Gucci abandons seasonal shows as pandemic reshapes art world

In a reflective essay on Artribune, Christian Caliandro argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered time and space, challenging the art world's reliance on seasonal rhythms and mass tourism. He notes that while many institutions postpone exhibitions hoping for a return to normalcy, deeper structural changes are underway. As a concrete example, Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele announced on Instagram that the brand will abandon traditional seasonal fashion shows, reducing to two annual presentations that mix rules and genres. Michele declared he will leave behind the "tired ritual of seasonality" and terms like cruise, pre-fall, spring-summer, fall-winter, which he called "stale and undernourished." Caliandro observes that cities once dependent on cultural tourism now find themselves empty, suggesting the monoculture of tourism was never a brilliant idea. He emphasizes that the pandemic acts as an amplifier of pre-existing processes, and that true transformation requires embracing change rather than postponing it. The essay appears in the Italian art magazine Artribune, which also publishes newsletters on the art market (Incanti), urban regeneration (Render), and cultural tourism (PAX).