Fashion Shows: Dates, Locations, Collections & Behind the Scenes

High mass of style, the fashion show is originally a presentation in the flesh of the latest creations of a house to its customers. Now, the target is no longer restricted to end consumers but includes journalists, influencers, friends of the house, stars of the moment and buyers. But also, thanks to the generalization of the live broadcast of fashion shows on social networks, the general public, who shares the highlights of the shows on Instagram and others. In addition to selling the collections to buyers (department stores, multi-brand boutiques or websites), the labels present their collections to disseminate their vision of fashion at a given time. Cultural references, artistic or societal inspirations, political messages… Brands ingest the major trends and debates that are shaking the world to restore them in the form of ready-to-wear or haute couture collections.

The latest unmissable fashion shows

Who invented fashion shows?

This ceremony is attributed to Charles Frederick Worth, also the father of haute couture, who liked to introduce his new models on living models from the 1850s The formula is spreading and the intimate meetings in Parisian salons are expanding to become the super productions of today. But the advent of the catwalk did not happen overnight. While the war muted the parades in Paris, the American press officer Eleanor Lambert urged designers to present their collections and organized "Press Week" in New York in 1943. The idea seduced Florence, London and then Paris, becoming what we now call Fashion Week.

What are the dates of the major fashion shows, the famous "Fashion week"?

Traditionally, fashion shows take place at well-defined times, during women's, men's or haute couture fashion weeks. couture which are both held twice a year:

Some fashion brands, such as Saint Laurent, Gucci or Vetements, have decided to completely bypass the Fashion Week calendar to present their collections at the time that seems most appropriate to them. Others, like Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior, hold extra shows between official fashion weeks to maintain public interest throughout the year and showcase their cruise collections.

What are the pre-collections, also called "cruise shows"?

The cruise collections, called cruise in English or even resort or pre-spring, are ready-to-wear collections from mid -season that introduce the spring-summer. Designed by Coco Chanel to dress her clients traveling to warm winter regions, they make the transition between winter and spring. Today, they offer creations that are not quite wintery nor quite summery, which often constitute an extension of the ready-to-wear collections revealed during Fashion Week. If the idea of ​​cruise collections has already been exploited by big houses such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Saint Laurent or Louis Vuitton for several years, these pre-collections are now experiencing a real craze and are multiplying.

And while the cruise collections were most of the time unveiled in photos or during presentations, they are now on the catwalks. The opportunity for fashion houses to strengthen their image and create the event by going beyond the formal framework of Fashion Week or Haute Couture Week, by choosing an original destination. Dubai, Marrakech, Athens or Palm Springs, the brands take us to the four corners of the world to arouse enthusiasm. A flourishing business for fashion houses, which make a large part of their turnover with cruise collections.

What are "pre-fall" collections?

While cruise collections introduce spring, pre-fall collections transition between summer and fall . Less staged than their counterparts, the pre-fall collections are most often only photographed to present the clothes.

Chanel is one of the exceptions in this area since its Métiers d'Art collections – which pay homage to the eleven craft workshops acquired by the house since 1985 and which parade once a year in December – serve as collections pre-fall. Since 2002, the house has traveled the world and unveiled its Métiers d'Art collections in cities inspired by the life of Coco Chanel. Real events in the fashion world, these shows are also the subject of campaigns with ultra-worked story-telling.

Where do the fashion shows take place?

The shows are most often held in the four fashion capitals: New York, London, Milan and Paris. Florence also hosts men's fashion shows while cities like Copenhagen, Sydney, Moscow or Tbilisi organize Fashion weeks whose notoriety continues to grow.

In Paris, the fashion shows take place in emblematic places of the city, such as on the banks of the Seine, under the dome of the Grand Palais, in front of the Louvre... Sometimes, the creators cross the ring road and organize their shows in Cergy or in Noisy-le-Grand, but they try as far as possible to concentrate the parades in the center of the capital, in order to limit the travel time of the public between the shows, which are generally spaced out by one hour.

How does a fashion show take place?

With the emergence of the official fashion show calendar, the exercise has become formalized. The shows follow one another in a city, at one hour intervals, to allow guests, professionals (buyers, journalists), influencers, friends of the house and celebrities, to attend. Although efforts are made on this side, especially in London, the shows open to the public during Fashion Week are not very frequent.

As illustrated by Loïc Prigent's documentary series Le Jour d'Avant, where the journalist goes behind the scenes of fashion shows to film the final preparations, fashion houses pay attention to every detail so that their shows become spectacles memorable. Collection of course, but also casting, music, beauty, location... Everything is orchestrated to best deliver the creative message of the season. Behind each of these areas unknown to the public operate big names such as Bureau Betak (scenography and production), Michel Gaubert (setting to music), Odile Gilbert (hairdressing)...

At the end of months of preparation, once the public is installed, long minutes of waiting are regularly observed. They allow the models who chain the parades to be ready and the stars of the utmost importance to arrive. The photographers express their displeasure but soon the lights come on and the music starts to introduce the first model. The last silhouette is traditionally that of the haute couture bride. It follows with the designer's salute which sounds the end of the show, rarely more than 15 minutes later.

How to participate in a fashion show?

To participate in a fashion show, there are several possibilities. To secure a place backstage when you are neither a journalist nor an influencer, you often have to work there. As a dresser or dresser, makeup artist or makeup artist, hairdresser or hairdresser, within the brand's creation studio... To place guests, brands call on host and hostess agencies, another avenue for discover up close the effervescence that reigns around the parades. Without an invitation card, it is also possible to attend a parade by presenting yourself at the entrance in the "Standing" queue. If there are still places, you may have the opportunity to access them before the start of the show.

And to participate in a fashion show as a model, you have to make yourself known to French or international agencies, by sending in your portfolio. Some have the chance to start their career by being spotted in the street or at the market, but Natalia Vodianova is not the one who wants it (even if we wish you her career, of course).

Why organize spectacular fashion shows?

To enchant or disturb, fascinate or move, each fashion show has its strategy to make an impression. More traditional when it comes to haute couture (high-end collections produced on demand and made to measure), they can be likened to a live performance or even a real happening. Among the most anticipated fashion shows for their staging, the Chanel shows and the Grand Palais metamorphoses are at the top. The escalation of the extraordinary has prompted Fendi to parade on the Great Wall of China, Louis Vuitton at the Niterói in Rio, or more recently Balmain on a barge on the Seine.

But for some, the show is a testing ground. Martin Margiela at the beginning of the 1990s invited fashionable elite into subway corridors or on a vacant lot, a shift that Demna Gvasalia, Koché or Marine Serre advocates today A little later, Alexander McQueen imagined his shows as satires overwhelming, as with Horn of Plenty in 2009. Today, Alessandro Michele at Gucci is part of this tradition. Unexpected places, spectacular settings, electrifying atmosphere, the imagination of the houses in this area seems to have no limit. And yet.

What is the future of the fashion show?

It's a ritual: for haute couture, cruise collections, ready-to-wear and even as a show (we remembers the Saint Laurent show to open the 1998 World Cup final), the show has established itself as the unmissable event in the life of a house. Except that after decades of hegemony, its model is being questioned. Too sustained and too expensive, the rhythm of the collections is called into question by many houses. Sexist, not inclusive enough, the shows are even regularly singled out, to the point of being sometimes deprogrammed like the Victoria's Secret lingerie show.

The industry's worst nightmare, in the Covid era, Fashion weeks are canceled and large gatherings are no longer relevant. And for good reason, at the dawn of the confinement of March 2020, the Milan edition would have produced "zero patients" in Geneva or Greece. However, the week of digital haute couture has proven that the parade, even virtual, was not about to disappear. Will tomorrow take the form of a unique experience, cut to be relayed on social networks and reserved for an even more restricted audience, as was the Jacquemus show in wheat in July 2020?

Is the show still the only way to present fashion?

Unable to invoke the usual pomp of physical events, we had to reinvent ourselves. It is on the web that the revolution happened. Far from being a simple fashion show video, the presentation of a collection has thus become a mini report at Maison Margiela, a video game at Balenciaga or a puppet show at Moschino. For some, it was also an opportunity to present their pieces far from the capital, like Saint Laurent, emphasizing breathtaking natural settings, a luxury normally reserved for events attended by a few guests. selected with great care.

Towards a new type of fashion show?

After having carried out such projects, will the houses want to return to the constraints of before? We must not, in any case, believe the concept of a buried parade. As ID magazine recalls, according to Launchmetrics, the digital events of London Fashion Week in June 2020 generated 55% less engagement on social networks than the physical shows of the January edition of the same year. Proof that we won't be able to replace the magic of the parade anytime soon.

However, it's a safe bet on the emergence of a new type of communication skillfully combining physical event and digital experience, giving rise to the phygital fashion show, which resonates well beyond the small world of fashion. If until then, a simple retransmission in streaming was in order, brands could well be tempted to push the limits. The first traces of such a hybridization have already been found in the green screens serving as the backdrop for the Vuitton fall-winter 2021 fashion show. You had to watch it online to see the image overlays, invisible to the guests seated in the room. And this only looks like the premises of the infinite possibilities for the fashion houses which have always proven that, faced with challenges, they know how to surpass themselves in terms of creativity. One more reason to be impatient to discover the next collections.