At the beginning of the summer, when the first Fashion Week accreditation hit my inbox, I took a moment to think… Looking back at last season, did I really think I gained much from the shows?… Honestly, not really.
The DMs started popping almost immediately, with questions about what shows I’m doing, who’s inviting me where, and even random requests for after-party access. And then, thinking also of the constant running between shows and barely absorbing any of the collections, my decision was made. Maybe it’s time to skip this season entirely.
The fashion industry is a strange world. Sometimes we forget who it’s really for. The customer, a person outside our bubble, doesn’t see or understand fashion the way we do, but still wants or needs to dress somehow. Fashion Week often fails to bridge that gap. Especially during this period, all of us – editors, magazines, but also influencers (or fashionistas if you will), should help translate for the wider audience. Yet we rarely do – at least successfully.
I’ve been in this industry long enough to understand how much effort goes into a show, not only by creating the collection but also with everything around it. And then it’s all shrunk into 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, ‘the most important part’ and all the buzz happens in front of the show, where street-style photographers hunt fashionistas, and vice versa, to get the ‘necessary’ content. Often, it feels like the collection comes second.
Looking at the schedule, I hoped for shows I’d regret missing. Instead, some felt like they existed for the sake of a show. Presentations could often be more effective, offering time to actually explore a collection rather than rushing from one venue to another. And sometimes collections end up feeling like slight variations of what we’ve already seen, maybe a tweak in fabric here, a shift in colour there. Don’t get me wrong, I’d still wear or style them, but do they really warrant a full runway?
Maybe Fashion Week as a concept is a little outdated and ready for a change? Some brands could benefit more from presentations tailored to their communities rather than trying to impress us, the fashion crowd. Local activations that connect with actual customers could make a better impact than just aiming to be on the official schedule. Perhaps it’s time to rethink structure, priorities, and how to communicate beyond our bubble.
In the meantime, instead of clapping each other on the shoulder to stay on guest lists, we could have more of these conversations… openly, not just in DM groups.
