Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele revealed by way of diary entries on Instagram that the fashion brand will “abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence.” Instead of engaging in the traditional fashion calendar of “cruise, pre-fall, spring/summer, autumn/winter,” Michele says, “We will meet just twice a year, to share the chapters of a new story. Irregular, joyful and absolutely free chapters, which will be written blending rules and genres, feeding on new spaces, linguistic codes and communication platforms.”
The news of Gucci comes just weeks after fellow Kering-owned brand Yves Saint Laurent revealed that it will not present its collections “in any of the pre-set schedules of 2020.” “Conscious of the current circumstance and its waves of radical change,” a nod to the spread of the COVID-19 and the sizable impact that it has had on brands’ current operations and bottom lines, as well as their plans for the future, “Saint Laurent has decided to take control of its pace and reshape its schedule.” “Now more than ever, the brand will lead its own rhythm, legitimating the value of time and connecting with people globally by getting closer to them in their own space and lives.”
Belgian designer Dries Van Noten too made headlines, saying,“It is not normal to buy winter clothes in May. It doesn’t make sense,” Van Noten said this month, reflecting on the status quo of the fashion system. More than merely being impractical, the Belgian designer said that such a schedule is “not respectful to the customer, who buys at full price, [only] to see it marked down 50 percent six weeks later.”
Along with Keith and Carmi, Van Noten issued and open letter and laid out a number of steps that they say they hope will enable the multi-trillion dollar fashion industry to “become more responsible for our impact on our customers, on the planet and on the fashion community. Since the letter was released, hundreds of designers, executives, retailers, and public relations heads – from Tory Burch and Jil Sander have come forward to sign, to voluntary initiate.
However, despite these increasing calls for industry-wide change, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Kering and Chanel have been relatively hesitant to jump on the bandwagon.
