Most Overpriced Designer? #1

[rlynne]

Scott, thanks for your insight.. i guess alot of research and development must go into each design to make it perfect and ethical

 

[mikeijames]

no, you're wrong, and you twisted my statement.

i never said it was abotu conspicious consumption, i said it was abotu conceptual importance. Ideas are worth more than the paint on a canvas

and yes, i agree and i don't mean to twist your statement. the creative spark has true -- and measurable -- value.

i also believe that conspicuous consumption informs the valuations we place on the very real value of that creativity. no one doubts the value of a matisse: however, no one -- except institutions themselves -- spends $40M (as recently happened at the YSL auction) on a painting without an element of conspicuous consumption playing a part.

to return to fashion, decarnin -- love him or hate him -- put forward a vision of dressing so compelling it changed the way people dress from the very high end to the very low end. that's why a piece of the original fetches the price it does.

 

[mikeijames]

now, back to our little game: lanvin never disappoints when it comes to price. the fantastic sparkling trousers? $6,155.

style.com

 

[OssieLover]

It's an odd thing. Clearly there is something to be said for almost all of the fashion we love being, well...overpriced. This is not to take away for the stunning achievements our favorite designers do with construction or the fine materials (well some of them use fine materials anyway) they use. That said, it's really hard to justify the prices of things even with all that knowledge in mind. This is one of the predominant reasons that 90% of my wardrobe is vintage.

What irks me most, in terms of "who is the most overpriced" usually falls in line with something being overpriced for what it is. I can wrap my head around gowns made by Oscar De La Renta qualifying their price tag, but the $800.00 glorified T shirt creations of Alexander Wang? Not so much. Those Balmain pieces, lustworthy as they are when you first see them, do not qualify their outrageous price tags, especially seeing as how the look screams trend. A season or two from now, those signature pagoda shoulders of his, will be deemed irrelevant, and someone would have sunk the price tag of a time share rental into one of those jackets. I have ironically less issue with the price tags of the Gucci Fall 09 jackets and suiting options, than I do with the Balmain stuff, if only because I see the ability to recycle those looks in the future.

Another irksome issue, is the filler pieces in collections bearing preposterous price tags, like the $300.00 tank top that so many people put into a collection to fill out a complete look. I am sorry, anyone who pays $300.00 for a tank top, be it made of silk, satin, cotton, knit or otherwise, needs their head examined. The $1000.00 belt, is another irksome issue. The cost to make most of the belts we love, even the ones encrusted with studs, stones, and the likes, are a pittance compared to the sale tag. A family friend for years worked in the leather goods industry and used to tell me "it takes NOTHING to make a belt, NOTHING. At most the costs are upwards to $30.00 and the cost of labor not much more, as we have machines and hand tools that do these things quickly. It's almost better to just make your own belts.

So, in a marketplace dominated by abhorrently expensive things, I would make the argument that right now Balmain is quite possibly the most overpriced. That said for what he does, I'd also argue that Alexander Wang is as well. At least Decarnin makes more interesting clothes.

 

[mikeijames]

^it's funny you mention belts as it's clearly one of the easiest items for design houses to make a mint selling! remember those ysl pilgrims at $400-$500 a pop? or the bottega stunners that went into the $1200s?! and who can deny the allure of the ever enduring hermes belt? beautiful? yes. quintessential? certainly. but overpriced? absolutely.

 

[fashionista-ta]

and yes, i agree and i don't mean to twist your statement. the creative spark has true -- and measurable -- value.

i also believe that conspicuous consumption informs the valuations we place on the very real value of that creativity. no one doubts the value of a matisse: however, no one -- except institutions themselves -- spends $40M (as recently happened at the YSL auction) on a painting without an element of conspicuous consumption playing a part.

to return to fashion, decarnin -- love him or hate him -- put forward a vision of dressing so compelling it changed the way people dress from the very high end to the very low end. that's why a piece of the original fetches the price it does.

I think there can be an element of conspicuous consumption involved in institutional buying too ... but it's also true that anyone at all can spend a lot of money at auction simply because they really want what they're bidding on. There are plenty of anonymous bids, and people may never tell anyone what they spent ... even the auction house often doesn't know who the buyer really was.

I suspect that Bottega belts are among the most expensive to manufacture, and therefore one of the best deals, given the handwork involved. I do feel the prices of their dog accessories are a bit suspect I should ask, perhaps they can explain it ...

 

[francesca073]

When I first saw this title, something was whispering in my ears...Balmain, Balmain...

 

[frankievw]

^^ I totally agree with you. Dresses for 12 + thousand dollars? I think that's just ridiculous....pretty though!

 

[Grill]

The Row...

 

[mikeijames]

There are plenty of anonymous bids, and people may never tell anyone what they spent ... even the auction house often doesn't know who the buyer really was.

many anonymous bids occur because of public relations NOT modesty. (and trust me: there exist circles where people know who bought these things because provenance remains a big deal in the art marketplace).

outside of institutions -- which, i agree, may also have a bit of conspicuous consumption guiding them -- there exist very few people in this world with the means to devote to a private passion that costly. however, there exist very many people who may never discuss purchasing a warhol for tens of millions of dollars, but it sits proudly over their mantles -- or over their beds or in their libraries or in their formal dining rooms or on their yachts -- as they entertain their elite friends. there are people in this world who buy picassos to decorate the walls in the bathrooms on their yachts for this very reason.

 

[francesca073]

^^ I totally agree with you. Dresses for 12 + thousand dollars? I think that's just ridiculous....pretty though!

I can't deny that there are some pieces of Balmain I really do like. But, this last season wasn't actually their best. And the prices..

 

[mikeijames]

^again, one has to place balmain within the context of the overall luxury experience. a luxury rental on either coast in this country fetches an easy $20k/month. we're talking two bedrooms here. while it's okay to spend $120k without thinking on a man's mid-life crisis sports car or $12k for summer riding camp for the child, why do we deny women the same indulgence? sure, $15k is a lot for this coat, but if you've got it, why not? in my mind, it has more historical significance than just another birkin, fur coat, or diamond bauble.

style.com

 

[OssieLover]

^again, one has to place balmain within the context of the overall luxury experience. a luxury rental on either coast in this country fetches an easy $20k/month. we're talking two bedrooms here. while it's okay to spend $120k without thinking on a man's mid-life crisis sports car or $12k for summer riding camp for the child, why do we deny women the same indulgence? sure, $15k is a lot for this coat, but if you've got it, why not? in my mind, it has more historical significance than just another birkin, fur coat, or diamond bauble.

please do not quote images. thank you.

style.com

there are two areas of luxury that become hard to justify. fashion and food. food turns to...well....you know what, and you have only the memory of the experience to go by. fashion is so ever-changing and transient that it's also hard to justify 12K purchases on one item that will invariably see the backside of your closet. the condo and the car are easier to justify because of daily use. sure they may be flashy but you'll drive your car and live in the condo. you might not pop out that 12K Balmain jacket every day. A good way to consider luxury is times per usage. Spending a ton of dough on something you will use a ton, is a great investment.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ I have no problem justifying spending money in great restaurants. That's what life is, a collection of experiences ... hopefully good ones. They are in fact the only thing you can take with you ...

 

[vavavinny]

Hypothetically, if I were to spend $15,000 on a jacket, I would buy something that actually looks like it costs $15,000. Yes, that Balmain military jacket is very cool, but I could go to the local army surplus store and buy a coat that looks very similar and is actually authentic. In fact, I bought one yesterday for five dollars ! I understand that Balmain is the brand of the moment and that the jacket is basically a collector's piece, but for 15 k, I would MUCH rather have a true luxury item like, say, a Gucci leather and fur biker jacket, not a trendy topper that is likely to be copied by every high-street store imaginable. But that is just me.

 

[MarionasMuse]

Balmain is Insane.Haha.

 

[francesca073]

Hypothetically, if I were to spend $15,000 on a jacket, I would buy something that actually looks like it costs $15,000. Yes, that Balmain military jacket is very cool, but I could go to the local army surplus store and buy a coat that looks very similar and is actually authentic. In fact, I bought one yesterday for five dollars ! I understand that Balmain is the brand of the moment and that the jacket is basically a collector's piece, but for 15 k, I would MUCH rather have a true luxury item like, say, a Gucci leather and fur biker jacket, not a trendy topper that is likely to be copied by every high-street store imaginable. But that is just me.

And that is just me too. I don't deny a woman any indulgence, I just think it's too much to pay for a coat. Believe me, when I want something, nothing can stop me. But, Balmain didn't do a thing for me this year so I think this year is a bit overpriced. Then again, there are people who like that coat and will do anything to have it. It's all matter of taste.

 

[vavavinny]

^Thanks for agreeing ! I think it is all a matter of taste as well. Many people are perfectly content with splurging on Balmain and other of-the-moment designers, even if everyone else is wearing the same look, or knock-off versions of it. Still, some people just wear it so well, and by some people I mean Emmanuelle Alt . She owns that whole look. A million other people may wear the same pieces, but she will always look one-of-a-kind just because she possesses the attitude, the certain je ne sais quoi that it takes to pull it off.

For a long time I have thought that if I were to spend a ton of money on a designer item, it should be both unique enough not to be reproduced multiple times and timeless enough to be worn in more than a five year time span. The thought of buying a 800 dollar t-shirt is ASININE to me. I find it to be the epitome of conspicuous consumption. I'd much rather go to Target and buy a pack of simple white Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees. I would, however, invest in pieces made out of luxurious fabrics like fur or leather. Also, articles of clothing that are intricately detailed and adorned, to me, are worth the price tag, as the work that went into them is evident.

 

[mikeijames]

there are two areas of luxury that become hard to justify. fashion and food. food turns to...well....you know what, and you have only the memory of the experience to go by. fashion is so ever-changing and transient that it's also hard to justify 12K purchases on one item that will invariably see the backside of your closet. the condo and the car are easier to justify because of daily use. sure they may be flashy but you'll drive your car and live in the condo. you might not pop out that 12K Balmain jacket every day. A good way to consider luxury is times per usage. Spending a ton of dough on something you will use a ton, is a great investment.

the people who have these high-end residences and cars use them with about the same frequency they wear a balmain jacket. lots of people have homes the bahamas that they visit maybe a handful of times a year. or sports cars that they drive once in a blue moon.

it's just not the same idea of money as those in the lower or middle class. balmain is not for those who need help filling out their wardrobe with a great designer piece, it's for the woman who already has everything.

 

[mikeijames]

^Thanks for agreeing ! I think it is all a matter of taste as well. Many people are perfectly content with splurging on Balmain and other of-the-moment designers, even if everyone else is wearing the same look, or knock-off versions of it. Still, some people just wear it so well, and by some people I mean Emmanuelle Alt . She owns that whole look. A million other people may wear the same pieces, but she will always look one-of-a-kind just because she possesses the attitude, the certain je ne sais quoi that it takes to pull it off.

For a long time I have thought that if I were to spend a ton of money on a designer item, it should be both unique enough not to be reproduced multiple times and timeless enough to be worn in more than a five year time span. The thought of buying a 800 dollar t-shirt is ASININE to me. I find it to be the epitome of conspicuous consumption. I'd much rather go to Target and buy a pack of simple white Hanes or Fruit of the Loom tees. I would, however, invest in pieces made out of luxurious fabrics like fur or leather. Also, articles of clothing that are intricately detailed and adorned, to me, are worth the price tag, as the work that went into them is evident.

while i can see your point, i think we can both agree that we're not part of the money-is-no-object crowd. balmain is a brand for those people....not really those who have to make choices about buying this or that. it's buying this AND that. it's not the gucci leather trench coat OR the balmain pants. it's about the gucci trench coat AND the balmain pants.