by angelina rascouet flavia rotondi and jinshan hongluxury clothing houses have long valued direct personal interaction through their boutiques and fashion shows perusing the sumptuous goods in a shop with a glass of champagne in hand promises a superior consumer experience to the mundane act of ordering online and sitting front row at a catwalk remains a coveted status symbolthats why theres more on display than the latest looks at the september fashion weeks that are getting under way in london milan and paris this year theyre a proving ground for just how successfully the industry has reinvented itself for the age of social distancing to push its message and products through digital channels advt burberry group plcs show on sept 17 provided a snapshot of the challenges that await a walkup segment featured celebrities including supermodel bella hadid and soul artist erykah badu engaged in a halting conversation on the twitch streaming platform the actual show without guests was staged in a forest as a bold blend of postcard english country life and contemporary angst models stalked forth among the trees while performance artists created a brooding backdrop that left some online viewers bewildered calling it satanic and creepy in livestream commentschief creative director riccardo tiscis attempt to take the storied british brand out of its comfort zone of trench coats and burberry plaid highlights the extra effort needed to interact with a fan base that is following the proceedings from tiny screens at home the luxurygoods industry has been particularly hardhit by the covid19 pandemic as highrolling shoppers stay home boutiques remained shuttered for months and more consumers migrate to online boutiques that many brands long eschewedthese are maisons which know how to do events and beautiful shows and all of a sudden they have to reinvent their work to create an online experience said anne michaut a marketing professor at business school hec paris most brands have a century or half a century of knowhow for shows obviously we dont have this amazing experience in digitalbig circusfashion shows have traditionally functioned as an important branding catalyst theres the buildup ahead of the event with paparazzi chasing celebrities and models across paris or milan from one event to the next who sits where in the front row is fodder for endless gossip and the shows can be infinitely recycled afterward in fashion magazines and online advt staging the events is a huge logistical and financial undertaking chanels shows in particular are the stuff of legend the parisbased house routinely rents out the giant glassdomed grand palais in the french capital where models in years past strutted among installations including a space rocket a supermarket or an intricate replica of a french brasseriechanel will return to the same venue this year but the company hasnt yet revealed details of the show due to take place on oct 6 neither has crosstown rival dior part of the lvmh luxury emporium the french brands are holding out any announcements