Italian fashion house Valentino announced Tuesday it is giving the catwalks of Paris a skip this month because of the coronavirus pandemic, instead presenting its new spring and summer collection in Milan.

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

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

"In the current scenario, we need to make decisions in advance to protect our first resources, our people, and to allow our brand to remain relevant in exploring alternative opportunities," Valentino chief executive Jacopo Venturini said.

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

"Paris is the city that always hosted our shows and represents the DNA of Valentino," added creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.

"The current situation has forced us to take an unusual decision," he said.

The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 840,000 worldwide has also turned the fashion industry upside-down, with virtual fashion weeks held for the first time in London, Milan and Paris in June and July.