The Business of Fashion

Yves Saint Laurent | The Final Farewell

There was wall-to-wall coverage of Yves Saint Laurent's funeral in Paris on Thursday, but as usual, it was Suzy Menkes, in her own erudite and quirky way, who best managed to capture the mood of the moment in her article and video about Saint Laurent's final farewell.

That John Galliano, Christian Lacroix, Ricardo Tisci, Valentino Garavani, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, Stefano Pilati, Mark Jacobs, Alber Elbaz, Hubert de Givenchy and Vivienne Westwood were all there to pay homage speaks to Saint Laurent's towering status amongst his peers and YSL successors. The one notable absentee was Karl Lagerfeld.

Marc Jacobs, speaking of Saint Laurent's influence on his own designs, said simply "He's the person who taught me everything I know." In creative fields like fashion, it is this kind of recognition, respect and influence that stands the test of time. Not dollars and cents.

Paris Fashion Week | The brand revivalists

Amongst the most anticipated collections this season in Paris were the debuts by new designers at the helm of established brands -- Stuart Vevers for Loewe, Estaban Cortazar for Ungaro, and Alessandra Facchinetti  for Valentino. Each brand has faced its own unique challenges in finding the right creative spark to sustain brand awareness and business performance.

While many fashion companies are practically clambouring to establish a presence and gain legitimacy in the lucrative leather goods category, Loewe has a long, rich history in beautifully-crafted leather goods, including a strong link to the  Spanish Royal family. But despite its enviable heritage and high quality, Loewe has had a hard time breaking into the younger fashion mainstream. Enter Stuart Vevers, who has a luxury heritage all his own, with stints at Louis Vuitton and most recently at Mulberry, where he helped put the British brand on the global fashion map.

Paris Fashion Week | The new establishment

It's been a blisteringly busy Paris fashion week here at the BoF, but we've been taking everything in and can finally share some of our views on all the action -- and the business implications. This season, we were most interested in Balenciaga and Givenchy -- the new Paris establishment -- and the series of brand revivalists - including Stuart Vevers at Loewe, Estaban Cortazar at Ungaro and Alessandra Facchinetti at Valentino. Today, the new establishment. Tomorrow, the brand revivalists.

After what was widely considered a tour-de-force from Nicolas Ghesquiere  last season, the anticipation was building for a Balenciaga for A/W 2008. He did not disappoint, picking up on last season's modern, sculpted silhouette (which, incidentally has also popped up in other collections this season from Marchesa to Bruno Pieters) and producing a more wearable, but still distinctive, collection. Ghesquiere is solidifying his place as the leader of the new Paris establishment.

Paris Fashion Week: The resurrection of Vionnet

In the 1920's, a young French designer named Madeleine Vionnet created a virtual tornado in the in the fashion industry when she developed the bias cut. By cutting fabric against the grain, she enabled it to cling, drape and give in a way that was flattering to the body. Vionnet went on to build an enviable and innovative business, dressing clients such as Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn, and Greta Garbo.

The house was shut down during the Second World War, but since then, Vionnet's technique has been widely used by numerous acclaimed designers, including Azzedine Alaia and John Galliano, who has made the bias-cut dress one of his own signatures.

Now, almost 70 years after it faded into oblivion, the House of Vionnet may not be dead for much longer. Not if Vionnet CEO Arnaud de Lummen has something to say about it. Over the past few years, he has been quietly laying the foundation to resurrect this once-great house to its former glory. De Lummen's father bought the rights to the Vionnet business 20 years ago and has waited until now to task his son, a Harvard-trained lawyer, to make this ambitious vision a reality.

Paris Fashion Week: 6267 - That dress!

Ever since Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano of 6267 sent their S/S 2008 collection down the runway in Milan last week, everyone has been talking about that dress.

In her glowing review, Suzy Menkes said the big surprise of the show came "when the models turned to show a wide dress morph into a sinuous shape at the back. It sounds tricky, but the idea worked, offering one of the most intriguing contrasts of the season." Of the show's standout piece, Nicole Phelps of Style.com said that "Rimondi and Aquilano have an untapped avant-garde streak: Coming, the dress looked like a sculptural, full-blown trapeze; going, it revealed itself to be a body-skimming, provocative sheath." (Note: Unfortunately, no photo of that dress, but another one with similarly constrasting construction is pictured to the left)

Lucky for me, though I missed the show in Milan, I was invited to tea at Place du Marché St Honoré in Paris yesterday evening to take a closer look at the collection. I dragged Jason Campbell of the JC Report along with me -- and we were not disappointed and not alone.

Gentry de Paris: Tapping into the burlesque revival

Sometimes fashion takes you to the most unexpected places. This is what keeps me interested. Last night I found myself in the heart of Paris' red light district -- home to some salacious joints like les Folies Pigalle and le Moulin Rouge. Why would I show up in such a place in the middle of the week? Because when I received an email from Gentry Lane inviting me to her latest event in Paris, I knew I had to attend:

Because my brand is associated with all things vintage and glamorous, I decided to bring the best burlesque performers from Europe and the US together along with the amazing electro gypsy jazz band Caravan Palace for a night of burlesque that Paris hasn't seen since the likes of Josephine Baker.

Gentry Lane is one of the leading protagonists of the innerwear-as-fashion trend (in a different vein from VPL) that we have seen take off over the past few years. Last night, she cleverly combined this with the not-so-underground burlesque revival that has been sweeping the shores of many of the world's coolest cities. All this to highlight the world of Gentry de Paris, her loungewear and lingerie label....et voilà!  An event that brings people into Gentry's universe.

Goyard and Tory Burch: 5th Avenue Styletribe, New York

It is cliche to say that New Yorkers dress in uniform, but as with most cliches, there is a kernel of truth to this one that can't be denied.

There is also no denying that New Yorkers are stylish, they just tend to be stylish in easily identifiable groups often associated with the areas in which they live and work, ie. Williamsburg hipsters in skinny jeans and hoodies, Wall Street bankers in Brooks Brothers and 5th Avenue ladies who lunch in Chanel. Sure, you could say the same is true for Londoners as there are trends that seem to capture the imagination of Notting Hillbillies, Sloane Rangers and Hoxtonites alike, but somehow these are executed with individual panache that makes the trend their own.

In New York this past week I was staying near 5th Avenue and everywhere I looked - Starbucks, Abercrombie, crossing the street - I saw women wearing the same things:  Goyard bags and Tory Burch ballet shoes. It's no accident that both of these items are available nearby at 5th Avenue establishment Bergdorf Goodman and trendsetting Barney's New York, but still the sheer volume of women toting those bags and sporting those shoes was mindboggling.

Goyard is a 150+ year old French luggage company that has captured the interest of 5th Avenue status seekers with its coated canvas bags which, according to people I spoke to, last forever. Tory Burch, a New York socialite whose very successful label does not have the same history as Goyard, has still managed to do the same with her Reva ballet shoe, emblazened with the Tory Burch logo.

The question I have is how smart it is from a business standpoint to allow consumers to buy into a core item like Goyard's tote as an "it bag". It's one thing for a Fendi fashion bag to become the season's "it bag", because those bags are usually only around for a season or two and Fendi has a whole foundation of core bag designs and silhouettes that are available season after season. These bags speak to the history of the brand and are not marketed as being 'of the moment'. These never go out of style. Once the moment has passed for the Goyard tote, Goyard will have to reinvent its basic bag to compel more people to buy their bags in the future.  It's much smarter to market a fashion bag as an "it bag", and allow the core items of your collection to act as the solid base from which other more seasonal bags can be developed. Goyard has done this, consciously or unconsciously, the other way around. 

Turns out I wasn't the first to notice the Goyard trend as Bill Cunningham (aka the original Sartorialist) captured Goyard totes on countless women in his regular On The Street feature for the New York Times entitled "The Trophy" (see above). He also did an article onthe more seasonal Fendi double buckle bags and Chanel carry-alls, underlining how these experts in the fashion game have got the it bag business sorted out.

Goyard street photo courtesy of the New York Times, 10 December 2006.

Feting Fetishism, Paris

Last night, legendary Parisian concept store Colette feted London designer Giles Deacon's latest collaboration with Mulberry -- a link to Giles' S/S 07 collection of 'subtle' fetishism. The place was rammed with fashionistas (there were a couple of other events going on). The Parisians are into colour-blocking these days, there was a lot of red, purple and electric blue peaking out of black blazers, leather jackets and dresses. Even the cocktails of the night were electric blue.

Collaborations like this are good for emerging designers like Giles because they provide much needed cash to fund the business through working capital crunches, lend credibilty to designer's stature, and raise the profile of the designer on the back of PR events like this. Who doesn't like to have a party thrown in their honour? In return, the brands get cool products and street cred.

Who ever thought Mulberry could look like this?

The place was heaving.

The colour-blocking was raging.

Luxury Lingerie and Loungewear

How cool does this look? What a creative event.

Gentry de Paris is hosting a very special event at next weekend's Salon de

la Lingerie.

In conjunction with the cult Parisian cabaret MurderSuicidePresents, Monsieur Poudre, our mysterious Master of Ceremonies, will be your guide into the curious and surreal dream of sleeping Joséphine de Beauharnais. Featuring Lady Bird in a silver cage and Miss Morte under a flurry of ostrich feather fans, Joséphine’s strange dream comes alive once an hour through a pink champagne haze provided by to our gracious sponsor Champagne Duval-Leroy

Elegant lines and opulent fabrics inspired by the Premier Empire feature heavily in the Winter 2007 collection. Our bra-panty-garter sets in luscious French silk satin jacquards come in pale, antique colors. Opulent silk satin solids make up our pyjamas and nightgown range.  Super soft viscose jersey wireless bras and boyshorts suit every budget.  And of course our Loro Piana featherweight cashmere comes in boxers, tanks panties and pyjamas.

Kid Luxe?

I am on the Eurostar to Paris and came across an article in the latest edition of TIME - Style and Design on the Paris-based luxury children's brand, Bonpoint. Apparently, the company is actively in play to be acquired (possibly by France's Pinault family) after having been nicely prepped and dressed-up by Edmond de Rothschild Capital Partners, who acquired 70% of the company from its founders in 2003. Since then, the company has grown to almost €43m in annual turnover with about 60 Bonpoint retail stores around the world. This is impressive for a brand that has slowly been building itself in a market that is not very well understood.

I have to admit that I have always been sceptical of luxe for kids. Is there really a luxury apparel market when kids grow out of their clothes so quickly? Why emphasise quality when the clothes only need to last a year anyway?  Is it healthy for kids to be exposed to luxury branding from such a young age? What does it say about parents who dress their children in luxury clothes as yet another way to flaunt their wealth?

This article made me think twice about it as a business. First if you can get brand loyalty from the buying decision maker, then you can expect even more frequent purchases of clothing as kids rapidly go through their clothes. The article even mentions mothers who buy the same children's outfit for each home! Yes, kids will eventually outgrow the brand and so new customers will have to be found, but while Bonpoint has the customers, they will be loyal and revenue generating. This is even more compelling when you take into account the demographic trends highlighted in the article. In developed markets where fewer children are being born, later in marriage, there is even more money available to lavish upon these children by their parents and grandparents, who are also richer and living loger.

Second, kids are exposed to all sorts of branding and marketing anyway. McDonald's, Nintendo, and increasingly MySpace, YouTube and MSN, so why not Bonpoint? That said, it does make me think about what potential Bonpoint loses in the "lifetime" value of a customer given that they have explicitly stayed out of the adult clothing business. After building a relationship with the customer (in this case, mother and child), they let them go and possibly won't see that customer again until they have their own children. I wonder whether there is a way to continue to capture value even after kids have outgrown the brand.

As for parents who dress up their kids to flaunt their wealth and status, there are always going to be parents who do that and with or without Bonpoint they will continue to do so. At the same time, not every parent who buys Bonpoint is doing if just for their own image. They may simply want what they think is the best for their children.

I was most struck by the way Marie-France, one of Bonpoint's founders,  spoke about the way she was brought up in an artistic family to appreciate beautiful things -- not necessarily expensive things. "Our mother didn't have a lot of money, but the word we heard most often was REGARDEZ. Look at all the beautiful buildings in Paris. Look at the paintings. Look at the furniture...You were told to train your eye and always there was a dissassociation of beauty and taste from the idea of money..."

So, maybe Bonpoint isn't about conspicuous consumption for children? It could be more about injecting a sense of refinement and taste early into lives of children...who knows. The jury is still out for me, but the idea od luxury children's wear doesn't seem like such a bad idea anymore. I am going to try to check out the Bonpoint flagship the Rue du Tournon on this trip and judge for myself.

[Extracts from TIME - Style and Design, Winter 2006]

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