The Fashion Show Phenomenon - Personal Perspective
I attend fashion week shows and report on designs, atmosphere, interesting people, street style and anything that grabs my attention. This blog is dedicated to things that interest and inspire me rather than to reports of all that is happening.
Fashion Shows are spectacular and unique in nature. The shows are aimed at press and fashion buyers. Yet they are also frequented by fashionistas, bloggers, stylists, photographers and fashion enthusiasts. The presence of the latter adds to the unique, creative and enchanting atmosphere of the show. You need to have an invite to attend the show however, not everyone can or knows how to get one. Fashion shows are presented as these exclusive, highly sought-after events with an element of mystery surrounding them. Perhaps this enchanting illusion of something unattainable adds an element of mystery to the fashion show.
I always sense anticipation and excitement when entering the show space.
Many fashion shows and presentations during the September’s 2017 London Fashion week featured performance art and live music performances. These can add an extra layer of entertainment to the show and complement the collection. As a spectator I enjoy these elements however, they are not always appropriate and can feel a little disjointed and distract from the collection. It can be disappointing when you see a brilliant performance piece followed by or intertwined with unrelated designs and unflattering garments.
What I look for in a fashion show is kick ass designs and garments first. I love seeing new and experimental shapes, fabrics, textures and styling. Of course, many designers focus on the commercial aspect of fashion as fashion is a business and they must sell clothes to keep the business going. Theatrical designs might please the spectators, but they can be difficult to sell. However commercial does not need to mean same old and boring and theatrical does not always mean exciting and fresh.
Outside of the shows
You get to see diversity of styles throughout the fashion week, which can be more inspirational than some of the collections shown. I photograph street styles I find interesting and I chat to people I photograph. These are perfect networking opportunities and you also get to make new friends plus meet your existing fashion friends, drink tea, cocktails and talk about your favourite subject: FASHION!
London streets surrounding the shows’ locations are full of fashion, streetstyle and portrait photographers taking funky snaps of people they find interesting. The images get featured in the media, their personal blogs and portfolios. These are brilliant opportunities for aspiring and new designers to get featured, photographed and get some publicity. I have been working as a freelance designer/maker, creating outlandish garments and textiles for variety of clients. I also design and make creative clothes for myself and I wear my own creations daily plus when I attend the shows. My designs get photographed a lot and the feedback is incredibly positive.
Now let’s go to some creative edits of the designs and styles I have seen during SS18 season at LFW - September 2017. I am posting these only now, a few months after the fashion week. Most of bloggers and reporters aim to release their reports and images as soon as possible. There can be this mad rush to publish everything immediately. Interesting writing and editing takes time. In my case life usually gets in the way, especially when you design and make garments yourself. Also images I post and reports I write are for my pleasure and can be looked at any point in time. I still have beautiful but unedited videos and images of shows and events from a couple of seasons ago. However, these need time and thought to become standalone timeless pieces I would like to publish on my blog.
I will be further exploring the phenomenon of the fashion show. Not only what it means to me and why I find it exciting but also what others think about it. With fast paced online lives that most of us are living there have been conversations among fashion industry insiders and journalists as to whether live fashion show should be a thing of the past. What do you think?
