PUMA & ADIDAS KICK LUXURY BRANDS INTO THE BLACK

STELLA MCCARTNEYAt a time when luxury houses are nervously looking at the bottom line - industry giant PPR has found a way to boost profits without diffusing brand image.    The home of Gucci, YSL, and Balenciaga has engineered a plan to cash in on two of the younger brands that have living designers and a certain amount of Street cred.    Stella McCartney's collaboration with Adidas was the first step in this formula.    Take a runway collection and fuse it with functional, high end activewear.    Think yoga pants and running hoodies.    Every school kid in America used to wear Adidas and were tantalized by the school yard acronym of All Day I Dream About Sex...   McCartney is missing the best marketing campaign possibility ever..   Think beautiful images of her soft palette active wear, a women running by the water, with a breathy voice over - "All Day I Dream About STELLA".   Hello Madison avenue - there is your next big idea free of charge!!     The collaboration is a big hit and Adidas by Stella McCartney has a loyal following.    ADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY

In 2007, PPR acquired PUMA - one of the coolest sport and activewear companies in the world.   The PUMA collection has always had a cache with fashionistas that Adidas or Nike never has.    Some wondered if Stella would continue the relationship with Adidas.   After all, PPR doesn't own Adidas and Stella just has a contractual agreement with the company.   The thought was - why wouldn't PPR want Stella to design activewear for a brand they own - and stand to make more profits from.   

It turns out the powers that be at PPR had another goal in mind.   You see there was another collection in the stable of talent at PPR that was yet to find its way in the world regarding return on investment.  Alexander McQueen was another perfect candidate for the sport formula.  While the collection for Adidas by Stella was seen as a really cool thing to do - it was so much more than that.   It was conceived at a time when McCartney was not making money.   The rtw collection was over-ripening on the vine for several years.  ALEXANDER MCQUEEN While Stella's famous name and celebrity friends garner her editorial attention - that has never turned into dollars for retailers selling her wears.    While the company is forging along with fragrance ( the classic cash cow for designer brands) they have a long way to go.    Adidas brought home the bacon - or Fakon - Stella is a die-hard vegetarian.   Actually, this commitment to animal free products has greatly affected the bottom line as Stella will not produce leather accessories or shoes - which has all but killed those collections.   He best sellers are oversized chunky knits, that have become her most recognizable look.SIGNATURE MCCARTNEY DESIGN

Alexander McQueen is known as the bad boy of British Fashion.   He took the title from John Galliano.   Galliano was the rebel for years - but frankly - once you become hugely successful - there is less to rebel against.   Also, Galliano has turned himself into more of a British old lady with surgery and makeup than a rebel without a cause.  These days he is more crumpets and clotted cream than bangers and mash - not so rebel-ish.   

McQueen on the other  hand is all over the place.   He is a rebel.  Never one to feel the need to deliver beautiful clothing that women can wear - he creates rtw collections that inspire him.  ALEXANDER MCQUEEN FALL 2008 There are moments of clarity on his runway - but not so much of a consistent message - or image for that matter.   The tartan yes, but what about it?   Needless to say - McQueen also garners plenty of attention from the press for his antics on the runway- but not so much attention at the register when its time to ring up sales.   PUMA BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

McQueen's first collaboration with PUMA was a collection of men's sneakers.   They are slick and edgy and perfect for McQueen's bad boy image.   The inspiration for the collection is an image of a Puma fused with a man - called a Man Cat.   I kid you not, this is on the website.   It seems Alexander identifies with the Puma and sees the image as a version of himself fused with the animal.   The logo for the collection is a long fang that is a cross between that of a PUMA with the root of a human tooth.    Ok...   It looks cool anyway as a hang tag type of charm from the sneakers.

PPR announced that McQueen will expand the offering from PUMA to include a collection of sportswear for men and women.

The timing for both collaborations couldn't be better.   Every designer collection is looking for opportunities to expand lower price offerings.   The collections by Stella and Alexander for Adidas and Puma retail for approximately 1/10th of their namesake RTW collections -  SCORE!!!!   Whats next - Karl Lagerfeld for Nike?