Sao Paulo Fashion Week is called off

Sao Paulo Fashion Week has been cancelled amidst the global coronavirus health crisis.

The Brazilian event, which was sct to run from April 24 through April 28, will no longer go ahead, reports WWD.

"Due to the recent announcement of COVID-19 pandemic, Sao Paulo Fashion Week has decided to cancel all shows scheduled for April 24 to 28," co-founder Graca Cabral told the publication.

The news comes as the Australian city of Melbourne also pulled the plug on the remaining events in the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival, which has been ongoing since March 4 and was expected to culminate on March 14. "In the interest of the health and safety of our partners, participants, team, volunteers and patrons, the Melbourne Fashion Festival Ltd. has made the decision to cancel all remaining produced events, effective immediately, as a precautionary containment measure," read a statement from the organizers. In Japan, Tokyo Fashion Week, which was slated to run this month from March 16 through 21, has been called off.

Multiple fashion houses have cancelled upcoming shows and presentations in light of the health crisis, with Hermès and Max Mara announcing the cancellation of their resort shows (scheduled to take place in April and May respectively) this week. Prada, Gucci, Giorgio Armani and Versace have also cancelled or postponed their 2021 cruise presentations.