Research on Chinese Audience's Perception of Online Fashion Week under the Influence of COVID-19

Abstract

Due to COVID-19, numerous offline events could not be hold as scheduled due to the restrictions of the quarantine of the pandemic, and this was also the case for the fashion industry. The 2022 Shanghai Fashion Week therefore opted for a completely online format, an unprecedented form innovation that is new to the industry. From augmented reality shows to meta-verse spaces, the fashion show uses digital technologies to express newest fashion to audiences. Although previous research has studied the audience reception of fashion weeks in China, few are tailored toward purely online fashion weeks. This research analyzes the attitudes of Chinese audiences towards online fashion weeks in the post-pandemic context. The research primarily uses surveys and interviews to obtain the necessary information, with secondary data from 2019 to 2022 collected over the internet. The study finds that on one hand, with its ease of access and with the influence of social media, online fashion week can have a larger exposure than offline. On the other hand, online shows are not a comprehensive presentation of clothes. Because viewers are not able to feel the clothes firsthand, the sales will be negatively affected. Therefore, the combination of "online + offline" fashion shows, having both the viral influence of online and the tangible feel of offline, may be the best of both worlds in the post-epidemic era.