Have you ever heard about fashion weeks and wondered how their seasons are known? If you are a lay person in the business of fashion, I’m pretty sure stuff like SS19 or AW19 sounds a bit strange to you. Not to worry, I’ll help demystify the concept of fashion weeks and seasons for you. All you have to do is keep reading.
A Fashion week is approximately a week-long event in which fashion designers/brands display their latest collections on the runway to potential buyers and the press. Fashion weeks establish dominant seasonal trends. That is, they set trends for the current and upcoming seasons. Although, there are many notable fashion weeks in the world, only four are highly recognized as they take place in the four fashion capitals of the world. These four fashion capitals are: New York, Paris, Milan and London. There are majorly two kinds of shows – womenswear and menswear. There are also shows particular to each location. For example, most haute couture shows are held in Paris, while most bridal shows are held in New York.
In the major capitals of the world, fashion weeks happen two times a year. Conventionally, these weeks are held several months in advance of the seasons in order to allow the media and buyers view the designs before the following season. Fashion has different seasons which sometimes may not be easy to keep up with. They are divided into four – Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, Resort/Cruise and Pre-fall (inter-seasonal collections).
The two main seasons are Spring/Summer and Fall (Autumn)/Winter. Spring-Summer seasons begin in January and runs up until June while Fall/Winter goes from July to December. Resort collections are a convergence of the first two seasons. They are usually offered from late October through December. Pre-fall collections appear in stores a bit earlier than Fall/Winter while Resort comes before Spring/Summer.
Fashion weeks aren’t usually held during their seasons. For instance, Spring/Summer fashion week isn’t usually done in January lasting till June; they are held in September and October. This is done with the aim of displaying trends for the upcoming spring. Collections are exhibited to give retail buyers time to view collections and decide which pieces they would like to order; and to give the designers ample time to produce the ordered pieces. The same applies to Fall/Winter week held in February and March to showcase trends for the upcoming winter. When a new season comes in, the prior season will go on sale all for the benefit of increasing sales.
Resort and Pre-fall do not have their own weeks since they aren’t as major as Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter. Most designers shoot their looks on models and send them for coverage. Some organise fashion shows to showcase their Pre-fall and Resort Collections. Pre-fall collections can be seen around June while Resort are shown in December.
