NEW YORK, United States — Tom Ford will present his Autumn/Winter 2016 menswear and womenswear collections in September, rather than on 18th February during New York Fashion Week, as had originally been scheduled. The collections will be available to buy online and in-store on the day of the presentation, closing the gap between runway and retail.

“In a world that has become increasingly immediate, the current way of showing a collection four months before it is available to consumers is an antiquated idea and one that could no longer makes sense,” Ford said in a statement. “We have been living with a fashion calendar and system that is from another era.”

“Our customers today want a collection that is immediately available,” the designer added. “We spend an enormous amount of money and energy to stage an event that creates excitement too far in advance of when the collection is available to the consumer. Showing the collection as it arrives in stores will remedy this, and allow the excitement that is created by a show or event to drive sales and satisfy our customers’ increasing desire to have their clothes as they are ready to wear them.”

This is not the first time Ford has experimented with how he presents his collections. For Autumn/Winter 2015, Ford hosted a runway event in Los Angeles before the Oscars. The designer debuted his Spring/Summer 2016 collection with a fashion film, shot by Nick Knight and starring Lady Gaga. But this will be the first time Ford shows his collections at the same time as they hit stores.

Ford's announcement comes on the heels of another major move to align the runway with retail. This morning, Burberry revealed plans to overhaul its operating model and show its men's and women's collections together at two annual runway events, with 'seasonless' product available to buy immediately after the shows.