The Fashion World is often in turmoil as the material it deals with: “FASHION” is an ever-changing world within itself, sometimes completely unpredictable and driven by unexplainable forces that, even for the experts in fashion, at times seem totally bizarre. I don’t try to make sense of it, and whilst I don’t profess to be an expert, I have been around the block a few times, and I can say with certainty when you think we have hit the lowest or craziest moment, don’t hold your breath, and fasten your seatbelts.
Since the late 1960s and the invention of “Ready to Wear,” The fashion calendar has evolved over time to its current whirlwind state of seasonal and off-season events that have designer brands scurrying to constantly bring newness to the market. Today especially in womenswear, but menswear following quickly behind, within a short window of weeks, a brand needs to launch new product to market, present it to buyers and editors in expensive runway shows or fancy events with the hope and help of expensive PR to get it covered in features even before it is available to sell.
The brand then needs to get it produced correctly and affordably, deliver it timely to stores all over the world, sell as much as possible at full price before any leftover or end-of-run pieces end up on department store sales racks, and eventually in one of the discount chains that are the last hope for the unsold product. It is a constant cycle, and a giant machine that I often joke about is so perpetual that if we all got wiped out tomorrow, items would still show up in the Saks window display next season without us. It is totally exhausting for all involved and takes teams of people who work tirelessly round the clock to meet these impossible deliverables.
What I pictured above is the designer model and behind each brand sits a creative director with a team of talented designers whose sole purpose is to drive towards vertiginous sales that keep shareholders happy until, of course, they are not. Last week Gucci announced the immediate exiting (firing) of its Creative Director Alessandro Michele, who has led the brand successfully for the last 7 years driving unheard-of turn-around sales. During his reign, he became a press and celebrity darling, collaborating with the likes of Harry Styles and Billie Eilish to create some of fashion’s biggest iconic red-carpet moments. His downfall? It seems he just couldn’t do the humanly impossible task to keep the growth on its vertiginous trajectory. Basically, it was great but not great enough.
Across the industry, changes of leaders and teams happen all the time, with new Creative Directors being fired and hired, with the big luxury brands updating and refitting very expensive stores around the globe to keep up with pivoting visions and directions. Across the industry of late, brands like Burberry, Bottega Veneto, and Givenchy have all changed their visionary creative leaders along with their design teams literally overnight. Unless you are an avid reader of the fashion press, then it can be, at times, impossible to keep up.
On the road to pleasing shareholders, another layer of unexplainable madness is that these overnight decisions are often made in collaboration with top editors and influencers. The most well-known is, of course, “AW” (whispered), who, with her team at Conde Nast, can push or pull designers to fit publishing strategies and divide up luxury brand advertising dollars across the globe.
Fast fashion and big box or retail fashion are not exempt when it comes to advertising dollars spent being drawn into playing the PR game, hosting launch parties, in-store events, and collaborations to draw attention to their brand. Though rarely driven by individual talent, apparel retailers such as Zara, H&M, J.Crew, Old Navy, and many others have teams of designers for each category driving sales and volume at all costs, more often than not, at the price of our planet creating inexpensive disposable fashion in mostly cheap synthetics that last a moment on trend but sadly will live forever in a landfill.
Even as I finish writing this draft, another implosive, self-inflicted moment is breaking at the French house of Balenciaga and about to annihilate this long-standing global brand. Aren’t you glad I told you to fasten your seat belts?
At times like these, isn’t it refreshing to know that we do things so very different around here? We proudly do not follow any of the fashion frenzies by choice, overtly offering a consistent message of the tasteful wardrobe-building season after season. Knowing what our Client wants, how to cater to his individual needs, and working directly with him, we can avoid the fashion circus and focus on doing what we do best, dressing every man in J.Hilburn.
