Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[bbconair]

Neither Engineered Garments or Common Projects (which seems strong to me) have their own e-commerce sites - I don't think. Running an e-comm brand takes a lot of attention and resources. I wonder if those brands not being distracted by e-comm, and focusing on brand and product - has helped them be above the fray.

i thought CP took some money from someone? hence some small quality issues in their non-core models over the past 1-3 years?

 

[cb200]

Yeah, no EG main DTC online retail, but wholesale takes resources and focus too. Smaller brand's strategy seem to come down to choices of "what not to do." Small budgets can sharpen thinking there.

 

[Todd Shelton]

Smaller brand's strategy seem to come down to choices of "what not to do."

Good point. Being validated by tastemakers or gatekeepers is so important for a brand to get traction. Seems that that validation can come naturally for a brand when they're in the right stores. E-comm only brands have to get validation other ways - most likely having to pay for it. Just looking at EG and CP, I see the value for a smaller brand doing wholesale only - and putting more focus on product and brand image.

 

[Zamb]

Good point. Being validated by tastemakers or gatekeepers is so important for a brand to get traction. Seems that that validation can come naturally for a brand when they're in the right stores. E-comm only brands have to get validation other ways - most likely having to pay for it. Just looking at EG and CP, I see the value for a smaller brand doing wholesale only - and putting more focus on product and brand image.

in todays marked, a smaller brand that doesn't have big money behind it needs both wholesale and direct to consumer sales and not just for profits but also for proper brand representation.
A lot of brands what to do direct to consumer but are afraid as some stores dont want a brand to be a direct competitor at retail.

I find that now a lot of store have resigned to the fact that this is the way forward, as once most stores if they found you to be interested in direct to consumer sales, they dont want to carry your brand

 

[dieworkwear]

I think if you do direct-to-consumer and wholesale, you have to be sure that you don't undercut your retail partners. I'm continually surprised by the number of brands, and often factory-led brands, that will hold deep discount sales that undercut their retail partners and/ or sell directly to consumers at a price that's lower than what stores can sell at.

Those partners can be a great way to reach new customers and/ or even help you reposition your goods. Thom Browne became a relevant streetwear label partly because of Union in Los Angeles. I started thinking about Good Art only when Self Edge carried them. Those are examples of not just reaching new markets, but totally rebranding a line so that it feels relevant in different places.

If you venture out on your own, I think you have to solve those different challenges. But if you do wholesale and D2C, I don't understand those companies that undercut their partners.

 

[cb200]

I don't understand those companies that undercut their partners.

Sitting with a boxes of unsold inventory, needing to make payroll, and order fabric and trim for the next season production. People make sub-optimum decisions for short term survival.

 

[dieworkwear]

Sitting with a boxes of unsold inventory, needing to make payroll, and order fabric and trim for the next season production. People make sub-optimum decisions for short term survival.

I agree, but there are also a ton of brands that will sell directly to a consumer at a price that's lower than what their retailers can stock for. I don't want to name names, but it's pretty common on the CM side of the board. That's not so much about making payroll as it seems like poor business strategy.

 

[bry2000]

A CM shoe brand that rhymes with Scharmina and another one that rhymes with Shmaziano come to mind.

 

[clee1982]

Sitting with a boxes of unsold inventory, needing to make payroll, and order fabric and trim for the next season production. People make sub-optimum decisions for short term survival.

well if you can't survive in the short term then you're literally dead

 

[clee1982]

A CM shoe brand that rhymes with Scharmina and another one that rhymes with Shmaziano come to mind.

I thought the later one is going to change to heavily MTO too, so maybe they're just pulling out from whole sale all together...

 

[cb200]

If a brand is aggressively discounting in season goods in competition against their own retailers- that's dumb. I'd imagine a soon to be a much smaller relationship with the wholesale world unless the brand is some sort of a must have. But if they were - why would they be discounting heavily?

 

[LA Guy]

I agree, but there are also a ton of brands that will sell directly to a consumer at a price that's lower than what their retailers can stock for. I don't want to name names, but it's pretty common on the CM side of the board. That's not so much about making payroll as it seems like poor business strategy.

Pretty much finished off Bills' Khakis.

 

[dieworkwear]

This is old, but sometimes I think about how Virgil Abloh became Evian's "Creative Director of Sustainable Design." And with his position, he came out with a limited-edition line of environmentalist merch. The line includes boxed-sets of luxury water bottles and plastic fanny packs, which were released in a series of "streetwear drops" in partnership with Barney's.

Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be in any way associated with this industry.

Virgil Abloh and Evian Prep Limited Shoulder Bag, Bottle and Box

Landing exclusively at Barneys New York Japan.

hypebeast.com

 

[kiya]

This is old, but sometimes I think about how Virgil Abloh became Evian's "Creative Director of Sustainable Design." And with his position, he came out with a limited-edition line of environmentalist merch. The line includes boxed-sets of luxury water bottles and plastic fanny packs, which were released in a series of "streetwear drops" in partnership with Barney's.

Sometimes I'm embarrassed to be in any way associated with this industry.

Virgil Abloh and Evian Prep Limited Shoulder Bag, Bottle and Box

Landing exclusively at Barneys New York Japan.

hypebeast.com

 

[cb200]

We're rightfully skeptical about sustainable practices being waved around by brands. It's such an ill defined term at this point that's become easily abused and made somewhat meaningless and suspect. I don't think that's a good thing.