Paris (AFP)

Mocked in a Balenciaga film, the subject of a production on the banks of the Seine by AMI or of a digital installation at Balmain: in Paris, the fashion designers are diverting the "distancing" imposed by the pandemic to make it livable .

"Sunglasses in the night": Balenciaga's (digital) fashion show was filmed, just as Fashion week began, at night, in the streets and on the deserted banks of the Seine, punctuated by the eponymous title " Sunglasses at night ”by Corey Hart.

Headlines at the end of the short film released on Sunday warn that production was overseen by health advisers, crew members were "isolated" from each other during filming and equipment like hands disinfected.

Master in provocation, the Georgian Demna Gvasalia, artistic director of the French house, is ironic, by doing too much, on the constraints which weigh for more than six months on the daily newspaper, with a collection which also makes smile.

- Bathrobes and slippers -

He had confided in an interview with the specialized media WWD to have wondered "if fashion has a meaning in this apocalyptic world in which we live since March".

Before rediscovering the taste for clothes.

"I discovered that even in times of the pandemic, people want new things, even more, to distract themselves from these horrors," said the creator.

Faux sheepskin bathrobes, layered pajamas, nightie as an evening gown: in the new collection, indoor clothing has been redesigned for the outdoors.

Hotel slippers, pool slides, and orthopedic sandals are raised on heels.

Demna Gvasalia, who presented her fashion shows in previous seasons in staging as impressive as they are anxious, has opted this time for digital, promising a "physical" parade for the July haute couture collection.

- Barge and virtual VIPs -

Alexandre Mattiussi, founder and creator of AMI, also showed his models, women and men, on Saturday evening on the banks of the Seine in a fine rain.

Guests watched the parade from a barge, moored a good distance from the podium, before taking a cruise on the Seine.

"I would like to emphasize this natural need for sociability, meetings and interactions with a message of hope," explained Alexandre Mattiussi in the parade's intent note.

The images were broadcast in real time on giant screens inside the boat, offering the choice between enjoying the Parisian atmosphere and seeing the collection from afar or looking in detail at the pieces celebrating relaxed elegance.

We could also switch from one mode to another at AMI, like this "phygital" Fashion Week, half physical, half digital.

The historic Balmain house, led by the star of social networks Olivier Rousteing, even managed to celebrate a birthday at the time of the Covid with celebrities ... virtual.

For the brand's 75th anniversary, a parade was organized on Wednesday at the Jardin des Plantes with bleachers welcoming "real" guests facing those bearing the names of VIPs.

While travel is nearly impossible and Fashion Week lacks international stature, Cara Delevingne, Maluma, Cindy Crawford and even fashion pope Anna Wintour played the game by recording videos.

During the parade, these images were shown giving the impression that guests were following, taking photos and reacting to the "physical" parade.

© 2020 AFP