Fashion Shows Adopted A See-Now, Buy-Now Model. Has It Worked?

“The current way of showing a collection four months before it is available to customers is an antiquated idea, and one that no longer makes sense,” Tom Ford said last February, before announcing that in September he would join Burberry as it moved to a “see now, buy now” model, with collections available immediately after appearing on the runway. Tommy Hilfiger followed suit, as did Ralph Lauren. At one point, it seemed fashion might have a fully fledged revolution on its hands. Fast-forward six months. Did the predictions come to pass? Did see-now, buy-now upend all expectations? The brands, not surprisingly, say yes. But there is little concrete evidence to back up their claims. No global brand at the forefront of this movement has presented detailed numbers to support assertions of a spike in sales thanks to shoppable runways. And several still decline to comment on their strategy shift. So far this season, the movement appears to have no new recruits. “I don’t see anyone moving into this aggressively at this point,” said Luca Solca, a luxury analyst at Exane BNP Paribas. “So far, we are in experimental mode.” Read more at The New York Times.