Fashion Week During the Pandemic: A Reset
Spotlight /
Editorial Spotlight
John Phillips/BFC
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Fashion Weeks look dramatically different stripped of distractions. Are these new versions here to stay?
Packed front rows. Endless streams of models strutting down the runway. Hordes of adoring fans. In recent years, the circus surrounding Fashion Week had become as synonymous as the fashion itself. That is, until the pandemic hit and all of the excess disappeared as quickly as COVID‑19 spread throughout the world.
Stripped back aesthetics. Lonely silhouettes. Wide open spaces with dramatic lighting to fill the stillness. The most recent content emerging from the runways of February is striking—almost harsh—and hauntingly beautiful.
Sans mega musical guests, distracting front rows filled with A‑listers and the other chaos from  pre‑pandemic times, our focus is now entirely on the models. Have we embarked on "the new normal"—a return to what fashion is all about?
