Gucci to join Milan Digital Fashion Week in July; announcing two catwalk shows per year.

During lockdowns in cities around the world, non-essential retail outlets, fashion shops, department stores, boutiques and chain stores have to be closed, and public shows and events have to be cancelled or postponed to curtail the spread of Covid-19.

Consumers stuck at home are more concerned about meeting their basic necessities and essentials and do not necessarily want to look for new fashion items to buy.  Where will they go show off that new purchase when all public venues, restaurants, bars and clubs are closed.  Although many have been proficient with on-line purchasing and can still share their news on social media, not all companies are geared up for online sales.

Now many European fashion houses are starting to think and reflect on the way they sell, from staging catwalk shows to participating in major trade fairs.  Not to mention the endless cycle of producing new ranges every few weeks to compete on the crowded and competitive retail market.  Some big names have openly declared that the current catwalk schedule of showing fashion cannot be sustained (such as Gucci and Armani), others are thinking about the impact of over-production on the environment while staying relevant in the new-normal.

The big news this week in the fashion world, apart from the fact that many countries have announced the gradual reopening of non-essential shops and retail outlets following the lockdown easing, is that Gucci would in the future only do two shows a year, not the 5 currently stipulated in the runway show calendar, while calling for a reformulation of the fashion calendar. 


After revealing on Instagram of the two-show plan instead of five, Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, revealed from his studio in Rome, addressing some 20 international editors via the Converse software in a virtual conference on Monday, May 25, that his next collection will be called “Epilogue” and will be shown during Milan Digital Fashion Week on July 17 – in a digital format.

During the lockdown in Italy, Michele of Gucci said he had spent his time at home reflecting on the way the fashion calendar works before the pandemic. His thoughts led him to believe that multiple types of collections in the present calendar: pre-fall, capsule or cruise, should not be maintained and each sector should in the future carry different names. Hence the new title – Epilogue for his July digital event, predicting multi-disciplinary shows spanning elements of theatre, catwalk shows and digital technology.  Not surprisingly coming from a designer who has showed in a series of iconic venues in his five years at Gucci, staging epic and artistic shows in such diverse locations as Westminster Abbey; an ancient Roman cemetery in Arles; or a Greek temple in Sicily.

As reported in Fashion Network, Carlo Capasa, president of the Camera della Moda, Italy’s  governing body of the runway season, said: “I think Alessandro’s spirit contributes immensely to our community. He has indicated he will do something in our first digital season in July, which is great. However, this a moment where nobody is sure exactly what will happen next. So, here at the Camera, our rule is to try to give and create the best opportunity for designers to express themselves."

However Capasa added he still expects to have four Fashion Weeks per year in the future, keeping to the existing calendar.

Talking to Fashion Network, he said: “I continue to believe we should have separate menswear and women’s weeks twice a year, as they are different industries. Generally speaking, I think that this is the best way to keep the proper balance for these two divisions. They are two different industries, with different buyers, retailers, manufacturers. That’s true even if some specific brands may want to be different and stage co-ed shows, which is fine for them,” explained Capasa to FashionNetwork.com.

Due to the Covid-19, Capasa took the executive decision in April to cancel this June’s menswear season, partly replacing it with Milan Digital Fashion Week, which will take place from July 14 to 17.

While giving multiple reason to support maintaining the status quo of the traditional Fashion Weeks seasons, he did think markdowns were having a very negative effect on fashion, a point raised by many designers.   

“Yes, stores were anticipating the season too much. There were too many markdowns. Look at what happened to Neiman Marcus. We need to reestablish the idea that our product has a value. Maybe, yes, there was too much overproduction in fast fashion. And, in our high quality world, we have unfortunately followed fast fashion too much,” he told FashionNetwork.  
Besides Gucci, Zegna has also reported that it will present a “phygital” show in in Milan in July. Capasa expects there to be “probably between 30 and 40 brands” participating in the summer season. Looking ahead, he expects September to be a mix of physical and digital presentations in varying lengths and formats.

Milan Digital Fashion Week will take place 14-17 July, covering Spring/Summer 2021 men’s collections and Spring/Summer 2021 men’s and women’s pre-collections, along with a platform designed to give access to showrooms. The digital offerings will include photo and video content, backstage interviews, as well as webinars and live streaming of keynote speeches.

The French Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion also announced an online presentation of spring/summer 2021 during Paris Fashion Week men’s, to take place prior to Milan, from 9-13 July, during which fashion houses will be showing their collections via film and video.