Some designers aren’t willing to jump through such proverbial hoops to show their collections, though. Instead, it seems many are taking advantage of the opportunity to focus on quality of product and the ability to set their own schedule.
As recently as March, it was custom for fashion month to start in New York City. Then, from the Big Apple, critics, influencers, editors and the fashion world at large flew to London, then Milan, before ending their world tour in Paris.
And then COVID-19 happened.
As it was, environmentalists sneered at the festivities because of the sheer amount of traveling, a.k.a. carbon emissions, that fashion month caused. But total in attendees’ potential exposure to COVID-19 with the sheer magnitude of such gatherings, and critics were ready to combust when weighing the risk of moving forward with a “business as usual” mentality.
In the past, the consequences of fashion month were viewed by industry insiders with a sigh and shrug of the shoulders, as if to say, ‘This is just the way things have always been done.’ But, like everything else in the world, the coronavirus has inspired a reckoning of epic proportions.
And, depending on the designer, this isn’t entirely a bad thing.