Four weeks in February and September of back to back fashion shows and events belong to the past. The fashion weeks era is over. No more journalists, bloggers, influencers and fashion enthusiasts flying from New York to London and then Milan and Paris to be in the front rows of the major fashion shows in the most iconic buildings of the four fashion capitals of the world. The post pandemic era of the fashion industry will be extremely different and change has already begun.
Giorgio Armani says “relax!“
The first coronavirus outbreak in Italy happened during the Milan fashion week last February. The brands which had their shows at the beginning of the week had the time to still have their guests sitting right next the catwalk, but those which were scheduled later in that week had to have their shows behind close doors. Moncler cancelled its event “Moncler Genius 2020” scheduled on the 23rd while Laura Biagiotti and Armani decided to stream their collections on-line. And was Giorgio Armani himself who in April decided that the fashion system needed a change. The “Maestro” or as the Milanese use to call him “The King” has written an open letter to the magazine WWD through which he basically states that fashion should not be fast anymore and that a realignement of seasons, collections and store availability is now more than ever a necessity:
“This crisis is an opportunity to slow down and realign everything; to define a more meaningful landscape. I have been working with my teams for three weeks so that, after the lockdown, the summer collections will remain in the boutiques at least until the beginning of September, as it is natural. And so we will do from now on.“
Gucci says “no more!”
If Giorgio Armani has asked to change how we perceive luxury items and their use, Gucci, through its artistic director Alessandro Michele has gone further. Mr Michele in a post on Instagram has declared that Gucci will not be part anymore of the fashion weeks rotation.
After some comments about the whole lockdown-stayathome-quarantine situation Alessandro Michele has written:
“Therefore I will abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonality and shows to regain a new cadence , closer to my expressive call. We will meet just twice a year. to share the chapters of a new story.”
Something has changed, definitely. Men and women collections will be shown at the same time. Seasonality of clothing items will not be defined anymore by weather conditions. It’s the beginning of new chapter which will have its effect on the whole industry. Fashion magazines and their gurus ( Anna Wintour be prepared) might not be the ones who decide who lives and who dies. These two powerful statemets by two of the most powerful people in the fashion system will for sure shape the new era of fashion.
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