Hybrid fashion week is the future of the runway: Fash frat

Many trends popped up at the recently-concluded New York Fashion Week. But the biggest of them all remains the return of the physical fashion shows after over a year’s gap.

- Divya Kaushik

With the ease in COVID restrictions across the world, fashion events, like many other events, are back in their physical format. The Indian fashion fraternity, which has been busy adapting to digital formats and virtual fashion shows, is hoping that the physical shows will be back in the coming months. They say that in-person, traditional fashion shows are important to boost businesses and mark some action in the fashion industry. But they also add that they can’t completely do away with the virtual shows, and hybrid fashion shows are now the need of the hour.

‘ONE CAN’T DO AWAY WITH PHYSICAL RUNWAY SHOWS’

Designer Samant Chauhan says that while for some businesses the transition from physical fashion events to virtual shows was seamless, for businesses like his, it hasn’t been easy. “I think digital format worked for those businesses that had always had a good digital presence. Our entire business was from fashion weeks. We used to invite buyers there, get orders after they had seen the collection, and prepare for those orders till the next fashion week. Doing the same on digital platforms has been very difficult for us, so we need physical fashion shows. Also, I believe that no camera can capture the beauty of the physical showcase,” says Samant.