The pricing is crazy/justified thread

[guardimp]

At least the $12,000 bid isn't there anymore!

[vegettoo]

At least the $12,000 bid isn't there anymore!

lol i can almost imagine wat can i do with 12k instead of buying a rick

[Pumpfish]

What is it worth? Has pricing finally killed this niche?

Pricing in this niche has never been for the fainthearted. And, I'd argue that a degree of "sticker shock" is an integral component of playing in the niche.

However, the price inflation over the past few years defies broader economic conditions and conditions in the luxury sector.

And the thing that really hits home to me is that brands which once priced on a par with the finest in traditional menswear, are now almost twice the price.

And this at a time when the aesthetic is more easily achievable than ever before from outside the niche.

Remind me why we do this?

[Faust]

I can't remind you of that, but I can remind you that we have a long-going thread on this very subject ;-)

[Sombre]

Pricing in this niche has never been for the fainthearted. And, I'd argue that a degree of "sticker shock" is an integral component of playing in the niche.

However, the price inflation over the past few years defies broader economic conditions and conditions in the luxury sector.

And the thing that really hits home to me is that brands which once priced on a par with the finest in traditional menswear, are now almost twice the price.

And this at a time when the aesthetic is more easily achievable than ever before from outside the niche.

Remind me why we do this?

Keeping themselves successful and relevant in the face of lower-priced competition is going to be one of the biggest challenges for designers and retailers in the niche. That kind of competition isn't unique to this niche; diffusion lines, fast fashion, and capsule collections have been attacking more traditional "luxury brands" for years.

I'm not sure how much price increases have hurt some of the big boys in the niche. A1923 seems to keep on keeping on, CCP seems bulletproof despite his last collection pre-dating the internal combustion engine, and Boris seems to have become more successful since increasing his prices. I'm basing this on the apparent increase in the number of stores stocking them though, so idk whether or not they really are more successful compared to say, 6 years ago.

It's also possible that they're not affected because they're not competing with brands whose sales will be crippled by say a 20% price increase. In other words, if you're wealthy enough you might not care. If you don't bat an eyelid at $5K, you probably won't at $6K either, especially if your buying process is "that looks sick as fuck, I'll take it."

This is all speculation on my part, so take it with a grain of salt, but there is evidence out there to show that a decent number of goods priced for the very wealthy do not see drastic sales drops even during recessions (see below).

http://www.forbes.com/sites/annaperocchi/2011/08/05/economy-is-in-crisis-yet-luxury-brands-tiffanys-lvhm-still-report-sales-growth/

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/feb/15/recession-bypasses-luxury-goods-market

https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/bitstream/...pdf?sequence=1 (an in-depth thesis on the same topic)

[Faust]

I think in general fashion has been the best mirror of continued stratification of the Western capitalist society. Someone really should write an article about it. I wonder who...

[Sombre]

^If only there were a fashion writer with his own platform who used to work in finance...

[cjbreed]

this thread got bumped at an interesting moment for me. personally i have hit a bit of a wall with this stuff. i can afford some things, but i am not wealthy enough for price to be a non-issue. in fact its a huge issue. and lately i feel like i can't enjoy an item as much if i feel like the joke is on me. its not that i can't do it, its that i won't. no matter how much i love it, i can't do something if i feel like i'm getting fucked. and as of this moment, i am pretty sure someone put a rohypnol in my drink.

[kuriz]

this thread got bumped at an interesting moment for me. personally i have hit a bit of a wall with this stuff. i can afford some things, but i am not wealthy enough for price to be a non-issue. in fact its a huge issue. and lately i feel like i can't enjoy an item as much if i feel like the joke is on me. its not that i can't do it, its that i won't. no matter how much i love it, i can't do something if i feel like i'm getting fucked. and as of this moment, i am pretty sure someone put a rohypnol in my drink.

I feel you on this....my days as a Boris follower is almost completely over. As much as the pieces still talk to me (less and less though) the prices are completely out of control. I like the whole young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe, but who on Earth is both having a young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe and at the same time being able to afford not all these pieces but just a few and still being able to fill out this (to me) very attractive vision? I've got no idea...

It's not even funny anymore....

[gregor]

I feel you on this....my days as a Boris follower is almost completely over. As much as the pieces still talk to me (less and less though) the prices are completely out of control. I like the whole young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe, but who on Earth is both having a young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe and at the same time being able to afford not all these pieces but just a few and still being able to fill out this (to me) very attractive vision? I've got no idea...

It's not even funny anymore....

Completely agree and attest to this. I think it's kind of a sad irony when the demographic of such an aesthetic is priced out of it by a designer. I love Boris, and his vision, but I don't think I can convince myself to spend that kind of money when there are reams of similar designers I can buy from to create a similar aesthetic.

[Faust]

I feel you on this....my days as a Boris follower is almost completely over. As much as the pieces still talk to me (less and less though) the prices are completely out of control. I like the whole young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe, but who on Earth is both having a young-urban-skating-nomad-vibe and at the same time being able to afford not all these pieces but just a few and still being able to fill out this (to me) very attractive vision? I've got no idea...

It's not even funny anymore....

Rock stars, high level creative professionals, and rich people who want to look cool (remember, 30s are the new 20s and also there is a fairly large amount of people by now whose parents are wealthy). Question is, are there enough of them to support the label?

[grapefruitpop]

Rock stars, high level creative professionals, and rich people who want to look cool (remember, 30s are the new 20s and also there is a fairly large amount of people by now whose parents are wealthy). Question is, are there enough of them to support the label?

You missed SZ's main contributing body. Teenagers/early 20's kid who found SZ through #gothninja on lookbook/tumblr. Leveled up like a pokemon from RO Geobaskets -> BBS/CCP -> Paul harnden peasantwear.

[kuriz]

Faust: interesting question, especially because I, following him from almost the beginning feel sort of let down by the inaccessibility from the pricing. It is such a shame that the world of Boris Bidjan shouldn't anymore be for those regular guys that wants to be a part of this. Kind of made me think of something you wrote in that Boris Bidjan book:
"Saberi is one of the few who has successfully been able to translate the way he experiences the world into a sartorial vision". And I agree, he truly has: some experiences that some of us shares.
Sadly, it just seems like a lot of us cannot afford to be a part of this wonderful vision anymore (even though I guess it was intended for someone like us actually being interested).

[Faust]

I hear you loud and clear, kuriz.

Well, at least Rick Owens is now available everywhere and can be gotten fairly inexpensively.

[guardimp]

You missed SZ's main contributing body. Teenagers/early 20's kid who found SZ through #gothninja on lookbook/tumblr. Leveled up like a pokemon from RO Geobaskets -> BBS/CCP -> Paul harnden peasantwear.

I really don't think you understand what SZ is built on. First calling out shuit in WAYWT, now this. Maybe you should read more and act less like a kid from 4chan/lookbook/tumblr, there is more to SZ and the brands discussed here then jumping from trend to trend. Most of the long time posters here are far from the demographic you talk about.