The Business of Fashion

Everybody's talking about | Women in the middle

Some say that during a downturn, there is a flight to the high-end: buy fewer of the more expensive pieces that will stand the test of time and do away with impulse fashion purchases. There is also a rush to discounters: buy the same quantity of goods, but at lower prices which enables consumers to keep the newness factor, albeit at inferior levels of quality. Therefore, it is said, the middle market suffers.

Whatever is the conventional wisdom, if recent moves by some of the industry's most successful fashion executives are any indication, there is a significant opportunity to be captured in the middle market, which has lagged in recent years. They are putting their money where their mouths are.

Tory Burch: Targeting soccer moms and yummy mummies

A few weeks ago, Neri Karra, a professor at the London College of Fashion wrote to me to say she had included The Business of Fashion as part of the curriculum and recommended reading for both her Masters and Undergraduate students of fashion business strategy. Not only this, she kindly invited me to give a short talk to her some of her Master's students, and yesterday, my 30 minute chat turned into a 1.5 hour debate with some very passionate students from around the world, all of whom are interested in the fashion business.  I'd like to thank Neri and her students very much for welcoming me into their classroom and inspiring many so many new ideas for posts here on The Business of Fashion.

One of the topics that came up was about how to choose a target market and ensure that the product for that market meets the customers' needs -- functional needs, emotional needs and budgetary needs. This question came to mind instantly when I came across this article, from The Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins, on the "Yummy Mummy" market, aka "Soccer Moms".   (Incidentally, the WSJ has been particularly good about engaging with bloggers to propagate its content and have even introduced video with embed codes that bring their written content to life. Well done!)

Rodeo and Robertson: Build it, and they will come

After having checked out some of the more up-and-coming areas of L.A, it was time to visit the king and queen of luxury and fashion here: Rodeo Drive and Robertson Boulevard.

The most remarkable thing about both these streets is that the stores really are an extension of the brands themselves. In Paris, London and even New York, most brands are constrained by existing building facades and building codes which they must work around as they design their stores. In Los Angeles, it appears that the brands have complete freedom in design, and therefore, if done well, every aspect from the sparkling exteriors, the natural lighting, the size of logos outside the building, and even the dramatic entrances off the street are messages about the brand. It was truly impressive.

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.