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 & 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
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.
