Gucci to return to Milan Fashion Week schedule

Despite Alessandro Michele’s decree in May 2020 that Gucci would “abandon the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows,” WWD now reports that the brand will be back on the official Milan Fashion Week calendar. Italy’s biggest luxury brand will show a mixed-gender collection in Milan in February, returning to an industry-organized fashion week for the first time in two years. Gucci will stage two other shows next year in late spring and September, the brand said in a statement.

According to WWD, CEO Marco Bizzarri said at the 26th Pambianco Fashion Summit that Gucci will not only present a collection on the Fall 2022 schedule, it will also stage two more runway shows — one in the late spring and the other in September — next year. Just weeks ago, Gucci closed down Hollywood Boulevard to unveil Michele’s latest.

Since the coronavirus pandemic began, Gucci has experimented with showing off-calendar, releasing fashion films, virtual runway shows and staging destination events. Travel restrictions and constraints on staging physical events during the pandemic had meant there was less of a downside for brands to establish their own rhythm for creation and communication.

Gucci parent Kering’s French brands, including Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, made similar moves. But both had returned to Paris Fashion Week by this September, whereas Gucci and Bottega Veneta opted for destination shows in the U.S. Several smaller brands like Alaia, Jacquemus and Y/Project have shifted to showing women’s ready-to-wear during menswear or couture, but Gucci’s return makes LVMH’s Celine the biggest remaining holdout among luxury brands who stepped off the calendar.

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