Sigh. So it takes a man to change things in fashion. Why does that surprise me? In an industry comprehensively dominated by women's wear, it is possible that there is more latitude allowed in the men's wear realm. Let me explain.
This week Haider Ackermann decided that he wasn't going to present another men's wear collection until he felt like it. He doesn't feel that he was going to compromise his creative integrity by forcing it into the fashion calendar.
Anne Chapelle, the owner of the Antwerp-based company that operates and produces Haider's collections is more lucid on the subject, saying:
"Haider wanted to underline the image he made for his women's line with the man at her side. The men's collection will be added again at the time Haider wants to and it will not be linked to a season. Creativity cannot be forced into a time frame. It is the emotion of the moment being translated to a collection, which is presented and sold to retailers who believe in creativity as such."I say good for him. Other than very basic seasonality (which we need for the fashion pages of our magazines), the idea that trends and seasons are hard-fixed is, in itself, a dated notion. As we move into the fifth summer of the gladiator trend here and indefinite season of the leather jacket up north, the idea that trends are only for one season seems crazy. Similarly, we make most of our wardrobe work across winter, summer and the in-betweens these days. Very few people still pack a season's clothes away as soon as spring has sprung. I wonder if this new approach will filter over into women's wear at any stage. It will be interesting to see.