Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[imatlas]

Firefox Introduces Color Themes to Its Browser

The new feature is an expansion of the company’s redesign that rolled out earlier this year.

www.wsj.com

Maybe it's not such a bad idea that we keep those people in menswear though?

That's so stupid that it might just work.

 

[bry2000]

Have any brands / stores successfully shifted to strictly eCommerce?

Closing the B&M usually is the writing on the wall, but curious if some have bucked that trend.

Epaulet closed its B&M stores ~5 years ago and still operates on-line only.

 

[jah786]

Every line of this made me cringe

The Death of a Sweatpant

After announcing the end of his pandemic-favorite leisure-wear brand Entireworld, the designer Scott Sternberg hits a high-fashion department store to feel some fabrics and rue the price points.

www.newyorker.com

when did DSM become a 'department store'?
sadly, that article revealed very little additional insight. No one seems to want to ask him very directly why the business failed. Somehow 600% growth couldn't keep it alive. Maybe investors were correct to pass if pandemic growth couldn't keep it alive. What was ad spend relative to average order value? What was payroll relative to sales? Maybe salaries were too high? These are the questions I'd like to know, rather than a critique of random brands in DSM.

 

[clee1982]

He probably wouldn’t tell either, though surprised people who worked for him didn’t talk

 

[Zamb]

when did DSM become a 'department store'?
sadly, that article revealed very little additional insight. No one seems to want to ask him very directly why the business failed. Somehow 600% growth couldn't keep it alive. Maybe investors were correct to pass if pandemic growth couldn't keep it alive. What was ad spend relative to average order value? What was payroll relative to sales? Maybe salaries were too high? These are the questions I'd like to know, rather than a critique of random brands in DSM.

sometimes its good to shut ones mouth and focus on what on ones own plate than to be concerned about "others"
he seemed not capable of doing that.

there are people in this world with TONS of money and willing to spend it for what they want...
I cannot see how a company can make 5MILLION dollars in a single year and end up having to close right after that unless it was a disaster before that point.

As I have said before, there are two kinds of companies:
1. Those that from the outset, are structured to sustain themselves from the REVENUES AND PROFITS, they bring in....
2. Those that operate without concern for profit, trying to get BIG and VALUABLE enough for some sucker with money to pay a hefty price (so the owners can have a GOLDEN PARACHUTE) in offloading it.
he seems to have been among the latter..................

 

[cb200]

The Times write up on Entireworld / sweatpants from 2020 (Q3) did mention that expected funding from some investor for the brand fell through and they had to cut some staff as well as planned Fall styles. So it wasn't exactly smooth sailing there. There was also a claim that he (Scott Sternberg) didn't want to grow crazy big as growth had caused issues with Band of Outsiders. He said he just wanted to be profitable in the next year.

 

[upsett1_spaghett1]

Unis closed their store last August and moved to online only - now shutting down fully this month.

Truly sad, their chinos have been my favorite forever

 

[Racing Green]

Only in menswear do we revere people who go from failure to bigger failure. I can think of a few menswear personalities who crashed multiple businesses to the ground, hung suppliers and employees out to dry, yet continue to be considered relevant, get invited to trendy podcasts and interviewed by the press. Smh… this is a weird industry

Happens here in Europe with football coaches/managers - rewarded again and again for failure with huge pay-offs when sacked and then straight back into another job. Rinse and repeat.

Also the bitchy shade thrown at Evan Kinori by SS in that I/v the most telling part IMO.

 

[clee1982]

Truly sad, their chinos have been my favorite forever

Unis chino was slim ahead of time right (like in 2012?), what else was good vs the so many chino on the market today

 

[smittycl]

A mountain of unsold clothing from fast-fashion retailers is piling up in the Chilean desert

A former employee at Chile's Iquique port said tons of clothes, which arrive in Chile to be resold, end up in limbo.

www.insider.com

 

[Epaulet]

Epaulet closed its B&M stores ~5 years ago and still operates on-line only.

Yeah, I think we're an exception with that. It helps that my online business was always a way larger component than my brick & mortar business. I didn't really depend on the stores, and once NYC's retail downturn started (way before COVID), then I was able to jettison the stores without sacrificing much profit at the end of the day.

I think the typical "pivot to online only" is done by retailers which are already struggling, and which aren't particularly competent with e-commerce.

when did DSM become a 'department store'?
sadly, that article revealed very little additional insight. No one seems to want to ask him very directly why the business failed. Somehow 600% growth couldn't keep it alive. Maybe investors were correct to pass if pandemic growth couldn't keep it alive. What was ad spend relative to average order value? What was payroll relative to sales? Maybe salaries were too high? These are the questions I'd like to know, rather than a critique of random brands in DSM.

Agreed, that article was absolutely ridiculous. I'm not sure what I even read.

I know that both you and I think that Sternberg is a creative genius. Honestly I believe that the original Band of Outsiders was a triumph of menswear branding. The clothes, the styles, the name, his Polaroid lookbook pics -- it all worked together perfectly.

I'm not sure why he has this desire to take over the world though. Maybe there's a non-competition clause that prevents him from selling anything that looks like Band. Because from my vantage point, he could go into the LA Garment district tomorrow and have a full collection of "Sternberg Shirts" in 12 weeks that look and feel like the old Band stuff. Chances are slim that someone is gonna hand him $10 million to acquire that, but chances are good that he'd sell the shirts well and be able to build a lean, profitable business from the very start.

 

[Epaulet]

Only in menswear do we revere people who go from failure to bigger failure. I can think of a few menswear personalities who crashed multiple businesses to the ground, hung suppliers and employees out to dry, yet continue to be considered relevant, get invited to trendy podcasts and interviewed by the press. Smh… this is a weird industry

True that. I think we have the market cornered on "failing upwards."

From my limited time in corporate menswear retail, I was stunned by how imperceptive the HR professionals were. Nearly every hire was simply based on "were you doing pretty much this exact job before." Not whether you were successful or not. Not looking for a fresh perspective or skill set. Just doing the laziest job possible and filling a position with someone who currently does something extremely close to that. I wonder how much that plays a role.

 

[Texasmade]

True that. I think we have the market cornered on "failing upwards."

Tech world would like to disagree with you.

 

[Zamb]

Happens here in Europe with football coaches/managers - rewarded again and again for failure with huge pay-offs when sacked and then straight back into another job. Rinse and repeat.

Also the bitchy shade thrown at Evan Kinori by SS in that I/v the most telling part IMO.

I like what Evan is doing. It isn’t my style but it’s the kind of approach I believe in.
Cut out the bullshit, grow your business slowly, focus on the customers who matter and leave “investors” alone.

I remember when BILL BLASS business was in trouble, he was looking for a buyer. ZORAN offered to buy the business CASH.
BLASS, Beene et al didn’t regard ZORAN, but his business practices made him tons of money and in control of his destiny.
Ask yourself why a dry cleaner can be on a street for 25 years, pay their rent, pay staff, have no Instagram account but manage to be profitable.
People need to ask themself if they’re in business to make a great product, reach customers and make a great living from it or to swing for home runs that may never happen.

 

[Fuuma]

Only in menswear do we revere people who go from failure to bigger failure. I can think of a few menswear personalities who crashed multiple businesses to the ground, hung suppliers and employees out to dry, yet continue to be considered relevant, get invited to trendy podcasts and interviewed by the press. Smh… this is a weird industry

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