Coronavirus: All these fashion weeks and major events have been cancelled or postponed

The 2020 Met Gala has become one of the latest fashion events to be indefinitely postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus. The annual fashion gala will not take place as scheduled at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, in the wake of COVID-19 — the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus — closures. US-based Centres For Disease Control has cautioned against gatherings of 50 people or more for the coming weeks — a direct conflict with the Met Gala's original date: May 4, 2020. On Monday, creative director of Condé Nast, and Met Gala co-chair, Anna Wintour, shared in an article (https://www.vogue.com/article/anna-wintour-joe-biden-covid-19-the-met-gala) posted to Vogue’s website: "Due to the unavoidable and responsible decision by the Metropolitan Museum to close its doors, About Time, and the opening night gala, will not take place on the date scheduled."

The theme of the 2020 Met Gala was "About Time: Fashion and Duration," and co-hosts included Hollywood stars Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Louis Vuitton's creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere, and, of course, Anna Wintour. The most recent year that the Met Gala was not held was in 2002, due to the 9/11 terror attacks in the US. 

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Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia, set for Sydney in early May, 2020, was cancelled on Tuesday, after non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people were banned across Australia in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus — Prime Minister Scott Morrison had announced the ban on Friday. "The health and safety of everyone involved remains our top priority. We thank our incredible designers, producers, partners and staff for their support of the Australian fashion community, and look forward to celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2021," a post on Fashion Week Australia's official Instagram account read.

Since the novel coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late December, COVID-19 has spread globally, and new cases are being reported daily around the world. With at least 140 countries affected by the virus, 10,048 people have died from COVID-19 (latest numbers as this article is being written), while more than 245,916 infections have been confirmed, according to the World Health Organization as of March 20.

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As the coronavirus outbreak spreads, so does its effect on the fashion industry — and it’s not just in Asia. The novel coronavirus hit Italy in the midst of Milan Fashion Week, in late February, 2020, causing many fashion designers to rethink how they’d present their collections. Giorgio Armani, for one, barred an audience at his runway show on February 23, 2020, later posting videos on the brand’s website and social media platforms of the collection shown in an empty theatre. The coronavirus continues to have an adverse effect on designer labels, many of which have had to cancel or postpone their upcoming fashion shows — Ralph Lauren cancelled his show planned for New York in April, while Gucci, and Versace cancelled or postponed their shows planned for May. 

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Meanwhile, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone cancelled her trip to Paris Fashion Week autumn/winter 2020 earlier in March, because of the coronavirus scare. "Deepika Padukone was scheduled to travel to France to attend Louis Vuitton's show at the Paris Fashion Week, but had to cancel her trip with news coming in that the coronavirus epidemic has now entered a new stage in France," her spokesperson had said at the time.

In early March, Lotus India Fashion Week 2020 — which was to be held in Delhi from March 11-15, 2020 — was postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak in India. The organizers, FDCI (Fashion Design Council of India), took the step after the first cases of COVID-19 hit India, and made the announcement on their official Instagram account on March 5, 2020, posting: "With regard to the growing concerns around the spread of COVID-19 in New Delhi and keeping in mind the health and safety of our fraternity (including members, guests travelling from across the globe and support teams), Fashion Design Council of India has decided to postpone Lotus Makeup India Fashion Week to a later and more appropriate date. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused, but trust you understand the sensitivity of the situation."

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Lotus India Fashion Week joined a growing list of other international events that have been postponed or cancelled out of precaution, including Tokyo Fashion Week, Seoul Fashion Week, Shanghai Fashion Week, and Beijing Fashion Week. Here, we compile a list of the fashion weeks and major events cancelled or disrupted because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

•    Armani: The designer house revealed on March 5, 2020 that it is postponing its cruise 2021 show in Dubai, which was scheduled for April 19 and 20, 2020. The show was meant to coincide with the reopening of the Giorgio Armani boutique at the Dubai Mall. It is now postponed for November, 2020.

•    Dior: Dior has indefinitely postponed its resort 2021 show in Italy on May 9, 2020.

•    Gucci: Gucci revealed on March 2, 2020 that it has cancelled its resort 2021 show in San Francisco on May 18, 2020.

•    Hermès: Hermès has cancelled its resort 2021 show in London on April 28, 2020.

•    Max Mara: Max Mara has cancelled its resort 2021 show scheduled for May 25, 2020 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

•    Prada: Prada is postponing its resort 2021 show, scheduled for May 21, 2020 in Japan.

•    Versace: Versace has postponed its cruise 2021 show scheduled for May 16, 2020 in the US. 

•    Burberry: The British design house is postponing its fall 2020 runway show in Shanghai, which was scheduled for April 23, 2020. The show was meant to debut exclusive pieces made for the region.

•    Ralph Lauren: Ralph Lauren has cancelled his upcoming fall 2020 fashion show scheduled for April, 2020 in New York. The designer had skipped out on February’s New York Fashion Week, instead revealing he would show the upcoming collection at an unspecified time in April.

•    Chanel: The design house announced on February 17, 2020 that it is postponing its restaging of the Métiers d’Art show in Beijing, scheduled for May, 2020. The collection was originally presented in Paris on December 4, 2019. Chanel has also cancelled a restaging of the show in London on June 4, 2020.

•    Rosie Assoulin: The designer had cancelled her fall 2020 presentation on March 1, 2020 during Paris Fashion Week.

•    Beijing Fashion Week: Earlier scheduled to run from March 25 to 31, Beijing Fashion Week 2020 has been postponed.

•    New York Bridal Week: On March 13, 2020 the New York Bridal Week — which was scheduled for April 16-20, 2020 — was cancelled with organizers advising all participating brands to postpone or reformat their live shows and presentations digitally.

•    São Paolo Fashion Week: São Paolo Fashion Week has cancelled its spring 2020 edition. It was scheduled to run from April 24 to 28, 2020.

•    Shanghai Fashion Week: Meant to begin on March 26, 2020, Shanghai Fashion Week has been postponed. Organizers are now partnering with Alibaba to create an online platform for designers and brands to present their fall 2020 collections from March 24 to 30, 2020. 

•    Tokyo Fashion Week: Organizers announced on March 2 that the event would be cancelled. Tokyo Fashion Week 2020 was scheduled to run from March 16 to 21.