Fashion Month is Obsolete

2020 has been a year of change in all aspects of the word. Undoubtedly, the fashion industry has been heavily impacted by this rapid change. The coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench in plans for spring collections, corporate mergers, in-person presentations and many other previously expected parts of the industry system.

By the end of fashion month in February, the anxiety surrounding international gatherings indicated the impending impact of the virus.The tidal wave of change had designers and companies rethinking their strategies during fashion week and if they should even participate. Changes that were already on the rise have come to the forefront of industry-leader’s minds, begging the question that has been lurking in the shadows in recent years: Is fashion month obsolete.

The concept of fashion shows has been around almost as long as couture itself. In the early days of high fashion, the late 19th and early 20th centuries, couturiers like Charles Worth and later Christian Dior would invite their clientele to their ateliers for a showing of their new styles and fabrics for the season. The women would then place their personal orders as they mingled with their peers and trusted fashion designers. 

With the mid-century rise of department stores and ready-to-wear collections, fashion shows focused on the buyers for these stores. As the focus shifted away from couture, shows were an opportunity for designers to share their new collection, impress the buyers, and gain retail value. 

In the 2000s, celebrity culture and social media brought an entirely new purpose to the industry and fashion shows. Shows became media events, generating publicity for the brands while claiming to uphold the tradition started by couturiers decades prior.

Soon enough, the fashion cycle turned into a hamster wheel for designers, who are expected to produce more than 6 collections annually, with collections being shown possibly a year in advance of the actual season. This system expects buyers and designers to have a crystal ball, predicting tastes of the future instead of creating clothing for the present.

Prior to the pandemic, creatives within the industry were already fed up with the demands and obsolescence of the system. Aside from buyers and top couture clients, there was no longer a real need for the over-the-top production and media circus that came so often with ready-to-wear collections. Even with New York designers, brands like Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren were already changing their fashion month plans in favor of a more modern system that made sense for their companies. Between Tom Ford leaving New York fashion for Los Angeles, Calvin Klein discontinuing its runway collection completely, and Ralph Lauren writing his own calendar, it’s clear that change in the fashion system has been long contemplated. With the spread of the coronavirus, every brand was forced to take these considerations seriously, reevaluating the system in which they operated. 

Many ideas — including digital shows and intimate showrooms — have been explored as possibilities for the future of fashion. These changes were hastily made to replace in-person presentations, but many brands are considering making these changes permanent. While buyers are concerned about the inability to see fabrics in person, the upsides to a new system are clear. 

Many are concerned about the environmental impact of fashion shows: flying in international guests for productions and taking on massive amounts of resources adds to the footprint of an already irresponsible industry. Most sets for shows are disposable, with goodies for guests generating lots of waste. Many have called out fashion brands for this tradition, with high-profile event producers like Alex de Betak going public with plans to improve sustainability. 

In addition to the irresponsible environmental practices, many designers are frustrated with the rapid calendar and expectation of constant production. Fashion should be a creative art, but designers have been thrust into a system that expects machine-like levels of production. With the pandemic, many have come out in support of abandoning the fashion calendar. Gucci, Saint Laurent and Armani, for example, have recently abandoned the fashion schedule. Some, like Gucci, have announced plans to show only twice per year, while others have not announced solidified plans at all. 

Others have called for labels to release collections slowly and consistently throughout the year in an attempt to keep clothing on the rack for longer. The coronavirus has especially highlighted a pitfall of the hectic calendar, generating huge amounts of unsold merchandise. This deadstock is frequently burned or pushes brands to implement large discounts—  effectively cheapening their own products. To go seasonless would not only be helpful for fashion’s environmental crisis, but its businesses.

Yet, even these benefits have downsides. Without fashion month, emerging designers have a much more difficult time getting noticed and buyers are less able to get an accurate look at fabrics and garments. Recently, brands like Jacquemus and Bode have used their shows as an opportunity to gain acclaim and notoriety. Multiple solutions to this have been proposed, like hosting more intimate showrooms with buyers, mailing out swatches of fabrics, and trying out a variety of social media platforms. While the foreseeable future indicates digital presentations being the norm, in the long-term, many brands may choose to continue them. The efficacy of online shows is yet to be determined, but fashion’s precarious position in the pandemic has proven that a new system must quickly take shape. 

While reimagining the traditional industry, calls for sustainability may finally have an answer and creatives may finally be released from their restrictive schedule.