How Has The Red Carpet Changed In The Age Of Coronavirus?

As the world slowly reopens, it’s not just shops and restaurants that are coming out of hibernation. The red carpet is back in business, albeit in a very different format to what we’ve come to expect. Gone are the cosy group shots and the air kisses. In the age of coronavirus, it’s all about coordinating your mask to your outfit (or saying ‘stuff it!’ and simply going the disposable route like Cate Blanchett) and a socially-distanced step-and-repeat. We haven’t yet witnessed an elbow bump, but unfortunately it’s probably not long before someone cracks one out.

At Sunday’s VMAs, the red carpet actually looked pretty normal. Miley Cyrus chose a fabulously sheer strapless dress with matching opera gloves by Mugler, while Lady Gaga swept onstage in a spectacularly voluminous gown by Christopher John Rogers with, you guessed it, a horned face mask that looked like a viking helmet. It was a world away from ‘normal’, but at least the ‘new normal’ can still dial up the drama.

The Venice Film Festival, which kicked off on Tuesday, produced a rival for Lady Gaga. On yesterday’s red carpet, Tilda Swinton alternated between a white face covering and a metallic butterfly which she held in front of her nose. Medically-certifiable? Perhaps not, but fabulous? Hell, yes.

It was Cate Blanchett, however, who really showed how much the red carpet might change, recycling a gown she first wore in 2015 for yesterday’s Lacci premiere.

Rewearing one’s gown isn’t new, but it certainly isn’t mainstream. Yet. The coronavirus has certainly made the fashion industry rethink its ‘more, more, more’ approach to making clothes. A form of mea culpa, if you like, came earlier this year, when the CFDA and BFC joined forces to lay the groundwork for a radical reset. The general theme was that the pandemic had provided a unique opportunity to ‘slow down’ and, basically, stop the rampant over-production that is both hurting our planet and overwhelming the consumer.

Department stores have been hit hard by the months-long closures, not to mention plummeting footfall, but they too are starting to see that a more sustainable approach to business is the only way forward. Last month, Selfridges announced its new sustainability project, Project Earth, an ambitious initiative that will radically change the business and its customer mindset by 2025.

For mere mortals, whose red carpet moment hasn’t yet materialised, what does all this mean for their wardrobe habits? It could be renting a wedding guest outfit instead of buying five in one year - as part of Project Earth, Selfridges is partnering with the rental service HURR - or perhaps not buying anything new at all this September (like Michaela Coel). One thing’s certain. If you owned Blanchett’s gown, why wouldn’t you wear it again?

READ MORE: Cate Blanchett Recycled Her Esteban Cortázar Gown On The Venice Film Festival Red Carpet