On Tuesday morning, as the Santa Ana winds were still blowing in Los Angeles, the fashion world continued to hold its breath. The industry was waiting on Hollywood to signal whether or not any major talents would be headed to the menswear shows next week, or the couture shows the week after… not to mention the women’s ready-to-wear shows in February and March, which were already being negatively impacted by the Oscars falling this year on March 2, between Milan and Paris, forcing houses to stretch resources while staging the runway and front row and outfitting A-list stars on the red carpet. “The big houses are worried,” one C-suite luxury executive told me. “We know the celebrity impact.”
This person was articulating a refrain I’ve heard increasingly in the past few days. While the unspeakable devastation wrought by the wildfires on lives and property in L.A. will unfold over decades—likely costing tens of billions of dollars and playing out in unprecedented ways—one not entirely unpredictable challenge has already emerged within the fashion industry: the fires’ impact on the already scrambled shows. The disaster will almost certainly depress movie star attendance in Europe—a blow to the houses and designers who are increasingly reliant on big name talent as part of the ever-evolving fashion-celebrity symbiosis.
