As David Bowie once said, Ch-ch-changes ARE COMING TO FASHION WEEK. Those may not have been his exact words but it’s close enough. So let’s talk about this.
Let’s face it. Fashion week is a mess. New York probably the messiest of the four, but apparently changing to a new venue solves everything, right? WRONG. The true meaning and point of fashion week has gotten lost in the shuffle selfies and Snapping. I’ve touched on this before so I won’t ramble again, but there’s other reasons why fashion week just isn’t what it used to be…and why some ch-ch-changes (beyond a new location) are in the works.
We live in a faster is better, on-demand, need it now world where six months is way too long to wait after we see something on the runway. Because of this, we’ve seen things like — Moda Operandi‘s pre-order-based business model, BCBG using LikeToKnowIt to shop the runway last year, Burberry offering up runway looks for sale right after their FW13 show (taking it to the next level by offering personalization), Moschino making select runway pieces available almost immediately after the models’ final walk…and those are just a few examples of the fact that fashion is moving FAST (not just fast food) and we’re all just trying to keep up.
Another initiative we’ve seen is making fashion week a little more accessible. Givenchy opened its Spring ’16 show to the public in September (and showed in New York rather than Paris). This is quite ground-breaking as fashion week has always been invite only (although the selection of attendees has been questionable as time goes on). Offering admission to the public is unheard of but did wonders for the brand…as that was all anyone was talking about last NYFW. But Riccardo Tisci isn’t the only one making headlines.
Rebecca Minkoff is always the first to try something new when it comes to her brand and this February, she’s really going for it.
For her Fall ’16 collection, she will be showing looks that will be available within 30 to 45 days following the runway show. On top of that, she will be inviting top customers to the show, rather than editors and buyers. I’m curious to see if her new collection will be more seasonless, as if you receive your pieces almost immediately…I assume you’d want to wear them right away too (which would be in March / April if this timeline works out). I’m hoping that’s the case, because I’m all about the seasonless pieces — ones you can wear just about any time of year. Designers are starting to realize that not everyone can afford to constantly buy new pieces from their collections, so offering ones that are seasonally versatile makes the investment that much more worth it…and the brand more attractive to the customer, overall. And for the invite list — I actually think magazine editors and buyers will be quite relieved to know there’s one less show to attend (they all do private appointments with the designers anyway so attending the show isn’t really necessary) and customers will be the most appreciative to attend a fashion show. There’s several designers whose shows I’ve never attended at fashion week (and probably never will), whose clothes make up a majority of my closet (Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Rag & Bone, and Proenza Schouler to name a few). So when I think about it from that perspective…as much as I’ve been over fashion week for quite some time, I would love to attend a show of a designer who creates the clothes I actually wear on a daily basis (and then spend the rest of my NY trip not fashion week-ing).
If THAT wasn’t enough change for you…listen to this. WWD just reported that the CFDA has enlisted a consulting group and they’re looking to “transform the fashion shows into consumer events and feature in-season collections that are in-store.” I understand the reasoning behind this — to really focus on the consumer — however I personally don’t find a point in going to a bunch of shows when I can just go to the stores and see the clothes up close and personal. Yes, the shows can be fun…but is it worth completely changing the way we fashion week just so the average consumer can experience a fashion show? Perhaps. But I’m just not sold as of now. However, I do agree that some changes need to be made…just not sure if this is the way to do it.
I’m all about the idea of making next season’s collections available now (or almost now, a la Rebecca Minkoff). So hopefully that’s something more designers will embrace…and maybe one day we’ll wonder how we EVER waited six months to purchase a jacket we saw on the runway what seems like SEASONS ago. Sort of like when I look back and realize how I lived so much of my life without Uber. Can you imagine such a time?!
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So what do you think about all this? Do you agree that some fashion week changes need to be made? If you were in charge, what would you do?
Images via Vogue
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