London Fashion Week Will Go On Without A Live Audience

Another fashion month is upon us yet again and — surprise! — we are still in the throes of a raging global pandemic. In light of the growing COVID numbers, along with the presence of the new, more contagious strain, the British Fashion Council has announced that London Fashion Week will be a digital-only event in February.

While there will be no audiences present, brands and designers are still forced to navigate show presentations under rules and guidelines that are often in flux. BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush explained that the council is hoping there will be some leniency for crews and talent so that fashion week runs as smoothly as possible.

"The BFC continues to ask Government to engage in support of the fashion industry," Rush said in an official statement. "One of the main active requests is to allow key creative and model talent to travel to and from the UK with a phased introduction of quarantine exemptions for the fashion industry, in order to carry out essential business, to protect the competitiveness of the British fashion industry."

Rush ended her statement on a positive note, however, stressing that the past year's ongoing hurdles and changes have forced the industry to adapt and thrive in spite of its obstacles.

"We will continue to push for support and champion our extraordinary businesses to global audiences," she continued. "Despite all the challenges the last few years have brought, I truly believe that the creativity, agility and business savvy of our sector will prevail and the societal conscious of our British businesses and fashion workforce will see us re-calibrate to not only be strong creatively but strong sustainably too."

Meanwhile, Couture Week is set to kick off soon from Monday, Jan. 25, to Thursday, Jan 28. Though, according to Vogue, most of the shows will be primarily digital, including Alber Elbaz's return with his new fashion brand AZ Factory, which will debut with a fashion film.

London Fashion Week will start Friday, Feb. 19, and close on Tuesday, Feb. 23. The fashion bodies in charge of Milan, Paris, and New York have yet to release their plans for the upcoming fashion month for the Fall 2021 season. The clock is ticking...