How the fashion show content ban reflects fatigue with hype culture

Our invitation to Martine Rose’s show came through on Friday afternoon. The show would be the following day, it announced — a far cry from the fashion week calendar that usually schedules show dates months in advance. Echoing last season, the invite flagged that phone usage and filming would be prohibited, that it “admits one and is strictly confidential,” and that there would be no backstage access. 

The secrecy surrounding the show, and the lack of hype beforehand, was a stark departure from the quest for vitality we’ve come to associate with fashion week. Somewhere along the way, shows became as much a theatrical production as a means of presenting a collection: atmospheric soundtracks were curated (The Martinez Brothers for Givenchy FW14), stunts were pulled (the hologram of Kate Moss at Alexander McQueen’s FW06 presentation), and elaborate sets were erected (Prada’s SS15 dune desert) The end goal is usually media coverage and social media virality. 

So Martine’s decision to eschew the potential for audience content (though many people filmed anyway) was left field. When The Row infamously prohibited the use of phones during their show last year, instead providing guests with a notebook and pen, the rule (ironically) went viral. The Row is an exclusive brand, and allowing only those invited to the show access to the collection inevitably added to that upmarket air (it did, however, lead people to suggest that the whole thing was unfair.) It also added intrigue, and as intended, drew focus back to the clothes. Indeed, when writers and editors aren’t permitted to take photos, we’re forced to commit the clothes to memory and internally describe them: the fabric hits different when it’s taken in in 3D. 

Tbf, the mission to capture professional and sharable content at shows can be distracting: the attempt to stretch your arm high enough to dodge getting heads in the frame but not so high that you obscure others’ view; the need to capture every look in case one is particularly “on brand”; the quest for 5G in a room swimming with phones so you can be one of the first to post. Much like the trend of people advocating for phones being put away during concerts and at clubs, putting your phone aside during fashion shows helps you live in the moment.  

That’s likely where Martine’s approach stemmed from. Unlike The Row, exclusivity isn’t her MO. Community is, as was reflected in the show’s setting: an out-of-use job centre brimming with stalls by local artisans. And the “no content” thing added to that sense of community: attendees were forced to really be in the room with one another, rather than capturing videos (or flexing their attendance to followers.) It also grants the designer more creative control over how the world sees the collection. 

No phone fashion shows also evoke a sense of nostalgia that can be comforting in an age of tech fatigue. In Martine’s case, this nostalgia even complimented the collection, which was brimming with ‘80s references. It’s also a flex, and a welcome reminder, that Rose doesn’t need the sales bump initiated by online virality: she’s doing just fine doing things on her terms. The surprise element was also a power move, serving as proof that she doesn’t need to tell people about the show months in advance to fill out a show space: last minute or not, people will rock up. 

As we know, Martine is for the community, not the glitterati. It’s therefore possible that, as was the case for FW24 when the show was shown on the London Underground, Saturday’s show will be shown to the world in the coming weeks. 

Overall, the rise of the low-profile show and the centering of content reaps reward, and could spell a return to a focus on the clothes and the communities that inspired them: a move away from hype culture and sensationalism, that reflects the rise of slow journalism in the media. Designers are slowmaxxing fr.

More on Culted

See: LOEWE Perfumes is taking over Selfridges Corner Store this summer

See: What went down at Miu Miu’s New Bond Street store reopening party