Brioni says farewell to traditional catwalk calendar

London – Italian luxury formalwear retailer Brioni has said goodbye to the
traditional fashion week calendar and hello to the new business model embraced by
the likes of Burberry. Tom Ford and Vetements.

Friday saw Brioni announce plans to host its upcoming fashion show on July
4 in Paris during Paris Haute Couture while cancelling its usual men’s wear
show in June, in Milan. The show will mark the debut of new creative
director who was appointed earlier this
year. The brand’s spring 2017 collection, which was designed by the
in-house team, will be presented to buyers at Brioni’s showroom in Milan
via appointment in May and June.

Brioni embraces a ‘see-now, buy-model’ business model of its own

#Brioni is
pleased to announce the appointment of Justin O’Shea as new Creative
Director. ‘I am deeply honored to undertake this new challenge for such
prestigious and celebrated menswear house. It is with great excitement I am
looking forward to write a new chapter in the story of Brioni.’
@justinoshea

A photo
posted by Brioni (@brioni_official) on Mar 22, 2016 at 11:38pm
PDT

The show has been linked to the grand reopening of Brioni’s flagship store
in Paris, as the luxury brand seeks to reposition it’s made to measure
business as the men’s wear equivalent of made-to-order couture. Justin
O’Shea first collection for the brand, which has been named “Paris One”,
seeks to pay tribute to the brand’s “handmade prêt-a-couture heritage” and
will focus the “new emphasis on the Brioni lifestyle offering,” according
to the brand.

Following the show in Paris, Brioni will offer special runway looks from the
collection for sale through a series of private appointments at its
flagship stores. The Italian luxury brand, which follows in the footsteps
of stalemate brands at Kering, Gucci and Bottega Veneta stresses that new
show marks the start of a different approach to showing for the brand and
is not a one-off change. “We aren’t a fashion brand, so we don’t need to
mimic fashion,” said Gianluca Flore, chief executive of Brioni, on the new
system to the New York Times. “We are a style brand, so we are going to
follow the customers.”

Brioni aims to host its following show in November in New York, which
will coincide with the reopening of another flagship store. Both
collections shown in July and November will be available for order after
the shows and delivered to customers a few weeks after the events to
maintain the turnover of stock. The Italian luxury brand also aims on
combining its pre-collections and main collections and will offer both
after the shows, moving away from selling four seasons a year to two.

At the moment, Brioni’s business is equally divided between its own stores
and wholesale, with revenues of approximately 180 million euros a year. But
only time will tell if its calendar shake up will change this.

Photos: Brioni advertising campaign SS 16 and FW 16 collection, Brioni News