From the traditional cage he presented a new logo... And that's not all: a month ago Burberry presented its annual financial report, in which, among other results, it honestly spoke about the fate of unsold goods. They burned: clothes, shoes, accessories and cosmetics (about 30%) total cost about £28.6 million was sent into the furnace without blinking an eye.
Moralists from the most different areas- from economists to environmentalists - they immediately started talking about wastefulness, the crisis of overproduction, the harm to environment, ethics - Burberry began to accuse them of all mortal sins. Their main argument: why doesn’t the brand sell the remaining products at a low price or simply donate them to charity? At first glance, this is reasonable. But, as usual, not everything is so simple - fires burn for a reason.
Burberry
Why is this and not otherwise?
A luxury is only meant to be accessible to not everyone. This business is built so that we wanted to buy coats and shoes for exorbitant amounts of money - advertising, our general loyalty to the brand and the desire to own something unique, skillfully fueled by marketers, work for this. This is a sign of belonging to a rather narrow circle of prestige. Roughly speaking, we do not buy a coat, but its status.
Therefore, luxury brands cannot afford sales: discounts blur the boundaries of the circle, destroy the illusion of inaccessibility, and devaluation of status occurs. To correct the situation, next season you will have to sell the “devalued” product at a higher price than before (this is the easiest way to restore its value in the eyes of the consumer) or completely abandon its production for some time, and maybe forever. Sending unsold items for recycling is also fraught with risk: some items may end up on the gray market, will be copied and lose their uniqueness. In the current situation, when a completely legitimate mass market has become accustomed to churning out its own versions of trendy models in sync with luxury, or even working ahead of the curve, it is very difficult to preserve the image and maintain demand for expensive goods.
Hence radical measures like fireboxes. Of course, this also brings colossal losses, but one-time losses are the lesser of the evils. AND Burberry they are not the only ones who do this, they are simply one of the few who are not afraid to admit it publicly, knowing what a storm of indignation it will provoke. Holding Richemont(to him owns several large jewelry and watch brands, including Cartier) over the past 2 years, he destroyed £437 million worth of unsold chronographs and also stated this openly. Almost half a billion! But can you imagine a watch? Cartier with discount? And, if so, which one?
Who's great?
The mass market, by the way, regularly holds sales, but what is unsold still goes to the fire: not all brands donate their surplus for recycling. It’s much more expensive and takes much longer, which doesn’t fit with reality at all. fast fashion. But there are positive examples: H&M, for example, actively promotes its eco-friendly approach to production and recycling. They encourage customers to recycle old items and give discounts on new ones in return. They subject to complete destruction only things that have not passed safety tests - with lead content levels exceeding the norm, for example - about 12 tons of these are collected annually. And the energy obtained from their recycling provides electricity to the small Swedish city of Vester (this plus is controversial, because a lot of energy is also spent on recycling itself).
Among luxury brands, such an example is Hermès. They launched a special program called Petit H: they find master craftsmen who want to transform waste from their main production (remember that Hermes they work especially hard with leather) into new products (you can watch a short series about this initiative under the motto “We don’t throw away anything”). AND Burberry They are also not lagging behind. According to the official statement, the destruction of surplus is carried out with minimal damage to the environment, and recycling technology continues to be improved. In addition, as part of the “Responsibility” strategy until 2022, Burberry entered into an agreement with the brand Elvis & Kresse, which produces accessories from recycled materials (that is, unsold leather goods, theoretically, will no longer be destroyed).
Hermes
Perhaps overproduction can be avoided?
The reason for the burning is more or less clear: “image is everything,” as the notorious advertisement said. But the question of optimizing production—forecasting sales in order to reduce excess as much as possible—remains open. Well, it’s possible, but it’s very difficult. The forecast will never be accurate - there is always an error (which, in fact, is the problem). Because there is no calm on the market - the industry develops faster than the seasons change, and a lot of force majeure events can arise. In addition, a significant reduction in circulation will frighten shareholders. And yet, redundancy of production is a response to the demand of time. We live in an era of fast trends - it happens that a thing ceases to be fashionable and desirable even before it gets into the store (this, again, is a sleight of hand of the mass market, which is capable of turning something shot on the catwalk into consumer goods).
Burberry were just trying to resist the phenomenon fast fashion, and this is an interesting point: since 2015, their loss from unsold goods has been steadily growing (£18.8 million in 2015 versus £28.6 million in 2018). Many experts tend to associate this with the new format of work of the British House, adopted in 2016 - see now-buy now. Its essence is that collections go on sale immediately after the show or with a slight delay - that is, circulations are prepared in advance, before the reaction of the press and buyers becomes clear. According to the traditional scheme, things are put into wide production based (in part) on orders received from retailers, which, of course, affects circulation, and sales start only six months later.
Burberry deny influence new scheme to increase production redundancy. It’s hard to believe in the absolute polarity of phenomena, but it should be noted that with the arrival of a new creative director, the brand will return to normal operation (almost). Just a few items from Riccardo Tisci's debut collection for Burberry, which he will unveil in September, will be available to buy immediately. Everything else will go on sale no earlier than February.
Burberry
What's next?
As Ursula de Castro, designer and co-founder of the Fashion Revolution movement, said in a conversation with Dazed - “As long as fashion continues to evolve, excess will continue to occur.”. According to her, a lot is disposed of during the production process, and the destruction of the finished product is not the whole problem. Unused fabrics and accessories are also destroyed so that no one else gets them and spoils the brand’s reputation. But a completely ethical and environmentally friendly way to do this has not yet been invented.
The fashion industry is unlikely to simply take the path of reasonable consumption in the near future. Consumerism benefits business, and not the other way around, and there is no escape from it. Fast fashion- ahead of the rest. And luxury wants to remain luxury. The best decision— transparency. If brands, for example Burberry or Richemont, they will talk about it openly, more and more creative projects like Hermès Petit H. The search for a reasonable solution will become more active. Silence may be golden, but certainly not in this case.
Luxury (luxury, luxury segment) is a segment of the market for luxury goods and luxury-premium services. Luxury - from English word luxury, which translates as luxury, a luxury item. However, the translation of “luxury” does not fully reflect this concept. The luxury segment is a segment of provision great fun not just from the use of goods and services, but from everything connected with them, starting from the process of purchase itself, to the status of owning it, delight, admiration, pleasure from the creativity of genius developers - to the mastery of the manufacturer embodied in the product.
Traditional division into segments The market in terms of prices, quality of goods sold and level of services provided looks like: mass market, middle market, premium market. Further, exceptional and special – segment luxury, segment luxury.
Luxury segment can be described as something even “above premium”. We can say that the luxury segment is strictly only “for our own people”. The basic rule of the luxury segment: belonging to the luxury segment must support the image of its owner in a certain circle of society. At the same time, the authority of the owner of the product should serve as an advertisement for the luxury product.
Luxury consumer. The availability of luxury goods and services and their possession contribute to great pleasure and comfort, which are difficult to obtain. In addition to functional utility, luxury goods and services bring respect to their owner and determine status. The luxury consumer is a person of status, most likely influential, often demanding and capricious in his treatment.
Luxury goods– goods of great pleasure, pleasure, goods that emphasize the high status of their owner. Luxury goods are something very expensive, often perhaps discreet, but very respectable. Products in this segment are sold exclusively on a personalized basis, with mandatory consultation with a specialist. Often luxury goods only become more expensive over time. Luxury products are distinguished by very high prices and low availability.
Luxury store- this is a closed club with its own hierarchy of buyers, revenue is not the most important thing, higher value has profitability per unit of production, buyer identity. There are never sales in luxury stores.
Luxury marketing. The most effective advertising in this segment – targeted mailing. You can send the client a catalog or a letter with information about the company's new products, information about special offer, congratulations on an important date for him. Club for the elite – a good place for buyer-seller contact. Closed events: a concert, an informal meeting, a test drive, a presentation, a respectable evening organized by the company - a good occasion and reason to get acquainted with the company’s marketing offer.
Luxury Marketing Summit– a forum that brings together leaders of the world's leading companies, auction houses and the largest advertising and PR agencies in the field of luxury and fashion. The forum is held in Monte-Carlo at the Bay Hotel & Resort.
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Today, the global fashion industry is represented by a huge number of fashion brands, understanding which to the common man quite difficult. In this article we will try to organize and systematize the entire fashion world.
The fashion world has a certain hierarchy according to which all brands can be ordered. Each class in this hierarchy is characterized by the following parameters: exclusivity, quality, method of release of the collection and price.
Each brand focuses on a certain circle of consumers who belong to a certain socio-cultural status. Based on this, the entire fashion industry is divided into three price categories: high, medium and affordable. Next, we will consider all these categories in more detail. So…
Highest price category
Haute Couture - “High Fashion”– luxury brands.
Models of this class have the highest price and are characterized by the following features:
- exclusivity - the model is produced in a single copy;
- high complexity in manufacturing;
- each product has its own author;
- high quality materials;
- more than 70% of the product must be made by hand;
- the model is created according to individual measurements;
- very high price.
Haute couture products are the most expensive and elite. They are actually equivalent to works of art. This class is the pinnacle of the fashion industry - the most expensive and high-quality, and it is from this class that fashion is based. This class forms a fashion direction called a trend.
The designer creates an idea that moves down the hierarchy. All brands at a lower hierarchical level replicate and play with this idea in their collections.
Haute couture clothing can only be purchased at the Fashion House itself, with the obligatory indication of the designer's name in the brand name.
“Couture” fashion houses: Chanel, Adeline André, Alexis Mabille, Atelier Gustavolins, Franck Sorbier, Christian Dior, Christophe Josse, Giambattista Valli, Jean-Paul Gaultier SA, Martin Margiela, Stéphane Rolland.
Prêt-à-porter de luxuryde luxury, literally “ready to wear”)– premium brands.
- products have their own author, whose name is necessarily present in the brand name;
- each model is produced in a limited edition;
- high quality materials are used;
- products have a standard size range;
- high price.
Fashion houses such as Versace, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and others work in this class.
Ready-to-wear– premium brands.
Models of this class are characterized by the following features:
- products have their own author;
- models are aimed at everyday use;
- cheaper materials in contrast to the two previous classes;
- More than one is used in product design simple techniques compared to previous classes;
- the price of the product is lower;
- products have a standard size range.
Ready-to-wear products are premium ready-to-wear designer clothing. Products of this class retain the basic style ideas of luxury products. This class is designed to replicate and widely disseminate design ideas. Products of this class have more low price, but at the same time they remain premium designer clothes. But despite this, ready-to-wear products remain in the highest price category.
The brands MarcJacobs, CalvinKlein, Etro and others operate in this class.
Average price category
Diffuse brands (diffusion - distribution)– a transitional class between the premium class and less prestigious classes. Typically, second and third lines of designer brands are in this class. Diffusion brands have the most expensive products in the mid-price category.
Fashion houses create special brands to popularize their fashion house. And also, in this way, the Fashion House expands the sales of its designer products among a wider range of clients who are interested in purchasing fashionable and high-quality clothing.
These second and third designer lines, i.e. “subsidiaries” of the main luxury brands, allow you to change collections more frequently, use cheaper materials, use less famous designers, and also create collections that are not tied to the main line and trend. This approach allows you to reach a large market of buyers without harming the image of the main luxury brand.
Often, well-known brands add a word or designation to the name of the main brand. Examples include the Burberry Prorsum line from the British company Burberry, the Just Cavalli line from Roberto Cavalli, the Versus line from Versace, the D&G line from the Dolce & Gabbana tandem and many others.
But sometimes new brands are created that have a certain narrow functional focus. For example, children's, youth, denim, sports, etc.
Thus, diffuse brands provide additional good profits. They are emotionally connected to the parent brand and support the overall sentiment of the core brand.
Bridge brands– brands occupy a niche between ready-to-wear and mass market. The price of products in this class is lower than that of diffuse class products with equal quality of the product itself.
This class brings branded clothing even closer to widespread consumption by the masses.
The bridge brand class appeared in the crisis of 2008, when the consumer market “narrowed”, giving preference to the middle price category, and diffusion brands began to lose profits. Bridge brand class products are practically not inferior to diffusion class products in terms of quality, but in price they are quite competitive with the average price category. This makes it possible to expand access to branded clothing for consumers with average income levels, which include, first of all, young people.
Bridge brands are the last tier of designer clothing brands. Behind this class comes the middle class and a huge number of mid-price brands.
Best brands (better)– brands that offer products of fairly high quality, but with quite affordable prices. The price category of products in this class is higher than that of utilitarian and democratic brands, but lower than that of bridge brands.
The best brands do not have expensive haute couture and ready-to-wear lines. They are not designer and were originally created for consumer products. These brands use their own internal design developments, taking into account current trends dictated by fashion houses. They do not create trends, but follow them, using them as they see fit.
Such brands include Tommy Hilfiger, Mexx, Massimo Dutti, Levi’s, CK Jeans, etc.
Utilitarian brands (contemporary)– so-called mass market brands are presented here. This class includes brands that produce factory-made, high-quality clothing. Products are produced in large quantities at enterprises. They are intended for a wide range of buyers. Brands in this class often use franchising to increase their sales.
Utilitarian brands usually use high-quality materials in the mid-price category. Products in this class are of fairly good factory quality. They are comfortable, beautiful and practical for everyday wear.
Utilitarian brands, like the best brands, do not have expensive haute couture and ready-to-wear lines, and are not designer. They initially involve the production of consumer goods. These brands use their own internal design developments, taking into account current trends dictated by fashion houses. They do not create trends, but follow them, using them as they see fit.
Affordable price category
Democratic stamps– mass brands with low quality products and low price categories. Brands of this class have become the most widespread and are used by a wide segment of the population.
Brands in this class can create copies of models from famous fashion houses, but from cheap fabrics and using simplified design solutions. They may also copy the models of their competitors.
Within this class there is a conditional division into two directions:
- Brands for the whole family (budget) – budget brands. These include brands such as Jennyfer, Sela, C&A, Esprit, LC Waikiki, HoneyLook and others.
- Youth brands. These include brands such as NewYorker, Bershka, Mango, Pull & Bear, Stradivarius and others.
Luxury brands. In other words, they are trendsetters. It is the images and models of these fashion houses that set trends that are picked up by the whole world. In addition, it is a harmonious ratio of price and quality. Every thing is art. We will tell you about the 10 best luxury brands in our review.
The best online stores
Gucci
Dolce&Gabbana
Among the fans of this fashion house you will find major world stars - Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, Claudio Schiffer. And all thanks to the confident course of designers on femininity, sophistication and elegance. Nothing strict, every image is light and airy. The hallmarks are the red dress and white shades. For decades now, the fashion house has included this palette in its collections.
And here I immediately remember the iconic red and black checkered pattern on a beige background, which the fashion house includes in all its collections. Burberry bursts into 2018 more than spectacularly and paints its signature checkered pattern in the colors of the LGBT flag. In addition to loud fashion statements, Burberry offers many timeless classics - beige trench coats, shirtdresses, blouses and polka dot skirts.
Fendi
Fendi is the standard of classic Italian fashion. Everyone knows the creative director of the fashion house - fashion maestro Karl Lagerfeld. The latest collections are the designer’s reflections on the theme of “stripes”. Here we see our approach and unique geometry. The specialty and main historical asset of the fashion house are fur and leather products and the Baguette bag model, beloved by millions.
In the history of the Givenchy fashion house, you can find many extremes - from gothic to the calm, feminine aesthetics that are a priority for the brand today. This jump is due to the arrival of Clare Waight Keller as creative director - the first woman to hold this position in the history of the brand. The current fashion season is dedicated to the 1980s, where we see a wide shoulder girdle, mini length and washed denim, but in an exclusively feminine context.
King of the luxury shoe market. Jimmy Choo is a relatively young brand that was founded in 1996. However, the following year, 1997, she appeared in public wearing the brand’s pale blue pumps. In addition to iconic pumps, the brand produces sneakers, mules, boots, bags and shoes for men.
Prada
The historical roots of the Prada brand lie at the beginning of the 20th century. From a manufacturer of expensive bags, the brand has turned into one of the most influential fashion dictators. The collections of the fashion house include many basic, laconic items, as well as recognizable printed items. Fashion revolutionaries are unlikely to find anything to their liking here, but those with refined and classic taste will appreciate the brand.
Yves Saint Laurent
This fashion house is responsible for many fashion innovations. This includes a women's tuxedo in 1962, the birth of the safari style in 1966 and numerous collaborations with artists. Yves Saint Laurent, like its creator, loves the color black. The last one said: “ In order to be beautiful, a woman only needs to have a black sweater, a black skirt and walk arm in arm with the man she loves.” The ideal formula for every woman.
This brand has no less inventions. Most of them are aimed at providing complete freedom female body- tunic dress or cocoon model. The brand’s designers value freedom of silhouette to this day, sending models onto the catwalks in oversized jumpers, dresses, trousers, scarves and the “agli boots” that are popular today. In a word, an oversized bet.
Luxury brands are trendsetters and force others to follow the fashion trends set at Fashion Weeks in Paris, Milan, London and New York.
Over the past ten years, almost all luxury brands have launched children's clothing lines. Burberry and Armani, Dsquared2 and Gucci, Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana - each of them has children's collections in which you can find replicas or even copies of runway models adapted for children. The Mini me style, which dresses children as adult versions of their parents, is becoming increasingly popular. The same items for children and parents can be bought from many brands, from Moncler jackets to Dolce & Gabbana lace dresses.
Moncler produces elite men's, women's, children's clothing, shoes and accessories - bags and backpacks, hats and gloves, glasses. Shiny, varnished down jackets with wide horizontal stitching, elegant
Gucci
Gucci is one of the world's leading luxury brands, producing not only collections of fashionable clothing and shoes, but also bags, watches, Jewelry, perfumes and cosmetics, sunglasses. Gucci - the standard of bohemian chic
Burberry was one of the first luxury brands to launch a children's line. In 2011, Lanvin, Armani, Gucci and Fendi followed suit. A year later, Dolce & Gabbana released clothes for children.
At first, the Burberry children's line was produced and sold under license by the French company CWF (now it produces children's clothing under license Hugo Boss, Little Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Chloe, DKNY). However, seeing the potential of this industry, Burberry regained control of the production and distribution of its children's clothing.
Moncler children's down jackets appeared in 2012, the children's line is made with the same quality and attention to detail as the adult collection. Like Burberry, Moncler has brought the production and distribution of children's clothing under its control; previously this was handled by Altana SPA (produces Gucci Baby and Junior, Moschino kids under license).
Luxury Australian label Mischka Aoki launched in 2009. Prices for children's dresses reach $5,000 and up. For seven years, the brand has become a red carpet favorite for Hollywood's little celebs.
