Paris Fashion Week 2021 has kick-started and opened in a unique style, with students cutting the virtual ribbon for women’s ready-to-wear collections amid the unprecedented time in the fashion industry. Paris Fashion Weeks’s eight-day schedule, which started on March 1, consists of mostly digital videos and live streams instead of people-packed runway shows. It’s the new normal! While ‘COVID-19 generation,’ talented students have made their fashion debut at the reputed runway, one designer has garnered eyeballs. His “Toxique, C’est Chic,” creepy, yet bold fashion line is raising eyebrows at the virtual edition, and the video of what inspired him to make the designs surfaced online.

One of the most tangible examples of the pandemic’s impact is the various fashion weeks that have been held virtually around the world. Now anyone can get a front-row seat at a fashion, thanks to the online services. A similar arrangement has been made for Paris Fashion Week 2021, where most of the shows will be presented digitally. Hanifa’s Virtual Fashion Show Got 3D Models Walking The Runway! African Designer Anifa Mvuemba Launches the Pink Label Congo Collection, Shows The Future of Fashion Show in Viral Video. 

But can you imagine COVID-19 and chic? Parisian fashion student, James Giltner is one among aspiring designers stepping into the limelight in the virtual edition. With a collection called, “Toxique, c’est chic,” he showcased the knitting techniques he perfected during COVID-19 lockdown at home. Giltner’s creations, with three-dimensional short dresses with silvery whirls, recalling shells and molluscs, were influenced by the knitting craft, he explored in his bedroom during the pandemic. The designs are creepy, yet bold. “No matter how glamorous we are, we’re always going to have viruses running us one way or another,” he was quoted saying in reports.

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Paris Fashion Week runs from March 1 to 10, 2021. The ten days of high-end catwalk shows usually held in the French capital will be replaced by online presentations and films, similar to New York, London and Milan. You can click HERE to enjoy the virtual edition from the comfort of your home.

Aside from top designers, about 48 students reportedly graduating from Paris' Institut Francais de la Mode (IFM) will get the opportunity to showcase their design brilliance at the fashion show, as a tribute to the young “COVID generation,” disrupted by the pandemic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 03, 2021 09:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).