comes to a close, we've learnt there's many pros and cons in staging a fashion week URL along the way. The looks, of course, feel more distant – in that you can't physicallythem at all. Albeit it's rare to touch them straight off the runway, but the weight of the fabric, the intricate detailing that's only palpable up close, and the way each design moves in relation to the body are much more material – and personal – on the front row.
But one of the reigning benefits of this unprecedented format, has to be the artistic freedom that comes with it. While some fashion houses have shown us an exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of their ateliers – or looked to the future with digital avatars –, in an 8-part film. The movie's goal? To reinvent the notion of a couture house.
"Now, more than ever, is a time to learn. A time for possibilities and opportunities. A time for collaborations. A time to listen to an expanding scope of voices enriching our lives," read the press statement. "Looking for new ways to express ourselves. Taking position in a world that is coming to terms with the past and the present. This couture week we are grappling with a harsh reality. A time to rethink everything that we know. A developing insight in a new world.
Back in April, Ronald Van Der Kemp staged a fashion 'happening' dubbed ' The Army of Love' that was a call to arms for the industry to wholeheartedly embrace a more sustainable future, with unique handmade masks created out of found materials. This season, Kemp presented an upcycled couture collection created out of pieces from previous seasons. With these 28 gender-neutral looks, Kemp proves he doesn't just talk-the-talk, he sews with his word.
"A very personal and sentimental project that talks about originality. About eccentricity. About decadence and abundance. About being human," continued the press release. " [It's] about escapism and dreams. About the great couturiers from the past and their eccentric muses." But most importantly, it speaks about the need for true – and ambitious – change.