Credit: Ben Stansall/AFP

Up close views from the comfort of home.

Since in-person fashion shows still aren’t a good idea, you’d be forgiven for assuming they’d all just be cancelled outright. But it’d be a crying shame if this year’s Haute Couture show didn’t get an audience, so the event managers decided to settle on a digital one.

In cooperation with Paris Fashion Week, Fédération de la Haute Couture de la Mode assembled a virtual platform for fashion designers and models to show their newest designs off to the world without putting anyone in danger of violating social distancing mandates.

“What has always been strong with fashion is the possibility to adapt rapidly to different scenarios and follow the direction that the world is taking,” Lebanese couturier Georges Hobeika said. For his contribution to the effort, he put on a private showing in Lebanon titled “Madame President,” designed to showcase the strength and beauty of Middle Eastern women.

Famous British couture duo Ralph & Russo were especially excited by the move to an online format, as it gave them an opportunity to try something new with their marketing and presentation.

“The current climate has cemented the importance of digital as a channel, and how critical it is for a brand to regularly be activating digitally with unique content to keep their audience engaged, which also includes finding new ways to speak to our clients,” co-founder Tamara Ralph said.

“The absence of major red carpet events doesn’t eliminate or make couture any less relevant,” Ralph adds. “It just returns the category to its roots by taking it away from the public eye.”

Paris Fashion Week hopes to get a little closer back to the norm come September, but for the moment, as long as designers can get their designs in front of eyes, that’s all that matters.