Announcing that he will no longer be showcasing a Spring 2021 collection as part of the September event, the fashion designer plans to host alternative virtual event between October and November.

• Jun 16, 2020

AceShowbiz - Michael Kors is stepping away from traditional fashion presentations to make way for "a new era" in the industry.

The designer, who has long been a part of New York Fashion Week, has announced that he will not be showcasing a Spring 2021 collection as part of the September event.

Instead, he will host an alternative virtual event to display his new looks sometime between October and November.

He has also revealed he will streamline production of his Spring and Autumn items, rather than unveil pre-collection items, as is common for designers. The decision was made as the coronavirus pandemic has altered the ways in which fashion events are hosted.

"I have for a long time thought that the fashion calendar needs to change," Kors tells Vogue. "It's exciting for me to see the open dialogue within the fashion community about the calendar - from Giorgio Armani to Dries Van Noten to Gucci to YSL to major retailers around the globe - about ways in which we can slow down the process and improve the way we work."

"We've all had time to reflect and analyze things, and I think many agree that it's time for a new approach for a new era."

Kors' departure from the traditional fashion calendar comes as representatives for brands like Saint Laurent and Gucci have been moving away from traditional presentations of collections.

"Prior to the late 1990s, the New York spring collections were shown from late October to the beginning of November, after the Paris collections," Kors adds. "That calendar was in place for many decades and worked quite smoothly, and particularly in this age with the speed of social media, showing the collection closer to when it will be delivered makes logical sense to me."