UNSUITABLE
Office staples stuck in fashion rut as attire becomes more casual and workers demand freshness
Fashion brands puzzle over what the working woman really wants (to wear),
When Banana Republic hired a star designer in 2014, it was greeted with a wave of optimism — no longer would the label be the boring, ubiquitous merchant of last-minute suits for job interviews.
Marissa Webb had been J.Crew’s head of womenswear. Banana Republic had been plodding along, trying to recover after the recession. Its executives were excited to reinvigorate the label with freshness and audacity. Webb delivered on that promise — butjust 18 months later, she was gone. Banana Republic’s clothes, for years too dull, were now too bold and the American working woman rejected them.
Now, with sales still ailing, Banana Republic is trying out its third strategy in as many years, as executives puzzle over what the working woman wants. The company isn’t alone in that struggle. Workwear for women is experiencing an identity crisis. As workplace attire becomes more casual and women demand freshness — the kind found at fastfashion stores like Zara and H&M — fashion’s office staples are stuck in a rut.
Banana Republic has posted six straight quarters of negative comparative store sales and its annual revenue in the U.S. has dipped 6.5 per cent since 2014.
Ann Taylor, another longtime destination for career women, has struggled to keep them interested as they ditch suits for more comfy clothes. And in July, LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton SE bailed on its money-losing DKNY brand, a storied label that defined women’s professional attire in the ’90s, and sold it for $650 million (U.S.).
In many workplaces, women aren’t constrained to their uniforms of the past — pencil skirts and blazers, sheath dresses, tailored pants, or business suits. Sure, they still wear them, but they’re layering yoga pants under stretchy dresses, or just buying whatever’s on-trend from the closest fast-fashion store that’s adapted runway styles for everyday wear.
“There’s been a real shift away from wearing work apparel to more casual things,” said Bridget Weishaar, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. “The space as a whole is under pressure.”
That has left executives scrambling. Ann Taylor gave Austyn Zung, designer of its trendier brands Loft and Lou & Grey, creative direction of the flagship label, too, and he has added whimsical patterns and colour to traditional silhouettes.
Art Peck, chief executive of Banana Republic’s parent company Gap Inc., said late last year that the performance of the workwear label after Webb’s revamp was his biggest disappointment.
He thought the styles had it the “sweet spot” of what Banana Republic should be, but customers refused to bite. Again, a new strategy was needed. “They had to backtrack,” Weishaar said. “You can’t go too far away from your core customer and your brand image.”
After a year of aggressive discounting in an effort to draw shoppers back into stores, Banana Republic is trying to wean them off constant sales. But reverting is risky and there is a fear customers, addicted to sale prices, won’t be willing to pay full price. Peck called it a “game of chicken” — hoping customers will blink first and accept the new normal.
This month, Banana Republic brought on a new global brand ambassador in Olivia Palermo, a street style star who has the particular kind of fashion sense to be featured in an officewear feature by Harper’s Bazaar. Having her face for its womenswear could help shoppers understand Banana Republic’s personality — at least, that’s the company’s hope.
At Banana Republic’s spring presentation during fashion week this month, the label showed off its latest looks — constructed blazers and slacks, paisley-print pants, and asymmetrically striped dresses. There were fashion pieces, for sure, but also the go-to, safe workwear that once defined Banana Republic. After Webb, the brand’s designers arelooking for a middle ground, trying to infuse clothes whose very point is to be dull with a little excitement.
Just not too much of it.