Change is coming to the Fashion Week schedule. Just weeks after Rebecca Minkoff introduced her consumer-facing model, major fashion houses Burberry and Tom Ford announced fashion shows that coincide with in-store deliveries.
Burberry will send “seasonless” collections down the runway starting September of this year. They’ll present two annual shows with items available immediately after the models leave the runway. “Our shows have been evolving to close this gap for some time,” Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey told WWD. “From live-streams, to ordering straight from the runway, to live social media campaigns, this is the latest step in a creative process that will continue to evolve.”
[ Why the Outdated Fashion Week Model Needs to Change ]
Tom Ford is eager to close “the gap between runway and retail” as well, he revealed today in a press release. His Fall 2016 menswear and womenswear collections, showing in September, will be available for immediate purchase. “We spend an enormous amount of money and energy to stage an event that creates excitement too far in advance of when the collection is available to the consumer,” he said in a statement. “Showing the collection as it arrives in stores will remedy this, and allow the excitement that is created by a show or event to drive sales and satisfy our customers’ increasing desire to have their clothes as they are ready to wear them.”
With major fashion brands like Tom Ford and Burberry on board, it’s only a matter of time before Fashion Weeks across the globe abandon our antiquated system once and for all. Brands like Rebecca Minkoff and Laquan Smith are already ahead of the curve, presenting consumer-facing shows for Fashion Week this February. It will be interesting to see if the new model translates into increased sales for each of these brands.
[via WWD]
