Are Resort Collections Still Necessary?
Source: Dazed
Chanel Resort 2019 - Grand Palais, Paris
2020 has given everyone time to stop and think about the conscious choices we make every day. With the emergence of unprecedented time on our hands, there was a focus on the pitfalls of fast fashion, and—with nowhere to wear anything—people are now looking to buy long-term clothing that isn’t just trendy for the next month. The extra time has allotted many to question how fashion as a whole inherently works and what the industry should do moving forward; fashion’s reset and refocusing has been a long time coming.
With our current tumultuous year, many brands and designers have skipped or forgone some of the ever-growing numbers of collections in the fashion calendar: Pre-Fall, Resort, Fall Couture, Spring Couture, Fall Ready to Wear, Spring Ready to Wear, Fall Bridal, Spring Bridal, Menswear Pre-Fall, Menswear Resort, Menswear Fall Ready to Wear, and Menswear Spring Ready to Wear. Of these 12 collections that most luxury brands cultivate to attract consumers, the most unclear to the masses by far is the Resort collection.
Source: SilhouetteandStyle
Louis Vuitton Resort 2017 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Resort, or sometimes called Cruise or Pre-Spring, is the pre-collection that comes after Fall/Winter collections have gone on sale or started being phased out. But this is before the Spring/Summer collections have arrived in stores so it’s often a prelude of what’s to come in January/February. Originally, Resort was specifically curated for holidays and vacations with bathing suits, sun hats, and the rest of the typical summer staples in full force. However, this has evolved over the years to include winter jackets and other winter staples since not everyone jets off to warmer weather during the wintertime. This change has also been able to satisfy other markets such as the Asians, Arabs, and Russians who have different climates and seasons than the rest of the Northwest sphere.
Over time, Resort has become a huge mainstay for brands such as Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, and Fendi. Resort has been known by most to be colossal fashion houses staging over the top collections in exotic locations on all four corners of the world. The Maison's biggest clients—who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their attire—celebrity endorsers, and “friends of the house” (aka random rich people or celebrities who aren’t endorsers), and influencers are flown in as a perk to say thank you for their continued support. Case in point: Chanel 2017 went to Cuba under Karl Lagerfeld, Dior 2016 went to Cannes under Raf Simons, Gucci 2016 went to New York under Alessandro Michele, and Louis Vuitton 2017 went to Rio de Janeiro under Nicolas Ghesquière.
Source: Untitled Magazine
Chanel Resort 2017 - Havana, Cuba
The most recent high fashion collections of Resort 2021 are currently being debuted and showcase just how much power the collections have. While no one was able to travel to see the clothes in person, many brands have been able to create and showcase clothing to die for via digital formatting. These lookbooks of transitional clothing are representative of what other small brands typically create for their Resort collections in the same capacity.
Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen debuted a collection of tailoring perfection. Known for her usage of upcycling, Burton said, “[This collection] is made predominantly out of stock fabric: overprinted, overdyed—renewed.” Suiting, which Burton does immaculately, was a main focus this season. Black two-piece suits with rosy bows, dipped dye ombre-transition suits, and a creative approach to layering yards of fabric for dresses continue to express how Burton has breathed an airiness to the brand and evolved it to make it her own.
Source: Vogue Runway
Miuccia Prada's take on Miu Miu Resort this season was a pure delight for fans of the younger sister brand to Prada. The collection brought a diverse group of clothing with quirky, fun, and sporty looks many have grown to expect from the brand. Mismatched dresses, sporty selections, and glamorous evening garments spell out a confident, nonchalant vibe with just enough chaos given the current circumstances. In particular, the cat dress is such a Miuccia piece; nowadays she’s probably the only one who could get away with unironically creating such a look.
Source: Vogue Runway
Resort has more power than many often think. It has been able to stay within stores during the lengthy transition period from Fall into Winter. Resort rarely goes on sale, especially because of its popularity and necessity. The clothing on the rack once the massive wave of fall clothing has been cleaned out is most likely Resort. You may be buying Resort clothes and never even know it! Yes, even places like the Gap and Zara partake, too. Resort is a lucrative business for many luxury and mid-level fashion business; the Resort collections are definitely are not going anywhere anytime soon.