Are fashion weeks still relevant?
Alex Boulton argues yes.. even to students.
As fashion weeks across the world open this year - events cemented in the annual fashion calendar - they are facing growing criticism. Many people argue the occasion is too elitist to benefit normal people; they are seen as a big, frivolous, pointless parties attended almost exclusively by the industry’s key players and near impossible for someone with a simple interest to attend.
The price tags of the designs aren’t much more accessible, especially for the student demographic that is famous for its love of cheap second-hand clothing. The majority of the outfits worn in the shows are much too outlandish and extreme to be worn on a normal day on campus anyway. Shows are designed to push forward a brand identity, not to reflect what we as consumers would wear, which again promts us to ask what is the point?
The models on the catwalk, the Kendall Jenners and Bella Hadids of this world, hardly represent the variety of women out there, the clothes being unwearable for anyone over a certain size. Even if we were interested in the collections they were wearing, they don’t come out for 6 months anyway: not good enough for today’s consumers who have come to expect instant gratification.
Despite all of this, I’m here to argue that Fashion Week is still relevant and that the designer world does affect us, even as students. With a limited budgets, we often buy a lot of our clothes from the high street. The looks we see there take inspiration from Fashion Week, taking note of the key trends and identifying looks that may sell well commercially, and manufacturing near copies to hit shelves just a couple of weeks after the catwalk. These pieces always sell well, showing that people do care and pay attention to what happens on the catwalk. This is the case more than ever before, as arguably fashion weeks have grown increasingly accessible due to coverage on the internet and social media.
Alongside this, there have been changes to the format and priorities of fashion week. The new phenomenon of ‘see now, buy now’ has dramatically cut the time taken for designs to appear in store and shows that designers are increasingly trying to appeal to the consumer rather than buyers and other industry professionals.
Street style is now just as important as the shows, perhaps the most interesting aspect of fashion week to students, with real people in real outfits being photographed. Ultimately, London Fashion Week is key to the £26 billion UK fashion industry and generates £100 million worth of orders in the week alone - how can this NOT be relevant?
Obviously, the event is going to be more engaging for those with an interest in fashion, but it still does affect us all - from the clothes we put on every day (everyone makes a fashion-conscious decision when they decide what to wear), from the posts and news we see on social media to the prosperity of the industry.
Do you think fashion weeks are relevant to students?