Reuters
Source: Reuters
Longer, hotter summers are disrupting fashion’s seasonal calendar, forcing luxury brands to adapt designs and threatening sales of higher-margin winter clothing.
The industry’s traditional cycle has long depended on consumers buying autumn and winter clothing as temperatures cool. But warmer autumns are delaying demand for coats and other cold-weather clothing, leaving retailers at risk of excess stock and markdowns.
In Paris, Saint Laurent billboard ads during Fashion Week showed a model wrapped in a thick fur coat, while the sun shone and tourists wandered the streets in T-shirts and shorts.
“The whole industry should realise that with climate change and higher temperatures, the time for selling coats has shifted later,” said Pau Almar, a retail industry consultant who previously spent a decade at Zara.
The disconnect was on show during Paris Fashion Week, where temperatures reached 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and many guests opted for sleeveless tops and mini skirts rather than newly released autumn collections.
