Stefano Tonchi on Fashion Weeks

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"The problem with international fashion weeks and their legitimacy is a larger one now that fashion moves so fast and is a full-on entertainment machine. Are biannual fashion shows really the way to present fashion when stores need new merchandise every week? When there are so many collections presented throughout the year, when fragrances and other accessories and products are so important to the life of the brand, what does it mean to run across the planet to see similar collections over and over again every six months? Shouldn’t we rethink the whole system and have fewer fashion weeks and instead more showroom meetings with buyers and fashion market editors? Shouldn’t designers take more time to really work on ideas and to research new fabrics and shapes and show only when they are ready and have something new to say? Shouldn’t their marketing teams make better use of the budgets for what really is significant to the life of the brand?" [NY Times]