Discussions about the fashion industry thread

[LA Guy]

@dieworkwear is on a tirade against DTC business models, but I think that his model is outdated. His complaints are against a value proposition of "We make X in the same factory as big brand Y, but\ sell it without the markup." This has been stale for a while now, though still used.

Plenty of DTC companies don't do this, and DTC is simply their primary distribution channel. e.g. John Elliott started this way started, and its a premium brand at this point, sold in multibrand stores, but with a lot exclusive to their own site. This is not just for higher priced brands either. . There are plenty of examples of this at many price tiers. Even offline, there have ben "DTC" companies for a minute. Brooks Brothers is maybe one of the first offline DTC brands, selling exclusively through their own stores.

I think that the old model of DTC was premised on comparison against brands being sold primarily through brick-and-mortar stores, mostly multibrand retailers, with the value proposition built around the rather disingenuous "no retailer markup" story,

However, at this point, much of DTC, is just another form of brand store, with the brand in full control of the mnarketing.

Fast fashion is a separate issue.

 

[ter1413]

What Makes a Vicuña Coat Worth $20,000? The Ultimate Menswear Fabric, Explained.

Vicuña, the South American animal, produces one of the most expensive materials in menswear. Here's why it's worth it, and who makes it best.

robbreport.com

 

[ter1413]

Canada Goose Just Launched a Resale Platform to Give Your Old Parkas New Life

The site will also offer pieces from the brand's extensive archives.

www.yahoo.com

 

[ter1413]

The Lyst Index: Fashion’s Hottest Brands and Products Q4 2022

The Lyst Index is the industry’s quarterly report that ranks fashion’s hottest brands and products.

www.lyst.com

 

[Peter1]

Good. Ridiculous to be allowed to trademark something as simple as a few stripes.

Not at all. You're trademarking the position of the stripes, the angle, the spacing in between, the serrated edge, the "totality" of the image in consumers' minds. I mean, they are die marke mit den 3 streifen....

 

[LA Guy]

I wrote a bit back in this thread about the new DTC models and how the value proposition was not longer in the "quality for less" model, but something else altogether.

BoF toucheds on this here: https://www.businessoffashion.com/a...ale-brands-going-dtc-nike-levis-golden-goose/

There has basically been a convergence between DTC and conventional wholesale brands. I suppose that it was inevitable.

 

[cb200]

Nice read and touches on some benifits of going direct and a big gotcha for companies that don't have enough brand recognition in getting customers in the door or on the website. Easy to run out of brand and hard to build if cashflow is tight.

The ability to expand categories or offerings in direct owned retail or websites is interesting and address a challenge for a brand selling to wholesale customers. Shops or distributors often just take a category from a season and not take the inventory risk on something new. Maybe they are right and the products didn't fit their customer or are weak, but it does limit the picture or portfolio that the public sees from brands.

Very surprised to hear that Nike's margins haven't improved in cutting out smaller accounts and moving to more direct transactions.

 

[LA Guy]

Nice read and touches on some benifits of going direct and a big gotcha for companies that don't have enough brand recognition in getting customers in the door or on the website. Easy to run out of brand and hard to build if cashflow is tight.

The ability to expand categories or offerings in direct owned retail or websites is interesting and address a challenge for a brand selling to wholesale customers. Shops or distributors often just take a category from a season and not take the inventory risk on something new. Maybe they are right and the products didn't fit their customer or are weak, but it does limit the picture or portfolio that the public sees from brands.

Very surprised to hear that Nike's margins haven't improved in cutting out smaller accounts and moving to more direct transactions.

Nike does not surprise me. I think that @gdl203 said it many things before, that “cutting out the middleman” is just not really viable. You can decrease costs, but at the price of the experience. And Nike does not want to sacrifice customer service it experience, so they end up paying as much as traditional retailers. DTC buyers are also not inherently better than retail.

 

[willy cheesesteak]

 

[LA Guy]

I think that both @gdl203 and @dieworkwear as well as I have written about offloading of our castoffs to the developing world. Apparently the Or Foundation has written a report. I'm guessing nothing gets done. Anyway, a
BoF article: https://www.businessoffashion.com/a...olonialism-secondhand-clothes-epr-kantamanto/

 

[Zamb]

So no word on this ridiculous Pharrel at Louis Vuitton appointment?

 

[double00]

So no word on this ridiculous Pharrel at Louis Vuitton appointment?

it came up in RFT last couple days

 

[ter1413]

So no word on this ridiculous Pharrel at Louis Vuitton appointment?

Random Fashion Thoughts (Part 3: Style farmer strikes back) - our general discussion thread

Nope. Same size as normal bostons and Arizonas

www.styleforum.net

 

[LA Guy]

So no word on this ridiculous Pharrel at Louis Vuitton appointment?

Why ridiculous?

 

[Zamb]

Why ridiculous?

I remember Arnault as a man who hired Galliano, McQueen, Jacobs, Kors, Rodrigues etc to head up these fashion houses in the late 90's and early 00's
I respected him as a man who really believed in genuine talent and gave DESIGNERS, who actually committed themselves to the craft, as an opportunity to show their talent and creative abilities


Regardless of what many people might think, I dont see Pharrell as the kind of person who will be committed to what this kind of job requires, and this formula, as i have said before, seem to be
lets get people with clout and large followings, and give them the job of "designer" or "creative director" and get them skilled underlings, (who are actually more desrving) to do the actual work

the route to the highest Jobs in fashion now, is to become a celebrity rather than an actual designer and its a shame

I'd love to have seen Samuel Ross or Craig Green getting this job