To pre or not to pre: that is no longer the question

The Dior pre-fall 2015 collection shown in Tokyo. Picture / AP Images

How much do pre-collections matter? It's an obvious question to ask at this time of year - no, not Christmas, but the time of pre-fall. At the start of the month. Karl Lagerfeld showed his for Chanel, and last week Raf Simons unveiled Dior's pre-fall wares in Tokyo.

When we - in the fashion industry - say "pre-fall", we mean the Americanisation of autumn, rather than the kind of fall that pride comes before, although fashion houses are inordinately proud of the sales figures of their pre-fall lines. Most will harp on about their importance to a half-listening journalist given any opportunity, a chance to emphasise the power of the label and the health of the business.

So, in business terms, pre-collections matter a lot. However, I wonder if they really matter at all to the consumers - at least, in the grand old scheme of seasons and labels.

Both Lagerfeld and Simons schlepped the press across the world to see their latest wares, and showed collections inspired to varying degrees by their locales. Simons did Christian Dior via Cio-Cio San, and there was plenty of Tyrolean schmaltz in Lagerfeld's outing, staged in a Salzburg schloss. Both looked fine and will doubtless find ample buyers.

But does anyone really care what we fashion folk decide to call these clothes - especially now that even the spring/summer-autumn/winter axis has devolved into a seasonless mush? Luxury clients today simply care about looking good and having new clothes.

That's really what pre-collections are all about: more clothes. The only label that matters is the expensive one stitched into the back of the neck. "For us it is six collections a year, which means a collection for us every two months," says Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's president of fashion.

"Our clients are excited by new things," says Dior's chief executive, Sidney Toledano. Notice it's the money men I quote about these collections: the designers are too busy designing them all.

So, how much do pre-collections matter? A lot. And it's no use bemoaning the fact. To pre, or not to pre isn't a question any designers can afford to ask. Fashion, like the rest of the world, now operates on four seasons.

- The Independent