Gucci holds onto traditional show format as Kering rejects see-now, buy-now

London – As a number of fashion houses, such as and announce plans to merge their
fashion shows and align their collection launches in order to satisfy
consumers demand for , one fashion conglomerate
takes a stand. Rather than following its luxury peers, Italian fashion
house Gucci is set to remain loyal to the traditional fashion calender
schedule and structure, as parent company Kering rejects the new
direct-to-consumer trend.

A photo posted by Gucci (@gucci) on Feb 22, 2016 at 6:02am
PST

According to Francois-Henri Pinault, Chief Executive Officer of Kering,
Burberry’s plan to consolidate its collections and runway shows whilst
moving into a see-now, buy-now business model “negates the dream” of
luxury. Speaking to Bloomberg, he stressed how the current fashion show
format, which sees consumers around the world waiting six months to
purchase a collection shown a season earlier, “creates desire” among
shoppers.

Gucci rejects direct-to-consumers fashion model in lieu of traditional
show

Although Pinault viewpoint may seem old-fashioned to some, with former
Gucci creative director Tom Ford previously calling the traditional fashion
model “an antiquated idea that no longer makes sense”, the CEO believes
that their format is best suited to the DNA of the Gucci brand itself. “There
are some brands for which a runway show is a communications event,” he
said. “Burberry has doubtless decided what suits it best. What we will
decide will be what suits our brands and our vision of luxury.”

Inside the
invite for the women’s #GucciFW16 fashion show. #AlessandroMichele #GGLive
#MFW. Watch the show live Wednesday February 24 at 2:30PM CET, through link
in bio.

A photo posted by Gucci
(@gucci) on Feb 22, 2016 at
9:24am PST

Considering how well Kering and its group of luxury labels are faring, in
particular Gucci, his decision seems to a wise one. The Italian
conglomerate latest financial results revealed a in the last quarter of the year,
which was driven by the strong demand for Gucci’s new visual
direction introduced by creative director Alessandro Michele last year.