There's that traditionally lacklustre period in stores when the spring sales rack has been ransacked, but shoppers aren't ready for the heavy commitment of autumn. But they still need something new to buy. Enter 'pre-fall'.
The category - now increasingly catered to by just about every designer label of note - is a growing one in an industry that needs to find ways to be all things, to all people, all the time. In much the same way that resort was a boon to fashionistas wanting to refresh their spring wardrobes before heading off on their summer holidays, pre-fall is here to fill that awkward gap between the ethereal lightness of maxi dresses and the elegant tailoring of a boucle jacket.
Pre-fall has been around as a category for about a decade. But it has only recently become an entity unto itself. Occasionally, the designs are even given their own fully-fledged shows. As a result, they have stepped into the limelight.
Michael Fink, former women's fashion director for Saks Fifth Avenue and the dean of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), says that, until recently, pre- fall was considered a more basic season. 'Luxury brands would replenish best-selling work silhouettes, presenting them in a new colour palette and perhaps modifying the silhouette,' he says.
The internet changed everything, providing real-time photos and coverage of all new collections.
'The entire world was in on the action,' says Fink. 'There was no mystery left.'
