Clothing and Fashion Seasons
January 12, 2024

There is a time for everything, and this maxim holds true for both fashion and other aspects of life. Seasonal divisions in fashion might make it challenging to stay up at times. It shouldn’t take long for you to get the hang of it if you’d like a little more information on when fashion seasons begin.

How do fashion seasons work?

We are aware of the confusion. When is winter and when is summer? Where in this combination are spring and fall?

Four seasons are recognized as the official fashion season. Spring or Summer which is denoted as SS, Autumn or Winter denoted as AW, and Pre-Fall, as well as Resort, are these seasons. Paris, New York, Milan, and London with all of them having their own AW and SS fashion weeks.

The identity “Resort” came about since the most affluent clients of fashion houses would buy these items while on vacation. There were just 2 fashion seasons in the past: AW and SS. But in case we jump ahead today, certain fashion companies create 52 micro-seasons annually. The goal is to encourage people to buy as many clothes as quickly as possible, with new styles appearing every week.

Why does this industry even require seasons?

In the past, we perceived seasons as times when the atmospheric condition changed and believed that the main fashion seasons revolved around changing what people dressed in responding to the changing weather: warmer clothing when the weather is cold, brighter colors go well with the sun and more designs that are practically suited for wetter conditions.

It has turned out to appear more challenging. The pace and duration of designing, promoting, and selling new collections are determined by the seasons, which act as a worldwide device for the fashion industry globally.

There are many additional people who need to be aware of the fashion industry’s cycles in addition to designing, producing, and selling apparel.

In addition to the well-known actors, like the advertising, publishing, and transportation and distribution industries, or even more unexpected actors, like Pantone, who are crucial in deciding the colors utilized in virtually all that we see.

Fashion Week

This is when things once more become muddled. Retail seasons are out of sync with Fashion Week seasons. The upcoming winter styles are displayed at the February event known as Fall/Winter Fashion Week. In September, Spring/Summer Fashion Week is conducted to showcase springtime trends. For a number of reasons, collections are exhibited at this early stage. Retail customers want time to peruse collections and select the items they wish to purchase, and designers require time to produce those orders. In order for issues to go to print, magazines with a three-month lead time must also be able to pick up samples for photography. As a result, clothing must be displayed months in advance of its actual release.

Is fashion’s reliance on seasons ending?

There is a higher need for apparel that isn’t season-specific in a globe where international travel has become more accessible, and you can visit several countries in one year. For instance, you might see sleeveless outfits in fashion (i.e. AW) with vibrant, exploding colors/the somber appearance and jackets that occur under SS clothing.

While purists view seasonless clothing as wicked, we feel it is only right that since Fashion Week’s start a century ago, we have been forced to adopt a season-neutral way of dressing.

We think you shouldn’t keep your favorite clothes in storage just because another person thinks they’re outdated.