London Fashion Week June 2020 Roundup: SHOWstudio Live Panel Discussion

PC Williams, Georgia Moot, Joshua James Small and Dogukan Nesanir round-up the first digital London Fashion Week, discussing the benefits and disadvantages of forming a digital platform for fashion, rather than the physical presence of a catwalk presentation. The panellists weigh up whether fashion week feels appropriate given the context of global pandemic and widespread anti-racism protests, and debate the ability of fashion to respond to contemporary events quickly, while celebrating the incredible platform offered to student designers finishing their degrees in a notably tough climate to graduate. The talk then moves to the structural problems that the fashion industry faces, namely that its structure is designed to support the few not the many, with all expressing hope for future digital fashion weeks as designers find their way. Established in November 2000, SHOWstudio is an award-winning fashion website, founded and directed by Nick Knight, that has defined the manner in which fashion is presented via the Internet. A pioneer of fashion film and live fashion broadcasting, SHOWstudio is now recognised as the leading force behind these mediums, offering a unique platform to nurture and encourage fashion to engage with moving image in the digital age. In its documentation of fashion and the arts, SHOWstudio has collaborated with pop culture icons and creatives including Tracey Emin, Lady Gaga, John Galliano, Kate Moss, Alexander McQueen, Charles Jeffrey, Gareth Pugh an