Is it time for a Reboot?

[zamb]

Two days ago, news Broke that our friend and colleague, Alexandre Plokhov is going to close his label. Not the kind of news a friend, a fellow supporter or even a client of the brand would want to hear.
I have spoken to Plokhov on a few occasions and he was always upbeat and had words of encouragement and Wisdom to offer. One of his most memorable statements to my mind in our conversations, was when he said 90% of success in business is finding a way to keep your doors open, if you keep it open long enough, the customers will always come.
Now, he is closing. But this is more than about hos closing, it is about a fundamental question that needs to be asked, and to be pondered seriously. Does this Artisanal, Niche brand part of the industry needs a reboot?
I ask this question because, it is clear that there are some serious issues existing that seriously compromises the sustainability and progress of the kind of brands that are truly committed to making a great product and directing it towards a specific audience that appreciates this kind of work.

While I wont name names, to everyone who follows this industry there are at least 10 or so brands who were healthy and doing good work up to 2 years ago that are no longer with us. and i am sure there are others who are just one mistake from collapsing and barely holding it together.
In the name of honestly, I can tell you that my own Brand Zam Barrett, while not closing, has faced the toughest year we have ever had in the closing year of 2015. It may be the first year in the last 5 that we have not made a profit, and could also have easily gone under, had our business model and creativity not made it possible to right the ship.

Also, its not just brands, there are stores that are seriously struggling and have gone out of business too, there are others, who for the sake of their survival, have decided to mix in some high low, some mainstream brands, as a means of supplementing sales and revenues of selling artisanal works.


The question then is, What ails this part of the fashion industry and how can, if at all, the ship be righted to bring back the golden age of Artisanal fashion which i think we could say was between 2006-2012.

here are some thing that are quite obvious but no one wants to address

1. I think prices are too high, however there is are several reasons for that.
   (a) Cost of Materials and cost of doing business have gone up tremendously and when those are factored in designers and manufacturers are left with little options that to raise prices of goods
   (b) Customers seem to think that brands who price items friendly are second rate, or are trying to capitalize on a look by offering less expensive products, so some designers price goods high, as a means of infusing "value" into the brands products by way of pricing
   (c)With customers developing the habit of not buying items until they are on sale, this is factored into the price from the beginning so as to mitigate loss on a product
2. I think there are too many brands (and wanna be ones too). this is a difficult thing for me to even speak of because, whom am I to say who should or shouldn't be a designer?
   however it is clear that there are a whole bunch of brands and possibly not enough customers, at this price point to sustain the amount of brands that have come to the market over the last several years
3. The Web that let to the rise of, is now creating a suffering of Artisanal brands. I think with sites like grailed, with so many Facebook pages etc being created to sell 2nd hand artisanal clothing, it has seriously affected store sales. the whole subculture of flipping one designer piece to fund another has created a system where, unless there is a radical infusion of new customers with strong buying power. more brands and stores will suffer

[TriggerDiscipline]

what are some steps you think that could bring things in to the right direction?

[zamb]

what are some steps you think that could bring things in to the right direction?

M,

good question, and i will expand on the original post further later today.

1. I think prices needs to come down a bit on some stuff, and we are seeing that already by some designers
2. I would love to see greater working relationships between stores and designers. and for me i will personally push for this as it benefits everybody
3. Customers can be a little more direct and honest in this feedback to brands as it helps to know what a brand is doing right and not in order to strengthen relations
4. I think there is a "design stagnancy" that needs to be pushed out of by some brands

[timm3h]

(b) Customers seem to think that brands who price items friendly are second rate, or are trying to capitalize on a look by offering less expensive products, so some designers price goods high, as a means of infusing "value" into the brands products by way of pricing

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this point in particular. This seems tied with your third point -- with (shallow) information like price and "what to wear with x to look good (or rebloggable)" being so freely available on the internet, and with information on "value" being so sparse (an example would be Geoffrey's thread) it seems almost inevitable that new customers would fall into the mindset that you describe UNLESS they make a concerted effort to increase their knowledge about this subject. And that requires a passion that reaches beyond hunting for reblogs.

This may be an overly simplistic way of putting things but I think the meaning comes across -- in your opinion, how can "we" make the average customer care more?

[LupinTheFourth]

yeah.

It's a horrible business, the rag-trade that is. Especially the niche.
But it's a business first and foremost where the investments/costs are heavy with very long-term plan and small return of investments unless you're aiming for different type of market.

Plokhov had something good to offer but his product/positioning would need a heavier machine behind it to keep the wolves at bay and to keep on developing the business in general.
I can't say if that was what he wanted to achieve but I think his offering could've gone much further.
(After all, everybody defines the success they're seeking)

IMO : Unless you're loaded you simply can't take a "full on" creative approach anymore, because the competition is vast as hell.
A designer is just a piece in the puzzle and needs ecosystem/bunch of peeps to make shit happen if you wanna bring bread and not starve.
-> When launching or growing, budgeting the project with sufficient team is what is needed. You can break a brick wall with good people.

[BlacknWhite]

M,

good question, and i will expand on the original post further later today.

1. Customers can be a little more direct and honest in this feedback to brands as it helps to know what a brand is doing right and not in order to strengthen relations

As much as I would like to this, I have a very hard time seeing this ever happening. Especially on StyleZeitgeist...

[Arkady]

Why? It's the easiest issue of the lot to solve.

[NOHSAD]

As much as I would like to this, I have a very hard time seeing this ever happening. Especially on StyleZeitgeist...

It doesn't have to only be on SZ. I can't speak for other designers but Zamb encourages his clients to provide feedback on the items they buy which I think is great. To me it shows that he cares what his customers thinks about his work well after they've purchased and lived in it.

Also, customers should give their feedback on clothing if possible. There's aspects of clothing the customer can pick up on that the designer can't, and that can be something for said designer to improve on or take into consideration.

[zamb]

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this point in particular. This seems tied with your third point -- with (shallow) information like price and "what to wear with x to look good (or rebloggable)" being so freely available on the internet, and with information on "value" being so sparse (an example would be Geoffrey's thread) it seems almost inevitable that new customers would fall into the mindset that you describe UNLESS they make a concerted effort to increase their knowledge about this subject. And that requires a passion that reaches beyond hunting for reblogs.

This may be an overly simplistic way of putting things but I think the meaning comes across -- in your opinion, how can "we" make the average customer care more?

No, this is not what i am saying, even though you could flesh it out further as I didn't think of that.
I do not know what is the specific reason Plokhov decided to close, he could be making a profit and still close. say for example, the people at Lang offered him a great deal, and his business was only marginally profitable. it may have been better to fully invest his energy into Lang rather than fight on where the returns were not as great under his own name. I just don't know, and i only use his name as a reference point, but seriously, so much designers are really struggling, even well established ones in this niche.


However here is what I am getting at.
there are some who have bought into an (unhealthy) elitist mindset. they have equated cost with value, and so the more expensive item is perceived as the most valuable, regardless of the design or the quality thereof. When Clothing is used then as a status symbol, the most expensive becomes the most desired. the problem with this is that for all the exclusivity of high fashion and niche products, its success and the success of its creators is dependent on its mass appeal and high number of sales to make it relevant.

coming back to this to expand further,

[zamb]

As much as I would like to this, I have a very hard time seeing this ever happening. Especially on StyleZeitgeist...

It doesn't have to only be on SZ. I can't speak for other designers but Zamb encourages his clients to provide feedback on the items they buy which I think is great. To me it shows that he cares what his customers thinks about his work well after they've purchased and lived in it.

Also, customers should give their feedback on clothing if possible. There's aspects of clothing the customer can pick up on that the designer can't, and that can be something for said designer to improve on or take into consideration.

it doesn't have to be on SZ, and it doesn't have to be something done in public.
I do this with my customers all the time
about a month ago I sent an email to several of my regular customers, maybe about 50 to get a feedback and some perspective o how we could serve them better

here is what I found out

1. they are completely satisfied with the quality of construction of our products and rate it as one of, if not the most durable brand in their closet (good)

2. pricing is very good for what they get (good)

3. they need better communication, faster response times (working on)

4. they have most of what they want from us already and would love to see newer exiting products (bad)

[Defender]

Almost every high-cost, high-price business is suffering in this exact way.

There are a glut of people willing to turn out sub-par product, and even more people willing to save a few bucks by buying it...you can apply that to televisions, cars, and clothing, along with services like lawn care, hair cuts, and massages.

The race to the bottom of price/quality is matched by income inequality and the disappearing middle class, in America.

What were once powerful middle-class "mall brand" stores are now failing..J. Crew, Abercrombie, etc....and are replaced with IKEA level clothing...H+M.

The reason is that J. Crew actually put out H+M quality clothing, at lower prices, trying to compete, and therefore cut their own feet off. The same thing is happening across the board.

The solution? Don't lower quality or price in order to compete with lesser companies.

Instead, brands should be limiting their production, interacting directly with consumers by limiting the outlets for selling their product ideally to their own website, and relying on a rabid fan base who are willing to be wait-listed for the next release.

Of course, you better be really god damn good to get that kind of a following. Whomever comes up with the next level of complicated pants could pull business from our market, but they would have to be exclusive, interactive, and produce a great product.

[BlacknWhite]

It's great knowing that we can communicate with you and Geoffrey easily, but can the same be said about the others? do they even want to? as that might take the mystique out of their brand. Perhaps following traditional methods of putting a brand out there with some distance away from customers should be reevaluated. With retail, customer loyalty is very important. You have to put your self out there as a service worth coming back to, and brands are no different, they've gotta up their game to stand out in some way.

I loved what Albert was doing with Collateral Concepts, and feel that maybe artisanal brands should be taking a similar approach. Just a thought. The production Albert put into Collateral Concepts was absolutely a pleasure to look through. Photos and long informative descriptions on each product was really something else that I would expect only from a tech brand; he really gave viewers a sense of appreciation for each item. We see that brands have put some sort of treatment into give garments the look they have, so why not go a step forward and explain the process?

[Ahimsa]

Instead, brands should be limiting their production, interacting directly with consumers by limiting the outlets for selling their product ideally to their own website, and relying on a rabid fan base who are willing to be wait-listed for the next release.

Double edged sword. As we say with SFTM after opening their e-commerce store for the first time, they had to quickly pull it as boutiques threatened to stop carrying product over easy accessibility. All promotions are also then carried on your own shoulders, with all energy and expenses coming from your own pocket.

Photos and long informative descriptions on each product was really something else that I would expect only from a tech brand; he really gave viewers a sense of appreciation for each item. We see that brands have put some sort of treatment into give garments the look they have, so why not go a step forward and explain the process?

This is unfortunately not feasible for most brands, especially ready-to-wear, due to the cost of time that they do not have nor can afford. Any sort of outsourcing automatically makes this extremely difficult, so any sort of expansion will most likely be the axe for such descriptions, not to mention the possibility of degradation of quality that is often associated with said expansion.

[zamb]

Double edged sword. As we say with SFTM after opening their e-commerce store for the first time, they had to quickly pull it as boutiques threatened to stop carrying product over easy accessibility. All promotions are also then carried on your own shoulders, with all energy and expenses coming from your own pocket.

And this is not particularly smart of the part of whichever boutiques threatened to do that. I am also aware of boutiques who were interested in my work and ended up not buying when they found out we had a web store.
I understand very well their reservation, as they fear a designer who they are spending dollars with becoming a direct competitor for customers
there is A LOT of benefit to stores when a designer sells online if it is done right

Whichever store is reading this here are a few things to consider

1. when a designer becomes a retailer, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained by interacting with customers and this allows for greater insight into customers needs when the products are being produced, which leads to better products for stores to sell

2. A designers web store offers a wider assortment of products that a buy from a retailer and a more comprehensive view of the brand, which benefits all retailers who carry the brand.

3. We have sent customers to the stores whop carries our products. we get inquiries all the time of stores closer to the client for a for specific products and we send the clients there rather than always buying from us.

4. the relationship between designer and stores is something to discuss and a clear plan developed between the designer/ supplier and the store. One policy we used to have is to not sell on out website items that were carried in the stores. We changed that a while back and its never been an issue with stores who usually have very good sell through with our products.

[Synthese]

Perhaps following traditional methods of putting a brand out there with some distance away from customers should be reevaluated.

Sort of an aside:

I'd love it if we could see this. However, this is very much the Age of the Insider. Everyone wants to be in the know, whether it's fashion, music, art, or celeb gossip. We all want to be experts. We all want our product choices to show how educated we are.

The celebrity bit is particularly worth noting, I think - take a look at the articles on Rousteing's Instagram. 'In the know' meaning, in this case, being an insider who dreams of living the Balmain life.

That sort of thing translates to other realms. It's the same with most men's brands - which factory made this, which tannery produced the leather, how many little old Italian ladies did it take to sew this jacket? Can we have a black and white video of the tailor hand-stitching this piece?

Google the "Herman Miller for 3Sixteen" crap and you'll see a great example. Everything needs a biography. Everything needs a C.V. It's a hilarious spin on transparency - you wanted the life story? You get the marketing version. Same spin, different words.

Go to any museum opening these days - chances are you'll see more about the "making of the art" or the "life of the artist" than you will actual art on the walls.

Men's fashion's particularly guilty, since most male consumers are still so tunnel-focused on "value." They want to be able to tell other people why their clothes are better, in concrete terms.

Not sure if the magic is going to come back any time soon - if it was ever there in in first place, as far as menswear is concerned.