It’s time for fashion weeks to return to phone-banning policies
Let’s put the power back in the hands of designers, not in those of show-goers tapping out emails
I started attending fashion weeks about 10 years ago, just as brands began to stream their shows online. It was at this time that front-row regulars, – magazine editors, newspaper reporters and department-store buyers – started moonlighting as photographers and documenting their experiences on social media.
In the early days of this so-called “digital revolution” there was a real frisson of excitement around the changes that were sweeping through the industry. Were the doors of this elusive, seemingly inaccessible world finally being thrown open? It certainly created new ways for overly enthusiastic, young reporters – myself included – to gain permission to enter these rarefied spaces, all in the name of capturing content and reaching new online audiences.
But fast forward to the 2020s and everything can now be used as content: an unimaginative outfit worn to attend a show; an uninformed opinion about what’s being presented by designers; a blurry video of models walking down the runway. Content has been completely robbed of its meaning. Luxury brands have to shout louder and resort to marketing gimmicks to play the game and be heard. As for the customers watching from afar, they have become completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information being thrown at them.
The mainstreaming of luxury fashion has reached such an extreme, from the screaming teenagers creating security hazards outside shows to the outlandish outfits being worn on front rows for promotional purposes, that the only antidote seems to be a complete redirection: ban phones.
For starters, a phone ban would force attendees to be more present, interact with their seatmates and take in the show. It has become easy to forget that the purpose of these gatherings is about collecting inspiration, immersing yourself in a designer’s world and exchanging opinions with industry colleagues – not posting a picture on social media to prove that you were on the guest list. Having spent much of the beginning of the year at the autumn/winter 2025 men’s and women’s fashion weeks all around Europe, I have watched many fellow show-goers answer emails instead of sparing five minutes to take in what’s happening in front of them. A phone ban might be the shake-up that everyone needs to return to the real world.
It would also help to redirect attention to the collections on display rather than the famous faces in attendance, handing power to the hard-working designers who could then choose when and how they want to release their show online. As for the cities struggling to retain talent and draw international visitors to their fashion weeks – London, New York and Copenhagen among them – a move as bold as a phone ban could help them make a statement and attract global attention, more than any viral video ever could.
The brands taking a step back from the social-media furore make compelling cases for the benefits of prioritising privacy. Some of the most talked-about shows are by US label The Row, which began its phone ban at Paris Fashion Week 2024 by leaving chic notebooks on guests’ seats, encouraging them to take notes and sketch instead.
Equally, Loro Piana often hosts private customer get-togethers; access to such events is the ultimate luxury as far as the brand is concerned. Bottega Veneta, too, chose to close its Instagram account in 2021 and host more intimate evening shows. “I can’t limit my team’s creativity to a small square,” CEO Leo Rongone told me.
It’s about time that the rest of the industry follows suit, prioritising creativity once. Brands would do well to remember that the ultimate influencers are the customers shopping in-store.
