Eye | Gucci Moves To Combine Women's and Men's Shows | Guram Gvasalia On Limiting Luxury

Gucci Moves Towards Mixed Gender Fashion Shows

Gucci's CEO Marco Bizzarri told The International New York Times International Luxury conference in Versailles, France, that beginning in 2017, the lead brand of the Kering group will combine it's mens' and women's wear fashion shows into a single event. 

“Moving to one show each season will significantly help to simplify many aspects of our business,” Mr. Bizzarri said. “Maintaining two separate, disconnected calendars has been a result of tradition rather than practicality.” 

Burberry has also announed a similar decision beginning in September, as has Tom Ford. French brand Vetements will have a joint show in January and also begin immediate sales of the collection.  

Gucci is the behemoth brand, reporting $4.4 billion in revenue with 525 wholly-owned stores globally. 

“It is really being looked to as a trailblazer in the industry,” said Julie Gilhart, a consultant and the former fashion director of Barneys New York. “That makes this move potentially the most disruptive change yet.” via New York Times

Anthony Vaccarello Leaves Versus For Saint Laurent

Kering announced yesterday -- as expected -- that Anthony Vaccarello will step into his new role as creative director of Yves Saint Laurent.  The Belgian designer left his post as creative director of Versus Versace after a little more than a year. 

Vetements CEO Gurum Gvasalia On Limiting Luxury

Demna may be the brand’s creative leader, envisioning the world in his ahead-of-the-curve street-cast wardrobe, and subsequently taking Balenciaga by storm, but 30-year-old Guram is the articulate strategist and number cruncher who has carefully propelled the brand to the same level as those that are two decades older than it (the brothers insist that they never, ever have personal conversations in the workplace). After gaining degrees in International Business, European Management and Law at German universities, Gvasalia studied MSc Strategic Fashion Management at London College of Fashion, before working for a handful of luxury brands, including Burberry.

Reflecting on the brand's decision to combine men's and women's collections on the runway and also sell/ship at once, Gurum explains that they refuse to create pre-collections, which stay on the shop floor for much longer than spring / summer  and autumn / winter.  The brothers believe it’s the overproduction of clothes that diminishes the idea of luxury and outstrips demand. The Gvasalia brothers strategy is to stay ahead of demand and "remain scarce by producing a limited run of products that sell out so quickly, that they never go on sale and instantly increase in second-hand value." Read on at 1 Granary