In any other year, like clockwork, flocks of models, stylists, critics and photographers would migrate around the globe, chasing fashion shows from New York to Paris. Their usual pattern was upended in March, as coronavirus cases began to spike around the world.
When in-person shows stopped, fashion photography ground to a halt too. There were no more photographers stacked shoulder to knee at the end of the runways, backstage visits weren’t allowed and work dried up. Come September, some designers began to host live shows again, with small crews, even smaller audiences, mandatory P.P.E. and spacious venues, just before Europe introduced a new round of restrictions on public life.
Another fashion season is about to start in early 2021 without a clear path forward for those who work in fashion industry or adjacent to it, but it’s likely to be another round of virtual viewing. Despite the uncertainty, photographers will continue to work to create images of beauty, just as they did so well in 2020.