Margiela's new strategy/ *NYC store premiere

[softgrey]

Scary. He's not even talking anymore.

i don't think he ever did...
he's always been elusive...
that's not new...

 

[ignitioned32]

i don't think he ever did...
he's always been elusive...
that's not new...

What I meant was it seems like he is making this all happen, you know not standing up. Just making Russo take control all over.

 

[softgrey]

well...what are independant designers supposed to do?...
just starve forever?...
mmm existed that way for more than 20 years...maybe they are just tired now...it's not so nice to struggle forever...it's easier in your twenties and thirties...but as you approach 40-50...you get tired of the fight...you just don't have it in you anymore...
and you see all these people around you who are so-called 'sell-outs'...having lovely vacations and lifestyles an you think to yourself...ok...maybe i've fought enough...now it's someone else's turn to fight...margiela tried the route that others have...working at a major house (hermes)...but that didn't seem to work for him...
so what other choice is left...?

it reminds me of all those band in the 80's...depeche mode and the cure and the smiths and tears for fears...they never sold many albums and didn't get radio play...but they were true to their art and they struggled along with a loyal fan base...until one day somebody came along and gave them great exposure and the rest of the world caught on to what a small group had known for awhile already...
and they all went mainstream...

do you begrudge these people their success?... of course it will never be the same...but maybe now there will be something else...or someone else...
it's so so hard to compete with the conglomerates that have developed in recent years...margiela's only other choice may have been to just close the doors...and THAT would have been truly tragic...because then he would have lost everything...and i really don't wish that on him...

the fashion industry is tough...and it's really exhausting...maybe he wants to take it easier now...and i hope he can do that...he deserves it...imho...
of course it's sad in many ways...but at least the company is still alive...

and i've been to the london store and i bought some pieces from the last collection and i like the lower price stuff...i like the more commercial stuff....it's more wearable and it's nice to have somewhere to get basics that aren't cookie cutter...

and there were some incredible dresses from the artisinal collection that you really have to examine to understand...one dress made from one piece of fabric...folded and tacked...but not sewn...completely seamless...very creative...yet wearable and elegant...my friend bought it for business meetings...very polished...and about the split toe boots...i guess no one has seen the INCREDIBLE pumps that were done for last season...incredible...truly...just divine...i wanted them so badly...but they were sold out of my size...and they cost a fortune...but still sold out...

macchiom's point about renzo rosso is a good one...diesel remains one of the 'coolest' and most 'in demand' brands worldwide for years and years... it is truly incredible...he must know something.... and diesel has always been ahead of trends and willing to take risks...
so i will cross my fingers and hope for the best...

i think they are still producing good work and i'm not prepared to say that this is the end...this may just be the beginning of a new era...

like TFS...

 

[metal-on-metal]

Very well said...

I agree.

 

[nqth]

Absolutely agree that MMM deserves "more commercial" lines to back up the artisanal. I really can't see that he could go wrong with that.

It is really difficult to maintance a big house and to be creative at the same time. I think that being small is not the only value. It's the clothes that count

As for perfumes bussiness, it really depends how he makes that. There are "couture" or avantgarde perfume houses, Frederic Malle, Iunx or Serge Lutens come to my mind. Comme des Garçons makes exceptional too. If MMM perfumes are like those, it could only be better:-)


Like Softgrey said, it might be a new era:-) Let's hope.

 

[orlem]

i think the new marketting plan includes mass publicity, dressing vips>quirky celebrities including -why not?- oscars of other likewise events, playing the whole commercial game , fuelling my worries on the alien direction mr diesel has on paper for MMM.. hence me being so negative about the whole thing...

Oh yeah, I meant a bad sign for MM, not the celebrities

 

[raijin]

....

 

[raijin]

This defintely sounds like a bad idea to me..
All we can do is hope that Mr. Diesel doesn't make MMM overtly commercial.. which is unlikely when you think of how he has managed his own brand and puts down managing the company like a family.

Im boycotting all the big fashion houses, the quality is defintely not what it used to be.
When you pay for dior homme and other labels, your paying for the logo and the inflated advertising budget.
I'd much rather buy smaller labels that are much better quality and nicer design-wise as well.

 

[thomas28]

Thanks for your sharing

 

[faust]

I agree with Johnny's statement.

For now I'm pessimistic about this. I'll believe the rossos of the world are good guys when I'll actually see it.

BTW, rumour has it that the MMM scouts found a Tribeca location for the NYC store.

 

[softgrey]

oh...it would be nice to have nother good, well designed store in this city...especially in tribeca...i assume it will be near the issey miyake store...

 

[faust]

oh...it would be nice to have nother good, well designed store in this city...especially in tribeca...i assume it will be near the issey miyake store...

Probably. Although the amount of MMM in Tribeca/Soho area is getting ridicilous: Barneys Co-Op, Seven (moving to Soho), Steven Alan, IF (of course), and now MMM boutique

 

[softgrey]

steven alan?...i've never seen it there...or at barney's co-op
but i hardly ever step foot in those places...

 

[softgrey]

i think they could totally do a lower end line that would support the designer collection...i can absolutely see it...and i think it's a smart marketing idea...
many designers have done this over the years...makes good business sense...

 

[faust]

steven alan?...i've never seen it there...or at barney's co-op
but i hardly ever step foot in those places...

I get my Khiel's at co-op, the closes place to me. SA used to carry CDG/Junya (for men)

I think the 6 line is as low end as Margiela should go.

 

[baklanyc]

I agree with softgrey that Diesel has been fairly innovative in the way it has maintained a somewhat edgy identity despite becoming the huge success that it's become in recent years. I remember loving their advertising in The Face long before they were readily available in NYC, and while they still seem edgy as a brand, I think it's more the public perception of Diesel's clientele that hinders their image: when you see every third person on the street (and some you'd rather not be associated with, style-wise) wearing Diesel, it makes you not want to wear the brand. Oh, that and also, three words: Diesel Style Lab... which I despise.

Will Margiela become another victim of growth? Hopefully not. But for every line that explodes and becomes so popular that it loses the clientele that prefers a company that's small and edgy, there are edgy designers still making their clothing and doing so year after year: Azzedine Alaia and Vivienne Westwood come to mind as they have a completely loyal following after all this time. Although I wonder how much they make, since Westwood, for example, shuttered her New York store several years ago, and you really can't find her anywhere in NYC that I know of. Alaia does have that new hotel venture...!

But like softgrey said, it becomes tiring for a company not to have the cash flow/backing to expand and grow as necessary, and after a certain point, you really are faced with a choice of doing things for the business' growth or keeping the company as a personal, artistic endeavor that may not make as much money but adheres to its vision. But either way, you still need money.

 

[AlexN]

Oh, that and also, three words: Diesel Style Lab... which I despise.

What's the difference between Diesel and Diesel Style Lab?

 

[baklanyc]

What's the difference between Diesel and Diesel Style Lab?

As far as I can tell, it's their more 'experimental' fashion line. But after a few seasons of not liking a single thing from the line, I'm not really the best judge of what they are.

 

[softgrey]

yeah...i think it's supposed to be the more fashion forward 'design labratory'

i never like it either...a bit too 'experimental' for me...

 

[Astrid21]

do you begrudge these people their success?... of course it will never be the same...but maybe now there will be something else...or someone else...
it's so so hard to compete with the conglomerates that have developed in recent years...margiela's only other choice may have been to just close the doors...and THAT would have been truly tragic...because then he would have lost everything...and i really don't wish that on him...

the fashion industry is tough...and it's really exhausting...maybe he wants to take it easier now...and i hope he can do that...he deserves it...imho...
of course it's sad in many ways...but at least the company is still alive...

and i've been to the london store and i bought some pieces from the last collection and i like the lower price stuff...i like the more commercial stuff....it's more wearable and it's nice to have somewhere to get basics that aren't cookie cutter...

and there were some incredible dresses from the artisinal collection that you really have to examine to understand...one dress made from one piece of fabric...folded and tacked...but not sewn...completely seamless...very creative...yet wearable and elegant...my friend bought it for business meetings...very polished...and about the split toe boots...i guess no one has seen the INCREDIBLE pumps that were done for last season...incredible...truly...just divine...i wanted them so badly...but they were sold out of my size...and they cost a fortune...but still sold out...

Excellent post, Softgrey. I'm much too tired to type out an articulate response, but I think you summed it up perfectly.

Interesting article, Lena. Thank you so much for sharing. It's been such a pleasure to get back into reading about fashion. Being away for so long I feel as though I have nothing constructive to share.