FIRETALKWITHME proposes a new way of feeling, conveying and communicating fashion to an audience that increasingly demands advertising honesty, brand consistency and creative talent.

Following the state of alarm and lockdowns caused by the pandemic in 2020, there has been much reflection on identity, the need for community and connectivity.

Amidst this exceptional context, our era has been marked by a proliferation of demands for social justice and a call to reckon with historically entrenched racism. In addition, we are witnessing a growing awareness of the climate crisis and increasing sensitivity to the challenges posed by ecology and sustainability.

All of this has led fashion brands and designers to understand that telling a new story should not just be about ‘telling more,’ but about producing meaningful narratives that build community and engage both the brand and the consumer. Today more than ever, there is no fashion product or image without a story, and stories are written with an eye to the present and the future.

FIRETALKWITHME has as its central theme fashion’s commitment to the individual, their social and political environment, and historical context. It is a window through which we can find a special meaning that goes far beyond beauty, under a unifying theme that is none other than bringing emotions to light through creativity in extreme circumstances.

This audiovisual exhibition aims to echo this renewed relationship between fashion brands and the viewer or consumer in hostile times. Hence the selection of some of the most creative, committed and thoughtful examples of communication devised throughout 2020 for the SS21 collections.

FIRETALKWITHME takes us on a journey through a multitude of concerns: from the longing for serenity in Saint Laurent’s desert paradises or the hopeful search through the darkness of Balenciaga, to Cecilie Bahnsen’s wandering and dreamy stroll and Feng Chen Wang’s desire for connectivity and community. From the invention of new habitable and symbolic spaces in Thom Browne or the existential and sustainability concerns in Marine Serre, to the nostalgic creativity of Moschino or the ode to beauty between light and shadow in Valentino. From Loewe’s desire to engage the viewer with new formats in response to the times, to Harris Reed’s dialogue on gender and sexuality, and Palomo Spain’s need to return to its roots. From the mysticism in the reinvention of universes as escape routes in Boramy Viguier, to Rokh’s wild and adventurous spirit and Simone Rocha’s escapist intimacy. From the nostalgia of memory alongside Raf Simons’ vision of the future to Richard Malone’s notion of time as luxury or Kiko Kostadinov’s interactive space as a quest for self-affirmation. From Eva Iszoro’s idea of isolation to Txell Miras’s idea of identity. From racial issues in GmbH and Thebe Magugu to Vivienne Westwood’s poetic ecological vindication. And finally, a journey through Xander Zhou’s disjointed futuristic intimacy, full of personalities.

Perhaps it is time to harness the transformative potential of fashion and, in the face of adversity, propose a communicative energy that is consistent with the pulse of the present. Perhaps it is time for fashion and its audience to converse with fire and use the flames to ignite a new perspective.