Taking a step in the opposite direction–Gucci and fashion week

By Abigail Portwood

It has been known that Gucci, the iconic fashion house run by Allessandro Michele, took a complete change in direction this year when they announced that fashion week is dead. The decision that Gucci and Michele made to go seasonless opened up a new possibility for other fashion houses, like Dior, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and more to no longer limit themselves to fall, spring and winter releases and runway shows. The move made by Gucci was a genius shift in the spectrum from organized fashion to free creation and direction.

The PR behind Gucci’s decision involved a huge press release via the Gucci Instagram with a long written caption about the “tyranny of speed”. The post to the official Gucci account reached their following of 41.5 million consumers. The post, posed as a direct message from Allesandro Michele himself, introduced an intimate relationship between Michele and the public.

The tactic that the Gucci team used to release their company’s distaste towards fashion week was brilliant, and here’s why:

1. The message came from Allesandro Michele himself.
2. Gucci utilized their large social media following to release a straightforward announcement.
3. The Gucci team expanded on the post with a link in the bio to a series of diaries written by Michele explaining the process.
4. In the midst of a pandemic, the timing of this announcement was perfect. Everyone, including high fashion designers, was slowing down.

The announcement received a lot of praise from the community who agreed that fashion is creative and the consumerism and capitalism that drives the world have stained the passion and love towards fashion. I think this is a step in the right direction that will allow other companies to rely less on deadlines and schedules and more on creative freedom and leisure. Letting inspiration hit at any time rather than forcing it because of a deadline is something that applies to every field of fashion–and life.