State of Lux

If the first few weeks of the new decade are anything to go by, it appears the Internet will be playing an increasingly important role in the future of the catwalk show.

Until recently, exclusivity was the word of the day at most fashion house’s catwalk events, with invitations typically reserved for those in the know and with clout. And beefed-up security made sure that if your name was not down, you weren’t coming in.

Nowadays it seems the total opposite is occurring. More and more creative directors are using digital channels to get their latest creations directly in the hands of fashion fans, bloggers and anyone else with an interest.  This Saturday both Emporio Armani and Burberry Prorsum ran their shows live on the internet. Burberry also opened the show to blogging and comments via Twitter.

Earlier last week Dolce&Gabbana posted a preview of their collection on their website. They also ran a live backstage video on screens on either side of the runway, as well as projecting scenes from the movie “Baaria” by Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore onto a huge screen, underlining the Sicilian theme of the collection. All of this content was of course made available on their website as well.

And it made little difference if you did not receive an invite to Prada’s Fall/Winter 2010 menswear show, as the entire thing was streamed live via their website last night. Miuccia Prada’s show included a film by video artist Yang Fudong, which is also viewable online.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for how fashion brands are using digital channels to evolve their catwalk shows throughout the year. Keep checking for more details.