As anyone who attends fashion week will know, the line “We’re operating with reduced capacity,” is often code for “We’re prioritising other people.” But for Autumn/Winter 2025, it seems to actually be true. In Paris, several houses have scaled down their shows, leaving a lot of disgruntled editors and buyers without a spot.
Across the big four cities, major brand shows typically have guest lists of 500 to 1,000 people. But at Sarah Burton’s much-anticipated Givenchy debut on Friday, held in the brand’s Avenue Georges V HQ, there were only 300 guests. Equally, Haider Ackermann’s debut for Tom Ford on Wednesday, also one of the season’s most anticipated shows, had just 200 seats.
Speaking to Vogue Runway’s Nicole Phelps pre-show, Burton said she was looking for proximity between attendees and the clothes, the idea being: “How close can [the models] get without being caught on a handbag?” Likewise, Ackermann told The New York Times he wanted his show to feel “intimate”, explaining, “I believe that’s what luxury is. It shouldn’t be accessible to everything and everyone.”
And as brands seek to be more exclusive and intimate with their show formats, they are having to re-evaluate the proportion of editors, buyers, influencers, celebrities and friends of the brand they accommodate, to get the best ROI.
“It’s been a fight to get tickets for the team this season,” says one editor, who wishes to remain anonymous, but is in a senior role. “In a lot of cases, for shows I usually sit front row at, I’ve been either not invited at all or bumped back to the second row this season, which makes it challenging to write about the show or to capture content for the [publication’s] socials.” The picture is similar for many editors and buyers this season, they add, where brands often give just one ticket, which goes to editors-in-chiefs or CEOs who typically aren’t reporting on or capturing content for the publication or store’s social media.
Economically, perhaps it makes sense that brands are toning things down a little. The luxury slowdown continues to weigh on the majority of the industry. And while LVMH sales have stabilised slightly, down just 1 per cent from 2023 to 2024, Kering revenues fell 12 per cent during the same period. When major, high-capacity fashion shows can cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of euros, perhaps it’s smart to trim budgets. Instead, brands are getting smarter about their guest lists, and prioritising quality over quantity, to ensure the best press, commercial performance and social media amplification.
“Watching costs extend not only to the shows but to the invites. There are fewer, less elaborate physical invitations this season, more via email and QR,” says Richard Johnson, Mytheresa chief commercial and sustainability officer. The same held true in Milan, according to Hélène Guillaume, editor-in-chief of fashion at Le Figaro.
From Coperni’s many viral outings to Louis Vuitton’s Western-inspired Pharrell Williams debut, post-pandemic, fashion shows were about spectacle and social shareability, as brands shot for the Gen Z customer and fought for views and likes amid the rise of TikTok. But as the younger, aspirational luxury consumers continue to pull back spending, brands are aiming for an older, high-spending shopper, who cares less about celebrity, influencers and social media and more about craftsmanship and heritage.
Exclusivity and intimacy
Younger generations have hit social media saturation, often interested in brands that gatekeep a little. More intimate shows can help brands create exclusivity and desirability, as more and more brands look to the approach of houses like Hermès and The Row, who are each performing strongly even amid the slowdown, because they’re hyper-exclusive and aloof.
“There’s a general mood for more intimate shows with smaller audiences, taking a cue from The Row, who pioneered this format along with an embargo on photos to maintain an air of privacy and exclusivity,” says Johnson. “For some designers, this resonates well with the ethos of the house. However, it isn’t a good idea for all brands. In this environment, you need to engage the industry and especially the consumer.”
Among his many roles, PR guru Lucien Pagès plans the seating for shows across the big four fashion weeks. This season in Paris, his clients range from Coperni (900 seats) to Duran Lantink (200). “When people say [shows are smaller] because of the economy, I’m a bit sceptical. Sometimes small shows cost a lot! As always, everybody has a different agenda,” he tells Vogue Business.
For many designers, intimacy is key this season; likely as consumers, and thus the industry at large, become increasingly discerning about craftsmanship and quality as well as the focus being on the clothes over big show gimmicks. “[Designers] want the audience to be very close to the clothes — salon presentations [like we saw in the ’40s and ’50s] are trending right now,” Pagès says, which chimes with the set-up at Burton’s Givenchy debut. “Yesterday at Schiaparelli, Daniel [Roseberry] perfumed the models, that’s how close he wanted them to the audience. And I don’t think it has to do with the economy. That’s my view. And maybe someone more into numbers will tell you the contrary.”
To achieve this intimacy or to fit into a smaller venue (because the designer loves the space), an increasing number of brands are now requesting two shows, Pagès adds, which is often denied by Paris Fashion Week organisers because of scheduling issues. Pagès points to Jacquemus’s couture show in January, in the apartment of late architect Auguste Perret, which could only fit 45 people. “That wasn’t a question of budget, he wanted to do it there,” he says. The brand ended up staging two shows to fit more guests.
For Vuitton, too, the reduced show capacity this season is because of the brand’s specific choice of venue, an “iconic space”, which the brand says aligns with the theme of the collection: ‘The Art of Travel’. The maison says it doesn’t choose venues based on capacity, but operates the other way around depending on the inspiration behind the collection.
More strategic moves
Based on the average media impact value (MIV) of a major show, plus the average number of seats, Launchmetrics calculated that a single seat at a fashion show can be worth $77,000. So as brands reduce capacity, it pays to be strategic. (MIV analyses the monetary value of posts concerning a show, measuring article mentions and social media interactions.)
“I think brands are still struggling to understand, who do I put in that seat? Every show, no matter its size, needs to show some type of return on investment. And brands still have a list of people that are must-haves no matter the capacity. So they need to decipher how to get the most out of the rest,” says Launchmetrics CMO Alison Bringé.
This doesn’t mean brands will swap out press and buyers for a full guest list of talent, and Bringé says it’s unlikely publications will ever be iced out. “Not every person that you invite to a show is going to be based on media impact value, but when you come down to those last five seats and you need to decide, who gets that? It’s certainly more helpful to have the data to make that decision,” Bringé says.
A lot of editors and industry insiders have strong social media followings and would contribute to MIV either directly from their accounts or via footage they take for their publication’s socials. However, even when editors don’t get a seat, often they will still cover from afar, as to not threaten brand relationships or all-important advertising revenue. For buyers, a strong show can mean strong sell-through; it wouldn’t pay to not invest just because you didn’t get a seat.
“I don’t want to spit my dummy out of the pram,” the aforementioned anonymous editor says. “To not cover this season would be short-sighted, especially if it might go back to normal next time. It has a knock–on effect on everybody if you don’t cover [the show], and this industry works on relationships.”
September is traditionally the bigger season, and with some major debuts set for then, including Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, perhaps brands are trying to ensure they stay competitive — and perhaps we will be back to full capacity soon.
The PRs hope so, too. “If we do have [reduced capacity] it’s terrible, because we want to accommodate everyone. There are so many people we love that help us during the whole season,” Pagès says. “But I have to say, sometimes when shows are intimate you create a vibe that is more unique.”
With additional reporting from Laure Guilbault and Elektra Kotsoni.
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