Celebrities sat front row wearing pristine couture may be a blissful memory of the good old days, so with shows going virtual, here’s the rundown of how London Fashion Week is going to be showcased in a pandemic-consumed society. 

London Fashion Week will be held on www.londonfashionweek.com between the 19-23 February, where people can digitally access not just the collections that would typically debut on a runway, but also additional multi-media content, including interviews with designers, podcasts, and e-commerce – all within the comfort of your joggers and fluffy socks.

Now, I know your heart breaks knowing another year has gone by where you haven’t been invited to Donatella’s afterparty, but on the plus side, a digital showcase means you can explore a greater range of content that wouldn’t have had the same presence pre-Covid. For example, for the first time ever, DiscoveryLAB (found within the ‘Explore’ page) is going digital, meaning emerging designers that don’t yet meet the main schedule criteria are able to showcase their work and strut their stuff. So, in a way, it’s a win-win: we’re getting to see more content and aspiring designers are being given an amazing opportunity to get their designs out into the public eye. 

I know what you’re thinking, how on earth am I meant to find all the shows online? Well, look no further, here’s a brief outline of ‘where to go’. 

Within the ‘Explore’ tab, the main ‘area’ of LWF, you’ll find showrooms (which will be made even better through Smartzer, a digital platform providing technology to convert videos into interactive and clickable experiences). As well as showrooms, you’ll find designer content, partner content and content created by the British Fashion Council. Some highlights include the BFC Fashion Forum Podcast, which welcomes a new host and broad range of voices discussing prominent issues in fashion today such as positive change, diversity and sustainability. Also, LFW Designer Diaries will be giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of all your favorite designers. 

Within the ‘Designers’ tab, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the designer community. This area will play host to over 100 additional designers who will be providing you with look books, press releases and relevant links to the digital showrooms and latest collections, catwalks, and editorial content from the designers. 

Find the full details here at https://londonfashionweek.co.uk/schedule.

As a result of Covid, the men’s schedule for Fashion Week 2021 was inevitably disrupted. However, it has been confirmed that LFW will be merging its menswear collections into its womenswear shows, creating a genderless fashion week, a concept that will continue for the rest of 2021 into June to September. Could this be the future for fashion week? 

Now, it’s no secret that endless cycles of fashion shows taking place pre-Covid, often in far flung locations around the world with celebs flying in on private jets, had a detrimental environmental impact. Now, though, we have been given no choice but to go digital, which has been championed by sustainability advocates at a time when the issue of global warming is of upmost imminence. 

Even with the benefits of a digital fashion week, the longing ache for the glamorous in-person event still lingers. But it comes as no surprise that all the amazing teams behind LWF have been able to pull through to make the week as memorable as ever, highlighting the fashion industry’s tremendous ability to improvise and overcome all the challenges Covid faces us with. 

Header image: Grazia Middle East