“I don’t think there is any one right answer. Each fashion house is going to have to find what works for them,” said Michael Kors on the subject of the new choose-your-own-strategy approach to pre-collections. For this resort season, Kors is opting to release five images of his resort 2017 collection next week at the time he shows the full lineup to press, and publish the rest of the looks when they’re available in store and online in October. No social media will be permitted during the live presentation, but a look book will be distributed for long-lead editorial requests. It’s all about the honor system.
Kors, and many other designers, are implementing this new approach to communicating their pre-collections in an effort to increase demand when the collections are in store, although many questions about the logic to this remain unanswered. Asked what the value of holding off on publishing resort until well after the spring 2017 collection has been given the full media blitz during New York Fashion Week in September, Kors said, “The value lies in creating a sense of fashion immediacy. We’re taking this approach for the pre-collections because they are not large, staged events like our fashion week shows. By only releasing a preview of five images the day of the presentation, we’re able to give our customers a sneak peek into what’s to come without inundating and confusing them by featuring products that aren’t available yet. We live in a world where people expect instant gratification, so our aim is to show them the full range of looks closer to when they can actually buy them.”
This isn’t the first time Kors has dipped his toe in the immediacy waters. On his fall runway, he featured an eight-piece capsule of ready-to-wear, shoes and handbags that was available immediately on the brand’s web site and at its Madison Avenue Michael Kors Collection store.