Is Runway Fashion Accessible?

As Milan Fashion Week 2025 comes to a close and Paris Fashion Week continues its walks, viewers are left in awe, once again, by this season’s masterful creations. Brands like Ferragamo and Missoni engaged with their viewers through a display of their heritage and the roots of their design identity, giving luxury an authentic name this season.

Runway fashion has long since been a marker of prestige—designers putting their greatest creations on the runway is a form of press release for brands that do not partake in conventional advertising or magazine fillers. Fashion weeks are also a time for brands to highlight a new beginning—such as Gucci with the departure of their designer Sabato De Sarno just weeks before Milan Fashion Week.

Aside from the deep-rooted history and legacy of these brands, what do the “big names” really represent? In an age where everything is digitized—from media to paid promotions to influencers—what is it that keeps these rather costly events from falling victim to a post-pandemic shutdown?

In an industry described more and more as being fast and non-cyclical, runway fashion and luxury brands contradict this rising philosophy. Fast fashion, a concept swallowed down by impressionable Gen Z consumers, has only risen over the past decade. Defined by high production quantity and low-quality materials, fast fashion is dangerous to the planet and its inhabitants.

While luxury brands have come under the spotlight recently for unethical practices, exploitation of workers, and overall unsustainable growth, these fashion weeks mask the industry’s flaws with leather, lace, and everything in between.

The real question, then, is who keeps these events running? The Gen Z population has never been more out of touch from luxury fashion than it is now. With the “No Buy in 2025” trend rising in popularity, Gen Z has taken an extremist approach to underconsumption and sustainability, primarily due to a shift in values. The fast fashion trend has not only weaned consumers from constant consumption, but it has also shifted them away from consumption altogether.

Status symbols look different today than they did a decade ago. Consumers are opting towards symbols of wealth rather than riches—going on an extravagant vacation as opposed to spending $20 thousand dollars on a logoed handbag.

When luxury brands lose sight of their origin and their vision—selling a logo as opposed to a beautifully crafted product—the consumer shies away. There is a complete disconnect between the products that consumers can shop from in-store versus what they see walk down the runway. The reason for the persistence of these fashion weeks, why they haven’t succumbed to the pitfalls that the industry has experienced in the past five years, is because the walks are authentic, true, and overall representative of the heart of the brand.

When Giorgio Armani walks down the runway, viewers are not there to see what pieces they can walk home with that very day. Rather, the audience expects to marvel in a decades-long tradition that marks the evolution of style, all portrayed through a look.

However, the aforementioned rise of fast fashion has begun to seep into runway shows with fashion houses crafting looks for the runway in a short span of time, sacrificing their creative vision for short-term gain. The monetization of fashion weeks furthers this concept and discourages brands from crafting truly authentic pieces, catering to consumers’ yearning for ready-to-wear pieces.

What once was the traditional runway show predicating the outlook for the season has now shifted to ready-to-wear shows influencing trends, empowering consumers to engage with the mass-production and low-quality values that these brands are starting to embody. The rise of influencers and social media does not help this shift—influencers are frequenting fashion weeks more and more, a strategy that designers are utilizing to expand their reach to younger generations.

Runway fashion is a revival of the past in a present that is uncertain. The fashion industry is changing—from designer turnover to a spotlight on production to shifting consumer trends. The one thing viewers can rely on each season is the walk.