European recession affecting fashion

[Lena]

Change on the agenda in Italy by Vanessa Friedman
September 21, 2012 10:24 am

Making the rounds at Milan Fashion Week this season has been interesting as people keep talking about their big new idea to improve the Italian fashion business. Consensus seems to be that something needs to be done, but what?

Here are some of the suggestions I’ve heard:

1. At Ballantyne, director Franco Natalucci, said “we need to be closer to the consumers,” and suggested the way forward is lots of small shops, as opposed to the mega-flagships of conventional wisdom – I wonder how Burberry would feel about that? He also promised an “important announcement” soon, and suggested they were close to signing a major new design name – wonder how current creative director Yossi Cohen feels about that? So in some things I guess, bigger is still better. Just not real estate.

2. At La Rinascente, fashion director Tiziana Cardini noted that so few locals were shopping these days – or, to be fair, they were window shopping, but not buying — stores had effectively become tourist destinations, and needed to act as such in terms of clarity of organisation, Italian atmosphere, and service.

3. Cardini also suggested Italian companies are in a bit of a bind at the moment: trapped between their second lines (Red Valentino, Just Cavalli), which sell extremely well and contribute powerfully to the bottom line, and the desire to go upmarket and clarify their message – see Dolce & Gabbana’s decision to close their money-making D&G line last year.

The choice is losing money in the short term by shuttering the less expensive collections and hoping it will bolster the main line in the long term, or riding it out until an easier economic moment, at which point they risk having lost their identity. She wasn’t sure what direction they would take.

What do you think?

Financial Times article

from the state of #MFW recession seems to be affecting big time european fashion houses

safer collections, mixed direction , loss of creativity, cheap tricks & bad shoes

what should fashion houses do to face the economic crisis?

 

[kasper!]

Manolo Blahnik business is affecting by European debt crisis

The rigors of Europe's economic crisis are starting to have an effect on Manolo Blahnik's business, and he's worried that "the savoir-faire is going to go" out of the shoes he creates.

Blahnik told WWD that some suppliers he used to work with are shutting down or outsourcing as a way to deal with financial stresses.


"Some of the people are just gone," he said. "A buckle place near Milan that I used to work with very closely, they are going to close everything and move somewhere outside Hong Kong. I find it very difficult to deal with this, all the more because the priorities, the necessities of rich people, God bless them, is to be interested in what we do. But it's sad. If this situation is not resolved quickly, many people are going to suffer. The savoir-faire is going to go."


Still, Blahnik hasn't lost his zest for design. "It's something that I do with passion and with such pleasure that it's not even work," he said.

SAD news...

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Umm, what is he talking about?! "...the priorities, the necessities of rich people, God bless them ..." What does that mean? Who exactly are the people who are going to suffer? How is the savoir faire of his line not under his direct control?

Many things make me sad ... this is not one of them.

 

[lucy92]

it could be a concerted effort on blahnik's part...give the appearance that his suppliers are cutting costs and outsourcing..making it seem like he has "no choice" but to turn around and do the same thing...

 

[Lena]

Who exactly are the people who are going to suffer? How is the savoir faire of his line not under his direct control?

his comment is very clear, what is not to understand ?

designers work with high end suppliers, experienced technicians & old fashioned ateliers, they do not make everything from scratch, they are sourcing

the current economic crisis in EU is closing down many great 'small' suppliers (eg. handmade buckle makers) making things very difficult for designers who work with 'artisanal' VS 'mass' ateliers.

i assure you in EU we are facing big quality issues since some time now, but recently is becoming worst
its almost impossible to realize a collection when the people/ateliers/manufacturers you usually work -and you are depented on- are closing down their businesses due to the EU crisis

luxury market is finally getting the bite

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Possibly it's a language barrier issue. The part of his quote where he discusses 'rich people, God bless them' makes no sense at all to me. Perhaps he is just not very articulate, at least in a second language.

The suffering of people losing their jobs due to offshoring is definitely of concern to me. Hopefully that's what he was referring to, and not the suffering of 'rich people' due to the savoir faire of Manolo Blahniks not being what it once was. That I will not be losing sleep over.

I think Chanel (and Karl) showed a lot of leadership as far as how to ensure that relatively small, unique ateliers survive. It seems to me that it would be possible perhaps for Blahnik to in some way follow that model to help the suppliers he's concerned about and feels he needs. It seems to me that he may not be as helpless in this situation as he implies.

 

[Lena]

yes Chanel did a good job saving the know-how of some of the old Parisian HC ateliers
but honestly the effect was real limited
we are losing very good small manufacturers and of course their fantastic know-how