New York Fashion Week for 2020 has had its challenges since the pandemic from canceling shows to going virtual to shows that will either have social distancing or no audience at all. In fact, NYFW will be shortening the week to three days however the current status for the shows is confirmed but subject to change. Seeing the potential scheduling dilemma during the pandemic earlier this summer, Fashion Designers of Latin America (FDLA) and its president Albania Rosario announced their new version of online catwalks that will take place during the previously scheduled dates for New York Fashion Week.
The virtual catwalk shows will take place from September 11 to 16, 2020 with content available on fdla.co and through all social networks. The types of content that might appear on FDLA’s site could range from a digital look-book to a brand video to a written-out designer Q&A or even a podcast.
The diversity of the initiative will be related to what designers are able to produce during self-isolation, and will also reflect a new strain of branding, marketing, and communication that has taken hold during the pandemic. Instagram Lives, social media posts, Zoom conferences, and direct-to-consumer e-tail have only become more integral to fashion brands during this lockdown period, showing that direct engagement with customers and fans is more essential than ever.
The FDLA digital platform will also contain virtual showrooms, that will help connect brands with retailers, adding a business component to the week.
Albania Rosario also said, “It is essential to look at the future and the opportunity to change, collaborate and innovate. Many of our businesses have always embraced FDLA as a platform for not just fashion but for its influence on society, identity, and culture. The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this. The other side of this crisis, we hope will be about sustainability, creativity, and product that you value, respect, cherish.”
Exactly how it will roll out, and the types of content fans, customers, and businesses might see on the FDLA site is still developing, but it’s clear that the desire for newness in fashion still exists—perhaps now more than ever. As such, FDLA’s digital imprint has the potential to set an example for what a new kind of fashion week could look like: grounded in digital storytelling with a stream of new collections, shown virtually, as its creative backbone.
For more information please visit: https://www.fdla.co/
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Source and Photo: FDLA
