Gucci has recently announced a change in its Fashion Week strategy. The house will only show two times a year as opposed to the usual five.
Claiming that the concept of seasonal fashion has become obsolete, Gucci is moving towards “seasonless” catwalk shows.
Over the weekend, Gucci designer, Alessandro Michele, shared six letters from his diary, titled ‘Notes from the Silence’ on the brand’s official Instagram page. Over 18 posts, the letters detail his recent discoveries and plans for Gucci’s future.
“I will abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence, closer to my expressive call,” said designer Alessandro Michele in a diary entry posted to Gucci’s Instagram.
“We will meet just twice a year,” he continued, “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.”
Gucci’s news to only show in the fall and spring each year comes a month after Saint Laurent announced it will not be showing at Paris Fashion Week this September as the pandemic has stunted production.
Covid-19 has shaken up the fashion industry, as due to social distancing, fashion week is having to go digital for the next cycle of shows. The menswear and haute couture shows scheduled for June and July have been cancelled, and the plans for the September shows hangs in the balance.
Michele also reflected on the fashion industry’s issues with consumption and the resulting effect it has had on the environment. “Above all, we understand we went way too far,” he wrote on Instagram.
“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.”
By going “seasonless,” will Gucci spark a new trend amongst other high fashion labels?