LEGACY THE "NEW" LUXURY

GUCCI - FOREVER NOW CAMPAIGNNo industry  loves to promote a trend or a catch phrase like the fashion industry.   Season after season marketing campaigns tell us what is the "new" black or the latest silhouette that Women must have on their back and or in the closet.  During the 8 years of the Bush administration (sorry, no other way to capsule it!) consumers were drunk on credit and reacted like Pavlov's dogs to every marketing ploy.   Before the recession burst the bubble, fashion companies were also drunk on luxury.   Luxury was the "new black".    Everyone deserved  some "luxury" in their life.   

I knew the trend had reached a breaking point when I was walking through the Galleria Mall in Houston in the Spring of 2008.  Huge letters in the window of a two story Banana Republic store promoted " The Luxe Cashmere Collection".. ????  This said it all.    Mass marketers had gotten wise to the fact that they could convince customers to spend more money on items that were touted as luxury. LOUIS VUITTON ARTISAN AD  By using better fabrics, the items warranted a higher price - even though they were still being mass produced in China.  

In reality, how could you blame the mass merchants?  A new crop of CEO's at some of the luxury houses themselves had been doing the same thing for several years.   For the first time in history, luxury fashion items were not being produced for a rarified and special few.   The leather goods were being mass produced, often in China, but still marketed as French or Italian luxury items.  After all, they still were a luxury item, or were they?   At the same time that the fashion houses were significantly lowering the production cost of each item, they were dramatically raising the retail price of that same item.  Pure genius, or pure greed?  Or does one point have no bearing on the other?

The problem with the whole scenario is that like all things, more exposure ultimately leads to diminished demand.   What goes up, must come down.

Before the recession, luxury retailers like Neiman Marcus couldn't get the luxury goods fast enough from the mega-brands.   There is a (now hilarious) scene in the movie September Issue in which we see the NM executives asking Anna Wintour of Vogue to help them pressure the fashion companies to produce goods faster!  The hilarity is of course due to the fact that by the time the movie made it to theaters, NM was sitting on more merchandise than they knew what to do with.   They weren't alone of course.  The other designer department stores were overstocked to the rafters and in some cases much more so than Neiman Marcus.

The trouble started when  evil masterminds who were tied to the previous administration in Washington cooked up the concept of the adjustable rate mortgage.   This set in motion a catastrophic trend.   People who had no business buying houses were suddenly granted huge mortgages with almost no money down.   This gave the administration the proof on paper that more Americans owned homes than any time in history, which the administration could take credit for.   Then, since the economy was booming, the value of these homes increased dramatically which allowed these same people to take equity loans on homes that were built like gingerbread houses in gated communities in the middle of nowhere!  These people then proceeded to spend the money on everything from luxury vacations, to cars, to - you guessed it - designer handbags and shoes.  Why not?  They thought they would eventually sell the house they had put nothing down on - for a profit and move up.   It all sounded great, until the mirror cracked in the fall of 2008.   Didn't Bernie Madoff go to prison for a scheme just like this?

S/S 10 FERRAGAMO CAMPAIGNFast forward to 2010.   The worst of the recession is passed.  Things have leveled off.  The luxury sector is preparing for a big recovery.   However, they know it is too soon to be as flamboyant as 2006,7, & 8.  The solution is to market legacy as the new luxury.   The heritage and legacy of the brands that make the purchase a smart investment.  This IS of course the best reason there is to buy a luxury item.  The fact that luxury raw materials are used and that the items are crafted by experienced Artisans, is the whole point.

What is laughable at times is to see companies who have  in recent years made most of their billions by utilizing Chinese factories - advertising Artisan technique in ads featuring models who are as white as snow.   The ads run by Louis Vuitton has many doing a double take, as they think of Hermes when they see this type of quality and precise reference to Artisans.   I think LV did Hermes a favor.   Instead of boosting the LV image, it made you think - "what's new at Hermes?".

The true winners of the entire luxury fall out of course are the companies who never changed their standards due to the increase in demand.   Hermes remains at the top.   The company realized long ago that demand for their incredible goods only increases when they are scarce.   Some women still routinely put their name on the wait list for years in order to have their own Hermes Birkin.   Chanel is another house that refuses to employ football field size factories in China to produce their coveted leather goods.   All Chanel product is produced in Europe, with a majority still made in France.    Ferragamo is an Italian mega-brand with integrity in their production process.   With a staggering assortment of product, Ferragamo still produces every item in Italy.   No small task considering the company has over 550 boutiques globally!  Gucci is another Italian house that has focused an advertising campaign based on archive- workshop photos.   Frankly the Ferragamo archive pictures are more exciting, but the Gucci ads do tell the story.

So be on the lookout for the latest legacy ads.  There are sure to be many more, by companies you wouldn't expect to see touting their heritage.  But jumping on a trend is much easier than creating one.   Be an educated consumer and invest wisely when making those big ticket purchases!  There are so many exciting styles to choose from this year!   While the recession has made designers play it safer with RTW, accessories have never been more colorful or creative!  Click any of the designer links above and start shopping today - but only if you can afford it.  If not, window shopping and surfing is almost as much fun!  See you at the mall!