Saint Laurent to skip Paris Fashion Week

French fashion house Saint Laurent has announced via its social media that it will skip Paris Fashion Week for spring/summer 2021 as its looks to “take control of its pace and reshape its schedule” in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The statement on Instagram said that it was “conscious of the current circumstance and its waves of radical change,” and as it adapts to life after the Covid-19 pandemic it will not present its collections in any of the pre-set schedules of 2020.

Instead, Saint Laurent explained that it would “take ownership of its calendar and launch its collections following a plan conceived with an up-to-date perspective,” that will be “driven by creativity”.

“Now more than ever, the brand will lead its own rhythm, legitimating the value of time and connecting with people globally by getting closer to them in their own space and lives,” added the French fashion house.

French fashion house Saint Laurent will not present its collections during PFW

The move marks the first industry heavyweight to take itself off the main fashion week calendar and it is expected that many more will follow suit, calling into question whether there will be any more physical fashion weeks this years.

This follows the news that resort shows, as well as Paris Fashion Week Men's and Haute Couture Week, have been cancelled due to the pandemic and confirmation from the British Fashion Council that London Fashion Week Men’s would be transformed into a “digital-only gender neutral platform” for the next 12 months merging womenswear and menswear London Fashion Weeks into one “to allow “designers greater flexibility”.

Caroline Rush, British Fashion Council chief executive said of the plans for London Fashion Week: “It is essential to look at the future and the opportunity to change, collaborate and innovate. The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this.

“The other side of this crisis, we hope will be about sustainability, creativity and product that you value, respect, cherish. By creating a cultural fashion week platform, we are adapting digital innovation to best fit our needs today and something to build on as a global showcase for the future. Designers will be able to share their stories, and for those that have them, their collections, with a wider global community; we hope that as well as personal perspectives on this difficult time, there will be inspiration in bucketloads.”

Images: courtesy of Saint Laurent