5 Industry Insiders Tell how to Fix the Biz.
Fashion is broken from the inside out, and like an ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail, the industry keeps revisiting the many problems inherent in the ready-to-wear system, looking for an answer seemingly just beyond the horizon. Hello, the CFDA even published a lengthy survey on the topic. How do we keep retailers’ shelves stocked with product that’s seasonally relevant and novel every few months? How are designers meant to agilely juggle creativity and commerce, two runway shows yearly, and pre-season collections besides without burning out entirely? How do you sate public appetite for the fashion circus in such a way that doesn’t detract from the fact that the shows are, at base, industry functions? And–in case all that wasn’t enough to set the mind reeling—how do we think about all this in a way which amounts to more than merely insidery woolgathering or chipper press release fodder?
Elizabeth Stewart, stylist:
The fast pace of fashion seasons has made collections a little harder to read. There used to be fewer collections to look at; you would take in a designer’s message, and as a stylist, interpret it and digest it into real life looks. Today it looks like designers are forced by fast-moving markets to reinvent themselves every three months, between collections, pre-collections, and capsules.
It feels like going back to unique shows that would feature all the product categories needed by the markets and consumers twice a year would give the products a chance at longer lives on shelves, and in everybody’s closets. Some of it could be earmarked for direct-to-consumer, some could be earmarked for retail, and designers could even keep parts of a collection private so there is some freshness when it hits the stores.
We, as celebrity stylists, often get the chance to work with designers on longer timeframes to create one-of-a-kind dresses for the red carpet, and you can feel that the conversation gets even more creative when they are given enough time. Fashion is an ambiguous discipline that is all about time and craft, as well as business and market obligations. So, yes, it feels like we are at a turning point and that the way we do and deliver things in fashion is bound to change soon.
Lulu Kennedy, Fashion East founder:
Get collective—our Fashion East group shows are deliberately intended to be time-effective for editors and buyers to come see a bunch of talent in one hit. We encourage our designers to edit hard, and only show their best looks. Our shows are pacey, no frills, and honest.
Sponsorships and commercial collaborations are key for a designer’s cash flow and amplification—we are lucky to work closely with Topshop which is incredibly supportive and has produced many best-selling capsules for brand-new names. The J.W.Anderson and Meadham Kirchhoff ones sold out in hours.
We find that industry mentors make a profound difference to our kids’ development. Veteran production pros who know obscure factories willing to work with small-scale designers, FDs to write solid business plans and pitch to investors, CEOs who can objectively explain how best to manage your time and team, buyers who can give hard-but-constructive feedback is necessary. We have our alumni designers give talks to our “freshman” about what not to do—it’s beyond helpful. Creating a supportive community is crucial to what we do.
Faustine Steinmetz, designer:
I don’t feel the industry is open to new ideas at the moment unless a big brand does it . . . For example, we’ve been putting a lot of effort into our presentations to not have models just standing, but to try and create a more natural look. We’ve seen however that during the presentation, photographers come along and make the girls stand up straight, which ruins the image we are trying to create at the show. We’ve had photographers who have come and taken the girls out of the set when we had only wanted to show the top or the bottom of the girl. Then the photographers shoot them in their underwear or even worse, in their own clothes! I really don’t feel like there is any respect for the image which we are trying to create.
I really feel like there is this pressure to have that catwalk image of a girl and that look only, whereas it would be nice to be able to share the world that which we are trying to create at the show, as we’re usually trying to do something different.
In the past we have included objects and displayed still-life pieces of clothing in our show, and they have never been shot, which is a shame as some of those pieces have been some of the more interesting things that we’ve had on display. As a result of them never being shot, we’ve stopped making them, which is a real shame. I feel like we have some really good ideas on how to make presentations more exciting, but at the moment I feel like because of the way it is being shot I am quite restricted in what I can do as no one will ever see it.
Norma Kamali, designer:
If we use technology to communicate socially and through business, why not creatively to present our collections? There are so many ways to tell our brand’s story. We can connect to the industry and the consumer at the same time. We can use many mediums. We can present the collections in a way that matches the speed and excellent service we enjoy with apps on our mobile devices.
Catherine Bennett, senior vice president and managing director of IMG Fashion Events and Properties:
The most important thing to consider is that Fashion Week is really a marketing exercise for designers. It will always continue to be relevant, but tailoring the content of your runway or your presentation to your desired audience is the most important way to reach your consumer in the most impactful manner. It’s a really exciting time, because that can mean so many different things. For some designers it can mean continuing to show a collection that’s six months from hitting the floor and catering to an audience of editors who will help them tell their brand’s story for the next few months and buyers who will help them plan their orders wisely before entering into production. For some larger brands it’s more important to gear their shows toward a consumer audience and they might be able to take a financial risk, and plan orders before their shows, and have the luxury to take editors through their collections months before the show. The most important thing is to be able to offer a variety of platforms and initiatives that go beyond traditional, industry-only runway shows.
Presentations have definitely become more popular over the past couple of seasons. What I think is really great about them is that they allow designers to come out onto the floor and talk to buyers and editors and their clients and build a personal relationship. I think that’s becoming more important to people, and kind of how people shop now. But the runway show will never go away either.