Fashion Films As A Medium For Cultural Diplomacy

Film as a medium of diplomacy has historically transcended brewing conflicts and changing borders. The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for the Soviet classic “Moscow Doesn’t Believe In Tears” was awarded in 1981 at the height of the Cold War and helped re-humanize the Soviet people in the eyes of a world caught amidst propaganda wars. Fashion has never been too far from the international relations scene as well. Much discussed images of First Lady of the United States Melania Trump still speak volumes to the political power of style. No wonder that fashion film as an emergent genre keeps true to its diplomatic mission roots.

From the open landscapes to the vacuum-tight spaces of memory, this fashion season was held during an unprecedented time, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, yielding new, creative ways to showcase fashion. In Russia, designers and brands presented digital fashion films in lieu of the in-person runway shows. It was the premier online edition of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia F/W 2020. Socially distant, yet globally accessible!

In just under 30 minutes of total screening time, the 16 specially selected films below preserved the cultural zeitgeist, and provided a rare insight into the mindset of a current generation of Russian designers, performers and artists facing the ever-mounting pressures of contemporary politics, business and love. Life appears as an intoxicating exploration of styles in a form of cinematic spectacle that foregrounds costume, adornment, and visual mood as the all-six-senses vehicle for pleasure. Not to be missed!

Brudekjoler