ASHLEY HIMPEL PROFESSOR DAN GREEN FASHION JOURNAL WINTER 2018
C O NTE NTS
1.
2.
The Truth About the Future of Brick & Mortar Stores
Brands Shifting Towards FAUX FUR ONLY
5.
6.
MANSUR GAVRIEL’S NEW STORE ON MELROSE PLACE
4.
3. The drive behind amazon stores
8.
7. NINA GARCIA AT ELLE
Relaxed tailoring
KNOCK OUT YOUR KNOCK OFFS
LUXURY’S CUSTOMISATION CHALLENGE
The Future of Brick & Mortar JANUARY 4, 2018 There’s no doubt we’re living in the Experience Age. From the live moments we share on social media, to the importance we place on travel, today’s generation values doing and sharing, over buying and owning. Brick-andmortar stores are struggling to compete with online shopping and the development of e-commerce. Many brands and major department stores are closing down a large number of their stores around the world. By December of 2017, more than 6,985 stores closed across the U.S according to retail think-tank Fung Global Retail & Technology. There has been a drive in creating an experience for the consumer and building a client relationship with them. “55% of Gen Zers choose brands specifically because they’re socially responsible or ecofriendly. 66% of consumers want reatilers to take a stand on important political issues” (retaildive.com). Since we can access anything at our fingertips, the consumer wants to make it worthwhile to go to the physical store because they know they will get that experience. That also means the store needs to look and feel on brand.
The question has been, “Why are brick-and mortar stores dying?” The obvious answer is that people are simply buying more stuff online now with the constant advancement with technology and access to everything we need at our fingertips. Does this mean brick-and-mortar stores will become extinct? No. Physical stores will always be around, but it’s becoming harder to compete in the industry. Brands are focusing on strictly the consumer, by being easily accessable and by taping into their needs. Brands are challenging themselves to create an experience within the store in order to attract more customers and build a personal connection. Companies are experiencing with virtual reality, incorporating resturaunts and cafe’s within the store, adding fitness centers and personal stylists to enhance the overall customer experience. Retailers are realizing that having both a digital and physical presence allows them to make deeper, more significant connections that can benefit their bottom line. While clothing is the core of what we do, it doesn’t stop there. Brands are adding coffee shops, resturaunts, pop-up shops, work out centers; the list goes on. Selfridges, Saks and Harrods are now trying to attract consumers to the store with experiential activations such as Body Studio, The Wellery, and the The Wellness Clinic. Modern luxury brands who have managed to succeed at in both e-commerce and having a physical retail space are leading the way.
leading the way...
NORDSTROM X NIKE POP UP Curated by Olivia Kim, vice president of Creative Projects at Nordstrom, the shop aims to “create energy, excitement, and a sense of discovery.” These Pop-In series launched in 2013 and transitions every four to six weeks into different themese to provide new experiences for shoppers.They have partnered with Alexander Wang, Aesop, rag & bone, Converse and Warby Parker.The Nordstrom x Nike concept shop is an experience for the fashion-sport lover, and Nike’s will be merchandised alongside other creative brands. Nordstrom is known for their exceptional customer service and off stylists to help you get started to creating a wardrobe. Now adding temporary pop-in shops is helping them staying a successful brand in the industry.
BURBERRY’S ONLINE WORLD EXPERIENCE BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S The renovated home goods floor of the Tiffany & Co. is now open to the public as The Blue Box Café, located on the 4th floor of their New York flagship store. The café is coated in Tiffany’s signature blue, and the china is delicately placed. It is a brght, airy space and little blue boxes are placed throughout the café. With traditional retailes losing customers at their brick-andmortar locations, Tiffany’s has finally made it possible to truly have breafkast at Tiffany’s, 56 years after the film’s release.
With Burberry’s flagship store on Regent Street in London, technology has been woven throughout the architecture of the building to enhance the shopping experience at Burberry and to incorporate future advancements. According to CEO Angela Ahrendts, walking through the doors is just like walking into the website. It is Burberry World Live.” The fashion brand allows its consumers to pre-order peices from the latest collection directly from the runway. Burberry is able to give consumers a unique experience of owning an item before it hits the store shelves. This process allows the brand to determind consumer’s preferences and to adjust the production line.
WARBY PARKER Warby Parker sees the future of retail. This Los Angeles location gives the company a chance to sell itself in the boombing tech, art, fashion and entertainment scenes. The space is decked out like a 1950’s beach club, with midcentury furniture and a burnished concrete floor in sea blue. Guests will gravitate towards the full length mirror and try on the different glasses and taking selfies. You’ll also find rolling library ladders, a photo booth and a lot of chmpagne flutes and trays of crackers topped with avocado hummus.
2
FAUX FUR ONLY JANUARY 12, 2018
Both designers and fast fashion retail stores are enforcing strict rules against selling real fur products to the consumer. As a society, we are seeing a big shift in people wanting a brand to abide by a set of morals and show that they are socially or environmentally responsible. As the industry shifts towards sustainability, ethics and building brand values, using real animal fur is not a priority when making clothes. An increasing number of luxury consum-ers are shunning fur when they realize its true moral and environmental cost. It’s important to understand that hundreds of thousands of innocent animals are killed every day (bru-tally) to feed more products to the consumer. Modern faux fur can still look just as elegant and luxurious without harming animals and our planet in the process.
Stella McCartney is a strong advocate for use of non-animal fur and pushes for sustainability not only for her own brand, but in the industry as well. All of her collections are ethically sourced, and other materials are cruelty-free with the aim of reducing environmental waste. Sixty-four fashion companies including Zara, Asos, Kering, Michael Kors and Target have pledged to enact more sustainable practices for their companies by 2020. Kering, the luxury conglomerate, which owns Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney is focusing on technology. The brand has come foward with a statement saying they would identify “the most promising pre-and post-consumer raw material recycling technologies for luxury and will start sclaing them up the supply chain” (WWD). Michael Kors has said in a statement that “Due to technological advances in fabrications, we now have the ability to create a luxe aesthetic using non-animal fur.” Although we still have a long way to go, the industry is slowly and steadily starting to see a shift in ethics and it’s a very positive thing. In addition to the every day consumer, celebrities are starting to only be dressed in anti-fur designers.
The drive behind amazon stores JANUARY 19, 2018 SEATTLE- Amazon has opened a small test store. It feels as if you are entering a subway station. A row of gates guards the entrance to the store, known as Amazon Go, allowing in only people with the store’s smartphone app. Cameras and sensors to detect what food or items you have taken off the shelf and then automatically charges you when you walk out. This enables a shopping experience like no other because there are no cashiers or registers in the store and shoppers walk out without having to pull out a credit card. The space (which is so on brand for them) is a 1800 square foot building and tracks your movements. The store’s system knows if you pick something up and put it back. They devoted the entire back wall to grab-and-go meals, a clear indication of the local market Amazon is trying to break into. One researcher said Amazon Go is like a better version of a work snack room or an elaborate hotel mini-bar. It might seem counterintuitive to write about brick-and-mortar dying, and then writing about e-commerce giant Amazon opening physical stores. However, I believe web retailers are learning that stores can complement and improve their online business. Hundreds of millions of people are loyal to Amazon, and they will always be successful. Even if they de-cided not to open any more stores, it’s still a win/win situation.
3
Researchers say that American consumers have yet to be convinced that Amazon Go will actually make things easier for customers. Many of them are not ready to pay a premium for a checkout-free shopping experience, afraid that it might actually create more problems than it will solve. Now that there has been more of a pull towards physical stores, consumers want the full customer experience when being there in the moment. It goes both ways. I believe it’s extremely important for larger brands to have both an online and physical presence to give their customers if they want to push the concept of an entire experience. On the flip side, this also lessens the job offerings for people because this store doesn’t need to have physical employees in order to make this happen. With so many technological advances, it’s amazing to see how much the industry is changing and a lot of it is for the better. It’s interesting to see how much Amazon is dominating the game in terms of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar. Amazon is dabbling into the grocery industry and last year announced it was acquiring whole food in effort to expand their brick-and-mortar offering in a $13.7 billion deal. However, Amazon has no plans to implement technology into Whole Foods. It’s exciting to see how Amazon will keep up with their test store and what they have in store for Whole Foods.
RELAXED TAILORING JANUARY 30, 2018
Playing off of unisex, genderless fashion, menswear styles continue to influence designers’ choice for trousers, blazers and loose fitting silhouettes. Layer tailoring over crop tops, bra-lettes or jersey tees to ensure an effortlessly relaxed look, and combine with trainers or flat sandals for maximum youth appeal. The crisp, clean lines that make up the silhouette can give the outfit a completely polished look.
I think this look overall is so chic, and clean. Blazers and trousers should be key staple pieces in everyone’s closet. Not only is this perfect for every day, but is extremely versatile in terms of functionality. The reason I chose to showcase this trend in my journal is because I have been seeing it absolutely everywhere. Whether it’s street style, shown on the red carpet, or Instagram, this look has been extremely popular and I find it so flattering.
4
SHAPE & STRUCTURE
Mansur Graviel is a New York based brand that has flourished into a label known for its minimalism, quality and construction and simplic design approach. Rachel Mansur and Florianna Graviel felt the West Coast was the perfect place to open their first ever retail store in one of the biggest shopping destinations on the planet. The custom-designed space is 5,000 square feet and features an open-air gardnen, pond, and courtyard that is all Instagram-worthy. The store will also feature a marketplace, and Graviel says, “The shopping experience will be differnet in terms of what we’ll offer. We’ll also have market items, things that Rachel and I have found in Italy, like glassware and linens, and also dishes that we’ve designed and are made in Italy, as well.” Their store will keep their customer engaged with exclusive and limited-edition assortment of read-to-wear styles in vintage Italian fabrics, along with veg-tan leather handbags.
5
The store in terms of design is very visually appealing and so on point for the brand. I think opening a store on Melrose was an on target choice for them, as Los Angeles is a young, artistic area that is open to a lot of exposure, and I think will end up being very successful.
MANSUR GAVRIEL’S NEW STORE ON MELROSE PLACE
FEBRUARY 8, 2018
NINA GARCIA AT ELLE
6
Nina Garcia is back and ready to take on the new position at ELLE magazine, as Robbie Myers has stepped down as Editor-in-Chief. Up until now, the former creative director at Marie Claire has a name and tart take on style as a longtime judge on “Project Runway”, and is the author of four books on fashion. Garcia said that she would continue Elle’s tradition of celebrating diversity and emerging voices and work closely with 46 international editions to share talent globally. Her first issue is likely to be February of March 2018. Ms. Garcia’s transition to the magazine comes at a whirlwind of change happening in the industry. With the #METOO movement going full circle, women now are stronger and more powerful than ever. Women are re-shaping the industry and working together to build female empowerment. In the industry especially, women have a harder time being treated fairly, and respectfully. Men who are doing the same exact job as women are still making a higher salary, even if the woman has been there longer. Now that Robbie Myers is leaving the publication, I believe Nina Garcia will do an exceptional job running the long-time magazine. She will have new fresh ideas and a different perspective that will take ELLE to the next level. Whether it’s fashion, beauty, technology, art, the environment and women’s social and political issues, these all intersect in one way or another and Garcia understand the multiplatform world and bring her energy and unique style to ELLE. Not only is she an important authority in fashion, but she’s respected by her peers for her personal style, and extremely engaged in the industry. I grew up with my face in fashion magazines and have been reading ELLE for a while now. I think Garcia is a role model for a lot of girls around the world who love fashion and want to feel empowered. She has done so much with her career and dabbled in many different areas, so I think with her experience and knowledge, there’s a lot she can bring to the table. It’s the females like Anna Wintour, Nina Garcia, and Radhika Jones who are leading the way for the future of fashion and being a role model every step of the way.
FEBRUARY 16, 2018
knock out your knock offs FEBRUARY 22, 2018 A small knockoff store popped up out of nowhere on Canal Street in New York, and it happened to be the clothing brand Deisel. The brand worked with production company Rival School Pictures and creative agencies Publicis New York and Publicis Italy to secure prime real estate on Canal Street and open a fake store selling what appeared to be knockoff apparel. They decided to purposely misspel its own name to make the store seem genuinely fake. Inside the store, shoppers could find white T-shirts with a red “Deisel” logo on it, racks of jeans and sweaters wrapped in plastic bags individually. The twist to this story is that Diesel revealed this fake store was in fact full of authentic products. Once news got out about this, a massive line formed down the block the next morning and fashion influencers wanted the chance to get the merchandise from the collection. “There are so many fake products in the world,” Diesel founder Renzo Rosso said. “The fake products bring the brand down. So how can we use this to bring the brand. up? We came up with this fantastic idea.” I thought this was the most innovative, creative marketing ploy that I’ve seen any brand do in a long time. I don’t exactly resonate myself with the brand, but I respect them for thinking completely outside the box with their approach. They were clearly making a fashion statement and trying to appeal to a younger demographic. When I think of Diesel, an older demographic comes to mind, but they are trying to bring in a new generatinon and creating a student like this will keep them relevant and talked about. The brand picked a spot on location when choosing to open in the heart of where knockoffs are fmaous globally. Diesel was also making a statement about the knockoff industry and how common it is for people to get their hands on knock off and counterfit products.
7
DIESEL OR DEISEL? This event reminded me of when Gucci showed fake Gucci T-shirts with emblazioned with the lebel’s logo for Resort 2017. The shirts read Guccy, reflecting the fact there are misspelled names on every corner of the streets. Vetements has also experiemented with this strategy and both brands have been successful. Street wear is leading the way in the fashion industry and brands are starting to become innovative in a way they’ve never been before. There are numerous up and coming street-wear designers that the younger generation is being drawn to and they’re not slowing down anytime soon. I know Disel and many other fashion brands will continue to push the boundaries of creaitivity. What’s even more creative about this entire event was the brand decided to do this during New York Fashion Week.
LUXURY’S CUSTOMISATION CHALLENGE FEBRUARY 28, 2018 FENDI PARTNERED WITH FARFETCH TO DEVELOP A CUSTOMISATION SOFTWARE
Brands have been using mass customisation in order to deliever new and exciting products to their consumers. At one point in time, it was cool to have the same handbag or pair of shoes as everyone, with the designers logo printed all over. However, consumers like having the option to create something of their own, and the brand in turn gets a chance to build a deeper and personal relationship becasue of it. The bottom line is people want great product uniqueness and excepts an emotional engagement when it comes to products and brands. According to BoF, mass customisation can boost business productivity by better aligning supply and demand, eliminating waste. They made a interesting point when they said “If you mass customise, you don’t produce product until the customer says.”
Billions of billions of dollars are lost a year on clothing that just ends up in the dumpster or in landfills. The luxury houses that do offer product customisation, most have stuck to only monogramming and charms. Lousi Vuitton has offered its Mon Monogram services since 2008. Michael Kors has also made customisation options such as adding charms and pins to their products such as backpacks and handbags.
Because of the age of technology we are in, all types of brands are able to connect with their consumers on a deeper level 24/7. There are positive and negatives to customisation but it does give an opportunity for a more sustainable production. The dowside is that you have a wait a longer period of time to get your customised product, but it’s extremely unique and specific to you, made for you by an artist/designer. I think this idea is just going to keep growing and brands will continue to keep up this level of personalization and give the consumer new ways to make their products special to them.
8
GUCCI LAUNCHED ITS DIY SERVICE IN 2016
LUXURY BRANDS KNOW THE POWER OF LIMITING SUPPLY OR ACCESS TO THEIR BRAND. THE Hermès BIRKIN BAG HAS A WAITING LIST OF UP TO SIX YEARS.
viktor & Rolf built an upside-down store in milan to proclaim an anarchic approach to design.
SOURCES
WGSN NY TIMES WALL STREET JOURNAL WWD REFINERY 29