NEWYORK, United States — For decades, a quick route to fashion world prominence involved a designer turning a youth culture trend into a runway-ready collection. Calvin Klein made heroin chic, Jean Paul Gaultier sampled from club culture, Marc Jacobs glammed-up grunge and Hedi Slimane turned Berlin punks into fashion plates.
The concept was simple, even if the design work wasn’t: find a scruffy outsider style that remained untapped, then spruce it up for the luxury market. But today, as high fashion becomes increasingly accessible, this approach may no longer work. Today’s internet-empowered youth have the tools, access and information to create and promote their own fashion culture.
While some in the fashion media have been fixating on the growing importance of editorial coverage by young bloggers, relatively little has been said about a broader democratisation that’s happening in the fashion industry overall. For one thing, runway knock-offs — formerly a marginal industry — have become a borderline acceptable business practice, with stores such as Zara and Forever 21 building successful franchises by copycatting high fashion designs. In a sense, fast fashion collaborations such as Jimmy Choo for H&M or Rodarte for Target seem to legitimise this practice.
At the same time that affordable imitations of high fashion have emerged as a widespread, easy option for budget-conscious fashionistas, the once closed system that has long dominated high fashion has become increasingly transparent and accessible. The latest runway images are available online for anyone to see, while the behind-the-scenes machinations of the fashion industry have become fodder for popular movies and TV shows, from The September Issue and The Devil Wears Prada to The Rachel Zoe Project. Within this context, the power dynamic between high fashion and youth culture has changed dramatically.
A generation of young bloggers like Tavi and Charles Guislain form the vanguard of the emerging fashion youth demographic. Following in their digital footprints, websites such as Lookbook.nu allow young consumers to compare and share looks assembled from fauxthentic fashions sourced at Urban Outfitters, Topshop, Uniqlo, H&M and vintage stores. Further facilitating this fashion fluency, the ubiquity of street photography sites now allows for a remarkably rapid global exchange of trends: something pops up in a street shot by The Sartorialist one week and is seen in Moscow on Slickwalk a few days later.
Charles Guislain in Vogue Italia | Source: Vogue Italia
The 16-year-old Guislain reminisces that, “The first thing which attracted me to fashion was Hedi Slimane’s work for Dior Homme,” but rather than waiting for a casting director’s call, Guislain teamed up with influential fashion blogger and champion of new talent Diane Pernet to post videos on her website, A Shaded View on Fashion.
He may say, “I don’t see myself as a style influencer — I’ve always dressed firstly for me,” but his modesty is undercut by the fact that Ms. Pernet’s videos of Charles are amongst the most-viewed content on her site and have already made him a budding style icon. Indeed, Mr. Guislain is featured in the latest issue of Italian Vogue alongside Stella Tennant, photographed by Tim Walker.
The looks showcased by Guislain and his contemporaries are certainly youthful, but they aren’t the byproduct of an isolated outsider culture blithely waiting for upmarket exploitation. In fact, with the easy accessibility and free flow of information that informs youth fashion today, that idea seems almost silly now.
In a relatively short time, young bloggers such as Tavi have gone from being outsiders submitting missives from the sidelines to challenging the dominance of major editorial outlets as arbiters of taste, with their front row presence denoting an important show and their opinions openly solicited. For an industry that has long thrived on hierarchy and insularity, this is a startling reversal of power, underscoring a shift that’s helping to drive a fundamental restructuring of an industry built on creating luxury through exclusivity.
Of course, none of this was possible before the internet. But today, young creative people, no matter where they are, have access to inspiration and powerful outlets to share their ideas. From articulate blogging stars to the young aspirants on Lookbook.nu, the new fashion youth are quickly sampling from the looks they see on the runways and creating mix-and match ensembles that are incredibly fashion fluent and often impressively innovative. Moreover, they are remarkably self-aware and savvy — seemingly immediately comfortable with and able to remix, communicate and capitalise on the high fashion aesthetics that have influenced them.
A month shy of her 14th birthday, Tavi has made videos for Rodarte, while Alie Suvelor was able to found the popular French magazine Dirrtyglam at the age of 18, attracting around a million hits each month. Indeed, the former outsiders are now the trendsetters and the idea of trying to repackage youth style without the participation of these young creatives seems woefully outdated.
Not all young fashion bloggers — even the ones getting the most attention today — will have staying power in the years to come. But the internet’s democratising effect certainly offers tremendous opportunity for exceptional young talent to break through and shape the new, digitally accessible fashion industry that’s emerging, while conversely making it less likely that anybody in the future will have as much consolidated influence as figures like Suzy Menkes or Anna Wintour do today.
Ken Miller is an editor, writer, and curator for print and digital media.
NEW YORK, United States — For many luxury and fashion executives, the case for exploiting and developing a strategic digital presence is clear. However, operationalising this intent is another matter altogether. In my experience, assessing how digital competencies should be embedded within an existing organization is the issue most frequently on the mind of luxury brand executives today. ” Yes, I know it’s important.” they say, “but who should do it, where should they sit and to whom should they report?”
This month, we are continuing our ongoing media partnership with LuxuryLab as part of a series of events designed to help luxury executives navigate the ongoing digital revolution. The NYU Stern-based luxury thinktank’s next one-day clinic will help participants think about the metrics, structure, and culture of a Digital Organization.
Too often, digital and social media roles are simply bolted on to existing jobs —often those of the youngest people in the room, simply because they know how to use Facebook and Twitter.
However, in order for social media strategies to work in fashion brands over the long-term, they must meaningfully employ people who can think both strategically and digitally at the same time, who understand the culture of fashion, and who have the interest and support of top management. A brand’s digital voice ultimately comes from the people managing its digital presence, which is of greater strategic importance than ever before.
The last clinic on leveraging The Social Graph was a well-attended and positively-received session. Confirmed speakers for the next clinic, The Digital Organization, to be held on 26 March in New York include:
• LANCE NEUHAUSER, EVP and U.S. Director of Digital for PHD, who oversees the planning and investment of nearly $400 million in digital media, creating strategies and solutions that leverage the emerging media environments to enhance consumer experience, strengthen brand relationships and relevance, and drive business growth
• SHARON NOVAK, friend of BoF and operations strategy expert whose work was cited in the 2009 Nobel Prize for Economics and has been reviewed and promoted by McKinsey & Company
• RUSS WINER and SONIA MARCIANO, part of the NYU Stern faculty who will take participants through an in-depth case study on Intel and De Beers
The agenda is being updated regularly and is expected to include participation from executives at leading brands operating in the digital space.
Please consider using this special BoF link to register and mention BoF and you will also help us to earn a commission on ticket sales to support the development of our content and defray the growing costs of maintaining The Business of Fashion.
NEW YORK , United States — In recent quarters, online sales were the only bright patch in a grim luxury retail landscape. But interestingly, in January of 2009, LVMH-owned eLuxury announced that it would cease e-commerce operations entirely and relaunch as a luxury destination focused completely on content.
Fast-forward one year and the luxury industry still can’t seem to get enough of the internet. Social Media is the phrase on everyone’s lips. And so, it was with great interest that BoF took a sneak peek at the web experience that takes eLuxury’s place — NOWNESS — which will officially launch to the public on Thursday 25 February.
Tuning into a special online preview and connecting with EVP Digital of NOWNESS, Kamel Ouadi, we got the lowdown on what to expect from NOWNESS in the months to come.
BoF: What is the NOWNESS? And what does it mean?
KO: Simply, NOWNESS will inspire and turn you on to the latest developments on fashion and culture in a highly curated and thoughtful way. NOWNESS is about carrying a moment in time with you. It sums up a certain feeling when you get a moment of inspiration that lives in your imagination during the day.
BoF: Some might say the fashion world doesn’t really need another content site. Why launch NOWNESS and why now?
KO: This site will be about the art of living and involve luxury well beyond product categories. It will inform and inspire. It will bring excitement to the everyday. And, it will feature only exclusive content — a key factor distinguishing it from other luxury websites. It will be an inspirational and experiential site.
Agyness Deyn screenshot from "Mean to Me" by McDermott and McGough | Source: NOWNESS
BoF: Which artists and other content creators are you working with?
KO: The site is dedicated to collaborating with the world’s foremost designers, creatives and thinkers in the luxury industry. Visitors can enjoy featured work by leading artists such as Wong Kar-Wai, Patti Smith, Lucien Freud, Francesco Vezzoli, Rodarte, Raf Simons, John Galliano for Dior, and Nick Cave.
BoF: What feature should we check out first?
KO: “Love/Don’t Love” recommendations. The site is about inspiring people. It’s also about personalisation of luxury inspiration. A “Love/Don’t Love” button allows users to interact with the content. The impulse to love will drive recommended content to the user, the impulse to love will also tell us how people are responding to the experience.
BoF: So NOWNESS learns and evolves based on user behaviour?
KO: Yes. Content is recommended via intelligent algorithms and user responses to Love or Don’t Love. The site will recommend content that reflects the user’s point of view.
BoF: Is there a revenue model in place? If so, how will the site make money? If not, why not?
KO: Revenue is not the primary focus of the site. It is an editorial site designed to provide information for luxury enthusiasts. However, as the site grows, we do expect interest from advertisers, and we will be open to working with luxury brands — and other high-level advertisers, consistent with the luxury theme of the website — to find ways for them to have a presence on our site that reinforces the experience we offer.
OUR THOUGHTS:
Expectations? To be honest, we weren’t entirely sure what to expect. The new site had been kept top secret for months. The only clues about the future were tweets with links to a NOWNESS prelaunch site, which in recent months offered frequently evolving, but limited content.
First impressions? The site’s design is simple, clean and modern, in line with the concept of NOWNESS itself. Curating excellent, exclusive content is powerful concept at a time when consumers are bombarded with information and other websites and blogs are cluttered with undifferentiated content, often fed to them by brands and PR companies. Despite being owned by LVMH, NOWNESS operates with an independent and open mindset, actively linking to fashion brand websites, including those outside the LVMH Group. The site is rich with sharing tools, allowing users to spread bits of NOWNESS content across the internet and has already developed a robust following of more than 6,000 followers on Twitter.
Most potential? The “Love/Don’t Love” feature with algorithmic intelligence is compelling. The ability to directly gauge consumer reaction to content themes and products could prove to be a powerful tool for listening to consumers and gathering insights. Perhaps NOWNESS will grow into a virtual hub for online consumer conversations around luxury products and services.
What’s missing? Today, integrating content and commerce has proven to be a powerful way to drive sales. We think there could be a commercial business model somewhere in the future of NOWNESS and we are excited to see how it develops.
LONDON, United Kingdom — As the fashion industry continues its march into the digital age, London — always known for its raw creativity and emerging talent — can now add digital innovation to that list.
This is no overnight story. To the contrary, it’s taken ten years for fashion players here to plant seeds which are only beginning to bear fruit now, as fashion’s digital tsunami really begins to take hold.
The British capital, after all, is home to revolutionary fashion website SHOWStudio, e-commerce pioneer Net-a-Porter, and online hub of youth culture Dazed Digital — all of which were founded many years ago. These seminal businesses have created a foundational and fertile seedbed for other digital businesses and attracted and developed digital talent that has gone on to shape and inspire other online companies here including mywardrobe.com, Fashionair and farfetch.com. And, while American Vogue is in the midst of setting up its website now, British Vogue has had its own website for fifteen years.
London-based mega-brand Burberry, widely considered to be the most innovative fashion company in the digital space, was one of the first to stream its catwalk show live on the Internet last season. Having decided to show in London again this time around, Burberry is not content with resting on its digital laurels. A few weeks ago, the iconic British brand announced its plans to stream its show in 3D to a host of cities around the world, from Dubai and Tokyo to Paris and New York, creating the world’s first truly global fashion show.
But it’s not just big brands and websites that a digital capital make. The East End of London is a hotbed of fashion creativity and digital innovation. Emerging fashion creatives like Ruth Hogben, digital art directors like Jaime Perlman, and independent film production studios like Pundersons Gardens, have been working with independent designers like Gareth Pugh and Richard Nicoll to show the fashion world what is possible when creativity meets digital technology.
And, the British Fashion Council is the first of the major organising bodies in fashion to fully embrace digital technology, having set up its own digital schedule for fashion films and live-streams of selected on-schedule shows, accompanied by live commentary using curated tweets from fashion insiders and fans alike via Starworks Conversations.
As for the designers themselves, they are going digital too. Following in the footsteps of that giant of fashion whose shadow is looming over this London fashion week, designers like Mary Katrantzou and Erdem Moralioglu are using digital techniques to create out-of-this world prints, which have become defining, technology-based signatures of their work.
As Naomi Attwoods said in her review of Katrantzou’s A/W 2010 collection shown on Saturday, “Katrantzou’s strength is her eye for a print. The digital technology that has revolutionised and regenerated the trend for colourful, printed clothes gives designers so many possibilities but with Miss Katrantzou’s pieces, the source material is clearly visible and this sets her apart.”
And so, as London Fashion Week hits full tilt on Monday and Tuesday, the city seems poised to leapfrog Milan, Paris and New York as the definitive digital fashion capital, furthering the nascent comeback of London Fashion Week after years of struggling in the shadow of its fashion capital brethren.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
Robert Duffy and Marc Jacobs | Source: Twitpic via @robertcduffy
In our latest CEO Talk, Robert Duffy, longtime business partner of Marc Jacobs, speaks to BoF about the power of Twitter.
NEW YORK, United States — When Robert Duffy posted his first-ever Tweet on 30 January, saying “Welcome Tweeties,” he had no idea what he was getting into. What happened in the weeks that followed is an excellent lesson for fashion executives everywhere: the best way to understand social media is to use social media.
You see, Robert Duffy had never used Twitter before. In fact, he didn’t really even know what Twitter was until a member of his team introduced it to him. Eventually, he warmed to the idea of using Twitter to share the behind-the-scenes action of the Marc Jacobs show, still the highlight of New York Fashion Week even after 26 years in business.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing. On his second day of tweeting, Duffy accidentally deleted all of his tweets. In the days that followed, he learned about direct messaging and retweeting and privacy on Twitter. Still, Duffy stuck with it. He began each day by getting on his stationary bicycle and reading the hundreds of tweets that had come in over night, listening and responding to feedback and questions on stores, customer service, the Marc Jacobs website, and — music to our BoF ears — how to run a fashion business.
Soon, Robert became an expert tweeter, not only on the techniques and norms of using Twitter, but also by speaking authentically in his own voice and even sharing a few private moments with Marc Jacobs himself. This authenticity resonated across the fashion Twittersphere in thousands and thousands of retweets, and spreading to blog posts and articles in the mainstream media.
By February 13, the power of Twitter had really dawned on Duffy: “I have learned much from doing this,” he tweeted. “Am really better for the experiance [sic]. You talk to the whole world in 1 second. Takes no time. Amazing!”
Still, he announced to his almost 7,000 followers that he would be hanging up his Twitter hat. And yesterday, after the Marc by Marc Jacobs show, his @robertcduffy handle was transformed into @MJInternational, leaving room for an as-yet unnamed someone else to fill Duffy’s shoes.
In a very special exclusive CEO Talk for The Business of Fashion, I caught up with Robert Duffy backstage before the Marc by Marc show, armed with questions from our loyal BoF followers, to learn more about his Twitter experience.
BoF: Thanks Robert for speaking to BoF. First of all, what exactly prompted you to start tweeting?
Well, Daniel who heads up our website came to me and asked if we could stream the show live, and I said “Yes.”
Then he said “Can we Twitter?” and I said “I don’t know what it is but do you think it’s a good idea?” He said “Yes.” Then he came to me two days later and said “Can you get one of your celebrity friends to Twitter?” and I said “What is Twitter exactly?” Once he explained it to me I said “Absolutely not. Who’s going to do that for two weeks?”
And he said “Well if we want it to be real and accurate and describe what it’s like to put on a show, the only people who could do it would either be you or Marc.” And so that is what we did.
BoF: People have been giving you tons of feedback via Twitter. Last night you said you received 386 tweets after the show. Someone else sent you feedback about a party in Copenhagen. And others have commented about the service in your stores. Have you been acting on this feedback and could you envision using it as a tool for customer feedback going forward?
Oh yeah, absolutely! I don’t know exactly how many thousands of tweets I got, but I have been looking at them every day. I can see my phone on my TV while I am on my stationary bicycle in the morning, so I’ve been reading all the tweets and questions. I like that people feel like they are connected to the company. It’s a real pleasure.
People thought I was being sarcastic when I was responding to that guy from Copenhagen about the party, but I really did send an email out to respond. I’m checking on it. He direct messaged me back saying “Thank you.”
A lot of things have happened which have been very touching. There were some kids that didn’t have any money and were trying to do stuff and so I hooked them up with some people that might help them. And one customer’s fantasy in some country was to own this thing and he couldn’t get it, so we sent it to him.
There were a lot of fun things that went on behind-the-scenes that I really enjoyed.
BoF: You’ve been taking pictures of Marc and sending them out with little messages. What does Marc think about Twitter?
Well actually he used Twitter a couple year ago, for about a day and a half. I think that he was a bit overwhelmed by it.
BoF: But he likes that you are using Twitter?
I don’t know, I haven’t asked him. But, yeah, I think he must. I’ll ask him…he is here somewhere.
BoF: Unlike a lot of new Twitter users, you’ve developed a real following and an authentic voice. You have said that you’re going to stop tweeting as soon as this show is over. I asked some of our followers if they had any questions for you, and a few of them just wanted me to encourage you to continue tweeting…so who could replace you?
It’s going to have to be someone that travels with me, perhaps one of my assistants or somebody that can use my voice.
I have to run a company — a very large company. I’m busy. During these two weeks I am with Marc constantly. We are side by side for the two weeks before the show. I mean we are already working 18 hours a day everyday, Saturdays and Sunday. I get up every morning at 5:30, as everybody that writes me and tweets me knows.
But, I do read them all. Reading takes the most time. Sending a tweet tweet takes only 30 seconds.
BoF: Speaking of which, have you been writing all the Tweets yourself or has someone else been helping you?
I wrote every single one. And, by the way, I’m so sorry for the spelling. I went back and read some of it and went “Oh my God!”
BoF: What is the one biggest thing you learned from your time as a Twitterer these past couple of weeks?
I’ve learned that there are a lot of kids that want advice on how to run a business. There are a lot of kids that need a break and that there are a lot of people that don’t understand how hard it is to make it in any business. I explain to them that it took Marc and I so many years. I mean, we’ve been in business 26 years and we didn’t make any money until year 20.
BoF: Why have you found these tweets from students so inspiring?
Because I’ve been there. I don’t want these kids to give up, you know? I can see how discouraged they are. And I know that if Marc and I weren’t together we would have probably given up too.
And I want to say to them, especially the ones that have talent (they send me pictures and stuff!): Don’t give up. Find a way to do it. I had to. Marc had to. We are still working two jobs to support this. But, don’t do it to become famous or to become a celebrity or it because you think it’s easy. It is not.
We started in 1984. When did people start hearing of us? 2000? Do you know what I mean? Do what you love because really if you do it, you’ll get so much satisfaction in the end.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
CEO Talk is an ongoing series of discussions with fashion entrepreneurs and business leaders. Previous interviews are listed below:
Alexander McQueen Store on 14th Street in New York | Source: Stylesightings
LONDON, United Kingdom — One of the first fashion shows I ever attended was the Alexander McQueen show for Spring/Summer 2007, staged in the round at the Cirque D’Hiver in Paris. Jonathan Akeroyd, the affable CEO of McQueen, was kind enough to grant my cheeky request for an invitation, and he even let me bring along my college roommate, who was studying outside Paris at the time.
We were seated in the very last row way up in the rafters of the massive round theatre, but still we were mesmerised by McQueen’s collection and his spectacular presentation. Afterwards, we stepped out into the pouring rain late on a Friday night during Paris Fashion Week with a sense of awe and wonderment that lingered for the rest of the evening.
This, I think, is what made Mr. McQueen different. Unlike some of the other celebrated designers of our industry, Mr. McQueen’s message and vision was one that resonated far beyond fashion insiders. Over time, he seemed to find a way to connect with the masses, while still being extremely creative. He didn’t dumb things down or sacrifice his creativity, but he also did not fall into the trap of remaining too conceptual to have a wide-scale impact. Perhaps his clothes weren’t always wearable, but they still managed to connect with average consumers visually and viscerally.
Still, McQueen’s recent collections were often a commentary on contemporary subjects. When the economy crashed, he mocked the entire luxury industry and the collections of iconic houses like Dior and Chanel, and even his own. Last season’s prescient technological extravaganza was the seminal moment of a fashion week season when the industry finally began to take digital media seriously. Mr McQueen combined digital media with his natural flair for showmanship and a little bit of that phenom known as Lady Gaga.
Lee McQueen was also one of the very first designers to take to Twitter and share his thoughts directly with his fans. Twitter is also where McQueen expressed his final messages to the world, following the death of his mother Joyce earlier this month. For now, the @McQueenworld page has been removed from Twitter, but it is still available in Google cache.
But the question on my mind is whether Alexander McQueen the label can continue without Alexander McQueen the man. Once the shock has worn off and the fashion industry has given McQueen a fitting send off, Gucci Group will have to grapple with the fact that the eponymous designer is no longer here. It is one thing to switch around designers at houses with a long history and well-defined codes. But, even with the designer’s prolific output, Alexander McQueen is still a young brand. How Gucci Group deals with the issue of succession and continuing this business is perhaps one of the biggest challenges yet to face Robert Polet.
In the meantime, the rest of us will hold on to our McQueen memories, which fashion folk were exchanging yesterday in between shows — a fitting tribute to the man whose name was on everyone lips and in everyone’s thoughts, even with the New York Fashion Week circus going on.
Just before Christmas I walked into an elevator at London’s Shoreditch House and was briefly introduced to a robust and positive Lee McQueen on the way up to the 6th floor. He was in good spirits, and commented that he liked my friend’s drop crotch trousers. And then, in an instant, he was gone.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
Vancouver Olympics Red Mittens | Source: Hudson's Bay Company
VANCOUVER, Canada — Every two years that global extravaganza called the Olympic Games alternates between summer and winter sports. Next in line is Vancouver which will host the XXI Olympic Winter Games between 12-28 February 2010, costing the city in excess of $1.5 billion.
Over the weekend, Tyler Brûlé reckoned in the Financial Times that Canada is wasting an opportunity to re-brand itself to the world, using the Olympics as a communications platform like Sydney and Barcelona successfully did. Would-be Canadian Prime Minister Michael Ignatieff, on the other hand, seemed to have read Mr. Brûlé’s mind, writing in a New York Times Magazine article the day before that Canada is not looking to put its own brand at the centre of these Olympics as that would be un-Canadian.
But like it or not, this is the first truly social media Olympics. A digital footprint of these games will be left for eternity on countless Facebook pages and Twitter streams. It is the first time that athletes, hailing from more than 80 countries, will be tweeting their experiences from the sidelines while spectators share their experiences in real-time, uploading photos and videos, documenting every Olympic second for their friends and family back at home.
Possibly the biggest marketing tool Vancouver has for these Olympics, therefore, is to simply show its guests — the thousands of athletes and tourists who will descend on the city — a great time. Real people will be the biggest ambassadors and communicators for this Olympic games, not reporters or television anchors.
And, despite the presence of rules for on how social media can be used, communication will be tough to control. Tweets will spread like wildfire. Doping scandals will be reported instantaneously. News will get out fast, whether the city or the Olympics organisers want it to. Indeed, CNN reported this weekend that athletes are already confused about what they can and cannot say on Twitter and Facebook.
Vancouver Granville Street | Source: John Bollwitt's Flickr Photostream
So what will Vancouver have in store for its guests? On a visit there at the end of last year I noticed that Granville Street, the historically seedy street previously flush with dodgy movie theatres, pinball arcades, and sex shops had been transformed into a neon-lit boulevard, the newly christened entertainment district where people will gather to celebrate each night of the 16 day event.
In David Lam Park, international consumer and electronics brands such as Coke, Samsung, Acer and Panasonic will exploit social media to create buzz about their Olympics sponsorships with high-profile, experiential pavilions, bolstered with digital technology. At the Coca-Cola Pavilion, for example, visitors will have the chance to pose with the Olympic Torch and share it immediately on their Facebook pages. iCoke.ca, a bespoke website designed to spread the Coca-Cola Olympics experience using social media tools
Of course, fashion brands have also been making the most of the Olympics branding opportunity. After losing their bid to be the official clothing outfitter for the games, clever Vancouver-based yoga-wear brand Lululemon produced their own collection entitled “Cool Sporting Event That Takes Place in British Columbia Between 2009 & 2011 Edition,” drawing ire from Olympics organisers and attracting much PR buzz for their bold move against one of the most highly-protected brands in the world.
For their part, the official clothing sponsor, the historic Hudson’s Bay Company, isn’t doing so badly either. In a sign that value is still the most powerful word in today’s fashion economy, the unsurpassed fashion it-item of these Olympics is a pair of red wool HBC mittens, offered at the reasonable price of $10. More than two million pairs were expected to be sold by the close of the games, and shortages and sell-outs have been widely reported in the months leading up. They are the hottest ticket in town, and accessible to almost everyone.
You can be sure they will make many appearances on all those Facebook pages.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of the Business of Fashion.
A video from CTV News describes the HBC Olympics mittens frenzy
TOKYO, Japan — After several years of “will they or won’t they” speculation, American casual fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch finally opened its first retail store in Japan this past December. The 11-story shop in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza neighbourhood is just steps away from Uniqlo’s flagship store and Swedish fast fashion brand H&M.
As with every big retail opening in Tokyo, the first day of sales saw long lines of customers and swift business. The rumoured haul: ¥50 million (or about $550,000). Even without the benefit of an opening party or major press event, Abercrombie was able to rely on a small group of Japanese fans who had previously bought the brand’s products as souvenirs on trips to Hawaii or the continental United States.
But the big question is, will Abercrombie be able to win over new fans in Japan and replicate the unbelievably successful Japanese market entries of other mass fashion brands?
So far, the signs do not look good.
At the moment, Japan is in the midst of a low-price fashion boom. The only profitable brands are chain retailers like Uniqlo, H&M and Forever21, and the cheap domestic labels in the Shibuya109 shopping building. Yet remarkably, Abercrombie & Fitch made the decision to charge Japanese consumers nearly double its American prices.
In a poll of first-day A&F shoppers in Nikkei’s Marketing Journal, 61.7 percent of people found the prices “a bit high” while 18.3 percent declared them “too high.” Less than one-fifth of consumers thought the prices were on target. Once upon a time, American retailers made huge margins by setting higher prices in Japan, but today, gouging the Japanese consumer simply doesn’t work. Consumers are too smart for that.
Furthermore, most multinational apparel companies have found success in Japan by working with local partners to adapt their messaging, communications and brand image to fit the mature and sophisticated Japanese consumer. In contrast, Abercrombie & Fitch is pursuing an intensely American retail and marketing strategy that may alienate the vast majority of their potential sales base. The strategy is adequately well-done in terms of basic presentation and architecture, but their new Ginza store, in particular, clashes with Japanese fashion and shopping culture in almost every possible way.
For instance, most foreign retailers in Tokyo employ an exclusively Japanese staff, who behave according to the expectations of Japanese consumers, but Abercrombie & Fitch decided to make the brand experience so “American” that they have almost nobody working the shop floor who would be perceived by customers to be authentically Japanese.
Remarkably, the staff greets shoppers in English, rather than Japanese. Indeed, the best a Japanese consumer can hope for is a kikoku shijo – a returnee from overseas – who can at least speak the local language. While most Tokyo shoppers may like imported, international goods, they do not want to be forced to surface their rusty English during a commercial transaction.
The staff also fails to follow widely recognized principles of Japanese politeness. They are boisterous and many sing and dance along with the songs piped through the Ginza store, making the relatively cramped sales space feel even more claustrophobic for consumers.
To make matters worse, many of the male staff members have their chests exposed. Sex appeal may be a big part of the brand’s charm in the United States, but this particular masculine ideal of a “ripped chest” is completely out of sync with current Japanese fashion culture and the constant presence of half-naked men is off-putting to the Japanese customer — especially when crammed into tight spaces like elevators.
Successful brands in Japan use their shop floor staff as brand leaders and styling mannequins to show consumers how the clothes look on real Japanese people. At this, A&F also fails.
Like its American stores, Abercrombie’s Ginza flagship also reeks of strong American-style cologne — this, no less, in a country that’s famously perfume-adverse. Indeed, back in 2005, perfume critic Chandler Burr wrote a New York Times magazine piece called “Display It, Don’t Spray It” on the universal Japanese distaste for strong cologne and perfume. Yet A&F seems to pump its signature cologne through the ventilation system in a way that permeates the entire experience — and whatever you were wearing at the time for days after. Of course, many successful Japanese brands incorporate scent into their retail experience, but subtlety is the key. The smell should not carry with the customer.
But it doesn’t stop there — there are practical challenges as well. Visitors to A&F’s Ginza store complained in TV reports that they could not adequately judge the colour of certain products in the store’s extremely dim lighting, which is designed to feel like a late 1990s New York dance club. And, the elevator only goes to the 7th floor, forcing female shoppers to walk up flights of stairs to reach the women’s department in the store’s upper reaches.
Finally, possibly the most fundamental problem with A&F’s Ginza store is that it offers consumers few options for integrating the brand into his or her own life. The clothing screams the letters A&F at a time when Japanese consumers are looking for much more subtle branding on their apparel.
It’s interesting to note that the most popular luxury handbag at the moment is made by Miu Miu and looks much less openly branded than those made by competitors like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. While at the high street level, as we’ve seen with the success of Uniqlo, young Japanese consumers are increasingly looking for brands that offer them ways to create their own individual styling. A&F, on the other hand, offers no room for adaptation. You are forced to either buy into the entire package or buy nothing.
At the moment, Tokyo fashionistas are obsessed with classic Ivy League style and heritage American brands like Red Wing. But despite these areas of opportunity to connect with the current tastes of local consumers, A&F has made no attempts to style or merchandise its “fratboy” clothing to fit the current fashion ecosystem in Japan. In contrast, Gap has gotten very good at this in recent years — enabling the company to market their merchandise to Japanese consumers who are not necessarily Gap fans.
So how did Abercrombie get everything so wrong? Is it ignorance or arrogance? It’s hard to say for sure. Either way, Abercrombie’s entry into Japan is a perfect case study in how not to localise.
W. David Marx is a Contributing Editor of The Business of Fashion
Tavi Gevinson's Bow at Dior Couture | Source: Twitpic by SteffiSchuetze
LONDON, United Kingdom — A veritable firestorm erupted across fashion blogs and twitter streams this week in response to an article that appeared in London’s Independent newspaper over the weekend, highlighting Tavi Gevinson’s front row presence at the Haute Couture shows in Paris.
In a piece entitled “Fluff flies as fashion writers pick a cat fight with bloggers,” The Independent reported that “senior fashion insiders believe blogs have turned into little more than mouthpieces for fashion brands, which are increasingly using bloggers to regurgitate their press releases.”
As those controversial words rippled through the blogosphere and twittersphere, the protest and outrage came from all quarters of the fashion blogging fraternity and sorority. And, while we at the BoF were hesitant to take the bait and join the fray — the whole ‘editors versus bloggers’ story is becoming tired — it would be even worse for us to remain silent. Indeed, the Independent article raises very important issues which merit further discussion and debate, and perhaps, a more balanced perspective on this so-called “backlash” against bloggers.
In fact, this is exactly what I said when I was contacted for quotes on the Independent piece — quotes which were ultimately not used. As it turns out, several other bloggers were also asked to comment, including Susie Bubble and Helene of The Luxe Chronicles, but none of their quotes were used either. In fact, not one blogger was directly quoted to provide comment on the other side of the story. The result is an article that comes across as very black and white, on an issue that actually has many shades of grey. We are only at the very beginning of the digital revolution that is sweeping across the fashion industry. And so, to only show one side of the story does readers, and the industry as a whole, a disservice.
In the spirit of adding to the dialogue and providing a more balanced perspective, here’s some food for thought.
First, most bloggers worth their salt operate with integrity and professional values. This is not to say that bloggers are beyond reproach. There are always some bad apples in the bunch, in this case, those bloggers who accept products in exchange for positive coverage or special treatment. However, smart bloggers recognise that if they lose their independence, they will quickly lose the trust of their audiences. Simply being a mouthpiece is a short-term strategy.
So Who Isn't Bought? | Source: Bryanboy
Second, for editors from the mainstream media to hold bloggers to a different standard than that to which they hold themselves, is hypocritical. As one fashion insider told me, more than ever, major fashion editors are putting advertisers front and centre in their fashion editorial, giving smaller independent brands a miss.
“By and large, the way that bloggers respond to brands still results in content that isn’t unlike a traditional advertorial or ‘bought copy’ seen in magazines,” said Susie Bubble, author of one of the world’s most widely read fashion blogs, to the Independent, in quotes that she kindly shared with me but weren’t used in the piece.
“It is up to the blogger how they handle it and how they portray themselves. They are accountable to their readers and if they choose to do something that strikes [readers] as being biased or ‘bought by brands,’ then they have to suffer the consequences,” she concluded.
This is more important than ever before. Now that brands have cottoned on to the influence that bloggers have, they are doing everything to seduce them and win their approval.
In theory, there is nothing wrong with bloggers building relationships with brands and gaining special access. But, if these relationships become so cozy that bloggers stop saying what they really think, they risk losing the audiences that have grown to love them. The trick for bloggers, therefore, is to maintain healthy relationships with the brands, while also staying true to their audiences — it’s a fine balance.
Finally, we must all be aware that the tensions we’re seeing simply reflect the growing pains of a new medium that’s only just finding its way. As Vikram Alexei Kansara, Managing Editor of BoF said, “Like them or not, bloggers are here to stay and should be recognised as the powerful and significant ‘Fifth Estate’ that they are. Today we are at a moment that’s not unlike the invention of the Gutenberg press. It took hundreds of years for print media to evolve beyond biased pamphleteering, so why should they expect blogging to mature over night? If anything, I would argue that blogging is maturing much faster than print ever did!”
For her part, Susie Mesure, the author of the controversial article, said “the story ended up being much shorter than initially envisaged so I couldn’t use all the comments. Writing in a paper is not like writing online as I am constrained by the word limit set by my editor. I would have liked to use all the comments I received as they were very interesting. Hopefully I may yet get the chance.”
Indeed, all of the bloggers I spoke to said that their conversations with Ms. Mesure were pleasant and interesting. Even though she may have had an preconceived agenda in mind, she was asking all the right questions. It’s just too bad she wasn’t able to share the answers.
In the end, as Helene Le Blanc of Luxe Chronicles said, “it would be a far more productive debate if, rather than sniping at bloggers such as Tavi, journalists and editors actually engaged bloggers in a genuine dialogue about the state of the industry and the ways in which social media can make fashion a more participative industry.”
Hopefully now the mainstream media will turn its focus to discussing and analysing what bloggers are saying, instead of perpetuating the unconstructive ‘us versus them’ tension. Indeed, contrary to what the article may have indicated, Ms. Mesure is “a big fan of blogs – fashion blogs and otherwise,” she says. “I do however think there is a danger with readers assuming bloggers are independent when there is so much ‘gifting’ and ’seeding’ going on, which was really the main point I wanted to make.”
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
Giles Deacon At Pitti | Source: The Business of Fashion
FLORENCE, Italy — In the world of menswear, January is a full-on month of trade fairs and fashion shows. The super-charged schedule of activities begins with Pitti Uomo, continues on to Milan where mega Italian brands like Gucci, Prada and Armani unveil their collections, and concludes with a bang in Paris, where established Parisian fashion houses like Lanvin and Dior Homme show alongside a cornucopia of international designers from Korea, Belgium, Britain and the United States.
This season, the kind folks at Pitti Immagine invited me to Florence for my first-ever look at what Mesh Chhibber, Managing Partner of Relative|MO, refers to as “the chicest tradeshow on earth.” Indeed, rather than a series of boring stalls, filled with ‘me-too’ product, Pitti Uomo offers an impressive menswear mix of urban and classic, formal and casual, and high-fashion and high-street. There is literally something for everyone in the maze of pavillions on the site of the Fortezza da Basso.
Though the mood was somewhat subdued, the total number of visitors at Pitti Uomo was up 3 percent, with over 30,000 visitors attending. And, some brands — including Bill Amberg, the British designer known for his sumptuous leather goods, and Engineered Garments, the New York based brand with casually elegant, unstructured clothes — were swarmed with international buyers writing orders when I popped in to have a look.
But ironically, my Pitti Uomo highlight was actually served up by a womenswear designer. Each season, Francesca Tacconi and Lapo Cianchi of Pitti Immagine invite a guest designer to showcase high-fashion creativity within the context of the Pitti Uomo schedule. This season’s special guest was friend-of-BoF Giles Deacon, who was interviewed last year in our Inside the Studio video series.
Following on the heels of previous guest designers like Thom Browne and Proenza Schouler, Giles presented his pre-collection for Autumn in the almost three hundred year-old Richard Ginori factory. Giles said that he chose the location to showcase Florence’s enviable “industrial heritage” and the tradition of hand-made crafts that to this day form a big part of the Tuscan economy.
Despite the long haul from the city centre, fashion watchers flocked to the factory on the outskirts of Florence. On my way in, both Suzy Menkes and Susie Bubble commented to me on the inventiveness of Giles’ presentation — incorporating suspended porcelain, oversized paperclips and even a conveyor belt which transported dishes and ended with a celebratory smash — and the impact he had achieved by holding a fashion event in a decidedly non-fashion venue.
You know you have excited a blogger when she says: “I can’t wait to get back home and blog about this!”
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
BERLIN, Germany — A big thank you to PREMIUM and Mary Scherpe of Stil in Berlin for inviting me to join an esteemed panel of German fashion experts — Christoph Amend of Zeit Magazin, Marcus Luft of Gala and Too Posh to Push, and Sven Schoene of PR Agency K-MB— to discuss the future of fashion media on the first day of Berlin Fashion Week.
The panel began with the esteemed Suzy Menkes, who wasn’t able to participate in person, but declared via video: “The world changed when fashion instead of being a monologue, became a conversation. And that’s never going to stop.”
Suzy, of course, was amongst the first of the mainstream fashion editors to reach out to bloggers and engage them as professionals. “A good blogger,” she says, “can really take all sorts of elements and use them both in words and pictures and make a strong statement.”
She’s “tremendously in favour of anything that is new and fresh in fashion,” but the one thing that concerns her is that “some bloggers believe, in their innocence, that they are completely independent in what they say.” In between the lines, Suzy advises bloggers to be wary of the increasing pressure they receive from brands to evangelise brands and products.
The video also features Julia and Jessie from Les Mads, Jennine from The Coveted and Yvan from The Facehunter, each of whom provide their own perspectives on how quickly the fashion blogosphere is rising in influence and prevalence.
Yesterday, we learned about the beginnings of Zaldy Goco’s work in the music and fashion industries. Today, in part two, we speak to him about his close collaboration with Michael Jackson for the This is It concert extravaganza.
NEW YORK, United States — When Zaldy Goco answered the phone last April and learned that Michael Jackson’s creative team wanted him to develop some costume ideas for the King of Pop’s long-awaited comeback concert series in London, he could scarcely believe his luck. A long time fan of the sometimes-maligned, but always-loved music legend, Zaldy set about developing an approach for creating costumes that at once hearkened back to iconic images from Jackson’s past, while also making him relevant for contemporary fashion of the day.
The results were amazing and once the decision was made to make Zaldy the chief costume designer for the upcoming concerts, the process to get there involved five up close-and-personal fittings between Zaldy and Michael Jackson over a period of a several weeks, including the last fitting, just days before the singer’s sudden death.
Zaldy kindly spoke to BoF about the experience of designing for Michael Jackson and shared some photos of Jackson from the fittings, published here for the very first time.
BoF: And now for the topic that I am sure everyone is most interested to hear about: your collaboration with Michael Jackson for the This Is It tour. How did that come about?
It was such a surprise that began with a really casual phone call from someone who was representing Michael’s choeographer, Travis Payne. It was already the end of April and the tour was starting in July, and he asked me if I was interested in making some outfits. Of course I said yes! But, I really didn’t take it all that seriously as I knew that Michael had only ever really worked with one designer in the past named Michael Bush. He had developed all of Michael’s iconic looks for Thriller and Bad. So, by no means was it definite. I thought maybe I’d get to make a couple of outfits — maybe.
It turns out that Michael had been advised to take more of a fashion look with his presentation, and he had asked to see designs from some really big names, including, I believe, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. My impression is that he got all these packages from these different designers and then he chose who he wanted to work with.
When he got my package, they called me right away and said he that Michael was jumping up and down screaming, saying “I’ve always wanted to do this! I’ve always wanted to do this!”
They asked me to come to L.A. the next day to meet Michael and told me they wanted me to do the entire show. In the end, because Michael is so faithful, he did ask Michael Bush to work on a few of the outfits as well, which I thought was really nice especially because it was supposed to be Michael’s last tour.
BoF: Wow, that’s pretty amazing. How would you describe what you designed for him?
This is the thing. When they first asked me to do this, they said “we need you to re-invent Michael.” And my first thought was that Michael does not need to be re-invented, especially not now. He is one of the only artists who created iconic looks and iconic images to go along with iconic songs. It’s not necessary for those looks to be reinvented — they just needed to be made more relevant for today. Nobody wants to see a Thriller jacket that it isn’t red and black. People were going to want to see those iconic images, made more relevant to the times.
So, that’s what my approach was — referencing what we knew, but bringing more technology and new techniques that Michael had never used before.
BoF: What are your favourite looks that you designed for Michael Jackson?
Michael Jackson trying out Billie Jean Light-up outfit | Source: Zaldy Goco
They all kind have their own specialness for me. But, if you ask anyone who works with me, they will always say the We Are The World outfit, embroidered with all kinds of techniques from around the world — from African to American Indian to Japanese to Chinese. It was quite a mix, and very beautiful.
But for me, I loved the Black or White leather jacket, with three different custom plated coloured studs, which was kind of a Sumurai-referenced jacket. The finale jacket is also a favourite, especially because Michael was so excited about it. I had made what Michael called ’secret treasures’ in the shape of little teardrops that enclosed around crusts of crystal chunks.
And then of course there was the light-up outfit for Billie Jean, which was a collaboration with Philips Technology, which really, really made him the happiest. The last time I saw him was about six days before we were leaving for London, and I tried these pants on him and he was silent; completely stunned. After about thirty seconds, he said “It’s everything I’ve always wanted.”
So, that was pretty special for me.
BoF: And then, of course there was his sudden death, which must have turned things upside down for you.
I experience anti-climax after every project, but I was in disbelief. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I had been living and breathing Michael Jackson for weeks on end. When I design for a musician, I immerse myself completely in their music. It just has to play in my head the whole time.
I decided I needed to lock myself away in a hotel to get away, but even that didn’t work. Everywhere I went, people were listening to Michael Jackson. There was no escape.
BoF: Did you have any sense that he might be unwell?
Michael Jackson in costume fitting | Source: Zaldy Goco
Not at all. And that is the thing that I think the movie really shows. He was quite lively, energetic and strong. And, he was super in tune to all the details. Every time I met with him, he was always catching little details. When I’d do fittings with him, he was very solid and very strong.
BoF: Last year was quite a year for you. Doing Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson in one year is pretty big. What lies ahead for you 2010?
It’s funny because I kept seeing the two of them side-by-side in stories or hearing their names mentioned in the same story. And then, all of a sudden I was working with both of them. But right now, I’m pretty excited to get back into the Scissor Sisters, who are launching their third album. But also, last year was a big music year, and I’m thinking of leaning back towards fashion again.
BoF: So there could be a Zaldy label again?
There could be. Right now I am working on a gown for the Met Ball. So, let’s see. I’m working on a couple of things.
BoF: Thanks very much Zaldy for sharing your story with us.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
Lady Gaga by Zaldy in the Monster Ball Tour | Source: Fan site
To further explore the powerful synergy between the fashion and music industries, BoF brings you an exclusive two-part interview with fashion designer Zaldy, known for his close connection to the music industry’s biggest stars.
NEW YORK, United States — Zaldy Goco is one of those rare creative talents who moves seamlessly between music and fashion. For almost two decades, the New York-based fashion designer has been working at close range with music stars to create looks that fit with their music and amplify their personal style, taste and aesthetic to millions of fans. From Rufus Wainwright to RuPaul, Mary J. Blige to Jennifer Lopez, and Mick Jagger to the Scissor Sisters, Zaldy’s fashion-meets-music resume is impressive and diverse indeed.
And, while his first big break may have come from working with Gwen Stefani on her L.A.M.B. label, it wasn’t until 2009 that Zaldy’s career reached its apogee. Last year, in quick succession, both the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, and the reigning queen of the online music industry, Lady Gaga, called on Zaldy to create the costumes for their concert tours. This is particularly noteworthy as both Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga have used costumes to project their unique, star qualities and create iconic images.
In the first part of an in-depth, two part interview, BoF spoke exclusively with Zaldy about how he got started working in the music/fashion space, collaborating with Gwen Stefani, and becoming part of the now legendary Haus of Gaga for her Monster Ball Tour.
BoF: Fashion and music have always been connected, but nobody else seems to have made the connection as closely as you. When did you start working so closely with musicians and why?
I’ve been friendly with the music community for a long time, going all the way back to the nineties band Deee-lite. I’d always wanted to be a part of both industries, and the idea of putting clothes on stage for performance was very new and interesting to me. I realised that it was possible to work in both music and fashion at the same time because they are so linked together. My real focus was fashion, but I entertained what was presented to me and if it was an exciting project I just went with it.
My real start was working with Rufus Wainwright. We worked on so many videos together — “Poses”, “California,” and “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” — and several album covers as well. In this way, he was very important to my beginnings in the music industry and we remain very close friends to this day. From there I started to work with Antony and the Johnsons, Melissa Auf Der Maur from Hole, and then it went mainstream with Gwen, Britney, Janet and the likes!
BoF: Your first big music collaboration was with Gwen Stefani on her L.A.M.B. Line, which eventually grew into a substantial business?
Yes. Around the time when L.A.M.B. was just starting, Gwen just asked me one day, then and there, if I’d be interested in working with her on it. And I said “Of course” without knowing really knowing what that meant.
You have to remember the idea of music and fashion was just beginning, and celebrity fashion lines were a completely new phenomenon and generally looked upon unfavourably. But I loved Gwen so much and I was a big fan, so I decided to keep my own line and design for Gwen as well.
BoF: And so, for example, when you design for someone like Gwen Stefani, did you have a different creative process?
When I work on my own collection, I pretty much have my muses in place. But when I work with any musician, especially someone like Gwen, she is the muse. Musicians want to work with you because they want to get a certain perspective from me, but it really is a collaboration. It is a sharing of ideas. There’s a different creative energy. It’s not just about you. In fact, inspirations may come from somewhere you never expected.
It’s sort of like a think tank. We just bring our ideas together and just work from there.
BoF: You recently completed the costumes for Lady Gaga’s ongoing Monster Ball tour. She has a whole creative team around her, including stylist Nicola Formichetti and the infamous Haus of Gaga. How do you work with this whole team of people to realise this whole concert vision?
For sure. Gaga has a whole team, a whole package, and whole creative energy around her. I couldn’t help but wonder how it was going to be to work together. I had never really worked with anyone else who had someone like Nicola or a creative director or that many advisers. But, the best thing about working with Gaga and meeting with her in the beginning was finding out how genuine those ideas were to her, whether or not it came from meetings with the Haus of Gaga.
Her instincts were always right on target.
BoF: Speaking of which, can you tell me exactly what the Haus of Gaga is?
I’m not even sure exactly what it is. As she explained it to me, it’s the collective of people who come together to work with her creatively. But, it’s not as if she’s going to launch a fashion line or anything — at least that’s what she told me then. But, I guess you never know. After all, she is a capable, multi-talented overachiever with a lot to give!
Tomorrow, in part two, we’ll talk to Zaldy about working up-close with Michael Jackson and share some exclusive photographs from fittings, taken by Zaldy himself.
NEW YORK, United States — The Business of Fashion is pleased to announce our second media partnership with LuxuryLab, following the much talked-about Luxury Lab Innovation Forum held last Autumn.
On January 29th, the New York University-based think tank will hold its first Social Graph Clinic, “a one-day intensive workshop that takes an adroit and sober examination of social media’s underpinnings, platforms, and best practices. The objective is to enhance participants’ fluency in brand-driven social media efforts.”
Confirmed speakers include:
• Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics who will speak on How Social Media Transforms the Way We Liveand Do Business
• Shenan Reid, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Morpheus Media on Finding your Social Voice
• Fabio Freyre, Regional Vice-President of Facebook on Facebook, the Marketing OS
I will be speaking to brands on how best to engage bloggers. On that note, bloggers, let us know your pet peeves and top tips on how brands should engage with you. You can comment on this post, send a direct message on Twitter or send an email, and I will do my best to reflect your feedback in my presentation. Now’s your chance to have a say what you always wanted to say about those generic press releases, untargeted emails and unreasonable requests from fashion PRs. But please don’t just focus on the negative. What is the best relationship you have with a fashion brand and why?
Already, representatives from an impressive array of brands — including Brooks Brothers, Chanel, Coach, Dunhill, Gucci, J. Crew, Maxmara, Michael Kors, and Neiman Marcus — have confirmed their attendance. If you too would like to attend, please consider using this special BoF link to register and you will also help us to earn a commission on ticket sales to support the development of our content in the coming year and defray the growing costs of maintaining BoF. A portion of the proceeds will also be donated to the much-needed ongoing aid relief in Haiti.
MUMBAI, India — According to Forbes, India has the fastest-growing population of millionaires in the world. But for Western luxury brands operating in the country, grabbing a piece of the market has proven more difficult than anticipated and many are in the process of re-conceiving their India strategies.
Part of the problem is that Western luxury brands don’t seem to understand Indian consumers. When they first entered India, they created splashy advertising campaigns targeting the old money elite. But the results were poor, largely because this customer segment consists of frequent international travelers who overwhelmingly prefer the experience of purchasing Western luxury goods abroad, where brands offer them wider choice, better service and more competitive pricing than what’s currently available inside India.
In response, brands are starting to refocus on new pockets of wealth emerging in regional hubs across the country. But a private report on luxury in India produced by management consultants AT Kearney and The Economic Times revealed that the newly affluent lack sufficient knowledge and awareness of luxury brands to drive significant sales. Furthermore, the current strategy of establishing a large retail footprint supported by traditional mass marketing is not working.
Indeed, in order to succeed in India, luxury brands need to localise their marketing strategies. This goes further than just putting an Indian print on a bag or collaborating with a local celebrity. A multitude of cultures, languages, religions, festivals, colours and tastes make up this land of 1.1 billion people. So, it’s about understanding the difference between the flamboyant nature of a Punjabi customer and the more reserved nature of a Gujarati, and speaking to each of them in the specific cultural register that they respond to.
For example, luxury brand Montblanc — which successfully operates nineteen retail points across first, second and third tier cities in India — has regionalised all their marketing material.
“There is a clear distinction in customer values between [Indian] states,” says Tanya Kapinda of ID8 Media Solutions, an agency which works with Montblanc’s marketing division in India. “Any time a letterhead, invitation or a newsletter is produced, we customise [it] according to the local language and other aesthetic considerations such as colours used and the amount of decoration.”
When creating invitations for potential consumers in the Punjab in northern India, for example, the invitations are more lavish and the language more boisterous than those sent to consumers in southern India. “It ensures you are connecting personally to your consumer and customers respond to this,” she adds.
Brands like Louis Vuitton and Rolls Royce have also localised their approaches, identifying important events and celebrations amongst potential clients and arriving with personalised gifts or a surprise car service for the occasion.
Getting traction in the Indian sub-continent has been a challenge for every Western luxury brand that has tried to crack this complex new market. Those brands who are willing to better understand and connect with the local Indian consumer will be the ones who are most successful.
Agata Seidel is a writer and consultant based in New York.
Dolce & Gabbana Front Row Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: New York Times
LONDON, United Kingdom— It’s that time of year again. With over one million pageviews on BoF in 2009, it’s time to take stock of the year that was in a retrospective of the most popular articles from The Business of Fashion.
Needless to say, 2009 was the year of social media in fashion and our top 10 list is reflective of the explosion of interest in fashion bloggers, social networks and the now ubiquitous Twitter. Despite all of the hubbub (and yet another high-profile article this week from the New York Times on bloggers crashing the front row) social media is not a trend that will disappear. At BoF, we have prided ourselves on going beyond all of the hype to figure out what the implications are for the long-term.
But BoF is about more than just Web 2.0 and our top 10 is reflective of this. Indeed, over the past year we responded to media requests on a variety of subjects from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper*, Women’s Wear Daily, AnOther Magazine and others seeking our input on the forces re-shaping the fashion industry that are regularly covered in our pages.
So, without further ado, here is The Best of BoF from 2009. Happy reading!
Our most recent article on Fashion 2.0 was also one of the most popular articles on BoF this past year, taking the industry — brands, bloggers and maintream media alike — to task for focusing on the superficial short-term ‘trend’ of social media, as opposed to the fundamental long-term changes that social media portends for the future of the industry as we know it.
A flurry of comments from digital media experts, star bloggers and industry watchers around the world pushed the Fashion 2.0 conversation forward at what is only the beginning of a long period of change and adaptation.
Screenshot from David David fashion film | Source: David David
Online fashion films really took off this year as a way for big and small fashion brands alike to connect with consumers. From narrative films to moody pieces to quirky animation shorts, our rundown of the top 10 fashion films for Spring/Summer 2010 was so popular it sure to be a regular feature on BoF in seasons to come.
The top fashion film in our estimation came from Alexander McQueen, who created a real fashion moment with his futuristic display of technology and fashion during Paris Fashion Week, accompanied by an equally arresting fashion film.
Luxury Society Invitation | Source: Luxury Society
I was proud to announce my role as a co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Luxury Society, the first global online network for luxury professionals, on BoF in March. Our “Whisper Campaign” resulted in a widespread viral conversation that brought thousands of readers to BoF and hundreds of requests join Luxury Society in its beta incarnation.
Later in the year, Women’s Wear Daily profiled Luxury Society as we marked the milestone of 2,000 luxury professionals in the network. Today Luxury Society counts more than 6,000 members in its ranks and will move out of beta in early 2010. Stay tuned for more news soon.
Maison Martin Margiela scarification | Source: ASVOF
2009 will also be remembered as the year when Martin Margiela left the fashion house that bears his name. Before the announcement of his departure was made, BoF was grateful to republish an article by our friends at Agenda Inc. which chronicled the how special characteristics of the cult Belgian brand and its mysterious designer created a following unrivaled in the fashion industry.
Our friends over at LuxuryLab published a ranking of fashion brands’ digital competence in the Autumn, and we were amongst the first to share the now widely-read report with the global fashion industry.
For fashion brands, the news was not so good. The controversial ranking played a part in the wave of social media interest that swept across fashion brands in New York, Paris and Milan in the latter half of 2009. LuxuryLab has more technology initiatives planned for 2010.
Screen shot of DazedDigital.com | Source: Dazed Group
Technological disruption is not an issue isolated to fashion brands. Our three-part series on the future of fashion magazines by Vikram Alexei Kansara explored how technology is revolutionising fashion media as well. Jefferson Hack, Nick Knight and Diane Pernet were amongst the important industry voices who weighed in on the debate.
Our always-sharp contributing editor in Tokyo, W. David Marx, penned a piece on Uniqlo, which in our view, was the most important fashion brand of 2009.
In the middle of the greatest economic slowdown in several generations, Uniqlo continued its global expansion, increased profits and sales, and brought in the formidable talent of Jil Sander to create one of the most successful high-street designer collaborations to date.
Back in January, Lauren Goldstein Crowe, co-author of a tell-all book on Jimmy Choo, published a BoF column outlining her thoughts on how brands could survive the Great Recession of 2008-2009, gleaned from her conversations with fashion executives and brand managers. The article continued to garner interest throughout the year, a reflection of the dire state of the industry as 2009 comes to a close.
9 Festival for Fashion & Photography, by Jork Weisman | Source: Unit F
In June, I was fortunate to be invited to participate in the 9 Festival for Fashion and Photography in Vienna, incorporating the Austrian Fashion Awards, panel discussions with e-commerce retailers and fashion bloggers, and a variety of accompanying events that made for an exciting week. Next year, the Unit F buro fur Mode will put on its 10th annual festival from 7-20 June 2010.
BoF Twitter Poll Gucci Eyeweb versus Burberry Art of the Trench | Source: InFashionMedia
In our first ever poll of more than 10,000 BoF followers on Twitter, seeking reader feedback and comments on social media sites by Burberry and Gucci, the iconic British brand came out on top for its innovative website, The Art of the Trench.
After posting the article, we received feedback from many readers, including global PR and marketing professionals at both of the mega fashion brands in the poll. It seems we have discovered a new way to engage our readers, so there will be more Twitter Polls to come in 2010.
Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion
Francesca Marotta, Fashion Designer and Stylist, London
VANCOUVER, Canada — In what has become an annual tradition here on BoF, we wish you the best for the holiday season (and in line with our veritable obsession with internet technologies) by sharing the most colourful and creative e-greetings we have received from readers all over the world.
As the fashion industry takes a break from the incessant hustle and bustle which keeps us running around for most of the year, all of us at the BoF wish you a happy holiday season!
