Is Gucci Changing the Game for Fashion Week?

It seems like the Covid-19 is resetting the world we once knew. Everyday tasks like grocery shopping are changing in light of the pandemic. So what does this mean for the fashion industry? Brands like JCPenney declared bankruptcy in the early stages of the outbreak and even Burberry, after the major retail hit, has disclosed that it cannot make a full turnaround overnight. Gucci, specifically, has decided to challenge the status quo by calling for an end to fashion week. This event is one that fashion fans everywhere look forward to but with Gucci cancelling its shows, this begs the question: Is fashion week a necessity?

For Alessandro Michele, this decision comes long after trying to navigate through this new normal for the fashion industry. Setting parameters for attendants to sit 6 feet apart is logical but complex to enforce. Likewise, this significantly reduces the capacity for that venue. These concerns were likely what led to the cancellation of upcoming presentations but another, even more significant cause was behind Michele’s possibly permanent cancellation of the event.

“That is why I decided to build a new path, away from deadlines that the industry consolidated and, above all, away from an excessive performativity that today really has no raison d’être. It’s a foundational act, audacious but necessary, that aims at building a new creative universe,” Michele writes in an Instagram post.

4/6 * "That is why I decided to build a new path, away from deadlines that the industry consolidated and, above all, away from an excessive performativity that today really has no raison d'être. It's a foundational act, audacious but necessary, that aims at building a new creative universe. A universe that essentialises itself in the subtraction of events and that oxygenates through the multiplication of sense." @alessandro_michele writes in his diary, in an entry entitled 'A New Creative Universe' on May 2, 2020 in Rome. #AlessandroMichele Read the diary entries through link in bio.

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

The choice to remove fashion week presentations is a bold one but it comes out of an effort to explore creativity without an arguably extravagant atmosphere. The authenticity of a brand is what gives it value and though fashion week has long been adored, it may not be essential.

Some may argue that fashion week is the epitome of the fashion while others, like Michele, find that the industry can and should survive without it. Only time will tell.