Why Versace Won’t Show at Couture Fashion Week

Why Versace Won’t Show at Couture Fashion Week

 

Jonathan Akeroyd, Versace’s CEO, has outlined the reasons why Versace will not be showing its Atelier Versace spring/summer 2017 collection at Couture Fashion Week.

“At the moment, we do six shows a year, and my feeling is: that’s a lot of shows,” said Akeroyd to The New York Times. “Eight, if you count couture, seems excessive. And we all know the model is changing quite a lot, so why not take the opportunity to try something new?”

It is true that the traditional template for fashion shows is under construction. Multiple brands have recently adopted the see-now, buy-now model, with Versace being one of the first to employ this idea with its Versus Versace brand. We have also seen an amalgamation of menswear and womenswear amongst fashion houses such as Gucci, Bottega, Veneta and Kenzo. Some women’s ready-to-wear brands decided to depart the official womenswear schedules in February and September. They instead will move shows to fall in line with menswear in January and June, giving their collections longer on the shop floor.

Instead of showing at Couture Fashion Week, Versace will hold “major client events” to present its couture collection in various cities across the world including Hong Kong and New York. That potentially allows the brand to be more client and industry focused although it will apparently make no difference to costing. “It’s the time and intensity of producing a show,” Akeroyd said, “The investment has not changed; the atelier is the same size.”

This is not the first time that Versace has skipped shows. The atelier previously took at hiatus from couture between 2004 and 2012. Akeroyd argues that sitting out fashion week is unlikely to be detrimental to the brand’s popularity as dressing stars on the red carpet gets just as much coverage as a private show. This raises questions as to how celebrity culture and the red carpet may affect the fashion show model further in future.

 

Why Versace Won’t Show at Couture Fashion Week