Fashion Week is over and it’s left a host of celebrity filled FROW pictures in its wake. But is celebrity culture really what Fashion Week is about?
Fashion magazines have printed more photos of the likes of Kim Kardashian and Harry Styles gracing the most sought after seats than the clothes that designers have spent hours altering and perfecting.
This leads me to ask: Why is there so much focus on celebrities at fashion shows? The most obvious reason is that our celebrity obsessed society seems to only really care about something if celebrities are involved. From Coachella to the Met Gala, photos of celebrities at the most high profile events are in every publication. People love to see their idols living the life they can only dream of, being swished to fancy events and dressed head to toe in couture.
This itself raises another question; is the presence of celebrities at fashion shows a ploy by designers to get more coverage and exposure for their lines? With it-girls such as Cara Delevingne and Suki Waterhouse sitting FROW, shows are almost guaranteed a place on the top fashion blogs and in the most high-end fashion magazines, reaching 1000s of individuals and therefore giving a label the publicity it desires. It also means that girls who want to emulate the style of a particular celebrity are more likely to purchase from a designer that their idol has been seen supporting.
So what’s the problem with having so many celebrities at fashion shows? To begin with, it takes the limelight away from the individuals who have worked endlessly to produce a captivating show. A copius amount of time is spent preparing for an event that could make or break the future of a designer. Clothes are altered over and over again so that they fall perfectly on the models who will grace the catwalk, lighting and timing are carefully arranged to create the perfect atmosphere, and everything is brought together to stage a flawless show. But when it’s all over, it seems to be the celebrities who get attention from photographers and journalists.
Everything considered, do we need to re-evaluate the importance that is placed on celebrity presence at fashion shows? Recent events would suggest so. Paris Fashion Week saw Lanvin’s show held up by 40 minutes thanks to Kim Kardashian’s poor time keeping. Meanwhile Vogue Editor-in-Chief, Anna Wintour, was seen making a sharp exit from the Dior show whilst models were still walking the catwalk.
With entire sections of publications, both in print and online, dedicated to celebrity presence at fashion week (US Weekly to name a few), it’s hard to see the obsession with the rich and famous at fashion shows ever coming to an end. Despite this, there is no denying that a celebrity stamp of approval can have hugely positive consequences for a label. A recent article published by the Daily Mail suggested that Mulberry were hoping to boost their slugging profits with the arrival of the new bag developed with Cara Delevingne. The Alexa, a bag created with Alexa Chung, made up an astonishing third of Mulberry’s sales in 2011.
So celebrity presence at fashion shows isn’t always negative. Yes, it does often mean that little attention is given to the actual designer of the collection, but a healthy dose of celebrity presence can do a world of good for a designer. As long as we are aware of and applaud the tremendous amount of work that went on behind the scenes to create a stand out show, there is no harm in showing some interest in the lucky front rowers.
Verity Bradley
Images: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA/EPA, theguardian.com, Getty Images
