Seasons

Seasons. I always love the changing seasons because it feels like a fresh breath of inspiration is blown into my fashion and clothing choices. But if you really think about it, seasons in the fashion industry are very, very strange. I work at a local women’s clothing boutique and I often get the opportunity to help select what we will bring into the store over the upcoming months. It’s odd, though. It’s December 1st and we’re picking out Spring and Summer clothes that’ll be brought into the store in January and February. I understand that people often travel to tropical locations for New Year’s Eve, but do we really need to be buying bathing suits in January? Why is it that the fashion industry operates on such a strange seasonal calendar?

Well, many fashion industry professionals are asking that same question. In an “Open Letter to the Fashion Industry,” various designers and retailers, including Thom Browne, Tory Burch, Gabriela Hearst, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman and Selfridges, “declared their intention to effectively right the seasonal shopping calendar” (Friedman, 2020, para. 3). The goal is to “…sell clothes in the time of year when they are worn, and not to discount the prices on collections until they are less temporally germane to the potential wearer” (para. 5). Crazy, right? I mean who would’ve thought that purchasing clothing when it is compatible with the current season and weather would be such a far-out idea?

Selfridges Department Store, London, UK.

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the fashion industry to confront many deep-rooted issues. From supply chain dynamics to a circular fashion system, it is disappointing that a global pandemic is what it has taken to address questionable fashion industry practices; but you know what? At least we’re talking about them and truly beginning to deal with them. Fashion’s supply chain – sourcing, production, shipping and, ultimately, selling – was basically halted by Covid-19. Designers’ lines weren’t produced and presented on a typical fashion calendar. While this is certainly frustrating in many aspects, it has given industry professionals the opportunity to correct the fashion calendar. As I discussed in a past blog post, “Settle In,” “the fashion industry [ends] up with too much stuff and not enough people who even [want] it – aka a recipe for waste” (para. 2). By righting the fashion calendar, the amount and excess of products that are produced each and every year will be significantly lowered – having a positive impact on the environment.

Dries Van Noten, Fall Winter 2020 Menswear Collection.

However, this open letter is really just the beginning. Powerful luxury conglomerates, like LVMH (including Dior, Givenchy, Fendi) and Kering (including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta), have yet to sign the letter and get onboard with the initiatives. As Vanessa Friedman (2020) stated in a New York Times article, “…history suggests that without critical mass, even the most logical ideas are doomed to failure” (para. 16). Dries Van Noten, a luxury Belgian fashion designer, believes, though, that the industry is willing and ready to change. Other designers including Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanna and Proenza Schouler are expected to sign the letter soon. To progress and move forward, it will take honest, open, transparent conversations and a willingness to change on the part of all the fashion industry.

Bye for now,

McGee