During this past fashion month, we saw the fashion industry embrace the consumer-facing “see-now, buy-now” model more than ever, but today Gucci announced that it will shake things up in a different way.
At the New York Times International Luxury Conference in Versaille this morning, the Italian house confirmed it will be combining men’s and women’s collections into one runway show per season starting in 2017. Set to take place at Gucci’s new Milan headquarters at Via Mecenate, the first unified show will allow Creative Director Alessandro Michele to continue his steadfast vision of blurring the lines between men’s and womenswear.
“It seems only natural to me to present my men’s and women’s collections together,” said Michele. “It’s the way I see the world today. It will not necessarily be an easy path and will certainly present some challenges, but I believe it will give me the chance to move towards a different kind of approach to my story telling.”
Explaining that it will maintain the “see-now, buy-later” schedule, Gucci emphasized their desire to respect the necessities of the creative and production process in luxury fashion while streamlining their business. “Moving to one show each season will significantly help to simplify many aspects of our business,” said Marco Bizzarri, President and Ceo of Gucci.
While brands like Burberry, Tom Ford, Micahel Kors, Rebecca Minkoff and Diane von Furstenberg have embraced the “see-now, buy-now” model, we’re curious to see how the industry continues to evolve as certain brands adopt the new format and others continue to adhere to the traditional schedule.
