Resort wear — pieces 40-somethings wear on their week-long trips to scenic island getaways or what we see heavily advertised within the folds of Vogue. But for the average person, resort wear is an enigma that could easily be limited to a seasonably appropriate swimsuit.

Resort wear, or cruise wear, is a collection that is showcased between spring/summer and fall/winter fashion weeks. Throughout the years, new shows have been added to the fashion calendar, such as pre-fall, menswear and the elusive resort wear. But this addition leads us to question why designers have added additional collections to the traditional seasons.

The immediate answer is monetary gain. With big fashion houses constantly churning out new designs, they increase revenue. And consumers are directly correlated with profit. Fashion houses must tend to the growing wants and demands of customers. To address these demands, fashion houses craft inter-seasonal shows such as resort wear. But, what is the purpose of resort wear?

Resort wear caters to wealthier clientele — the clients who could afford to go on luxurious Mediterranean excursions or exotic voyages. These collections consist of clothing that these affluent members would take on their vacations. This allows them to stay and feel luxe no matter where they decide to dock.

However, resort is not restricted to breezy fabrics and summer staples. For instance, Gucci’s Resort 2018 collection interjected winter coats and fur right next to flowy gowns. Mixing winter and summer staples may seem quite odd, but it is designed to cater to the customer. This allows the company to address all climates where one may be vacationing.

By allowing for climate adjustments, companies look at their biggest markets on a global scale. Highsnobiety reports that “their biggest spends are in the ever-important Asian, Arab and Russian markets, and those are consumers who need clothes for different temperatures at different times from the western markets.”

Resort wear is not exclusively produced by high-end brands. Other brands such as Vineyard Vines and J. Crew manufacture resort wear. However, they do not put on the bigger presentations like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Chanel, and as a result, their collections are not as well-known. Just as non-high-end brands produce resort wear, some higher end brands, like Vetements, are vigorously opposed to resort wear collections. However, Vetements’ disposition may be due to the small size of the company.

Though resort wear has been inserted into the fashion calendar, who’s paying attention?  The concept of showcasing spring/summer looks in fall is quite mind boggling to some. In a generation of tech savvy adults, does resort wear fit into their equation?

Again, resort wear is not accessible to everyone. Trends are not necessarily rooted within the resort collections. Most trends are drawn from the bigger collections or, in this present day, Instagram. Resort showcases options. Nonetheless, these options are not for everyone, but for the select few that can afford it.

Email Jalil Johnson at [email protected].