“We had to do it, our company is all about fashion shows, the impact of the shows cannot be compared with a beautiful film or a lookbook,” says Simon Porte Jacquemus of his Spring/Summer 2021 show called L’Amour in a hilly, undulating 35-acre wheatfield in Us, an hour drive from Paris. “It’s a friends and family show.”
Jacquemus and Alexandre de Betak, founder of fashion show production company Bureau Betak, went hunting after the lockdown to find the perfect location, echoing the designer’s previous social media-perfect lavender fields event with the wheatfields of a local farmer who held off harvesting for them. The result this time was a 600-metre-long runway framed by golden yellow wheat that the 100 guests — who received a bag containing a mask, hydroalcoholic gel and water — amply instagrammed. “Times have changed but there is continuity,” de Betak noted.
Putting on a physical show while the majority of the industry reverts to digital events or takes a pause, comes with risk. Designers are balancing the sanitary risk and potential negative social media backlash with the need for exposure and to tap into the current mood. Jacquemus showed after the Paris SS21 men’s fashion week’s digital event, and during Milan’s. Two Milanese houses Etro and Dolce & Gabbana also hosted guests for runway shows this week, while Valentino will stage a live performance in Rome’s Cinecittà Studios on 21 July, Dior has its cruise show in Puglia on 22 July and Louis Vuitton has its menswear show in Shanghai on 6 August. Copenhagen Fashion Week will follow with a physical format.
While insiders enjoy seeing the collection in real life and mingling, images of the Etro show stirred controversy among industry insiders, given global infection rates and travel restrictions from Covid-19. “This is one thing I really noticed in the show coverage as I am looking online, I am also looking to check who’s got their masks on!” says global consultant for Harper’s Bazaar Glenda Bailey in a Zoom call from New York. “Still being in New York and having to wear a mask to go outside, you are very conscious of the importance for the audience. You want to be respectful of other people and the bigger picture.”