SNAPCHAT, SELFIES, TWEETS AND TOUCH POINTS: THE FASHION SHOW REINVENTED

Welcome to the fashion show of 2016, where you’re only as good as your hashtag. “The focus for brands is on ‘touch points’,” a recent report on digital from the British Fashion Council reads. “Those moments in which they [brands] can reach out to consumers, and best interact and transact with them.” Translation? The #FROW, show setting and collective social media presence around a catwalk sell clothes better than the clothes themselves. “The pressure [on designers] now,” explains British Vogue’s fashion news editor, Julia Hobbs at a recent SHOWStudio panel, “is to make your fashion show relevant.”

No brand knows this better than British industry giant Burberry, who recently announced their See Now Buy Now strategy (two seasonless collections a year, ‘Feburary’ and ‘September’, available immediately after each show.) “Our shows have been evolving to close this gap [between the runway and consumer] for some time,” said super-boss Christopher Bailey, who holds court as CEO and creative director. “From live streams, to ordering straight from the runway to live social media campaigns, this is the latest step in a creative process that will continue to evolve.”

Similar announcements followed suit; at Prada, keen buyers could order a specific handbag straight from the runway; at Paco Rabanne, seven pieces were available immediately too. But after years of institutionalised show schedules, why now? “Global audiences have called for a removal of seasons,” suggests Nick Knight, also at the SHOWstudio panel. “A year-round approach is key.”

Former Times deputy fashion editor, Carolyn Asome agrees. “Ultimately it boils down to the fact that you can’t buy a coat in September, and you can’t buy a bikini in June,” she asserts. “There is also this mythical customer that seems to be consuming voraciously, and retailers are responding to it. But, I think people value slow fashion. You can see it in the movement towards meditation, mindfulness. I don’t know anyone who wants it now, now, now. Do you?”

Designers themselves appeared to ask that same question at the recent Autumn/Winter collections. At Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld gave all 3,000 of his guests a front row seat along half a mile of catwalk, so that they could appreciate the, “details, material and embroidery.” At Moschino, Jeremy Scott sent his dresses up in flames, a missive on the status of a designer’s work in the new order.

As for those newly-sworn into Alessandro Michele’s fan club, expect to be patient: Kering (the conglomerate that owns Gucci) boss Francois-Henri Pinault announced that the new system, “negates the dream,” luxury fashion stands for. Across the shows in general, there was a trend for the romantic, victoriana and detail-centric. “It was a clear message,” says creative consultant Paula Reed. “You [the consumer] can’t have this [the collection] now.”

This leaves us with an industry divided more than ever between the commercially and conceptually driven. “On the one hand you have designers who have a very delicate sensibility, like Erdem or Raf Simons, who really want to think about things,” explains Asome, “and other designers who are a lot brasher, and just want their clothes to be fun, sexy and to sell. You can’t compare them.”

This might mean that the former camp start to opt out of the runway altogether, with the popularity of collections being shown through fashion film, walk-in presentations and social media on the rise - but that remains in the balance. For the latter, ensuring their shows maintain a direct consumer focus has never been more pivotal. Hashtags at the ready.