What’s the Future of Men’s Fashion Weeks?

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As the BoF team was planning its attendance at the upcoming round of men’s fashion weeks, set to kick off in London in January, we couldn’t help but notice how many brands were missing from the calendar. Burberry, Gucci, Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta, Dsquared2... and the list goes on. Indeed, while the industry remains divided on the merits of fashion immediacy, over the last year, at least 12 important brands have announced plans to combine their men’s and women’s shows. Some, like Kenzo, are choosing to capitalise on the upheaval to show integrated collections on the thinning — and less noisy — men’s calendar. Others, like Vetements, are embracing Paris couture week. But many of the industry's megabrands are consolidating their runway outings around women’s fashion weeks.

Why the sudden avalanche of consolidation? For brands that offer both men’s and women’s collections, especially those designed by the same creative director, staging two integrated shows per year allows for a more cohesive marketing message. What’s more, at a time when many brands are tightening their belts in the face of sluggish market growth, the strategy also helps companies to trim significant cost. And, since much of the buying process happens outside of runway shows in showrooms anyway, staging combined men’s and women’s shows doesn’t really have any major impact on top-line revenues.

For men’s only brands, a dedicated men's moment on the fashion calendar is still important for business and the loss of dedicated platforms could have negative consequences, including diminished exposure. But as the men’s calendar becomes slimmer and slimmer, does it really make sense to stage five distinct men’s fashion weeks, each held twice a year, in New York, London, Florence, Milan and Paris?

Or could the men’s shows in New York and London, for example, be integrated back into women’s fashion weeks as they once were, or indeed into Milan, Paris or Pitti Uomo, which is something of a spiritual home for the tight-knit menswear community? Either way, a tighter period of men’s shows, clustered together would make more sense. Of course, in recent years, we have been doing exactly the opposite, launching more and more strictly dedicated men’s fashion weeks.

Two weeks ago at VOICES, BoF’s annual gathering for big thinkers, when the heads of the world’s four main fashion councils — the CFDA’s Steven Kolb, the BFC’s Caroline Rush, the Camera della Moda’s Carlo Capasa and the Fédération Française de la Couture’s Pascal Morand — took the stage for a conversation on rewiring the fashion system, the idea of breaking away from rigidly defined men’s and women’s weeks and embracing more “fluid” fashion “moments” filled with a mix of men’s, women’s and, of course, combined men’s and women’s shows found some traction.

Capasa put it best: "The situation is very fluid: some brands must show men's and women's together — some brands not at all," he said. Looking into the future, he added: "We can't imagine something rigid. We have to be a little bit more fluid. In my opinion, we will have two moments: January, or whatever we call it, where we show men's and women's. Let's call it Chapter 1. And then we'll have Chapter 2, when we show men's and women's again. Two moments each season."

Indeed, it's time to think beyond the idea of men’s-only or women’s-only fashion weeks, a legacy formula which is, perhaps, one of greatest forces constraining the industry from rethinking fashion week altogether. Let’s let go of the paradigms of the past and invent the future.

THE NEWS IN BRIEF

BUSINESS

Inditex posts 9 percent rise in profit. The world's biggest clothing retailer reported a 9 percent rise in profit for the nine months ended October 31, in line with analyst expectations, helped by its ability to react quickly to the unusually warm autumn weather seen in Europe from its manufacturing base in Northern Spain. Net profit rose to 2.2 billion euros ($2.3 billion), and sales also climbed by 14.5 percent in local currencies in the same period.

H&M reports flat monthly sales figures. The Swedish retailer posted monthly sales in November that were broadly in line with October's sales, falling short of analysts' expectations that demand for winter clothing would help boost sales. The results caused its shares to fall by at least 3.8 percent in early trading, casting further uncertainty around the retailer's turnaround plan after years of squeezing its margins and several quarters of falling profit.

Kering unveils global maternity policy for staff. Fashion conglomerate Kering has announced that it plans to implement a new global policy on maternity, paternity and adoption leave. The changes will see all staff who have been at the company for at least a year benefit from 14 weeks of full pay for maternity and adoption leave, and 5 days of full pay for paternity and partner leave. Kering, which owns brands like Gucci, and Saint Laurent, said the changes will take place at the start of the New Year giving its 38,500 employees around the world the same terms and conditions regarding leave.

American Apparel gains approval for bankruptcy loan. The US retailer is reported to have won court approval to use the rest of its $30 million bankruptcy loan, after resolving its issues with some of its creditors. The company has endured a number of troubled years that have included falling sales, a previous bankruptcy filing and a highly-publicised split from its controversial founder Dov Charney.

LA Fashion District factories unsuitable for workers. Conditions in some of the garment factories in the fashion district of Los Angeles have been found to be poorly ventilated, infested by vermin and unsafe, according to a study by researchers at UCLA. Managers were also found to have blocked exits with employees inside, creating firetraps for workers. The study comes just a month after the US Department of Labor found garment manufacturers in Southern California were not in compliance with basic workplace protections.

ASOS invests in reshoring, as Brexit lessens labour costs. British online retailer ASOS is planning to double its manufacturing capabilities in the UK, as the dramatic fall in the British pound's value has helped make labour costs more affordable. The company will open more factories over the next three to four years. At present, it only makes around 4 percent of its products at two factories in London. The move may help Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May's case as she looks to attract investment to the UK amid on-going uncertainty over Brexit.

J. Crew prepares for possible debt restructuring. The upmarket American retailer is reported to be in negotiations with its creditors about cutting its $2 billion debt. The company, which has struggled in recent years with falling sales as shoppers increasingly turn to online shopping, was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP in a $3 billion leveraged buyout in 2011. J. Crew is also planning to move the rights to its brand into a separate subsidiary, as part of its plans to negotiating with its creditor, which would help widen its options to cut down its debt, including raising new financing.

PEOPLE

Selena Gomez | Source: Shutterstock

Selena Gomez signs $10 million deal with Coach. American singer and actress Selena Gomez is reported to have signed an exclusive deal with leather goods brand Coach to become the face of the mid-market accessories brand and to design her own line in collaboration with the company. The move comes as the company is attempting to significantly build its scale, as indicated by its acquisition of Stuart Weitzman and reports of its attempted takeover of Burberry.

Philipp Plein fires back at Dolce & Gabbana. German designer Philipp Plein hit back at Dolce & Gabbana after its lawyers sent a letter accusing his company of trying to steal its sales associates from its Milan store. Plein, who took to Instagram to address the accusations, said approaching other companies' employees is an industry-wide practice, which he maintained was lawful.

MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY

Instagram adds new 'Save' Button feature. The social media app has added a new button to its features that allows its users to save every image that appears on a user's feed. The "Save for Later" tab enables users to store images that are of interest to them, similar to the functions of Pinterest. The move comes swiftly after Instagram added video sharing tools, and disappearing messaging, two features more commonly associated with social media rival Snapchat.

Nordstrom introduces electronic gifting. US department store Nordstrom has introduced electronic gifting as a new service to its customers, in a bid to remain relevant to consumers who are turning away from traditional stores and shifting their spending online. The retailer has paired up with gift-card provider CashStar Inc. to let customers send items from Nordstrom's website to people they wish to gift it to.

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