understanding the fashion calendar
Fashion might seem like an ever-turning carousel of trends, drops, and viral moments but beneath the surface lies a highly structured global calendar that dictates everything from designer timelines to what lands on shop floors each season. Whether you’re a budding insider or just trying to make sense of why winter coats drop in July, here’s your cheat sheet to decoding fashion’s seasonal rhythm.
What Are the Seasons?
The core structure of the fashion calendar is split into four main collections: Spring/Summer (SS), Autumn/Winter (AW), Resort, and Pre-Fall. Each season reflects not just climate, but buying habits, global fashion week schedules, and cultural consumption cycles.
Alongside these, Haute Couture stands apart - a category of its own with strict rules, extraordinary craftsmanship, and a Paris-only schedule.
When Are They Shown?
Fashion weeks take place four times a year, divided between menswear and womenswear:
Menswear: January (AW) and June (SS)
Womenswear: February (AW) and September (SS)
The “Big Four” fashion capitals — London, Milan, Paris, and New York — host these shows, each city offering its own cultural flavour and industry weight.
Meanwhile, Resort and Pre-Fall collections are shown off-schedule. These are not attached to formal fashion weeks; brands present them independently through lookbooks, showroom appointments, or destination shows.
Why Are Collections Shown So Early?
If you’ve ever seen a bikini drop in February or coats hit shelves mid-July, you’re not imagining things. The retail calendar runs ahead of the actual season - a strategy that allows editors to feature looks in upcoming magazine issues, and buyers to place wholesale orders months in advance.
Here’s how it plays out:
Spring/Summer collections, shown in September, hit stores by January.
Autumn/Winter collections, shown in February, begin dropping around July — often to catch the lucrative back-to-school market.
As new season stock arrives, previous collections go on sale — a crucial strategy for brand profit margins.
Spring/Summer (SS)
Shown in: June (Menswear), September (Womenswear)
Think: Lightweight fabrics, warm-weather silhouettes, and colour palettes designed for sunlit escapism.
Editors and buyers attend these shows to prep for the upcoming year’s coverage and retail landscape.
Autumn/Winter (AW)
Shown in: January (Menswear), February (Womenswear)
These collections prep for the cooler half of the year and are typically more layered, structured, and rooted in transitional styling.
Shown 3–6 months ahead of launch to allow production and global distribution.
Resort / Cruise
Shown between: AW and SS
Born from the luxury customer’s jet-set lifestyle, Resort is travel-ready fashion - whether that means lightweight dresses for Caribbean escapes or après-ski looks for Aspen.
Not bound by seasonality, these collections are increasingly commercial - and increasingly relevant year-round.
Pre-Fall
Delivers from: April–May
Less editorial, more wearable. Pre-Fall sits between Resort and AW, offering transitional, commercial pieces that appeal to loyal customers — often shown via showroom, lookbook or capsule campaign.
Haute Couture
Held: Twice a year in Paris - January and July
This is fashion’s highest form; a discipline of craftsmanship, storytelling, and legacy.
Only a handful of maisons are accredited to show Haute Couture, producing one-of-a-kind pieces tailored for private clients. No mass production. No trends. Just pure art and vision.