Loved this, as usual. I think the problem is that now fashion is too much of a business. Who takes decisions are now business owners with often zero understanding of the fashion world and its creative processes. Brands like Valentino are a good example of balance though, the team behind the creation of the clothes is cherished and shown often, we know names and we recognise some faces, being still one of the most prolific Kering brands!
Hi Giulia, Thanks for your comment! I totally agree, creativity is often suffers under the weight of giant corporations driven by the price of the stock. I miss the days of designer founded companies, there so few now. Miuccia Prada is one of the few able to do it her way. And yes I love how Pier Paolo would bring the team out after the show. I wonder if Alessandro will continue to do so.
I miss those days too :( you know I love Miuccia so much, and that's definitely one of the reasons. I think Alessandro will do the same, I heard he loves the team at Valentino and being that close to Pierpaolo he will surely keep that alive.
So true and also so sad. And no, I'm not nostalgic.
We are still in Italy at the moment, doing the rounds of the fashion hotspots. It's shocking. In all shops 80% of the stores are filled with accessories. Clothes are an afterthought, displayed somewhere at the back of the stores. With the exception of a few unique, eye-catching pieces, the look mass-produced, badly finished, and terribly overpriced.
We talk to the sales staff. Some, mainly older staff, feel embarrassed. Fashion used to be about collections. They had a role to play in assisting customers finding the right outfit. Now it's about selling a single accessory.
Others, mainly younger ones, find this standard practice. One girl at a LV store was proud to say that the women's clothing was on the second floor, so that she could have more time to take clients through the entire accessory collection on the way up.
Louis Vuitton equals Walmart in customer manipulation.
It won't last. There's only so many bags you can buy in a season/year/lifetime.
We just don't know what's going to come next in luxury fashion. From experience we know that people are prepared to pay for quality. So true luxury fashion should be safe.
The problem is that fewer of the younger people understand true quality.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I use to get so much pleasure shopping in Milan when I travelled there often. There was so much, sad to hear that has changed in Italy. In New York there are plenty of clothes though very little that is actually wearable and well made and of that even less that is original. As a stylist to professional women it gets harder each season to find quality clothes that are different. So much of it looks the same! Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you again! Jolain
We were in NY that whole month of May and indeed we did not see the 'accessory takeover' as prominent as in Europe.
I believe the new EU regulation that will ban the destruction of textiles and footwear may be the cause. 9% of all online footwear sales ends up incinerated or in landfills after returns from customers (30% of purchases). 21% of all unsold textile stocks in Europe (offline + online) are currently destroyed. I expect that these figures are significantly higher for luxury brands that are very discreet when selling their unsold stocks at a discount.
Hence the pressure on lowering clothing production cost, increasing sales prices, and reducing clothing items in the overall range of products.
Those are shocking numbers! There has got to be a better way, like selling to resale companies. I always say there is just too much product. Going back to two seasons a year could cut waste by half.
Wow thank you for this piece and insight into your career! And that’s incredible that you worked with Oscar himself. Those design rooms seem like a dream at least from the outside.
I do agree with you on the reviews. Vogue is catchy but it doesn’t feel opinionated, although their technical writing is incredible. I think the NYT gets their critiques right.
Indeed, the people that work in the design offices really should be celebrated!
Thanks Kevin I'm glad you liked it. So much hard work goes into making a beautiful fashion show and at the end of the day it's a serious business. I feel that can often get lost.
This article, and all your articles are so spot on. You give a real insider view without the hyperbole of many fashion editors that are beholden to the brands with colossal advertising budgets. Brava Jolain for refreshing posts!
Loved this, as usual. I think the problem is that now fashion is too much of a business. Who takes decisions are now business owners with often zero understanding of the fashion world and its creative processes. Brands like Valentino are a good example of balance though, the team behind the creation of the clothes is cherished and shown often, we know names and we recognise some faces, being still one of the most prolific Kering brands!
Hi Giulia, Thanks for your comment! I totally agree, creativity is often suffers under the weight of giant corporations driven by the price of the stock. I miss the days of designer founded companies, there so few now. Miuccia Prada is one of the few able to do it her way. And yes I love how Pier Paolo would bring the team out after the show. I wonder if Alessandro will continue to do so.
I miss those days too :( you know I love Miuccia so much, and that's definitely one of the reasons. I think Alessandro will do the same, I heard he loves the team at Valentino and being that close to Pierpaolo he will surely keep that alive.
I would think Alessandro will continue the practice, they are such a talented team and for a designer that is gold!
So true and also so sad. And no, I'm not nostalgic.
We are still in Italy at the moment, doing the rounds of the fashion hotspots. It's shocking. In all shops 80% of the stores are filled with accessories. Clothes are an afterthought, displayed somewhere at the back of the stores. With the exception of a few unique, eye-catching pieces, the look mass-produced, badly finished, and terribly overpriced.
We talk to the sales staff. Some, mainly older staff, feel embarrassed. Fashion used to be about collections. They had a role to play in assisting customers finding the right outfit. Now it's about selling a single accessory.
Others, mainly younger ones, find this standard practice. One girl at a LV store was proud to say that the women's clothing was on the second floor, so that she could have more time to take clients through the entire accessory collection on the way up.
Louis Vuitton equals Walmart in customer manipulation.
It won't last. There's only so many bags you can buy in a season/year/lifetime.
We just don't know what's going to come next in luxury fashion. From experience we know that people are prepared to pay for quality. So true luxury fashion should be safe.
The problem is that fewer of the younger people understand true quality.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment! I use to get so much pleasure shopping in Milan when I travelled there often. There was so much, sad to hear that has changed in Italy. In New York there are plenty of clothes though very little that is actually wearable and well made and of that even less that is original. As a stylist to professional women it gets harder each season to find quality clothes that are different. So much of it looks the same! Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you again! Jolain
We were in NY that whole month of May and indeed we did not see the 'accessory takeover' as prominent as in Europe.
I believe the new EU regulation that will ban the destruction of textiles and footwear may be the cause. 9% of all online footwear sales ends up incinerated or in landfills after returns from customers (30% of purchases). 21% of all unsold textile stocks in Europe (offline + online) are currently destroyed. I expect that these figures are significantly higher for luxury brands that are very discreet when selling their unsold stocks at a discount.
Hence the pressure on lowering clothing production cost, increasing sales prices, and reducing clothing items in the overall range of products.
Those are shocking numbers! There has got to be a better way, like selling to resale companies. I always say there is just too much product. Going back to two seasons a year could cut waste by half.
Excellent post!
Wow thank you for this piece and insight into your career! And that’s incredible that you worked with Oscar himself. Those design rooms seem like a dream at least from the outside.
I do agree with you on the reviews. Vogue is catchy but it doesn’t feel opinionated, although their technical writing is incredible. I think the NYT gets their critiques right.
Indeed, the people that work in the design offices really should be celebrated!
Thanks Kevin I'm glad you liked it. So much hard work goes into making a beautiful fashion show and at the end of the day it's a serious business. I feel that can often get lost.
This article, and all your articles are so spot on. You give a real insider view without the hyperbole of many fashion editors that are beholden to the brands with colossal advertising budgets. Brava Jolain for refreshing posts!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you liked it and I appreciate your comment!
Thank you for reading!