The Independent's Charles Leadbeater originally
commissioned the Bridget Jones stories, a character later played by Academy
Award nominee Rénée Zellweger (above)
Philippe Starck (photo Philippe Starck)
If today’s fashion is to be
memorable and relevant, the habitual revival craze—although viable if
used in reflection—needs to be less depended upon, and evolution and originality
in its purest form need to be the central focus.
A business seminar at Melbourne Fashion Festival
exposes designers’ concerns about the six-monthly cycles in
the industry and the risk of competing on price
by Alice Goulter exclusively for Lucire
N
ADDITION to a packed week of fashion shows, Melbourne Fashion Festival
also staged a business seminar attended by a variety of representatives
from within the industry. The seminar touched on a number of issues
relevant the fashion industry in the southern hemisphere. Guest
speakers featured at the event included:
Philippe Starck, one of the world's most influential interior
designers, discussed his design philosophies;
Charles Leadbeater, the London-based business writer and consultant
shared his theories on fostering creativity, originality, management
and communication as a means of creating future business successes;
Rebecca Weinberg, the senior stylist for the infamous HBO television
show, Sex and the City. Weinberg has been described as
a 'contemporary fashion phenomenon', fashion, an integral part
of the show itself, is often referred to as the fifth character
of the show; and
Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro, more widely recognized as
the London-based design duo, Clements Ribeiro. Having launched the
label in 1993 to critical and commercial acclaim, Clements Ribeiro
have also more recently been responsible for the regeneration of
the French label, Cacharel. The pair provided insight into trading
in Europe, not only as an independent label, but also from the viewpoint
of a corporation that produces a product on a larger scale.
Early in the day, Philippe Starck presented his
opinions on the relationships between fashion, design and art. Recognizing
that fashion was essentially a pursuit of the creative arts, Starck
suggested that the notion of 'commercializing fashion' is progressively
distancing itself from the true foundations of the craft, notably
individualism and innovation.
These aspects were certainly evident throughout
the week with seasonal trends that graced the catwalks over and
over again. Starck expounded upon the belief, that at ground roots,
human beings do not need design. From his point of view (as well
as from many others within the various creative industries), individual
personal needs and comforts have been addressed and provided for;
and now, in order to be a successful designer in all industries,
a new sense of invention must be executed. Starck's point is certainly
one to consider.
If today's fashion is to be memorable and relevant,
the habitual revival craze—although viable if used in reflection—needs
to be less depended upon, and evolution and originality in its purest
form need to be the central focus.
These ideals should be particularly relevant to
emerging labels. Struggling to compete against the high-production,
low-cost providers already represented in the market-place is pointless,
and eventually counterproductive. By striving to achieve parallel
price points to hugely global companies, designers run the risk
of losing their own identities, and ultimately their uniqueness.
Designers should focus on their own talents and ideas and giving
clients a reason to purchase labels for the designs themselves rather
than a competitive price comparison.
Later in the day, internationally renowned fashion
journalist Stephen Todd hosted an one-on-one interview–discussion
with Suzanne Clements and Inacio Ribeiro, discussing amongst many
things, the duo's design philosophies and the fundamental aspects
of the fashion industry in Europe.
A prominent topic of the discussion was the dominance
of big-budget labels within Europe, with particular reference to
the to the struggle to promote and sell their signature Clements
Ribeiro line. The struggle is made all the more difficult by the
battling for retail floor space and commercial considerations from
the various retailers bound by loyalty agreements dictated to them
by the major fashion conglomerates and their strong-willed owners.
It is common knowledge that many of the large-scale companies derive
the majority of their profits from fragrances, accessories, and
auxiliary product lines. But what is less known is that companies,
such as LVMH, actually create and produce their ready-to-wear ranges
within their marketing budgets. It is this, in addition to their
highly publicized positioning in the market, that they have the
ability to dictate certain practices within the industry, including
the biannual seasonal collection system.
Clements and Ribeiro are against the "six-month
system" blaming it on labels to the likes of Gucci and Prada.
‘They, [Gucci and Prada,] are shoe and bag houses, they can afford
to reinvent themselves every six months, [true] design houses just
can't,’ says Suzanne Clements.
Other speakers at the business seminar were also
in agreement, as the system currently stretches designers and products
to their limits, forcing everyone—from designer to store buyer to
the consumer—to play catch up and creating a continuous case of
season schizophrenia. The worst-case scenario, which occurs frequently
as a result of the current system, is that consumers are purchasing
sub-standard garments at the end of the season, for a heavily discounted
price.
Although any change to the present system would
conceptually alter the traditional practice, the end result could
create a far more lucrative business environment. For instance,
could designers annually create a foundation range of coordinating
separates and then seasonally work under a corresponding theme,
creating capsule collections of highlights and accents to the existing
range? The "spreading" of the seasons could redefine production
systems, enabling designers the necessary time to create well-founded
design progression and perfect their garments, potentially presenting
products to the market at a lower price.
To a degree, this is already happening within
the industry. There is a small cadre of designers who have spent
years perfecting their design concept, each season making equally
small incremental changes or advances to the basic concept. Unfortunately,
the industry strives on the "new and different" every
six months and these designers are seen as out of favour and stagnant.
This concept amongst many others could be particularly
viable in the southern hemisphere, where seasonal temperatures are
less dramatic in comparison to the north. The need for a summer
and a winter wardrobe is gradually morphing into an all-year-round
way of dressing. Furthermore, with the technological advances in
the textile segment of the industry, not to mention the advent of
fabrics designed for all seasons, a designer has a wider variety
of fabric choices to choose from. So why not present the consumer
with a flexible annual product rather than forcing the market to
adjust their wardrobes according to the time of year? Conceiving
this kind of structure into such a consistent system would undoubtedly
be a huge undertaking, but until a fundamental change occurs, independent
designers will continue to struggle against the presence of globally
dominant companies, and their marketing budgets. And that is not
necessarily a good thing. • Alice Goulter
Alice Goulter is Melbourne correspondent for
Lucire. Phillip D. Johnson contributed to this story.
Copyright ©2002 by JY&A Media,
a division of Jack Yan & Associates. All rights reserved.
N
ADDITION to a packed week of fashion shows, Melbourne Fashion Festival
also staged a business seminar attended by a variety of representatives
from within the industry. The seminar touched on a number of issues
relevant the fashion industry in the southern hemisphere. Guest
speakers featured at the event included:
@