Valentino to pass on Paris fashion week

Italian fashion house Valentino announcedTuesday it is giving the catwalks of Paris a skip this month because of thecoronavirus pandemic, instead presenting its new spring and summercollectionin Milan.

For years a regular at the Paris Fashion Week, the designer brand citedthe"unprecedented times" brought about by the coronavirus pandemic for thechangeof venue.

Paris officials earlier this week ruled face masks compulsory as Francerecorded its highest number of infections since early May.

"In the current scenario, we need to make decisions in advance to protectour first resources, our people, and to allow our brand to remain relevantinexploring alternative opportunities," Valentino chief executive JacopoVenturini said.

"This is why we feel that it would be more ethical to produce the newshowin Italy, in Milano," he said in a press release.

"Paris is the city that always hosted our shows and represents the DNA ofValentino," added creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. "The current situation has forced us to take an unusual decision," hesaid.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than840,000 worldwide has also turned the fashion industry upside-down, withvirtual fashion weeks held for the first time in London, Milan and Paris inJune and July.(AFP)