Paris Fashion Week, the last of the “big four,” begins today following three weeks of unprecedented fashion events in New York, London and Milan as the global pandemic wears on.
During a fashion month like no other, the Spring-Summer 2021 shows have been a mixed bag in a number of ways, but format has by far been the biggest variable. In New York and London, designers leaned on the power of technology to share their collections with the world, favoring – or succumbing to – livestreamed presentations and pre-filmed videos instead of physical runway shows in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
Milan’s fashion week offered a more balanced mix of formats and in Paris, well, it appears as though the fashion industry has decided that the show must go on despite the rise in coronavirus case numbers. Many fashion houses have chosen to stage physical events, albeit with a fraction of the usual number of invited guests.
Dior, Kenzo, Chloé, Balmain, Yohji Yamamoto, Hermès, Chanel and Louis Vuitton are some of the houses planning to stage physical shows throughout the week.
Courtesy Versace/Alfonso Catalano
Milan Fashion Week came to an optimistic close Sunday, having hosted significantly more in-person runway shows than either London or New York before it.
Courtesy Versace/Alfonso Catalano
Versace opted for a gesture of pure escapism. Perhaps the most notable casting decision of Milan Fashion Week came when the brand sent three plus-size models -- namely Jill Kortleve, Precious Lee and Alva Claire -- down one of its runways for the first time in its history.
Antonio Calanni/AP
This was Silvia Venturini Fendi's last solo collection before British designer Kim Jones becomes the brand's new artistic director of womenswear.
Prada
And it was a first for Prada. The debut collaboration between Miuccia Prada, who now heads up her family's namesake business, and Belgian designer Raf Simons, who joined the brand as co-creative director earlier this year, was one of the week's most hotly anticipated shows.
Courtesy Valentino/Max Montingelli
Click through the gallery to take a look at more images from Milan Fashion Week.
Courtesy Valentino/Max Montingelli
Courtesy Valentino/Max Montingelli
Courtesy Versace/Alfonso Catalano
Courtesy Versace/Alfonso Catalano
Courtesy Versace/Andre Lucat
Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images
Daniele Venturelli/WireImage/Getty Images
Brett Dillig-Davies/A Cold Wall
Brett Dillig-Davies/A Cold Wall
Brett Dillig-Davies/A Cold Wall
Oliver Hadlee Pearch/Missoni
Oliver Hadlee Pearch/Missoni
Burberry
Kicking London Fashion Week off with a twist, British legacy label Burberry held a live show in the woods, hosted on popular live-streaming platform Twitch, known primarily as a hub for gamers to meet, play and watch each other play.
Chris Yates
Bora Aksu was one of the few designers that opted for a live physical runway show this season.
Tristan Fewings/BFC/Getty Images
Chris Sutton/Halpern
Halpern created a short film celebrating a group of key workers, including women in health care and transport, who have been on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chris Sutton/Halpern
Click through the gallery to take a look at more images from London Fashion Week.
David M. Benett/Getty Images
David M. Benett/Getty Images
Jeff Spicer/BFC/Getty Images
Ben Broomfield/Molly Goddard
Ben Broomfield/Molly Goddard
Ben Broomfield/Molly Goddard
Ruth Ossai/Bethany Williams
Ruth Ossai/Bethany Williams
Ruth Ossai/Bethany Williams
Andrew Nuding/Simone Rocha
Andrew Nuding/Simone Rocha
Andrew Nuding/Simone Rocha
Andrew Nuding/Simone Rocha
Manu Valcarce/Edward Crutchley
Manu Valcarce/Edward Crutchley
Harley Weir/Charlotte Knowles
Harley Weir/Charlotte Knowles
Pixelformula/SIPA/Shutterstock
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Fashion designer Jason Wu opened New York Fashion Week with a runway show on the rooftop of Spring Studios in Manhattan. The show featured models such as "Pose" actor Indya Moore, who made her runway debut walking down a plant-filled set inspired by the Mexican coastal town of Tulum. Wu showed his Spring-Summer 2021 collection to a socially distanced crowd of just 30 people.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Courtesy of TOM FORD
Inspired by a documentary about the fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez and the smiles of the '70s models Pat Cleveland and Donna Jordan, Tom Ford's collection exuded joyful elegance.
Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
Two decades after Imitation of Christ was founded by Tara Subkoff and Matt Damhave, alongside Chloë Sevigny, the conceptual fashion collective is back. Their theatrical presentations, which took place simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles, featured a capella singers and a video screening.
Maisie Wilen/Clare Gillen
New York Fashion Week's debuts included Maisie Schloss, a former Yeezy designer. Instead of a runway show, Schloss's shimmery, kaleidoscopic new collection was photographed and art directed by Clare Gillen.
Maisie Wilen/Clare Gillen
Click through the gallery to take a look at more images from New York Fashion Week.
Taylor Jewell/Ulla Johnson
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Randy Brooke/WireImage/Getty Images
Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Christian Siriano's show was not part of official New York Fashion Week, and was held the day after the event closed, at a private location in Westport, Connecticut. Many of the models wore outfits and accessories with the 'Vote' message. Shoes were designed by Sarah-Jessica Parker's SJP line.
Mike Coppola/Getty Images
Model Coco Rocha swims through the water at a private location during the Christian Siriano show in Connecticut.
Tomo Koizumi
Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi produced a lookbook of wedding-ready dresses in collaboration with wedding-dress store Treat, which used deadstock fabrics.
Tomo Koizumi
A mermaid silhouette bridal dress from Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi in collaboration with wedding store Treat.
A livestreamed address by the French minister of culture will kick-start the event on Monday afternoon, which will be followed by digital presentations by British label Wales Bonner and Danish brand Cecilie Bahnsen.
Paris Fashion Week runs from September 28 to October 6.