Meet the man trying to democratise fashion week by turning it into a party

"His aim, he says, is to democratise a famously closed-off industry, and open up the spectacle of fashion week to people who have no chance of ever going themselves. Fashion is always about who is in and who is out, he says. The dichotomy between wanting to be in and out is also real: when you're in you want to be out, and then the opposite."

"Medini is not trying to dismantle the entire fashion establishment, he says, rather he wants to bridge the gap between inside and outside—be the David to its Goliath. The people at the shows, they don't really care that they're there on the front row. But there are people, sitting downstairs, who would kill [to be there]!"

"The initial idea came after he tried and failed to get a seat at Jonathan Anderson's much-anticipated menswear Dior debut last June. I was so mad and hurt, he says. But then I thought, let's just go to the bar I always go to and watch it there."

Elias Medini, a 27-year-old fashion commentator with nearly 500,000 Instagram followers, has created a system to democratize fashion week by livestreaming exclusive shows to large audiences unable to attend. After failing to secure tickets to Jonathan Anderson's Dior menswear debut, Medini organized watch parties at bars and venues, eventually scaling up to 12 organized events during Paris Fashion Week. He livestreams shows from Tom Ford, Saint Laurent, and Chanel to audiences of thousands sitting in auditoriums or gathering at venues. Medini positions himself as a bridge between fashion's exclusive inner circle and passionate outsiders, arguing that while industry insiders lack enthusiasm, excluded fashion enthusiasts possess genuine energy and passion for these events.

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