Thank You, Virtual Fashion
How the virtual world of fashion helped me through the COVID-19 pandemic
By Lily Mihelich, Contributing Writer
The pandemic was challenging and devastating for most. For the first time in our lives, we couldn't rely on the rest of the world to inspire us. We couldn't walk into a boutique and pretend we were in Paris or curate outfits in tandem with our busy schedules. The risks of travel made us feel like walking viruses. I felt trapped not only behind the confines of my home but also in my head and behind a screen, watching my life and friends move on without me.
My mom and I developed a morning ritual on our green velvet couch reading the newspapers and drinking coffee, one of the not-so-doom and gloom aspects of the pandemic. One glorious May morning, my mom handed me the May 2020 Vogue issue with Gal Gadot on the cover dressed in metallic silver. When I flipped through the pages, I became fixated. I'd read Vogue before but this time was different. I read it over and over.
I also started watching fashion shows on YouTube. First, it was Chanel, Versace, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and soon, it was Mark Jacob's 1993 Perry-Ellis grunge collection and Blue Marine’s 2004 Spring collection. When I discovered John Galliano's early 2000s Dior collections I might've cried. These productions moved me—how each fabric told a story. The way the models moved, their make-up, hair and how these combinations told stories about people and history. Fashion was waiting for me online and in magazines, and it wasn't going to disappear as the rest of my life had. It went virtual.
The pandemic took an extraneous toll on the world of high fashion. With fashion weeks decimated and travel bans in place, the industry had to either pause their work or choose to turn events into online affairs, with campaigns safely curated through extremely imaginative means (Khatib, 2021). When New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks began, I tuned in on Instagram live, YouTube and TikTok, which became one of the main large platforms designers used to interact with the public (Farra, 2021). Designers showcased their pieces on humanless runways with glorious campaign videos and creative photoshoots.
Some of my favorite virtual fashion moments included Virgil Abloh's Men's Spring/Summer 2021 production, “The Adventures of Zoooom,” in which graphic characters and models playfully showcased his designs through the narrative of an adventure. I'm still thinking about Versace's Spring 2021 collection; a nearly audience-less runway show reminiscent of Greek mythology was marketed so well that I saw it on almost every platform, and its creative videography and seemingly underwater set were magnificent. Moschino's Spring/Summer 2021 collection by Jeremy Scott featured marionette models on strings, dressed head to toe in his garments. Anna Wintour, in marionette form, was there to watch. These are just some examples of the creative brilliance virtual shows had to offer. I found peace knowing how creativity thrived in such existential circumstances.
The fashion world became both a hyperreality for me as well as a driving force in my own life. The anticipation of entering the world with new style inspiration and a newfound appreciation for clothing was exhilarating for me.
To all of the designers, ateliers and workers that kept the industry afloat and continued to innovate among extraneous times, thank you.
Sources:
Khatib, H. (2021, February 22). Will virtual fashion events last beyond the pandemic? Vogue.
Farra, E. (2021, January 14). How Will Fashion Shows Evolve? Are Virtual Clothes the Next Frontier? Designers, Tech Leaders, and CEOs Discussed What’s Next at Vogue’s CES Panel