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Gucci leaves the seasonal fashion-week calendar behind

Photo credit: Venturelli - Getty Images
Photo credit: Venturelli - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

In news that will send shockwaves through the luxury fashion industry, powerhouse Gucci has announced that it is stepping away from the seasonal calendar for good, and will be cutting down from five to two shows a year.

Although this announcement follows a similar pattern that we have seen at numerous other fashion labels of late, Gucci's inclusion is so important because of its huge influence as one of the most well-known and lucrative fashion houses on the planet.

Alessandro Michele, the Italian fashion brand's creative director made the announcement over the weekend with a series of personal diary entries posted on Gucci's Instagram account. The designer also held a virtual press conference from Rome, where he said of the current spring/summer and autumn/winter system: "I think these are stale and underfed words, clothes should have a longer life than that which these words attribute to them."

Gucci usually hosts five shows a year, but going forward will instead present just two collections, and both of these will be seasonless. It is expected that these changes will be adopted immediately, meaning that the brand will not show anything this September, when the spring/summer 2021 shows were scheduled to take place. Many of these will likely be postponed, cancelled or turned into virtual offerings anyway as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Photo credit: Daniele Venturelli - Getty Images
Photo credit: Daniele Venturelli - Getty Images


Gucci's announcement follows the news in mid May that a number of key designers (including Dries van Noten, Erdem Moralioglu, Gabriela Hearst, Joseph Altuzarra, Tory Burch, Craig Green, and the designers behind Proenza Schouler) had signed an open letter proposing a clear plan for transforming the industry. This involved switching the seasonal calendar around and cutting back on sales.

"Put the autumn/winter season back in winter (August/January) and spring/summer season back in summer (February/July)," the letter said. "Create a more balanced flow of deliveries through the season to provide newness but also time for products to create desire. Finally, discount at the end of the season in order to allow for more full-price selling – January for autumn/winter and July for spring/summer."

Before this, Saint Laurent announced that it would be creating its own calendar, no longer showing on the Paris Fashion Week schedule, taking ownership of its pace, and will launch its collections "following a plan conceived with an up-to-date perspective, driven by creativity".

These changes being adopted by major fashion brands are incredibly significant for what the traditional fashion week might soon look like. An event which has been in major need of an overhaul for a long time, changes in the system have now been accelerated by the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused the traditional shows to be postponed or cancelled, while the retail industry has suffered greatly, causing many key figures to sit back and find a new way to make this work.

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