The traditional model of fashion week, where buyers and editors view a collection, then write editorials and fill purchase orders for a season months away, has been ripe for reform for a long time. Burberry takes the lead in a huge shake up announcing plans to reinvent how the collections are created, presented and sold for upcoming shows.
Starting in September 2016, Burberry will reduce its current line up of four shows a year (two for womenswear and two for menswear) and instead combine them into two collections. But what’s more significant is the shows will be seasonless and feature clothing available to buy immediately.
With fashion shows reaching a global market instantly, seasons have become irrelevant. Often too, the excitement from a collection that is photographed and shared over social media fades by the time the clothing actually reaches the store. Burberry hopes to close this gap and shorten the time between seeing a collection and buying it. This has been a long time coming and makes sense. It will be interesting to see what other designers follow and how this changes the face of retail.
Kathy
It makes so much sense, as you said. Good for Burberry.