Tom Ford's "Secret" shows - Brilliant or Arrogant?

[purplethistle]

Neither. I don't see much point in showing a few months later after everyone else and all the privacy. What would be better is showing the collection 6 months before the clothes hit the store and unveiling the campaign at the same time or something like that. It'd mean that the consumers would be able to have more 'impulse' purchases after the initial hype from the press since consumers will have the actual clothes to look at rather than reading blogs etc. Personally it'd make his work be more than a mere blip in time, that I always miss, as currently it's out of sync with everyone else.

 

[ChiStreetStyle]

Free individuals can do whatever they want - Tom Ford included.

Personally, I understand the rationale behind his desire to not see his clothes knocked off by H&M or Topshop. But at the same time, I don't understand why critics were banned. Why not force them to wait until May/June to post their critiques like the magazine editors? I just think it's strange to ban only the journalists/writers.

 

[LabelWhore4]

My theory is that his real motive is that he does not want his clothes to compete with other design houses for attention during the RTW seasons so he is withholding his stuff until a less congested time in the fashion cycle.

That's the most logical explanation I've heard for these over-hyped shows.

 

[loladonna]

I think his strategy will backfire. I honestly can't recall what his last collection looked like. I'm sure it's been photographed in editorials but I couldn't pick his collection out of a line-up.

 

[Menace]

Neither...

He's famous enough to market his name without a public fashion show to market his brand. Tom Ford is a business/market genius. He knows doing this will give his brand more prestige and exclusivity.

 

[mikeijames]

Neither...

He's famous enough to market his name without a public fashion show to market his brand. Tom Ford is a business/market genius. He knows doing this will give his brand more prestige and exclusivity.

i completely agree with this. it's merely people's pre-conceived notions about the designer (as a man) that make this an issue whatsoever. versace atelier has not made a public presentation in years....we did not have a debate over the brilliance or arrogance of donatella versace. ditto riccardo tisci for givenchy couture. it's really a simple business decision. tom ford has rightly assessed that it's not in the best interest of his brand or his person for the shows to get subjected to the negativity that more public shows bring on.

it's like a bunch of old ladies in montgomery alabama screaming and yelling at how mundane a performance of the new york city ballet. why would the new york city ballet feel the need to go out of their way to publicize their shows and subject themselves to that criticism when that's not even the audience they're trying to appeal to.

 

[fantastical]

^I don't really feel like you can compare the Tom Ford presentations to the Versace Atelier or Givenchy couture because even Donatella and Ricardo allow editors to view the collections without signing waivers and such. Plus, we definitely see pictures of the collection right after it is shown.

I maintain my stance. time will only tell if this is truly brilliant or not....who knows how long he can rely solely on his name

 

[- JMJ -]

I'm confused as to why people are discussing the concern of his clothes being knocked off. As far as I recall his main reasoning for not making images of the collection readily available was his concern that being able to see them immediately and repeatedly after the collection is presented would eventually result in potential clients losing interest in the clothes due to overexposure, which frankly is a pretty legitimate concern. I mean can anyone honestly say that they aren't already sick of seeing this season's Prada and Marc Jacobs pieces despite the fact that they're just now arriving in stores?

And let's not kid ourselves by thinking that just because his pieces employ a high level of craftsmanship and detail that the clothes are safeguarded from the fast fashion industry. All of those fringed pieces he showed for spring are exactly the kind of thing that those companies could very easily knock off, not that the result will look anywhere near as expensive as the real deal, but that's not what fast fashion is about at the end of the day.

Excellently expressed - thank you. And I quite agree.

Consider the excitment of 'anticipation'. This is what fashion used to be about prior to the coming of the internet. Today everything is about 'instant' - instant messaging, instant gratification, etc. Fashion used to involve the process of building one's collection and having the editors of magazines report on the 'rumors' of a designer's choices for colors, skirt lengths, the cut to a jacket, accessories, etc. It was, believe it or not, very exciting.

It is past time to lengthen our attention span, relish the coming of the new collection, and anticipate the beauty of the designer's vision. I think Mr. Ford is making a return to something he remembers as being the proper way to conduct business. History is on his side - he has already demonstrated that he knows how to deliver the goods to his customer base. He will not disappoint...

B)

 

[loladonna]

It is past time to lengthen our attention span, relish the coming of the new collection, and anticipate the beauty of the designer's vision.

Isn't that what we do in the 5-6 month period between the Spring and Fall Shows?

 

[Spike413]

^I don't really feel like you can compare the Tom Ford presentations to the Versace Atelier or Givenchy couture because even Donatella and Ricardo allow editors to view the collections without signing waivers and such. Plus, we definitely see pictures of the collection right after it is shown.

I maintain my stance. time will only tell if this is truly brilliant or not....who knows how long he can rely solely on his name

Not true. Between the time that she was still doing shows and the last few seasons Atelier Versace collections were only visible on the Versace website during the season for which they were designed, meaning we had to wait 'til late summer to see fall, and late winter for spring. It's only recently that images are made available right away.

 

[nat11l13]

arrogant and pretentious.
I think today with all the live streaming, blogs etc to use such strategy is like to spit against the wind, look at the burberry prorsum - you could buy the clothes just after the runway ends and still it stays desirable during the season for which it was made. I think it doesn't matter WHEN the clothes sells, if it sells WELL - before the start of the season or during the season. the borders of 'seasons' itself are quite symbolic these days. like I could wear today spring-summer, resort or pre-fall or just get smth straight from the aw runway and what of all these is more relevant? it's all such a mess and we got used to it

as for the knockoffs - it's just for different people. the ones who could afford real TF would never buy fake, the ones which couldn't - will never buy real TF, so to each their own. Zara and H&M could copy anything in just 2 weeks, so if the photos will be published let's say in late June - as soon as mid July you could see a knockoffs, after all that's why it's called fast fashion) so in this regard it's also pointless

and I think that exclusiveness of the brand could be achieved by other strategies

 

[Spike413]

arrogant and pretentious.
I think today with all the live streaming, blogs etc to use such strategy is like to spit against the wind, look at the burberry prorsum - you could buy the clothes just after the runway ends and still it stays desirable during the season for which it was made. I think it doesn't matter WHEN the clothes sells, if it sells WELL - before the start of the season or during the season. the borders of 'seasons' itself are quite symbolic these days. like I could wear today spring-summer, resort or pre-fall or just get smth straight from the aw runway and what of all these is more relevant? it's all such a mess and we got used to it

as for the knockoffs - it's just for different people. the ones who could afford real TF would never buy fake, the ones which couldn't - will never buy real TF, so to each their own. Zara and H&M could copy anything in just 2 weeks, so if the photos will be published let's say in late June - as soon as mid July you could see a knockoffs, after all that's why it's called fast fashion) so in this regard it's also pointless

and I think that exclusiveness of the brand could be achieved by other strategies

But that's not really the point. I don't think any super high-end fashion labels worry about their potential clients buying the knock off instead of the real thing. They worry because the knock offs dilute the luxury and exclusivity of the real thing.

And there is logic to that. Think about it, does anyone consider a genuine Louis Vuitton monogram bag truly luxurious anymore now that the monogram, real and fake, is literally everywhere you turn?

 

[chloehandbags]

Once you appreciate that he's not trying to produce fashion, as such, just beauty, it's a perfectly acceptable stance to take, IMO.

I would say it's neither brilliant, nor arrogant, really; just sensible.

 

[Northern Star]

versace atelier has not made a public presentation in years....we did not have a debate over the brilliance or arrogance of donatella versace.

Sorry for the OT comment here, but I believe it was well documented that when Versace stopped showing their Atelier line in Paris, that it was due to costs. So I doubt it was arrogance on Donatella's part anyhow.

Back on topic, my answer is neither or a little bit of both. I think Ford can and just does, what the hell he wants nowadays and folks can pick the bones out of that until they are blue in the face.

 

[G Boy]

Fair enough it'll be less busy when he brings them out but who's interested by then and people who were always going to buy Tom Ford aren't going to settle for knock offs just because they exist.