It's a big mess. The world is changing - not always for the better - and we need to keep up with the changes, but there is a way to do it!
As Karl Lagerfeld bluntly says, fashion and luxury are currently experiencing a period of turbulence. An exponential number of brands are being created with more or less success, the supply is constantly increasing and much faster than the demand. We then find a consumer who is often lost, whether they are shopping at Chevignon or Gucci.
So what is happening right now?
Ah! How far Karlito's youth is. At that time, there were only two collections per year and Haute-Couture was flourishing...
I suggest, first of all, that we draw up certain observations and understand their consequences on brands and our relationship with fashion. Then, we will see that new economic models appear in all ranges, risking profoundly changing the face of this sector.
Fast fashion: when fashion and luxury move too quickly
You will have noticed: fashion focuses more on quantity than quality today and the impact on the consumer is real. Despite what one might believe, the world of luxury is not spared...
What is fast fashion ?
Fashion must always offer more and always move faster. The fast fashion industry is today the norm, with a simple objective: to ride obsolescence to its peak and offer new collections several times a month, very financially accessible, to make the consumer hooked. to novelty .
A good illustration to evoke the idea that brands “put up” huge quantities of clothing.
It is because of this mechanism that you hear people around you saying "I prefer to change often rather than buy quality" : having new shoes becomes an end in itself... And in view of the trend background that constitutes this bulimia of cheap novelties, the fast fashion strategy works wonderfully.
Chains into which millions of people rush every day to buy a poor quality product produced in monstrous quantities... H&M / McDo = same fight.
Cynically, perhaps we should even recognize that by disrupting the relationship with clothing and fashion to this extent, “fast fashion” is one of the most successful marketing concepts ever created.
However, if it costs little to the consumer who only thinks in the short term, purchase by purchase, there is still a price to pay. We will see that the consequences are numerous.
Note: of course, fast fashion sometimes emerges as the only possible option (typical example with a student), which obviously changes the situation. Our goal is not to make H&M public enemy number 1, simply to draw your attention to the practices of this type of brand and their impacts.
An impact on several levels
The first consequence of this dubbing of a fashion without conscience concerns both those who make it and... everyone else. First of all, directly, because their factory catches fire, collapses or the pace imposed is inhumane and dangerous for health: I'm hardly exaggerating. Then indirectly, because of the impact of textile production on the environment (air, water, soil, etc.).
Several associations and professionals have warned of the dangerous impact that fashion (and in particular inexpensive fashion) has on the environment and those who manufacture it.
From a more structural point of view, fast fashion significantly affects the consumer. Through various articles published previously, we have been able to highlight the total loss of "references" with regard first to the quality, then the fair price of fashion.
This explains the need for beginners to understand what a well-made garment is - in particular by examining certain criteria (materials, manufacturing, details, etc.) - and then to know the brands offering good value for money. / price in order to "re-format".
We all know that a pretty pair of shoes, without necessarily costing a month's salary, has a certain price. But it's always a pleasure to buy less to buy better!
Jeans don't cost €30 and you don't need to change them every two months. A winter coat is not made from acrylic or polyester and is not expected to become damaged at the end of the season. A pair of shoes for €250 made in Europe with a sewn assembly is not a "luxury", but an honest price for a product also intended to last over time.
Does this seem obvious to you? Normal, you are readers of BonneGueule. 🙂 But what about those around you?
Luxury and fast fashion: is the exception disappearing?
First of all, I would like to give you my definition of this overused term. It is subjective, but it is ultimately almost impossible to establish an objective definition. In my opinion, luxury combines three essential elements:
- Technique : luxury always expresses mastery, very advanced know-how AND a story. Depending on the country, local know-how can also influence the work of a creator. Luxury is also a powerful vector of innovation: perfecting or inventing methods is often the business of large houses in order to stand out. We can think of Chanel and its unique construction of jackets, Versace and the work of metal mesh, Hermès and its saddle stitch transposed into leather goods... And since we are talking about luxury, manufacturing in the country which saw the birth of know-how and carried it out seems essential to me.
Bespoke, the ultimate luxury of men's costume, is the result of techniques developed over the centuries, particularly in England and Italy.
- Beauty : the term can make you smile, yet the search for beauty seems to me to be the most powerful engine of luxury. Whether through an experience (tasting, stay in an exceptional hotel) or in the style of a piece of clothing, the aesthetic dimension is absolutely crucial. Some luxury brands start from a strong artistic proposition, but others like Loro Piana affirm a constant search for simplicity.
Versace assumes an aesthetic that is both sexy and technically virtuoso, unique in the fashion landscape.
- Rarity/nobility : luxury is defined by contrast with what is banal/common. I tend to place the cursor quite high on this point: a wool coat, even perfectly cut and manufactured, is in my opinion a high-end product. Conversely, a double-faced cashmere coat with silk sleeve lining is a luxurious item. The exceptional aspect of luxury is therefore closely linked to this notion of rarity of know-how (embroidery, tailoring, cuts, etc.) and materials (vicuna, crocodile, lotus fiber, etc.).
The “researchers” from Loro Piana met women on the banks of a Burmese lake with unique know-how in the world: that of making fabric from lotus fiber. €5,000 per meter for an absolutely exceptional material.
To quote Kapféré, price does not make luxury : it is not because we put an exorbitant price on a product that it is luxurious, it is because the product itself is luxurious that the we almost “have” to sell it dearly.
Today, the term “luxury” is used everywhere: everyone wants to be one. On the one hand, there are these brands which have never been luxurious but brazenly claim to be luxurious: the Americans are very good at that, with Coach, Michael Kors, Alexander Wang... European labels are also creating special items for the USA where logos on coated canvas replace noble and sober leathers.
The MA-GNI-FIQUE monogrammed and plastic-coated canvas by Coach, and the SU-PERBE plastic-style leather by Michael Kors. Because it's sold very expensively on 5th Avenue in a wonderful boutique, it's supposed to be luxury.
On the other side, there are these brands which surf on their glorious past to deceive the consumer and sell them a false luxury : it is packaged like luxury, expensive like luxury, shiny like luxury but manufactured in an industrial way as a mass product. The “magic” is maintained by communication, the objective being to create around an ordinary product (a trench coat made in China, for example) a universe hammering out the codes of the sector (packaging, boutiques, etc.).
A cotton blazer with very coarse armholes, sold for €900. White cotton pants with transparent pockets, sold for €400. This, gentlemen, is nonsense: Lanvin and Dsquared claim a "style effect" to justify cheap and approximate manufacturing... expensive as luxury, however.
Goodbye noble materials, impeccable cuts and legendary solidity! Givenchy, Prada, Lanvin, Armani, Louis Vuitton... They all seem today much more professional in merchandising than in the manufacturing of noble products: they maintain a very limited range of "real" luxury but make their money on the articles monogrammed.
Obviously, this trend should not lead us to believe that there are no longer any Houses attached to true luxury: there are still some very beautiful ones!
JJ Martin, a Milanese journalist, however, sums up the overall state of the sector well:
Today, there is no longer any difference in how to sell a bag or toothpaste.
While the relationships are reversed (luxury “copies” the fast fashion model), the “magic” of brands disappears. The great creators leave the great Houses one after the other, drained by the imposed pace of “creation”. Some labels are seeing their figures collapse, their products no longer make people dream. The customer, much less loyal than before, moves from one brand to another according to the ephemeral hype of each.
Is it too late to save luxury?
Raf Simons (Dior), Alessandro Sartori (Berluti), Alber Elbaz (Lanvin), Massimiliano Giornetti (S. Ferragamo), Stefano Pilatti (Zegna), Brendan Mullane (Brioni)... All this in less than a year and I What is happening is a slaughter.
To summarize this first part, we could ultimately say that everyone is a little lost. The consumer is force-fed by advertisements which brands use like a syringe to inject them with an artificial need for novelty.
Fast fashion is so successful financially that luxury brands and groups have let themselves be fooled, entering into a race for quantity that is absolutely contradictory to the very definition of luxury. Until the implosion...
Towards a marked split between fast fashion model and sustainable fashion
Faced with undeniable excitement in the fashion and luxury industry, several types of response have emerged. The Americans are trying to introduce a new model to the luxury industry while, on the other hand, small consumer brands are shaking up consumption patterns that we thought were immutable.
A controversial concept: see now, buy now
I mentioned above different approaches to luxury, opposing a “modern” vision based on communications and the brand universe to another more conservative one, focusing heavily on “real” luxury, that of a well-made product.
Beyond the business model itself, it is possible to establish a link with a “cultural” factor. Americans are in fact almost all in marketing luxury, while the old continent retains Houses with a much nobler vision of luxury.
Transforming a total charade bordering on plagiarism into a “genius collection” thanks to money and marketing: a very American concept (but not only).
It's no surprise that the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) is seeking to generalize a whole new economic and event model: see now, buy now
Traditionally, the "show" as they say takes place around 6 months before the collection arrives in stores, time to allow buyers, journalists and the brand (manufacturing, etc.) to do their jobs. With this system, the presentation takes place at the start of the season for complete synchronization with the cast.
The Grands Magasins (Louvre Matengo, ideal setting for the book “Au Bonheur des Dames” by Zola), the sites and other multi-brand boutiques placed orders after the fashion shows.
Versus Versace (the brand's second line) was one of the very first to offer a collection for sale online a few minutes after the show, but the real trigger was British. Burberry announced at the start of the year that it would only do two fashion shows per year (men's and women's), each comprising summer and winter, which will be available for sale the next day in their stores. Everyone got excited, Tom Ford followed and the CFDA now proposes to make “see now, buy now” a model for everyone.
From the live video of the show, Burberry offers you the opportunity to purchase the looks presented in one click.
Except that in Europe, we don't hear it that way. Ralph Toledano, president of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture, immediately refused to allow such a model to be imposed in France, joined by his Italian counterparts . Only Gucci has announced the merger of the men's and women's shows, without accepting direct sales. This is where the split is perhaps most visible.
In Paris in particular, you can attend fairly "confidential" fashion shows, those of young designers for whom "see now, buy now" has no meaning. Here, the Mihara Yasuhiro fashion show from last January.
The “creative” or artisanal brands found mainly in Europe have much longer manufacturing processes than the Americans; this is a reality that customers understand perfectly. Waiting is even a way of maintaining desire, and has been for more than a century when Haute Couture appeared.
Likewise, small emerging brands registered at fashion weeks do not have the size or financial stability necessary to take the risk of producing before presenting their collections. Consequently, what was supposed to be a revolutionary new model could ultimately be nothing more than a sword definitively splitting two visions of luxury.
Some French brands offer creative and qualitative fashion, which takes time to manufacture.
However, the basic problem has not been resolved. Dior and Vuitton continue to squeeze the “artistic” teams like lemons in order to force them to produce more collections, more bags, more quantity and novelty: fast fashion is indeed part of their DNA. But the resounding departures of great creators are worrying because, without artistic stability, these Houses are nothing.
At the time of the Family Houses, the founder managed, manufactured and created his products at his own pace.
Perhaps they are condemned to selling bags like toothpaste until the end... And in this case, they will only have themselves to blame: destroying know-how and good manners. to save money, they will end up unable to produce anything other than heat-sealed costumes costing €1,800.
The Houses that have been able to resist and remain faithful to a demanding vision of luxury have, I believe, a lot to gain in the years to come : when brands are definitively trivialized as is dangerously the case for Prada (among others), the Customers looking for exceptional goods will naturally turn to honest luxury houses.
If at the top of the price pyramid tempers are heating up and the houses of cards are starting to wobble, we are seeing a new trend of young brands coming to shake up the situation...
New brands focusing on quality: the emergence of a parallel fashion
While the supply of major global brands continues to grow, even if it means some are suffocating with their own volumes, no one can miss what is happening, particularly in France, on the textile market.
I am of course talking about the emergence of a new - almost alternative - range of young brands with a strong identity. What sets them apart from others is this desire to offer fashion focusing on quality rather than quantity , and to distance themselves somewhat from "trends".
L'Exception is a fairly pioneering e-shop in its selection of (often) young, qualitative and innovative brands.
At the center of this approach, there is a certain conception of sustainability, since beyond more personal styles, less imbued with what others do, these brands rely on quality BUT affordable manufacturing. Less advertising, online sales without intermediaries, lower margins: everyone has their own strategy to avoid inflating prices with unnecessary items .
The most interesting thing about this approach is that if it could be observed out of the corner of the eye with a certain condescension on the part of the "all-powerful" mainstream brands, their impact is today much greater than expected .
“Selvedge” Is Zara really selvedge, or just denim with red edging?
How could selvedge, until recently ultra confidential, have found its way into Zara's offering very recently? Why are some big brands suddenly starting to favor “basic” lines favoring 100% natural materials? What could have pushed these major brands to invest in new eco-responsible productions (or at least sold as such)?
Above all, I think that these young brands, in addition to their own conception of fashion, have been able to capture the need for an offer that makes sense , which was barely perceptible until recently. To be clearer, I think that we are faced with a very interesting situation in which the timing was perfect : on the one hand, some took the risk of offering alternative products in terms of quality to what the we find them almost everywhere, on the other we had a consumer who was a little stuffed, tired, but also a little “stuck” by the mainstream offer.
Editions Mr aka Melinda Gloss has largely influenced this trend of qualitative brands focused on noble materials.
Of course, some brands have not managed to find a loyal clientele, but it is not an exaggeration to note the existence of a new fashion eco-system in France . Even if the entire market is not completely turned upside down, we can clearly see that an underlying trend is taking hold, embodying a new demand for quality, sustainability and transparency.
On a more personal level, I think that this need to give meaning to fashion will also be felt very strongly in the luxury sector. Enough to ensure good days for independent media and critics 🙂
