How Do You Put On A Fashion Show During A Pandemic?

Adapt is all Rhude’s Rhuigi Villaseñor has done over the past few months. His new Spring 2021 collection, presented in a video posted to the brand’s website Sunday morning, is emblematic of all the ways fashion has been forced to change in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The collection is more concise, to start. It’s all produced in more traditional—even plodding—ways. Inspiration is pulled from wistful ideas of vacations in beachy locales, and documentaries binged on the couch. The clothes envision a brave new world: how do you sell a suit for men so used to sweats they’re swearing off button-closure pants for life? This is all a fantastic relief considering the alternative. In March, it was difficult to imagine a near-term future that involved fashion shows and new clothes. Squint your eyes and you might be able to conjure some new wacky knits, collaborative Nike kicks, or maybe even an evolved mid-layer garment but the reality was fashion shows as we knew them were off the table. However, the last week has proven the fashion industry to be much more elastic than we could have imagined bunkered in our homes in March. “I’m all for it,” Rhude’s Rhuigi Villaseñor says of the changes. “This is what we’re given. So it’s—what is the Darwin thing?—it’s not the fastest or the strongest, it’s who adapts.” Villaseñor’s new collection, titled “The Audacity to Dream,” is the story of how fashion keeps moving forward in a world that can so often feel like it’s on pause. Read more at GQ.