here are some extracts from a very interesting article from The Guardian,
on the way fashion industry really works
*well, it seems catwalks are now only a showcase of the collection's clever (or not) styling and co-odrination and of course a clever way for 'free' publicity of the label and its products. (still a very ...expensive 'free' service since to put up a fashion show usually cost quite a chunk of money)
since 70% of the buyer's budget is already been spent months before the shows, cheers to the new generation of designers who prefer low key-low cost 'presentations' as films or web events.
so what do you think, are catwalk shows worth the investment from a business prespective?
are they passè or not?
on the way fashion industry really works
The catwalk, darling? It's so last year
Jess Cartner-Morley
....The demise of the catwalk is a reflection of its increasingly flimsy role in the industry. The Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana recently told Italian newspaper La Repubblica that their catwalk shows were just for fun, and served no purpose in selling clothes. "The product has been sold at least two months beforehand", said Domenico Dolce. He described the clothes shown on the catwalk as "exaggerated", and said they accounted for 20% of business at most.
Prominent members of the British fashion retail industry concede that catwalk shows have become secondary to the business of selling clothes. "Around 65 or 70% of our budget is spent before the shows start," said Ivan Donovan, senior buyer for the longstanding London boutique Browns. This is especially true, he said, of brands which the store sells in high quantities, such as Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni and Jil Sander. Susanne Tide-Frater, head of creative direction for Selfridges, concurred, saying that for "meaty brands" such as Dolce & Gabbana, around 70% of buying takes place in showroom appointments some time before the catwalk collections are shown.
The shift in emphasis towards "pre-collections" - clothes sold to buyers before the show, which may have only tenuous links to the collection that appears on the catwalk - reflects the fact that while catwalk shows have become increasingly fantastical, the bread-and-butter of the retail trade remains grounded in more wearable clothes. "With Dolce & Gabbana, we can buy the more commercial pieces, the classic suits, great dresses and trousers, before we see the show, because we know what our customer will want," Mr Donovan said.
Even so, most in the industry remain wedded to the catwalk concept. "Fashion is not just about a rack of clothes," said Mr Donovan. "It's about seeing them on gorgeous women in a fabulous setting."
Ms Tide-Frater is convinced that "we can't do without shows, because they are what gets across the message of the season." She gave the example of the aftermath of September 11, when some American designers cancelled shows and displayed their wares on the internet. "It just didn't have the spark," she said. "The shows are like storytelling. And then we convey that story to the customer."
Ms Tide-Frater was speaking before the Dries Van Noten show in Paris last week. When the show began, it perfectly illustrated her point. It was staged in the imposing Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in the St Germain district of Paris, with foliage visible in silhouette through the picture windows at the end of the catwalk, and a soundtrack of eerie instrumental music. The floor was sprinkled with silver crystals which crunched like sugar underfoot as models emerged from a mist of dry ice. The entire event was orchestrated to echo the ethereal, fairytale mood of the clothes, bringing the collection to life and so catching the attention of stylists, editors and clients in the audience.
For smaller designers, moreover, the catwalk can still be crucial, as stores keep aside a portion of the budget to buy from collections which catch their eye on the runway. According to Mr Donovan, the Browns team attended the Sophia Kokosalaki show at London fashion week undecided as to whether to stock the collection, "but we loved the show, and so we placed a substantial order. In that case, the catwalk was crucial".
*well, it seems catwalks are now only a showcase of the collection's clever (or not) styling and co-odrination and of course a clever way for 'free' publicity of the label and its products. (still a very ...expensive 'free' service since to put up a fashion show usually cost quite a chunk of money)
since 70% of the buyer's budget is already been spent months before the shows, cheers to the new generation of designers who prefer low key-low cost 'presentations' as films or web events.
so what do you think, are catwalk shows worth the investment from a business prespective?
are they passè or not?