NEW YORK • In perhaps the biggest shake-up of the fashion show system since ready-to-wear took to the catwalk, Burberry announced last Friday that after the womenswear season that begins in New York next week, it would move to a see-now/ buy-now collection model.
It will no longer unveil clothes six months before they are available in stores. It will no longer separate its menswear and womenswear shows.
And it will no longer bother with traditional seasonal denominations. Twice-yearly collections will be called September and February, "reflecting the time they are in-store/ online", said Mr Christopher Bailey, the brand's chief executive and chief creative officer, in an e-mail.
In addition, the advertising campaigns will reflect the runway offering immediately.
In a statement, Mr Bailey said: "The changes will allow us to build a closer connection between the experience we create with our runway shows and the moment when people can physically explore the collections. Our shows have been evolving to close this gap for some time. From livestreams to ordering straight from the runway to live social media campaigns, this is the latest step in a creative process that will continue to evolve."
In other words: The show will become a big marketing and selling tool, not for department stores or glossy magazines, but for direct communication between the brand and its customers.
This is the second major consumer- facing move by Mr Bailey as chief executive, following his decision last November to fold Burberry's three separate lines - the high-end Prorsum, Burberry Brit and Burberry London - into a single offering. Then, as now, Mr Bailey said the decision was made to be more responsive to customer needs.
Models in creations from the Burberry Prorsum collection during London Fashion Week last February. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE A spokesman called the move one of "creative pragmatism", responsive to the fact that as Mr Bailey is known to say, "it's always summer somewhere in the world".
As an acknowledgment of the consumer demand for immediate gratification, the change is bound to send seismic shudders through the rest of the fashion world, which has been under increasing pressure to be more responsive to buyers' desires and flexible in its scheduling.
Other brands have been testing the idea with small capsule collections: Moschino also offers select pieces to buy straight from the runway, as does Versace. This season, Rebecca Minkoff is showing her spring line on the New York catwalk, as opposed to autumn, which goes into stores in July and August.
But Burberry's global presence and reach - its more than 200 fully owned retail stores and similar number of department store concessions, its 5.9 million Instagram followers and over 17 million Facebook likes, its position as the only high-fashion member of London's Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 - have the power to change consumer expectations, creating a knock-on imperative for other brands.
Indeed, hours after Burberry's announcement, Tom Ford, who had been planning to hold a series of small presentations during New York Fashion Week, said all appointments were cancelled and he would now show both his men and women's autumn collections together next September, at the same time as the clothes were available to buy.
Meanwhile, Vetements, the buzziest new brand in Paris, told American Vogue it was planning to move its show next year from the February collections to January and would deliver the clothes on the catwalk the following month.
Still, the move may not be so easy for all fashion houses, especially in London. Though Burberry has the financial muscle and vertical integration to make this kind of switch (it owns many of its factories and 70 per cent of sales comes from its own retail network), smaller independent designers are dependent on wholesale partners for distribution and such a relationship involves a six-month lead time between showing, placing orders and production.
How they will adapt remains to be seen.
NEW YORK TIMES
