In a move that may change the course of the fashion industry, Gucci has decided to cut the number of fashion shows it holds each year from five to two.
Declaring the fashion calendar "obsolete", the creative head of the luxury brand Alessandro Michele said that the concept of fashion week is over and that the brand will no longer adhere to the fashion week calendar.
In a series of diary entries released on Gucci’s Instagram over the weekend, the Italian brand has announced a radical shift in how they will present collections going forward. Creative Director Alessandro Michele has instead decided to present twice a year, making both shows seasonless, a huge step away from the “fashion circus” we’ve come to know so well.
Pointing out the issue of sustainability, Michele wrote, “Above all, we understand we went way too far. Our reckless actions have burned the house we live in. We conceived of ourselves as separated from nature, we felt cunning and almighty.”
“So much haughtiness made us lose our sisterhood with the butterflies, the flowers, the trees and the roots. So much outrageous greed made us lose the harmony and the care, the connection and the belonging.”
“I will abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence, close to my expressive call,” Michele wrote.
“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.”
Currently, Gucci has no plans to host a fashion show in September, when the Gucci collection would normally be staged as part of Milan Fashion Week. The announcement is significant because the Italian powerhouse is by far the biggest and most influential brand to come out in support of a move to a leaner, less wasteful fashion system.
Dries Van Noten has led a number of independent designers calling for a radical overhaul of the industry, with fewer fashion shows and less product. Discussion on this topic has been ongoing in the industry for the past month but the superbrands have until now been mostly silent.