When it comes to fashion weeks, it looks like London is the runt of the litter and it can’t take it anymore. Gucci‘s Frida Giannini ordered most of London’s best models to fly in for a casting in Milan on Saturday, fly back right away, then, if called back, return for a second round of casting Sunday, and come back again for fittings on Monday. For a chance to walk in the name-making Gucci show, 10 out of 19 of designer Todd Lynn‘s models dropped out of the show to attend fittings in Milan.
Frida Giannini backstage with models at Fall 2011
And Giannini isn’t the only designer that’s been bullying poor little London. For his New York show, Marc Jacobs moved his show as late as possible to make up for the time his design team lost due to hurricane Irene. The show ran so late that the Marc Jacobs girls missed the last flight to London on Thursday and had to drop out of Friday’s LFW shows.
All of this scheduling drama doesn’t just affect the select number of girls cast to walk the runway: it includes models holding out as backups and hopefuls until the last possible minute.
London is totally up in arms, but with so many shows back-to-back during fashion month and a global modeling industry, these kinds of casting nightmares are bound to occur. But this mini-scandal raises a question that’s been torturing me for years: why do we need a solid month of high-profile shows spread across four cities? We could use a week off between fashion weeks to gather our strength. Even God gave himself a day of rest.
