Men's fashion weeks are letting the women elbow their way in

Designers and fashion houses no longer feel compelled to separate men and women's fashion weeks, clubbing them all on one runway in one season. This is a good thing, Let's hear it for co-ed clothes

Men's Fashion Week is not only about men. Fashion houses are deciding that women belong on this platform too.
For many years, fashion had its own 'purdah system'. Men's and women's fashion was shown separately. But now fashion has gone co-ed. June is the month of men's fashion week - London Men's Fashion Week starts today (June 9) and then it moves on to Milan and Paris.
In the last few seasons, Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci, Calvin Klein and Bottega Veneta have started to show men's and women's collections at one show. And now at this edition of Milan Fashion Week (Men's), joining the bandwagon is Diesel Black Gold. The brand's creative director is Andreas Melbostad. He first joined the label to design their womenswear five years ago and took on menswear a year later. As the latest brand to decide it's time for the boys and girls to be together, all eyes will be on this label's show which takes place in three weeks time.
Diesel Black Gold was launched by Diesel founder Renzo Rossi (nicknamed the "Jeans Genius") in 2008 as the group's more premium catwalk focused label. Says Melbostad, "Combining the show presentation feels like a natural progression for us. It is also a reflection of today's move towards less gender conformity. Unifying the show allows us further to present the collections to our buyers in the showroom at the same time."
When it comes to fashion there is no ladies first approach - menswear shows three months before women's. Melbostad feels that their womenswear collection will benefit from showing at a Men's Fashion Week. Diesel Black Gold's current breakup between the men and women business is 60/40. Melbostad says, "For us, the Milan Menswear Fashion Week is the right platform as it allows us to present the full runway vision before buyers see the collection in the showroom." And this change is a good thing for men's fashion week. Though New York and London Men's Fashion Week are just a few years old, the first Milan fashion week is over 60 years old - and probably needed an update. As we all know change is fashion's only constant.
Social media has been fashion's biggest 'disrupter'. Says Melbostad, "It plays a big part in the changes that we are seeing today in consumer behaviour. Online shopping has created a new dynamic. As a result, I think today's consumers are highly informed. They can cross shop the whole market at the click of a button, and this has created a type of consumer anarchy where there is a new-found freedom to shop." And it is this new freer attitude to fashion that has preempted the co-ed take. Diesel Black Gold as a brand is known for utility and function - and so in a way taking this 'genderless' route is just an extension of the brand's DNA. Says Melbostad, "The younger generation is less concerned with conventional gender roles.
"There is a new freedom or fluidity. You can also see this in individual fashion choices. I support this movement."
Making this change does mean a change in course for Diesel Black Gold as there are two distinct collections being shown at one time. While they come from the same creative house and are for the same season so will have similarities, they are different collections." Both collections will remain a similar size as previous seasons, but the number of looks presented in the show will increase in order to allow a proper representation of both genders on the runway. We have in the past presented 30+ looks in each show. We are now looking to do around 50+ looks with an equal split between men's and women's."
Of course whether this new approach becomes a norm for the industry, only time with tell. It would mean fashion's new co-ed code is still a work in progress. Another new format is the "see now buy now" format. There was a time when fashion weeks were closed door events. Only those in the business saw the shows. So when collections went mainstream six months later, they still seemed fresh.
Social media changed all that. Twice a year, fashion editors, buyers and models spend over a month living out of a suitcase to view the shows for the next season. It is a practice that is decades old. The Fall/Winter shows start in New York in February, then it's London, Milan, Paris.
The idea of showing a season ahead was so that merchandisers could chart their buys and editors could plan their issues. Social media means that it's not only fashion's privileged who get to see the shows, it's now open to everyone. And the consumer does not want to wait six months, they want to "see now, buy now". A few fashion houses such as Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger have adopted the 'See Now Buy Now' system, whereby designers have removed the six months tag lag and now synchronise catwalk and delivery times. It was a system that Tom Ford tried for a season but later reverted back, as this company found the traditional system actually worked better.
And while Melbostad is sure that this new non gender-specific style of showing is the future for his brand he adds, "The biggest challenge will be how to best reach both a Women's and a Men's audience at the same time. We are now studying how to best accommodate the former." Of course in just a matter of a few weeks Melbostad will know the reaction to his first combined women's and men's showing but since Diesel Black Gold has shown men's and women's together before back in 2008 at New York Fashion Week, perhaps they already know that co-ed is fashion's new code.
sujata@khaleejtimes.com
Sujata is fashion editor. She makes it her business to stay on trend