Runway Escapes

By: C. Reider

When someone talks about destination we often think of a beach, resort or somewhere exotic around the world. But what if a ‘Dream destination’ is a fictional fashion show runway on a glacier, a desert, or underwater. Is it impossible? Or is it dream able?  
It is becoming more and more common to have a destination runway, with Chanel kicking of this trend, and is arguably still the master. Over the years, the head of\ Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, has turned runways into a stage for fantasy, drama and a sparkling spectacle, some of the most memorable being the Chanel Space Station- fall/ winter 2017, where the Grand Palais was transformed into a futuristic space station where a Chanel-branded rocket blasted off at the finale. It wasn’t just fashion- it was a dream cinematic sci-fi meets high end couture.  
Alexander McQueen also staged a jaw dropping runway in Spring/Summer 1999 in which two live robot arms spray-painted live on the supermodel Shalom Harlow as she spun around in a platform. It was a haunting, futuristic, technological runway which transported guests to the future in which robots would take over.  
Saint Laurent also was one of the biggest players of the paradise runways with their Spring/Summer 2021 runway show being walked on a unknow desert landscape, filming an iconic, cinematic film with models strutting through sand-dunes dressed in flowing silhouettes.  
Fashion is not just about clothes, models or brands, it is art used for the expression of the human body/ personality, storytelling and architecture. These iconic runway shows transformed fashion shows from strutting down the catwalk into a transformative spectacle, which influenced and is still influencing designers until today, turning clothes into a story of a ‘dream like destination’.