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.
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
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.
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!
Honorine Jewels by Fanny Boucher | Source: Honorine Jewels
JAIPUR, India — As we head into the festive season, we thought we’d bring a bit of sparkle into your holiday, courtesy of Fanny Boucher of India-based Honorine Jewels.
After spending a few years in the jewelry industry in Jaipur, the Pink city and capital of princely Rajasthan, India’s most colourful state, Boucher began making jewelry for her friends. These happy customers encouraged Boucher to create her own jewelry collection and seek out buyers. A few months later, Net-a-Porter picked up the Honorine Jewels collection exclusively, effectively placing Boucher on the fashion map.
When designers find their products on Net-a-Porter, magical things can happen. Buyers from around the world use the Net-a-Porter brands list as intelligence on what brands they should be watching. Indeed, since her discussions with Net-a-Porter, Boucher has been speaking to other retailers who are interested in her wares, while also setting up her company and getting her first order produced.
Honorine Jewels by Fanny Boucher for BoF
And so, without further ado, the BoF Spotlight now shines on Fanny Boucher, incorporating a green amethyst ring from her debut collection in the heart of our BoF logo. We think Fanny’s colourful concoctions, with precious stones sourced in Jaipur’s Johari Bazaar, are the kinds of special products that inspire consumers. This is jewelry with a story to tell.
And, hopefully this also bodes well for Fanny’s fashion future. Outgoing BoF Spotlight designer, Hermione de Paula, was recently named the winner of Vauxhaull Fashion Scout’s Merit Award. Congratulations Hermione!
That’s all from us at BoF until the New Year. Happy holidays to all of you!
The Spotlight is BoF’s showcase for emerging talent employing creativity and business acumen to make their mark in the fashion business.
Stephen Meisel in 032c Winter 2008/09 | Source: 032c
As 032c prepares to mark its tenth anniversary and moves into a new office designed by Arno Brandlhuber/ b&k+, BoF sat down with the magazine’s founder, editor and creative director Joerg Koch to discuss the inner workings and future plans of his title. While there’s no formula for the unique circumstances and hard work that led to 032c’s enviable market position, Koch’s insights provide lessons that both brands and magazines can learn from.
BERLIN, Germany — Ask fashion’s thinking class what they consider to be the best magazine on newsstands today and they’re likely to point you to an enigmatic red book with a cover that features a headless female body in black leather gear and story teasers like “Business of Design” and “Fall of Communism.” It sounds unlikely, but the 18th issue of Berlin-based 032c is wildly popular in fashion capitals like New York, London, Paris and Moscow, making it the magazine of the moment.
But its remarkable success is based on more than hype. The latest issue is a winner — and not just editorially. It’s also the thickest in the history of the magazine, thanks in part to 35 pages of advertising (compared to 20 a year ago). What’s more, any of the ads would be the pride of most other independent magazines in the industry: Missoni, Jil Sander and Raf Simons take up single and double spreads alongside Comme des Garcons, Dior Homme and Tom Ford.
This is an impressive feat, especially when you consider that big publishing houses with dedicated sales teams are struggling to find advertisers, putting out depressingly thin issues and accepting ads from mid- and down-market brands they would have turned down just two years ago. Clearly, 032c is doing something right.
Build a strong identity
032c would not be the darling of magazine junkies and media critics everywhere, nor a commercial success, if it wasn’t for the intelligence and freshness of its content. While editorial magic is hard to explain, for 032c it has a lot to do with being true to its Berlin roots and a stimulating and unorthodox mix of content that spans art, fashion and politics, but somehow manages to make perfect sense. The current issue, for example, includes stories on two contemporary artists, the Polish government, a Fortune 500 CEO from Oregon, a Paris nightclub and Trish Goff.
032c is also a powerful signifier, as desirable and emotionally satisfying as a Marc Jacobs shoe. People who buy 032c spend a lot of time with it and prize having it on their bookshelf. And that’s just what advertisers are looking for. Indeed, brands are increasingly seeking to connect with consumers through media platforms that function as aspirational entities themselves. Simply by being in the magazine, brands feed off 032c’s powerful cultural cachet.
Tackle challenging markets
Koch says it was a strategic decision to aggressively pursue Italian advertisers. “We knew that being a magazine that is perceived as being very avant-garde, Milan would be the most difficult market. It’s very conservative and commercially-oriented. In Paris, the fashion brands are more fine-tuned to our sensibility. So for us the interesting thing was to tackle the markets we perceived to be the biggest challenge and then be there all the time and talk to the people. We even opened a small Milan office with one person. And I flew down there quite often. All that pays off.”
Be louder and better than ever, especially in hard times
Koch doesn’t believe economic insecurity is a reason to scale down ambition, if anything you need to be bolder: “The best advice never given to us personally was Warren Buffet’s, who said ‘Be greedy when everyone is fearful, and be fearful when everyone is greedy.’ You can replace that with ‘Be loud when everyone is quiet and be quiet when everybody is loud.’” Clearly, the ambitious attitude has paid off. “We really believe that the time is right for the publication to enter a larger arena,” says Koch.
But being independent has been advantageous for 032c. Their Winter ‘08 issue included a story titled “Who is Steven Meisel?” that featured a 14-page fold-out with every single cover the American photographer has ever shot for Italian Vogue. This sort of extravagant gesture would be unthinkable in the context of a corporate publishing house, but the feature was an instant hit, making number 16 one of the most talked-about issues in 032c’s history.
At the same time, there are obvious advantages, in terms of advertising and distribution, to being part of a larger organisation. Koch believes it’s not impossible to create a magazine with high standards of quality and an independent editorial spirit within a big publishing house and doesn’t rule out a mutually beneficial partnership with a larger company. “There will definitely come a point where for further growth — especially in terms of distribution — we’ll probably need a partner.” This should be interesting news for major publishers who are facing tough times and scrambling to reach an increasingly educated and fragmented readership.
Reflect a changing mindset
Koch says that no changes are planned in terms of the architecture and look of the magazine. But he likes to mention “a changing mindset” at 032c. So far, the most overt nod to commerce is the introduction of Select, which would be called a market section at a more traditional title.
With Select, 032c is moving from being a magazine of pure ideas to something broader: a magazine of ideas and products. “Select is definitely a commercial thing,” says Koch unabashedly. But, as one would expect, the magazine is doing it in its own idiosyncratic way: Select’s debut installment, for instance, covers a rare manuscript by Georges Bataille next to Lanvin jewelry next to a museum exhibit of Aztec artifacts next to Dior Homme cufflinks.
Select is also a test vehicle for 032c’s biggest project: developing its quiet online presence into a constantly-updated content site that not only complements its flagship print product, but stands alone in quality and scale. Indeed, the kind of digital operation they have in mind is ambitious enough that Koch is currently looking for a partner to help them take the new website from concept to reality in 2010.
The magazine’s pro-Internet stance is interesting for a title that could revel in print-only exclusivity. But Koch sees no contradiction in doing both. On the contrary: “The magazine will never be something that you will get at every newsstand, you have to make an effort to get it. It’s not everywhere and that is really nice for the aura of the magazine.” But a strong website, the thinking goes, available to everyone, everywhere and at all times, can enhance that aura rather than dilute it.
In its approach, 032 is part of a new establishment of magazines like Fantastic Man and Purple that are not just surviving, but thriving through the economic crisis that’s crippling the rest of the industry. Radiating confidence, theses titles emphasize superior editorial quality and advertisers respond to that, even in tough times. Indeed, nothing about 032c is dumbed-down, and, sadly, that’s a rare thing on today’s newsstand.
Suleman Anaya is a fashion and culture writer based in New York.
Teabag Window Display, Anthropologie London | Source: The Business of Fashion
LONDON, United Kingdom— The majority of luxury brands have spent the past fifteen years investing in retail networks in both established and emerging luxury markets. Flagship stores, one more extravagant than the last, were built in Tokyo, New York, Paris, and Beijing. The design directive for these spaces was singular and focused, showcasing exclusive products in an environment which communicated a carefully crafted image to the consumer.
Earlier this year, Net-a-Porter announced a trebling in profits. The success of the online retailer contrasted sharply with poor performances in brick and mortar retail elsewhere. This was just one signal that helped to (finally) drive home the importance of the Internet as a distribution channel for luxury fashion. Business models are quickly being updated to reflect this change, but while fashion plays catch up with consumers’ online buying habits, transformations in consumer expectations of the traditional retail channel have also been swift and pronounced.
Having already invested in hundreds of thousands of square footage of retail space in recent years, it is more important than ever for luxury brands to protect their return on investment. Retail spaces must provide shoppers a compelling reason to leave the house, enter a store, and spend money. So, what is it exactly that will lure customers back to bricks and mortar?
Last month, American retailer Anthropologie opened a store on Regent Street in London — their first in the European market. In its opening week, consumers were invited in with a window display of colourful tea bags strung together like garlands of flowers, quirky chandeliers made from recycled plastics, life-size model sheep draped in heavy yarn and a 20-metre high vertical garden.
Having built its reputation on this unique shopping experience, luxury brands can learn a great deal from Anthropologie. By studying customer behaviour and movement patterns, retailers like Anthropologie know that when shoppers enter a new or unfamiliar store, they make a quick, decisive assessment of the merchandise and the surroundings. If something doesn’t catch their eye or give them a reason to stay within the first thirty sconds, more often than not, would-be buyers leave empty-handed.
According to Ron Pompei, Founder and Creative Director of Pompei A.D. which advises companies like Anthropologie on experiential design concepts, what consumers are looking for today is inextricably linked to the paradigm shift from brand image to brand culture.
The days in which a brand’s meaning consisted of a carefully crafted image communicated to the consumer are over. Today, consumers are the most active voices in creating brand meaning. They do this by sharing experiences and perceptions via the plethora of wide-reaching communication tools available to them. What is important today is not so much a constructed brand image, but the brand culture that results from this consumer-led exchange.
According to Pompei, “brand culture will effect the design of the retail spaces because brand environments will have to reflect these cultural transformations by moving beyond [commercial] transactions and expressing the evolving values of the brand community. The simplest way to describe this transition is that retail environments will become places for people and the emerging brand culture rather than only places for product.”
Anthropologie is a perfect case-study for this kind of approach. With revenues above $140 million, the brand has enjoyed sustained growth due to its emphasis on store layout and lifestyle merchandising, resulting in an astounding average customer dwell time of eighty-eight minutes.
In an Anthropologie store, emphasis is placed on creating an individual, transformative journey. “Personal discovery and exploration are also important. We respond to this complex value by creating a retail landscape with ‘paths of exploration’ rather than isles with straight lines and right angles… [the] retail environment is to be explored at the individual direction and pace of each visitor,” says Pompei. “In this way when customers select an item it is their own discovery. They have just co-authored the brand and created their own ‘Ah’ moment.” This is what will distinguish a bricks-and-mortar experience from an online purchase and ultimately make the cash register ring.
For luxury brands, this shift in function of the retail environment will require a new approach to design and visual merchandising. Walking into luxury stores today, consumer interaction with the environment is rigidly regulated and sometimes even intimidating. Straight lines often dictate shoppers’ movements and products are stored behind glass counters or on high shelves. Visual merchandising has been focused on the product, not on the experience of the person in the store. All of these experiential dimensions will have to be rethought.
Luxury retail spaces around the world are uniquely positioned to embrace this new mandate. Having already invested in premium property, existing retail spaces can be designed to evoke emotional responses. Coming out from behind glass counters and inviting consumers to explore and create their own journey should not be a far stretch for those that are ready and willing to leave the one-way communication of brand image behind, enabling shoppers to participate in a creating a new brand culture.
Meeta Roy is a London-based luxury brand consultant.
NEW YORK, United States — As the holiday shopping season draws near, we’re watching the market for premium denim with particular interest. According to a recent article by Eric Wilson in The New York Times: “The $300 pair of designer jeans is now, courtesy of the recession, the $200 pair of designer jeans.” With this recent “market correction,” Los Angeles-based J Brand has become one of the hottest denim labels of the new world order.
While consumers have welcomed recent price reductions, many women are still willing to pay higher prices for premium jeans because they offer a sartorial flexibility that other types of clothing do not.
J Brand not only has a price point that’s in tune with difficult economic times, but they’re also bucking the downward sales trend by offering what women are looking for: versatility and emotional appeal.
“Jeans, to many, are the new ‘pant.’ Denim fits, styles and washes have become sophisticated enough that women will wear their favorite jean with a Balenciaga jacket or a Stella McCartney blouse. At the same time, jeans can be dressed down and casual,” explains Kim Vernon, the president and CEO of Vernon Company, a lifestyle brand consultancy and business development firm based in New York. As a solid foundation for a variety of looks, jeans offer bang for every hard earned buck.
Indeed, it’s hard to dispute that having a pair of fierce fitting jeans is a bankable characteristic. In a recent episode of Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul declared a pair of CJ by Cookie Johnson jeans, priced from $141-$198, as the best because of the way it supports “real women’s booties.” She went on to gush: “For three days straight, I had on the jeans.” Winfrey placed the jeans on her list of favorite things, which is sure to generate astounding demand from the shows eager viewers.
It may be an elusive goal, but great fitting jeans strike an emotional chord with shoppers. “When a woman [or man] finds a great fitting jean that makes them feel sexy, confident, and comfortable, they won’t trade down. They will buy multiple pairs in different washes,” notes Vernon.
J Brand CEO Jeff Rudes agrees. “Jeans make you feel great. It’s one of the most fit-sensitive items in a women’s closet—next to bras and bathing suits,” he says. “When something so fit-sensitive makes you look good, you feel good.”
Recognizing the confidence great jeans can give a woman, J Brand favors silhouette enhancing features that attract and retain shoppers. “Brands like J Brand have proven that fit is tantamount in customer loyalty. Customers know the styles by name and by number,” says Vernon.
Not surprisingly, its frippery-free design approach to jeans is paying off. J Brand posted a 20 percent sales increase in 2009 compared to one year ago. “Our business has increased, we are a growing brand,” says Rudes. “We are picking up some market share from the bigger guys who have dominated the space for a few years.”
Denim has been front and centre at many value-driven brands this fall, but Rudes isn’t worried. When the Gap aggressively advertised its premium denim on the industry’s top models, Rudes saw it as a good sign. “If more people are eating chocolates, Godiva’s business is actually growing. I wouldn’t worry about Hersheys. If more people are having a conversation about a product category, or a trend, everyone benefits,” says Rudes.
Rudes is focusing on engaging his customers with special pieces. This fall, the label partnered with Hussein Chalayan to produce a capsule collection with prices around $250, a collaboration which will continue for Spring 2010. They’re also planning to roll out a collection with Henry Duarte by the end of this year.
The brand is solidifying partnerships with retailers, as well, producing special jeans for some of the best stores in the world: Barneys in New York, Dover Street Market in London, and Tsum in Russia. What’s more, the brand is introducing J Brand Boutique, a special line for premium stores only. “We have a strong sense of devotion to our specialty stores and want to make the consumer feel they are getting something unique with the Boutique line,” says Rudes.
Robert Cordero is a Contributing Editor of The Business of Fashion.
PARIS, France — With all the talk of layoffs at Condé Nast in the face of a technological revolution that is transforming fashion media as we know it, the days of the good old-fashioned hard copy magazine may seem numbered. But, while traditional media behemoths struggle to translate their content and brands to the online space, niche fashion publications are sprouting up to offer a completely different kind of magazine experience altogether.
At a soirée on Friday hosted by Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy, copies of two such magazines — Sang Bleu and Some/Things — were laid out sparsely on the galvanised steel tables in the brushed concrete headquarters of Owenscorp in Paris’ Place du Palais Bourbon. Art lovers in town for the FIAC art fair, musicians visiting from Los Angeles and international fashion folk leafed through the heavy matte pages with black and white images of rooftops in Cairo’s Bab-el-Louk and sinewy bodies covered with intricate tattoos.
Swan Tattoo | Source: Sang Bleu III/IV
Sang Bleu, or ‘blue blood’, is the labour of love of Maxime Buechi, who was first introduced to me at the Festival d’Hyères earlier this year by Diane Pernet. In Issue III/IV, tattoos are showcased as a sophisticated form of personal expression at the heart of a growing contemporary tattoo culture.
“I got my first tattoo back in 2002. It was a back piece by Filip Leu,” says Buechi. “At the same time I started to get more personally involved in the tattoo culture. I noticed a void in the panorama of tattoo-related publications. The idea of Sang Bleu therefore came naturally from a desire for a publication that would approach tattoo and other underground cultures from another angle, similar to that of contemporary art or fashion.”
For its part, Some/Things also has a strongly personal bent, striving for a timeless appeal and deep engagement with the reader. “We shun a fast approach and we want to take time to discover and re-discover works that transcend the boundaries of their medium — and engage with reality,” declares a manifesto on the project’s website. “A magazine for us is more than a printed matter. It’s part of our world and part of our own lives. It’s our vision — subjective as it may be.”
That vision can be explored in formats that extend beyond the magazine itself, resulting in a model which is something more like a personal art project than a magazine, strictly speaking. Some/Things refers to itself “a bi-annual book/magazine publication, publishing house producing limited edition artist books/objects, and art/design consulting agency” which aims “to create something that goes beyond a basic product — something more involved, engaging and personal — something with a story.”
In this way, these magazines are something to savour for a long time rather than to browse quickly and then, throw away.
But is there a viable business model here? Up until now, neither Sang Bleu nor Some/Things have focused on advertising revenue. Instead a significant sticker price positions the magazines more as art books, and supplemental income comes from other related collaborations and agency work.
“Sang Bleu is not a magazine, it is a project — a Gesamtkunstwerk,” says Buechi, referencing the German word for a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms, a so-called universal work of art. For Sang Bleu, the project includes a compilation of texts, and catalogues for Elisabeth Llach and an upcoming exhibition in Lausanne, entitled “inbetweenout“.
“It is like that because it couldn’t be any other way,” he continues. “No one would invest in such a project in the beginning, so I borrowed money and sold it as a book. It has worked, I guess, since I have not been put in jail for not paying my rent. I achieved my goal of creating something that didn’t exist before and that people would enjoy reading and draw inspiration from. My real aspirations always were artistic. But now, if it can go on as a financially viable publication, it’d be even nicer.”
Indeed, Buechi is on the hunt for advertisers for the next issue of Sang Bleu due out in February 2010. And, unlike advertisements in say Vogue or Glamour, these ones will be cherished alongside deeply personal editorial and photography for many years to come.
Now that’s what I call a long-term value proposition.
Imran Amed is Editor and Founder of The Business of Fashion
