FASHION FEATURE
We look at today’s fashion landscape and see how designers and brands survive in today’s consumer climate
We dissect a designer’s survival guide in a cutthroat industry
CHANGING OF THE GUARDS
It was in 2014 where brands such as Vetements exploded into the fashion scene. Suddenly, everyone was very much into the street style renderings of these brands where simplicity and urban utility was a top priority. It was also in this period when luxury brands such as Gucci were forced to change their game or be eaten alive by the competition. Their solution? They appointed Alessandro Michele, associate to then Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini to take over. What he put out were whimsical collections that battled the urban stylings of street style brands. Michele brought maximalism back, not just to the runways but to Gucci’s income with a steady 30% growth every year since he started back in 2015.
COMEBACK KID
The sudden departure of Alber Elbaz from Lanvin was the talk of the town back in 2015. Speculations were soon confirmed that Lanvin fired its long time creative director. It was just as big of a surprise to Elbaz as he was idly sitting in his Parisian apartment when he got a letter from the brand telling him to not bother going to work. It was heartbreaking for manuy because Alber Elbaz’s Lanvin defined style for a whole generation of women. Thankfully, Elbaz’s fashion story does not end there. This is a redemption story as just last year Richemont, the Swiss luxury conglomerate appointed Elbaz as the head of a new fashion brand called AZ Fashion. Elbaz described it to be his “dream factory.” There is no doubt that his vision would redefine what women wear once again with AZ Fashion.
RISE UP
The world of haute couture is accessible only to a select few. Yes, collections can easily be seen on the web but seeing these pieces closely and wearing them will forever be many a woman’s dream. Dreams did come true back in 2014 when Diego Della Valle, the Chief Executive and President of Tod’s, decided to revive Elsa Schiaparelli’s namesake brand but lifted it up to the highest standards of couture. Led by Creative Director Marco Zanini, the first show was a definite hit as Zanini successfully brought back designs from the archives with a new point of view and executed with couture precision. For Zanini, Schiaparelli’s designs were brilliant. And it was in this intelligence that he found the elegance of the new Schiaparelli woman. Now with a RTW line led by Daniel Roseberry, the new Schiaparelli continues to make intelligent choices for the brand’s future.
SIMPLY THE BEST
Letting go of a dream is very hard but essential to achieve bigger ones. Marc Jacobs faced that exact predicament when he had to close Marc by Marc Jacobs back in 2015. The LVMHowned brand has experienced significant decline from 2012 to 2015. The shuffling of CEOs also did not help as directions never had a clear goal. Just last year, Marc Jacobs launched The Marc Jacobs. As opposed to the now defunct Marc by Marc brand, he describes his new line as a reimagining of his past designs, but now, the customer has the ability to buy the item and easily incorporate it to her personal style. Marc Jacobs is going even simpler as they close more brick and mortar stores only keeping the Rue Saint Honoré establishment. For Marc Jacobs and LVMH, the key to the brand’s survival is, it appears, straightforward simplicity.