The Evolution of Runways: What Could Be Next for the Future of Fashion Shows

Written by Brett Byers

From New York to Paris, fashion shows have been an integral aspect of the fashion industry for hundreds of years. Since their inception in the late 1800s, they have experienced an ever-evolving expansion of concepts and executions. 

The very first fashion show dates all the way back to the 1860s, in which English-based fashion designer Charles Frederick Worth swapped mannequins for live models to present his pieces in front of a quaint audience in Paris. Since then, several similar events, referred to as “fashion parades,” spread to London and New York, adorned with small crowds and labeled as private events for buyers in the industry. However, they soon began to evolve into larger audiences as designers strived to gain more publicity. With larger audiences came more extensive productions of the show, and by the 1980s, the runway transformed into mini-productions. They were garnered with unique lighting, sound effects, and elaborate staging.

Slowly yet surely, fashion shows began to grow audiences and develop production, progressing into what they are today: inventive theatrical performances that are an amalgamation of art, commerce, and couture. Parallel to their progression, fashion shows are experiencing an uprise in unique, unconventional, and untraditional concepts. Many designers are seeking to rework and uproot the traditional fashion show. This shift away from the conventional runway has already been seen through shows such as Kim John’s pre-fall 2023 men’s Dior collection runway, which took place in the desert of Egypt with the Giza pyramids, adorned in LED lights, as a backdrop. 

 In an attempt to appeal to a new generation, designers are now looking to deconstruct the runway and make it a more immersive, educational experience for the audience. Aspects of this have already been reflected through many shows. One of these is AVAVAV’s recent FW23 Collection, where clothes fell off the model’s bodies as they walked down the runway and the set came crashing down as a finale. Not only was this a nod to the superficiality of fashion, as well as the implications of fast fashion, but it gained a lot of popularity on social media. 

This was fairly revolutionary in terms of modern-day fashion shows as it promoted the ever-growing idea that each production should tell the message of the creation process and educate the audience. 

Social media and the rise of new technology plays an integral role in the evolution of the fashion industry. The newfound instant accessibility of information enables consumers to view photos of catwalks and designs, allowing companies to replicate them before designers can bring their pieces to store shelves. 

With the emergence of social media and technological advancements in recent  decades, fashion shows are moving away from the mere notion of marketing clothes to consumers and instead focusing on the imperative of going viral. This was illustrated in the finale of Coperni’s Sping-Summer 2023 Collection of Paris Fashion Week, in which a dress was spray painted on Bella Hadid’s silhouette. This was showcased in countless headlines and magazines, providing great publicity to the collection and brand.

Among these transformations, there is a more technological shift among the modern day fashion show regime, as the emergence of technology has brought forth digital fashion shows that can be viewed from the comfort of one’s home. Further, it has invented an inventive AI Fashion Week, which premiered in April of 2023 and recently returned in November of 2023. This has completely changed the standard for a fashion show, as it has allowed AI designers to create pieces that are not yet possible to create in reality. The possibilities are endless with fashion existing in the digital universe.

Fashion shows have remained to depict stories that bring the pieces and fabrics to life. However, designers are now looking to create them in unconventional ways, and striving to look outside the box in not only virality, but distinction. This idea of transforming the typical fashion show is now challenging designer’s and culture’s imaginations about what they can achieve and create. 

With these new ideals, combined with ever-evolving technology, it is only a matter of time until the future of fashion shows is changed forever.

Edited by: Katherine Rubinstein, Hana Razvi, Sam Teisch, and Sophie Wilmerding

DEI Reviewed by: Katherine Rubinstein