Comic-Con was cancelled for the first &me in 50 years, on what would have otherwise been it’s 50 anniversary. RuPaul’s Drag-Con, LA was cancelled and so was the NYC Pride March. Additionally, tons of films, live shows, TV productions, Theater productions, Music productions etc., which form the largest base for some serious fashion inspiration, were either pushed back or cancelled. Bummer. Most recently, for actors like Jameela Jaamil, The Emmys were no dress, no heels, only pyjamas. It’s rather difficult visualizing glamazons quarantining at home in sweatpants and flip-flops.

6. The MTV VMAs 7. From the films- The Sundance Film Festival

Moving on, now, to address the question on everybody’s mind, what will be the Fashion’s new order? We can’t say, but one thing is certain- absolutely nothing is certain. Gucci is changing up its fashion week model by decreasing its number of yearly shows from upto eight to down to two, followed by Chanel, Dries Van Noten etc. reducing the number of runway shows and ultimately the sheer amount of clothing produced. Many of them, like Dior, found new and creative ways to showcase their line through production of digital projects like short fashion films, imaginative photography, playlists, podcasts and panel discussions. Most fashion houses prompted to a shift in medium, rather than a reset, with many participating in digital fashion weeks with limited to zero audience.

However, not to be a total bummer, there is a silver lining to all of this and it is important to remember that. The shift to digital media has been advantageous for many smaller, independent brands. A time of has reflection dawned upon us, making designers rethink how they operate- doing away with ephemeral fashion trends and making collections more environmentally and socially viable in line with the sustainable messaging that has of late been front and centre. It is now upto the fashion brands- whether they choose to seize this opportunity and make it the new normal or revert back to the traditional old ways post Covid. Until then, we can only hope the wasteful old ways will erode away bringing a new dawn where the industry will become even more multifaceted and more flexible than it has been.

- Aditi Singh