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= Media coverage of Paris Fashion Week =



Paris Fashion Week is a premier event in the fashion industry. Being a premier event, Fashion Week comes with media coverage that has evolved over the years to fit the needs both of the fashion industry and the public through several media channels.

History
Paris is home to two fashion weeks (not counting the menswear shows): the Haute Couture (high fashion) shows and the “pret-a-porter” (ready to wear) shows. Haute Couture fashion shows have been held since 1945, but the “semaine de la mode” show is what we know today. This show was established in 1973 by the French Fashion Federation and was originally held in the Palace of Versailles. Today, Paris Fashion Week is officially named Semaine des Createurs du Mode and is held in the Carrousel du Louvre. }}

Paris Fashion Week happens twice a year and is part of the “Big 4,” alongside Milan, London and New York Fashion Week. Paris Fashion Week typically puts on around 100 shows at multiple locations. The big players -Chanel, Christian Dior and Givenchy-are high-profile venues, such as the Espace Eiffel, whereas lesser-known names have their shows at warehouses or bars. The week is divided into three sections: Haute Couture, Men’s Fashion and Pret-a-Porter.

1970s: The French Fashion Federation brought together the American fashion designers and the French fashion designers for the Semaine de la Mode in 1973, which was deemed the Battle of Versailles. This fashion show put five American designers -Oscar de la Renta, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston and Stephen Burrows -against five French designers -Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro and Marc Bohan at Christian Dior -to battle it out on the runway. The designers brought their game to heighten the stakes and amaze the audience; Saint Laurent sent a Bugatti limo down the runway and Dior had a pumpkin carriage on hand.

2000s: During the early 2000’s, Fashion Week was starting to become the spectacle that it is today. This is when influencers at that time were walking the runway and the show was beginning to compete in value with a Broadway production.

2010s: In 2015, Paris Fashion Week hit one of hits highest peaks known to date. According to MKG Hospitality, 93.9% of hotels were occupied during the event. There was also coverage provided by 1,500 journalists from 50 countries. These numbers ensure the global impact the event has on present day media.

Major Events
Fashion week dates back decades; much has changed since the first show. Major events along the way include the popularization of social media. Paris Fashion Week has seen many changes most of them being in the past decade. With the rise of Instagram, many designers are turning to influencers on this platform. Some are using this new age of digital reporting as a way to skip fashion week altogether. The most recent major event altering Paris fashion week is the announcement of Google making change to the algorithms. It allows users to look up fashion week events that roll through continually on the home page as if it is a catwalk. The goal is to make looking up anything fashion week related easy and accessible. With this, the exclusively of the event has dwindled. This has caused many designers to have private shows or none at all.

Magazines and Print
Fashion Week in Paris is one of the biggest events within the world of fashion. The event is advertised in many magazines such as the W, Elle, Vogue Paris, Vogue, Women’s Wear Daily, In Touch Weekly, GQ and Fashion Magazine. These are a handful of the major publications that advertise Fashion Week Paris globally. Fashion magazine focuses directly on Fashion Week in Paris, Milan, London and New York; however, all of the other publications are common fashion magazines that people read on an everyday basis.

Magazines are not the only medium that advertise for Paris Fashion Week. Print publications are a traditional way to relay news information and are still relevant today. Major publications, such as The New York Times, have always had a section on its news outlets dedicated to Fashion Week Paris with columns for reviews, photos and editorials. The Times is not the only major print medium to advertise the major fashion event. The Guardian has a section for all the Fashion Weeks. Independent has a section for breaking news and latest news related to the event. The Telegraph has articles on the event and editorials on the apparel being worn during the event. The Chicago Tribune has all photos and articles related to the event.

Streaming Outlets
As media and technology have continued to advance, Fashion Week has been reinvented. Through digital streaming, people from all over the world can be put in a front row seat for any of their favorite brands runway shows. In 2011, New York Fashion Week began the trend of streaming. Up until this point, New York Fashion Week, much like other respective fashion weeks, were private events. Those people who worked in the industry were sent paper invites and entered into a closed-off world of fashion.

Matt Edelman, the Head of Digital Operations and Marketing for IMG Models, said “streaming has become a part of how consumers understand a brand.” At the initial launch of this new form of sharing fashion, many people thought there wouldn’t be a large enough audience for this to launch. In 2010, when Alexander McQueen decided to live stream his Spring/Summer show via Youtube, 3.5 million people tuned in. Eight years later, live streaming has become a norm in the Fashion Week world.

Although the amount of people watching through streaming has decreased since the first launch, many designers are using the data their audience provides by simply watching online. Many brands are taking advantage of the demographic of the people who are watching their shows. Being able to understand who exactly is watching their brand allows them to tailor their campaigns and messages accordingly.

Live streaming is helping brands understand their audience better, but with the advantage that technology brings, it has also brought many challenges to the table. According to Dan Clifford, the former VP of Marketing at Victoria’s Secret, the largest challenge brands are facing with live streaming is audience engagement. There is a significant drop off of viewers when a show does not start on time or if the first ten minutes are not engaging. Many brands, like Marc Jacobs, have begun to incentivize this form of viewing for their audience. Offering free product tickets to another live show allows for higher engagement and a larger audience, as well.

Many in the industry have wondered, “where do we go from here?” The future of live streaming has many opportunities, but also will serve as challenging. Burberry has began selling their line as it walked down the runway via live stream. In a sales and consumer perspective, this is an incredible opportunity. Sales for the new line have the opportunity to increase and the consumer satisfaction increases due to the fact that they have what is new first. On the other hand, this returns to the challenge of engagement. If the audience is more focused on the shopping aspect, the viewer engagement is going to suffer.

Social Media
Social media has taken over world events for better or for worse, and Paris Fashion Week is no different. From Twitter to Instagram, coverage of the event is everywhere from backstage to onstage. These posts can dominate the feeds of those who follow the event closely, but are important for the companies that take part in it. This even extends to the city of Paris itself as it has launched a Snapchat campaign for the 2018 Fashion Week. French President, Emanuel Macron, has done this to increase engagement within the over 18 years of age community during the event. It’s not just fashion companies that take advantage of the publicity of the event either. Apple advertised its Apple Watch using Paris Fashion Week in order to show how their technology can integrate not only into high fashion, but into everyday wear as well.

Fashion Week’s own social media has a hand in its publicity. Here, Fashion Week showcases different artists and their work. The accounts follow other fashion events as well, especially red carpets like at The Oscars.