“Fashion shows are the new art form, more exciting than the theater,” Andy Warhol said to the New York Times fashion critic Bernadine Morris in 1977. As a frequent front-row guest at Halston and Yves Saint Laurent, the artist witnessed the form’s evolution from intimate salon presentations to highly coordinated performances. As with theater, part of the thrill of watching that sort of event live is the knowledge that, at any moment, something could go wrong. At a fashion show, that might mean inclement weather, model collisions or late-arriving celebrity guests. In 1993, Naomi Campbell took her infamous tumble in eight-inch platforms at Vivienne Westwood; Marc Jacobs’s spring 2008 show started two hours behind schedule because the shoes were still en route; and in 1990, at a Michael Kors show, the music was so bass-heavy that it caused part of the ceiling to collapse.
Obviously, these mishaps are unwanted and especially daunting for those with fewer runway shows under their belt. At the same time, they can add to the heart and personality of the proceedings — and make the show memorable in a good way. Then, too, it might be a comfort, given this season’s many debuts, to know they can happen to anyone. With Paris Fashion Week underway, seven designers talk about the ordeals they experienced — and survived.
Mike Eckhaus, 38, of Eckhaus Latta: Fall 2016
We had our fall 2016 show at the MoMA PS1 geodesic dome that used to be in the museum’s courtyard. We were slotted at 9:30 p.m. on a Monday night. I remember a media outlet wrote that it was the first fashion show in Queens. It started snowing heavily, and we thought no one was going to make it. We rehearsed inside the museum and had to walk all the models across the courtyard [to the dome] while huddled under umbrellas and Mylar blankets. A few looks got snow splattered, to say the least. We had the models walk in a spiral at a breakneck pace to very heavy techno. The energy was electric. When [he and his co-designer, Zoe Latta] finally came out, we saw the space was packed to the gills. I think this might have been my favorite show.
Olivier Rousteing, 40, of Balmain: Spring 2024
Ten days before our show in September 2023, I went to the office at 9 a.m. and waited for the last pieces for our show. Then our delivery driver called: His truck had been hijacked and 50 pieces stolen. I was heartbroken and shocked. I felt, honestly, a deep sense of vulnerability. That collection represented months of work, not just for me but for the entire team. Friends from other brands told me, “Oliver, what you’re going though is the nightmare of any designer.” Very quickly, though, the heartbreak turned into resolve. We owed it to ourselves and to the public — and to the legacy of Balmain — to keep moving forward. We managed to recreate 70 percent of the stolen pieces. The team’s strength was incredible. Day and night, people were sourcing, sketching, sewing, reinventing. There was no ego, no hesitation, just unity. In the end, it wasn’t the exact collection we’d first imagined, but it was authentic. It came from our hearts.
Ditte Reffstrup, 47, of Ganni: Spring 2020
I’ll never forget our 10-year-anniversary show in 2019. We held it outdoors in Copenhagen with Danish musician MØ performing live. Just as the finale began, the skies opened and it started pouring. At first, it felt like a nightmare. It could’ve been chaos, but almost instantly the whole energy shifted and everyone — from the crowd to the runway models — started dancing together in the rain, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Victor Weinsanto, 31: Spring 2024
My spring 2024 collection was called Perfect Day, and the concept was about flowers. It’s not my favorite collection ever, but I was most proud of the final look, the vase dress: a full-body corset with a headpiece made out of two layers of a crinoline-like fabric, with dried flowers sewn in between. I wanted the dress to look like a vase of blooms that had turned into potpourri — I always like to inject a bit of humor into what I do. When we did the fittings and rehearsals with the model, we didn’t practice with the lights on at their brightest. On the day of the show, when the lights were at full intensity, the poor model, who already couldn’t see very clearly out of the headpiece, was blinded. Our show was at a nightclub, and the catwalk was very complicated, with lots of turns. At one point, the model got her foot stuck in the dress and stopped in the middle of the runway. I ran out from backstage to help her, and we finished walking the runway together. She said, “Thank God you came!”
Rejina Pyo, 42: Spring 2022
I’d always wanted to do a show by the water. During our research for our spring 2022 show, we discovered the London Aquatics Centre, which was designed by [the British Iraqi architect] Zaha Hadid, and something clicked. At the time I was hugely pregnant, so I really wanted to show the strength of women. We opened the show with the professional divers Emily Martin, Josie Zillig and Robyn Birch [doing a choreographed diving sequence] in our swimwear to an electronic soundtrack curated by the D.J. Mimi Xu. We’d really had to persuade them to be in it; they said they were more nervous being in the show than in the Olympics. It took months to choreograph the diving performance and sync it precisely with the music. Designing swimwear that could withstand the impact from a 10-meter jump was also a process of trial and error — sometimes the outfits would break or come off. On the day, we had time for just one full dress rehearsal with the divers and models. When the show opened, it felt so precarious and there was this tension in the air. But when it all came together in the moment, it was magic.
Charlotte Knowles, 33, and Alexandre Arsenault, 36, of Knwls: Spring 2026
At one point, we genuinely thought there might be no show. The van carrying our entire collection and its painstakingly itemized customs document went rogue. First, it broke down in France, then the GPS gave up and, finally, the driver disappeared off the map, ignoring calls for seven hours. With no word, we feared the worst — everything from “Is the driver taking a nap?” to “Has there been an accident?” We almost veered into conspiracy theory territory. (“Was the courier company even legit? Was this all some elaborate scam?”) It was three-and-a-half days before the show, and we didn’t have a backup plan — we joked that we might have to pull all the Knwls pieces the team had packed from their personal wardrobes. We’ve had shipments delayed at customs because of slow processing, but never the entire collection at once. It was meant to arrive at 1 p.m. on Saturday; it finally rolled in at 1 a.m. on Sunday. A dramatic turn before our Milan debut.
Gareth Pugh, 44: Spring 2006
For my spring 2006 show [hosted by Fashion East, a London incubator for emerging talent], I wanted something strong and defiant, with an otherworldly oddness. I asked Casey Spooner of the [electroclash] band Fischerspooner to walk in the finale. We made him an illuminated coat inspired by the singer Klaus Nomi’s iconic black patent tuxedo look. I used pretty cutting-edge (for the time at least!) technology: big sheets of thin, flexible plastic screen-printed with a phosphorescent powder, with copper running through it. The plastic was then laminated to seal everything in. However, the pattern pieces for the coat had to be cut, which exposed the [electric materials] inside. I tried on the prototype myself, and it was quite a strong shock whenever the [electric parts] came into contact with your skin. We actually asked Casey to sign a death waiver before wearing the coat. He didn’t blink and just signed it; I appreciated the dedication to the cause! Thanks to the rubber boots we’d also made for him, he was protected somewhat from the potential shocks. Casey had to make his entrance in total darkness. It was quite a nail-biting wait before the suit was switched on, and it was touch and go as to whether it was even going to work, or if it would blow out all of the power. At one point, somebody took a picture and I thought the camera flash on the playback monitor was Casey short-circuiting. But it actually worked, and it was an amazing moment.
These interviews have been edited and condensed.
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