Next fall, editors and fashion week goers may have to choose between New York, London and MIlan fashion weeks rather than attend each back-to-back.
This week, Italy's Camera Nazionale della Moda and Chambre Syndicale announced official dates for their September fashion shows (debuting collections for Spring 2013), which overlap with those of New York and London -- a decision that could prove disastrous for brands and retailers alike, forcing buyers and media to pick favorites.
Accordoing to a new report in the Telegraph, Milan's controversial decision was made in response to the frenzied production schedule that a late September date forces from its world-renowned manufacturers. Their choice to move the dates, however, directly violates an agreement that was reportedly settled between the four fashion week cities -- New York, London, Milan and Paris -- in 2008. Even that agreement, however, is apparently in question: While the British and Americans believe the agreement was meant to stand in perpetuity, the Italians and French, the Telegraph reports, believed the agreement would only stand for three years.
The deciding factor, it seems, could be Paris, where fashion conglomerates LVMH and PPR could feasibly throw their advertising and production weight around if the issue turned into a stand-off. (In addition to the French houses, the two brands also control major American, British and Italian brands.)
For their part, the British Fashion Council have reportedly issued a statement saying that the new dates "contravene the fashion week dates agreement of September 2008. We are in direct discussion with our counterparts and hope to resolve the matter over the next few weeks."
