Shanghai Fashion Week (SHFW) has teamed up with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's online marketplace Tmall to broadcast its entire roster of runway shows online from 24 to 30 March on Taobao Live, Alibaba's live-streaming channel, making it the first fashion week event to go fully digital. The organisers had announced earlier this year that the event would not take place due to the coronavirus outbreak but instead of completely forgoing fashion shows and presentations, they decided to make them accessible to buyers, media and the public through the digital service. Besides catwalk shows of autumn/winter collections, viewers were able to buy items online while they watch, giving them the chance to acquire exclusive designs in advance.

Broadcasting fashion weeks online could be a solution for other shows as Paris and London just announced the cancellations of their Men and Couture Fashion Weeks (due to take place in June and July 2020) ; while Milan decided to postpone its Men Fashion Week (originally held in June 2020) to September 2020, during the Women Fashion Week.

bof article: London and Paris Men's and Couture Fashion Weeks Cancelled, Milan Men's Week Postponed

But how a digital Fashion Week will affect offline showrooms ? Indeed, this online shift has drastically altered the very core on which fashion weeks have been built — a physical space for buyers to preview new collections.  Going online also means emerging brands will struggle to attract new buyers as platforms have been reluctant to take on new brands knowing buyers will have more trouble pushing unknown designers to customers.

Jing Daily Article: How a Digital Shanghai Fashion Week Will Affect Offline Showrooms