Digital Shows Cast Personalities As Models
● Performers and personalities, like Ella Emhoff, bring a new look to the runway.
No seat assignment, no problem. In the digital fashion era, watching runway collections is as easy as channel surfing (sofa and sweats, optional).
On Tuesday, Stuart Vevers is taking the concept literally, premiering a TV-themed “Coach Forever” fall collection with an all-star cast that includes Jennifer Lopez, Michael B. Jordan, Megan Thee Stallion, Kaia Gerber, Hari Nef, TikTokker Wisdom Kaye, musician Jon Batiste and more in short videos that will channel surf genres and references to Coach’s pop culture history.
“To make images and film come alive you need personality and character, it’s not just about recording the look, it’s about bringing the attitude,” said Vevers.
The pandemic shift to digital fashion shows has put a premium on models who are personalities and performers
(hello, Ella Emhoff at Proenza Schouler), harking back to Halston’s 1970s heyday, when he used Andy Warhol star Pat Ast as his muse and model, alongside Hollywood royalty Anjelica Huston and others.
“A few years ago, people were saying we need girls with Instagram followings, now we’ve realized it’s not just Instagram followings, it’s personality,” said casting director Ashley Brokaw, whose clients include Proenza Schouler, Coach and Prada. “Aside from just a still photograph, which is what everyone relied on five to 10 years ago, there’s now all this other content brands want and need, so it’s video, it’s speaking, it’s being able to not necessarily act, but to have that kind of X factor that is more than just a pretty face...It almost makes my job harder, because the sky’s the limit.”
During the casting process, Brokaw no longer just asks for pictures, she asks for personality videos, where prospective models speak about something they are passionate about. “I get videos of people skateboarding and knitting. Obviously, especially now, you can’t meet everyone in person so you are mining TikTok to see what they are really like. It’s amazing how creative real people can be,” she said, noting that new agencies are cropping up focusing specifically on personalities for digital content. “Ahead of fashion week, I will get emails saying ‘I’m representing three people, one is a contortionist,’ and you keep it in a file in case you ever need something that’s really out there.”
Of course, Vevers is not the only one bringing more entertainment to the digital runway realm; recent months have seen Gucci’s seven-part “Ouverture” series featuring Billie Eilish and Harry Styles; Christian Dior’s “Le Château du Tarot” haute couture film starring Italian actress Agnese Claisse; and Ermenegildo Zegna’s “The (Re)set” film depicting a new genderless beginning for the heritage men’s suit brand, to name a few.
Even smaller brands have gotten in on the act. Last week, Christian Cowan — with a financial assist from Motorola’s Razr — released his fall collection via a hilarious short film titled “A Fashion Thing” starring Paris Hilton and “Saturday Night Live’s” Chloe Fineman and Bowen Yang.
“With fashion shows largely experienced through our screens these days, storytelling through casting has become even more critical to the success of a designer’s collection. By casting intriguing personalities for their virtual runways, films or look books, designers add an entertainment overlay to their collection’s debut, driving greater buzz, viewership and engagement online,” said Ivan Bart, president of IMG Models and Fashion, who was early to the models-as-personalities trend, specifically seeing the appeal of Hollywood progeny.