This month, Fashion Houses across the globe will start coming together for some of the most important dates in the industry’s calendar, Fashion Week.
Kicking off with Milan Fashion Week Men’s Fall-Winter 2025, this illustrious season will once again showcase the latest collections from some of the most revered designers across the globe.
Behind the glitz and the glamour, in-depth planning and faultless coordination falls at the heart of these all-important events.
Playing a pivotal role throughout the year is the logistics element of Fashion Week, ensuring the new season’s collections reach their destinations in time to be showcased on the runway.Although remaining very much backstage during the flurry of Fashion Weeks, it is a component which is crucial to ensuring these iconic occasions can not only take place but also run without a glitch.
This year will be no different. With geopolitical tensions around the world continuing to test the resolve of global supply chains, the fallout of such volatility has led to rising shipping costs, container shortages, delays, and significant port bottlenecks.
According to Umar Butt, CEO of the UK and Europe at global logistics specialists Aramex, the rule book has been somewhat scrapped for how brands have typically prepped for Fashion Weeks, with fashion houses now needing to adapt to unpredictable global conditions to ensure their collections arrive on time.
“There is absolutely no room for error during Fashion Week, and fashion houses have had to evolve their strategies in the run up to these events as the old ways of doing things are gone. We’ve been ingrained to working to a fixed model for decades, but the world is changing at a rapid rate, and things are no longer as they were.”
Leaders within the shipping industry have already indicted that disruptions coming out of the Red Sea, a byproduct of which is the regular rerouting of cargo ships, will spill over into this year, as Houthis rebels vow to continue their attacks on passing vessels, meaning the Groundhog Day cycle of attacks – rerouting – delays – capacity shortages – port congestion – and repeat, is only likely to continue for the foreseeable.
Expectedly, there has also been an uptick in demand for air freight to avoid the potential two-week extra lead time, as brands opt instead to bear the expense of transporting a percentage of their stock via the skies.
With vessels opting for longer routes around Africa to bypass the Red Sea, where the Houthi group has been targeting shipping, ships are also unloading larger quantities of cargo at major transshipment hubs, which has caused significant congestion at major ports. With less ships currently available due to being tied up on longer routes, this has not only put a strain on existing capacity but also contributed to the current backlog.
Umar Butt commented: “As a rule of thumb fashion houses should begin working with their logistics partners at least six months in advance to secure capacity, however that timeline has almost certainly had to be extended to nine to 12 months to ensure collections arrive in time. This extended window allows for contingency planning and accounts for high-risk factors such as customs delays, adverse weather conditions, and unexpected port congestion.
“We’re currently operating in a time where the unexpected has become the new normal, meaning that traditional planning methods have been made somewhat redundant. While established timelines may have been set in stone for months, it’s entirely possible that brands this year will have to pivot on their plans and adjust their strategies last minute to cater for any sudden issues.
“Fashion designers and brands, which operate on tight schedules to deliver their collections to runways on time, could face significant difficulty in meeting deadlines, not only if they have yet to secure capacity, which should ideally already be in place, even for shows scheduled later this year, but also if they have failed to implement robust contingency plans into their logistics strategies.”
Umar continued: “It’s cliché but preparing for uncertainty is the new currency of success. From considering alternative routes such as sea-to-air combinations, rail freight, to using smaller regional ports if delays become imminent, it’s important that fashion houses are in constant communication with their logistics partners throughout the year to ensure that if a crisis does occur, they’re in a solid position to adjust plans accordingly without causing any unwanted delays.”
Umar Butt has also urged fashion houses to remain vigilant to theft during Fashion Weeks, with freight crime currently on the rise across Europe. According to data from The Association for the Protection of Technological Assets (TAPA EMEA), transport theft cases in the European Union increased by 35 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Due to the sensitivity of transporting high-value fashion items, fashion houses are especially vulnerable to theft during this period, with opportunistic criminals primed to jump at the chance of seizing priceless collections given the chance.
During Paris Fashion Week in 2023, a delivery van that contained around 50 designs which were due to be included in the Balmain line-up, was targeted by thieves, and stolen ten days prior to the show.
The financial director of the fashion house estimated Balmain's losses from the theft to be €645,000, as per their official statement.
Umar continued: “There’s a significant focus on the international logistics aspect of transporting fashion collections from one destination to another but the final leg of the journey often falls by the wayside, when arguably this is when such high-value items are at their most vulnerable.
“Shipments should be tracked as standard as this enables logistics providers and fashion houses to monitor a shipment's progress, but given the severity of freight crime at present, brands should be going that one step further by using high-security transport services as well as secure packaging and tamper-evident seals to deter criminal gangs.”