![Diane von Fürstenberg Spring-Summer 2014 06](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Diane_von_F%C3%BCrstenberg_Spring-Summer_2014_06.jpg)
A fashion show (
French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a
fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and/or accessories during a
fashion week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashio ...
. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter seasons. This is where the latest fashion trends are made. The four major
fashion week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashio ...
s in the world, collectively known as the "Big 4", are those in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and
New York.
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
fashion week is also of global importance.
In a typical fashion show,
models walk the
catwalk
A fashion show (French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fal ...
dressed in the clothing created by the designer. Clothing is illuminated on the catwalk using various forms of lighting and special effects. The order in which each model walks out, wearing a specific outfit, is usually planned in accordance with the statement that the designer wants to make about their collection. It is then up to the audience to not only try to understand what the designer is trying to say, but to also visually deconstruct each outfit and try to appreciate the detail and craftsmanship of every single piece.
Occasionally, fashion shows take the form of installations, where the models are static, standing or sitting in a constructed environment. A wide range of contemporary designers produce their shows as theatrical productions with elaborate sets and added elements such as live music or a variety of technological components like
hologram
Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other applications. In principle, i ...
s, for example.
History
![Paris Fashion (LOC)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Paris_Fashion_%28LOC%29.jpg)
Because "the topic of fashion shows remains to find its historian", the earliest history of fashion shows remains obscure.
In the 1800s, "fashion parades" periodically took place in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
couture
Couture may refer to:
People
* Couture (surname)
Places
Belgium
* Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium
Canada
* Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada
...
salons.
At the turn of the 19th century, exclusive fashion houses in Europe, especially Paris and London, were using formal presentations to showcase their latest line to clientele. One of the most notable designers of this concept,
Charles Fredrick Worth, gained traction by displaying clothes on actual people instead of mannequins.
American retailer
Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...
s imported the concept of the fashion show in the early 1900s.
[ Fortini, Amanda]
How the Runway Took Off: A Brief History of the Fashion Show.
Slate Magazine (February 8, 2006). The first American fashion show likely took place in 1903 in the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
store of the
Ehrlich Brothers.
By 1910, large department stores such as
Wanamaker's
John Wanamaker Department Store was one of the first department stores in the United States. Founded by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia, it was influential in the development of the retail industry including as the first store to use price tags. ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
were also staging fashion shows.
These events showed couture gowns from Paris or the store's copies of them; they aimed to demonstrate the owners' good taste and capture the attention of female shoppers.
As the popularity for these formal presentations expanded, it was in 1918 when fashion houses established fixed dates for runway shows to occur. These occurrences took place twice annually, specifically for fashion houses to plan for and promote their lines to foreign buyers. Runway shows were often held in department stores or hotels when they first began. European fashion houses would actively seek out buyers in the United States, specifically in larger cities, by hosting these runway shows.
By the 1920s, retailers across the United States held fashion shows.
Often, these shows were theatrical, presented with narratives, and organized around a theme (e.g. Parisian, Chinese, or Russian).
These shows enjoyed huge popularity through mid-century, sometimes attracting thousands of customers and gawkers.
![Elina-Salo-1958](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Elina-Salo-1958.jpg)
In the 1970s and 1980s, American designers began to hold their own fashion shows in private spaces apart from such retailers.
In the early 1990s, however, many in the fashion world began to rethink this strategy.
After several mishaps during shows in small, unsafe locations, "
e general sentiment was, 'We love fashion but we don't want to die for it,'" recalls
Fern Mallis
Fern Mallis (born March 26, 1948 in Brooklyn, New York) was the executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) from 1991–2001, and created 7th on Sixth productions or New York Fashion Week as it is known today. She was ...
, then executive director of the
Council of Fashion Designers of America
The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory d ...
.
In response to these shows, the New York shows were centralized in
Bryant Park
Bryant Park is a public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Privately managed, it is located between Fifth Avenue and Avenue of the Americas ( Sixth Avenue) and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan. The e ...
during
Fashion Week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashio ...
in late 1993.
Lately from the 2000s to today, fashion shows are usually also filmed and appear on specially assigned television channels or even in documentaries.
In recent years, fashion shows have become increasingly elaborate for many of the top labels, including sprawling sets that often come with higher costs.
In the 21st century
![Chanel Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Chanel_Haute_Couture_Fall-Winter_2011.jpg)
Some designers have attempted to modernize the style and presentation of fashion shows by integrating technological advances in experimental ways, such as including pre-recorded digital videos as
backdrops. During New York Fashion Week in 2014, designer
Ralph Lauren presented his new
Polo line for Spring 2015 in a water-screen projection in Manhattan's
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
. Technological progress has also allowed a broader portion of the fashion industry's followers to experience shows. In 2010, London Fashion Week was the first fashion week to allow viewing of its shows through
live streaming.
Live streaming of runway shows and mediated shows has now become commonplace.
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer and filmmaker. He launched his eponymous luxury brand in 2005, having previously served as the creative director at Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent. Ford wrote and direct ...
created a
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
with
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
for his Spring/Summer 2016 women's collection.
Fashion shows are important as they showcase the new styles of the season. They are a walking art show and also guide the looks for the fast fashion stores who knock off the high fashion looks. "If fashion shows sometimes have a reputation for being shocking, that's because of one of their other main purposes: publicity." Fashion shows are a way of life to many people as well and set the tone for each year. People who come and watch the shows also get to experience an art form with their own eyes and be present in the industry. Fashion shows have changed through the digital area and the pandemic accelerated the course of becoming digital.
Format and setting
A runway may be as basic as a narrow space between rows of chairs or more elaborate setups with multiple catwalks. Most runway shows are held inside, for shelter against the weather, but there are times when runway shows are held outdoors. In the 2016
Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week (french: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris, France with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion Federation. ...
,
Chanel presented an elaborate setup by designing the hall as if it were an airport. The viewing guests sat as if they were awaiting their flights while the models walked around the airport approaching ticket counters.
Models
![Osklen, SPFW N43](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Osklen%2C_SPFW_N43.jpg)
With the creation of runway shows, the concept of runway modeling was rapidly established with the establishment of agencies and professional modeling careers. Before professional agencies, fashion houses that runway shows often had their own in house models who would specifically be fitted and costumes for each show. By having in house models to present the clothes for runway, the fashion houses could ensure that the clothing was perfectly altered for presentation and bound to sell. However, as the demand for models grew, the
modeling agency
A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency.
The top agencies work with b ...
was established to represent
runway models.
Catwalk
The term 'catwalk' comes from the walkway,
stage platform, or clearing used by
models to demonstrate
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and
accessories
Accessory may refer to:
* Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal
In anatomy
* Accessory bone
* Accessory muscle
* Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus
* Accessory nerve
In arts and entertainment
* Accessory ...
during a fashion show. Catwalks used by designers to introduce new fashion lines and introduce new designers that grab the attention of consumers. In fashion
jargon
Jargon is the specialized terminology associated with a particular field or area of activity. Jargon is normally employed in a particular communicative context and may not be well understood outside that context. The context is usually a partic ...
, "what's on the catwalk" or similar phrasing can refer to whatever is new and popular in fashion. Some, especially in the United States, refer to the catwalk as a runway. The name might be used because the graceful stature and gait used by models reminds viewers of the poise of a cat's natural walk.
Terminology
![Cutaway sketch of crinoline](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Cutaway_sketch_of_crinoline.gif)
*Exclusive: When a model scores an exclusive for a fashion label it means that they have been picked to walk for that particular designer only. This might launch their career, elevate their status in the fashion industry and 'guarantee' them spots on the world's best catwalks.
*Haute couture: A French phrase for high fashion. Runway shows were created to specifically display custom garments such as
Haute couture.
*Look book: A collection of photos taken of models wearing a designer or manufacturers clothing that is sent out to fashion editors, buyers, clients, and special customers to show the designer's looks for the season.
*Sketches: Sketches, or illustrations, were the first way that designers would present clientele with their line. This is before mannequins and live runway models were established within the industry.
See also
*
Fashion
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...
*
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates ...
*
Fashion trend
History of fashion design refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes an
accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual de ...
*
Fashion week
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, where fashion designers, brands or "houses" display their latest collections in runway fashion shows to buyers and the media. These events influence the upcoming fashio ...
*
Fetish fashion
Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a
type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an it ...
*
Haute couture
*
List of fashion events
This is the list of fashion weeks/events/ shows held annually or two times a year all around the world. There are five main events in the world: the Paris Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and Arab Fashio ...
References
External links
*
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Articles containing video clips