London Fashion Week this June will be going digital

Belize Engstrom Staff Reporter, The Pawprint

With the global pandemic going on and as most of us are in COVID-19-related lockdowns fashion week might be the last thing on people’s mind. But the fashion world has not been put on lockdown like the rest of us, the fashion industry has found new ways to communicate in this time of crisis. 

British Fashion Council announced a new version of London Fashion Week that will occur during the previously scheduled dates for London Fashion Week: Men’s of June 12 to June 14, 2020. Since it is quite impossible to have physical fashion shows, London Fashion Week will be entirely digital. All the content will appear on londonfashionweek.co.uk. 

LFW’s website will feature a range of content from a digital lookbook to a brand video  to a written-out designer Q&A or even a podcast. The LFW digital platform will also contain virtual showrooms, that will help connect brands with retailers, adding a business component to the week. 

The collections presented are going to be related to what designers are able to produce during self-isolation, and will also reflect a new strain of branding and marketing that has come about. 

Showing that direct engagement with customers and fans is more essential than ever for fashion brands. This is being done through Zoom Conferences, Instagram Lives, social media posts, these outlets have become even more integral now. 

London’s digital fashion week won’t be the first digital fashion week, Shanghai held a digital fashion week in early April, while Tokyo decided to livestream it’s fashion week shows in March. This fashion week will be the first city on the major fashion circuit to incorporate a digital-only model. 

LFW’s digital imprint has the potential to set an example for what a new kind of fashion week could look like.