SEASONLESS COLLECTIONS
One of the ways to try and reduce the overconsumption and overproduction is for brands to move to a seasonless collection or at least reduce the amount of collections that are produced per year.
The idea of ditching seasonality within the fashion industry isn’t new. Keeping up with the numerous collections and markets puts a strain on the bottom line for many brands, not to mention the surging development and marketing costs, the resource required and the environmental impact.
It’s feels like the fashion calendar, which has been out of synch with the actual seasons for years has been in long need of a reset but it took the onset of the pandemic for brands and corporations to finally start to make headway. Back in March 2020, the BFC and CFDA released a joint statement called “the fashion industry’s reset” encouraging brands to slow down. The press release strongly recommended brands to focus on no more than two main collections a year. “We firmly believe this can provide our talents with the time they need to reconnect to the creativity and craft that makes our field so unique in the first place. A slower pace also offers an opportunity to reduce the stress levels of designers and their teams, which in turn will have a positive effect on the overall wellbeing of the industry”.
At the same time, Gucci debuted their first seasonless collection “Gucci bids farewell to fashion week as brand goes seasonless” headlined the Guardian in March 2020. In a virtual press conference broadcast from his Rome studio, the label’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, announced that Gucci was slashing the number of fashion shows it holds each year from five to two, groundbreaking.
Declaring the fashion week calendar obsolete, Michele said he was no longer adhering to a rota staked out by spring/summer, autumn/winter, cruise and pre-fall shows. Dries Van Norten has led number of independent designers calling for a radical overhaul of the industry, with fewer fashion shows and product. Giorgio Armani has announced a similar move to a more seasonless approach and the French luxury fashion house, Saint Laurent announced that they would to be reshaping their schedule (Keisei Magazine).
Smaller brands are following suit, the Swedish menswear brand Asket, sells only one permanent collection of high-quality, trendless clothing, the collection is tweaked and improved but never added to. In an interview with Forbes the CEO August Bard Bringéus said “We want more people to buy better and fewer pieces of clothing, appreciating their journey and caring for them longer, we call it the Pursuit of Less”.
Buyers are also feeling this movement. “We have definitely noticed a shift in the way in which designers are approaching the traditional seasons” said the womenswear buyer at Selfridges, Rebecca Tinker. “Collections are more seasonless than ever, as brands take more of a considered approach to the longevity of a collection. We have seen more classic silhouettes and less reliability on prints dominating the market. This is strongly resonating with our customers who seek pieces that they can keep in their wardrobe longer than a season.”
“As we become more global and have access to online shopping with brands shipping internationally, consumers are becoming used to being able to buy product all year round – from swim to outerwear – meaning that seasonality is blurred.” (Bazaar).
A seasonless collection is key, as is developing a “core range” that is tweaked, but there will always be demand for “newness” and brands will always be required to innovate to stay ahead. One way to manage “newness” consciously, is to work with some of the new technology embracing fashion.