A Short History of the Front Row

Vogue

Director: Catherine Orchard Editors: Evan Allan, Ryan Jeffrey Producers: Rahel Gebreyes, Bety Dereje Archival Researcher: Lilli Karkowski Writer: Laia Garcia-Furtado Associate Producer: Marisah Yazbek Creative Production Coordinator: Anisa Kennar Production Coordinators: Ava Kashar, Tanía Jones Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editors: Fynn Lithgow, Justin Symonds Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter Art &amp; Graphics Lead: Léa Kichler Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Associate Director, Post Production: Nicholas Ascanio Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Video: Romy van den Broeke Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Footage Courtesy of Video Fashion Image Courtesy of Steven Meisel

Transcript

00:00Fashion. Everyone has an opinion.

00:06Over the past 75 years, fashion shows have transformed from pictures into real-life showcases produced around the world.

00:14The mythology and reality of the front row has evolved, along with our increasingly fast, globalized planet.

00:23Industry shifts, the media, and the power of influence and celebrity all play a role in who sits front and center at fashion.

00:35A new designer, Christian Dior, was chiefly responsible for launching the most recent fashion revolution.

00:46In the 1950s, fashion was characterized by a return to tradition.

00:52Christian Dior's famous new look emphasized a specific point of view on femininity and was the dominant silhouette at couture shows.

01:02Upper echelon society women placed orders for the upcoming season, while editors and photographers decided what to show in magazines.

01:13This boutique is aimed at the middle range buyer, and we men are headed for quite a fall.

01:21Clothing in the 60s embodied individual ideas of freedom.

01:26Designers began to allow press photographers to document the still-exclusive scene.

01:33Front row celebrity presence wasn't yet determined by marketing strategy, but by personal relationships with designers.

01:42Clothes today are illogical, decadent, and too expensive.

01:48The 70s brought self-expression to the forefront of fashion.

01:52Once intimate gatherings became large presentations with hundreds of store buyers from around the world.

01:58Alongside the usual crowd, a new kind of cultural influencer signaled a new possibility for the fashion show.

02:06In addition to selling the designer's latest collection, the fashion show now becomes its own kind of entertainment, and a front row seat holds greater social capital.

02:16If the 70s pushed forward expression through clothing, the 80s added glamour.

02:22Power dressing and supermodels marked the decade's appetite for extravagance.

02:28More is more.

02:30An unofficial front row formed, filled not with the most important editors and celebrities, but by photographers surrounding the runway.

02:47People think of models, you know what the image of models is, but obviously it must be bright if you're...

02:50What is the image of models I'd like to know?

02:52Single digit IKEs and stuff like that.

02:58By the 90s, the media circus had fully invaded shows.

03:05And in the age of the supermodel, the fashion industry went mainstream.

03:12The front row was still coveted, but backstage was an even more exclusive party.

03:30The millennium arrived at Fashion Week.

03:33With it, a newly minted fashion star, the celebrity.

03:38The front row became part of self-promotion strategy.

03:42Some were there to watch the runway while selling a film, fragrance, album, book, or trying for a role in a fashion campaign.

03:51As actresses and musicians replaced models, an uptick of fashion websites, blogs, and street-style photography meant a Fashion Week invite was an opportunity to become a star.

04:04Suddenly, an event intentionally made for a select few became accessible to all, at least through a screen.

04:12Eventually, you'll have telephone, email, typewriter, and the television will be in there, everything will be in there.

04:23In the advent of social media, the 2010s invited new characters to the front row, fashion bloggers and influencers.

04:32Fans turned to influencers, arrived with startling economic power.

04:38It was often said technology democratized fashion.

04:44With newly perceived accessibility, the experience of the fashion show changed, with influencers broadcasting in real time to millions of followers.

04:55The impact of influence would go on to change the industry and the world in a permanent way.

05:05A global pandemic brought the world to a halt.

05:11At first, it seemed the concept of the fashion show itself would be re-evaluated.

05:16I guess you had to flow like water and find alternatives.

05:19When restrictions were lifted, it was back to business as usual, for most.

05:24Questions on alignment of values and messaging emerged.

05:29The fashion industry was no exception.

05:33The front row continues to feature the usual editors, buyers, influencers, stylists, celebrities, and so-called friends of the brand that reflect designers' values and community.

05:47In a new twist, a design debuting on the runway can now be seen on a VIP gracing the front row.

05:56And in this moment, the fashion show experience expands to the front row itself, reaching the world at the very same time.

06:16www.FashionEcstasy.com

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