Tom Ford and VETEMENTS have announced potentially game-changing approaches to their upcoming fashion shows.

Last Friday, Burberry revealed a radical rethink in the way it intends to approach its upcoming runway shows. The luxury fashion house will combine its men’s and women’s offerings in one amalgamated ‘seasonless’ collection.

This decision could have marked an epochal moment in the fashion industry. Both Tom Ford and VETEMENTS – one of the hottest fashion houses to emerge from Paris in recent years – have announced similarly unconventional tactics.

Demna Gvaslia – who steers the creative direction of both Balenciaga and VETEMENTS – has stated that, from January 2017 it too will showcase menswear and womenswear collections simultaneously, further undermining the established conventions.

In addition to this, Tom Ford has cancelled his previously scheduled Fall/Winter 2016 show in favour of a September 2016 showing, thereby truncating the distance between runway and retail. Collections will be available online and in-store the same day..

This behaviour is being informed and directed by two different needs. Firstly, fashion houses are reporting that there is a growing disconnect between consumers and brands.

We spend an enormous amount of money and energy to stage an event that creates excitement too far in advance of when the collection is available to the consumer” – Tom Ford

Secondly, Millenials crave instant gratification, and thanks to the influence of social media, view yesterday’s news as redundant. Placed in this context, the need for the fashion industry to continually generate involving and entertaining content is obvious. The current 6-month gap between runway shows and retail delivery appears increasingly illogical. The present shake up of outmoded conventions is further evidence that the fashion industry is growing wise to this.