Everyone, and by everyone, I mean the suits are racing to turn every fashion house into the biggest mega-brand. The strategy is to service everyone, at every time, in every category. But the more they expand, the more identity dissolves.
The irony is that the way they merchandise categories through data might as well be AI. Collections feel engineered for reach in a disingenuous way, not resonance. Karl had a way of designing and reaching all ages etc in a way that was authentic. He was not my favorite designer but I always thought he was smart in that way.
The fashion houses are scaling like tech companies now. Clothes, make up, trinkets etc. that sell, but rarely mean anything. What we are seeing now is they are diluting brands and compromising the art direction and vision so much that some people aren’t buying into it anymore. There is no tribe or vision to connect to. Versace i think is the biggest example of this.
The most radical thing a house could do today isn’t expansion, it’s restraint. Ie. If that rumor is true about givenchy stopping their menswear operation. To say no. To protect the integrity of a singular point of view in a world obsessed with more. We don’t need more stores and more collections, cafes, spas
