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 Those types of orders have all
but dried up since the pandemic forced most
luxury labels to cancel parties and
presentations.
Even as some of the world's biggest brands
return to Paris on Monday, few are planning
physical shows, a blow for make-up artists,
lighting specialists, caterers and hundreds of
other businesses in fashion's eco-system.
"Basically catering is gone for us. And I'm not
sure when it's coming back," said Lee, who only
last year expanded her kitchen through a
crowdfunding campaign.
From Monday, 85 brands will showcase womenswear
looks during Paris Fashion Week. Only 19 - among
them Chanel and LVMH owned Christian Dior and
Louis Vuitton - are pressing ahead with socially
distanced front rows.
Others are holding small presentations by
appointment, or streaming videos.
Fledgling designers can not afford to hire big
venues for tiny audiences or risk a last-minute
cancellation, said Sebastien Vienne, from
production and press firm Mephistopheles.
None of Mephistopheles' 14 most regular
customers are staging full events next week. In
a normal year, each event would have cost at
least 30,000 to 40,000 euros.
"We used to do four shows a day, our whole
budget comes from these events," Vienne told
Reuters.
FILM SETS AND PHOTO SHOOTS
Still, he said he was optimistic revenues would
pick up again in the longer run, as brands try
to reach shoppers virtually.
His company is producing a fashion film, rather
than a traditional show with an audience, inside
the 19th century Hotel Le Marois for Polish
label La Metamorphose.
The palatial venue has also been reinventing
itself, upgrading its systems to lure companies
wanting to livestream events from its ornate
rooms, site manager Valerie Taieb said.
But even small parties are getting complicated
as coronavirus cases in France rise and
restrictions on gatherings tighten.
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"The fashion sector and the events industry have
really been forgotten in this crisis," Taieb
said. Her team of around 20 have only returned
to work part-time, and are still relying on the
state's partial unemployment aid.
At the shoot for La Metamorphose at Hotel Le
Marois, 25-year-old model Tiffany Fournier said
some of her work had dried up too, although she
still does magazine and advertising campaigns.
"I haven't done a catwalk show since February,"
Fournier said.
Some big brands have pushed to hold physical
events where possible in part to support
suppliers and other businesses. Designers also
want to keep up connections with professional
buyers and media.
"There's an energy and an excitement, there's
music, the first model to appear on the catwalk,
applause at the end," said Alexandre Mattiussi,
creator of French brand AMI. "That doesn't exist
in a digital format."
AMI is planning to hold a show on Oct. 3, with
fewer than 150 guests rather than the usual 600
to 700.
"It will be like a very nice wedding," Mattiussi
said.
(This story corrects name in paragraph 7 to
Sebastien Vienne not Stephane Vienne)
(Reporting by Sarah White and Michaela Cabrera;
Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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