Tom Ford Stops See-Now, Buy-Now Model

Tom Ford has announced his decision to abandon the see-now, buy-now model he adopted with his eponymous fashion house last February, confirming that he will return to New York Fashion Week this September to show his spring/summer 2018 collection on the official schedule.

The designer, one of many who decided to try out the new format with the view to shorten the timespan between clothes being shown on the catwalk and being available to purchase, explained that while he had been optimistic about the new structure, ultimately "the store shipping schedule doesn’t align with the fashion show schedule", reports WWD. He added that last September (his first outing as a see-now, buy-now brand) he "lost a month of selling" because he held back on putting the autumn/winter 2016 collection on the shop floor until after it had been seen on the catwalk (it had been ready since mid-August).

He also revealed that while "business boomed" immediately after the show (as is the intention with see-now, buy-now brands), the initial buzz did not make up for the coverage he lost from long-lead press.

The news comes in the same week that fellow see-now, buy-now business Thakoon announced that it was abandoning the model, although in that case operations are halting entirely for the time being. A spokesperson for the brand mirrored Ford's reasoning, saying that the label had "recognised that the business model is ahead of the current retail environment", confirming that it is "taking a pause and an eventual restructure".

With two major advocates of the model now calling it quits, questions will be asked about how sustainable the model - which caused ructions around the industry, as well as much comment and speculation - is.