London – Debate concerning the current affairs of the fashion system
has resulted in the rise of the direct-to consumer business model. Whilst a
number of global fashion houses, such as Burberry, Vetements, Tom Ford and
Tommy Hilfiger, have announced their intentions to break away from the
traditional calendar to cater to consumers need for instant gratification.
Others such as and which
represents the likes of Chanel, Hermes and Saint Laurent have all voiced
their firm opposition to uprooting the system.
The discussion continues to unfold at Milan Fashion Week, as those in
favour of “slow” fashion, rather than the new, even faster pace business
model voice their thoughts on how the current system works against the
values of a quality, luxury, craftsmanship fashion house. The president of
Italy’s fashion Chamber, Carlo Capasa, believes that Italian fashion is
driven by “a spirit to create desire,” whereas fast fashion is made “to
satisfy a need.” “The difference between creating a desires and satisfying
a need is the difference between slow and fast fashion,” he said to the
Associate Press. According to president, it takes both time and research to
develop fashion innovations in the form of new designs and technologies.
And it also takes time for the public to fully understand and embraces
these changes as well, he said.
The waiting time, or incubation period between the presentation of new
collections and their actual arrival in store is important, added Capasa.
“[It’s needed] for people to understand the message. Because if a creator
is a true creative, he is proposing something that doesn’t really exist,”
he stressed. Karl Lagerfeld, designer and creative director of Fendi,
Chanel and his eponymous label echoes Capasa sentiments in an interview
with Business of Fashion following Fendi’s AW16 show during MFW. “I can
show my collections and sell them and give people the time to make their
choice, to order them and to make them beautifully produced and editors can
photograph them. If not, that’s the end of everything,” he said.
“People who have 300 shops like Fendi can do it, but then you have to make
it already six months before, show it to the editors and somebody will see
it anyway… that’s impossible,” he added. “And people who have no retail
shops, well, they don’t know what to do.” Nevertheless, the German creative
head is aware of the shift taking place within the industry and cannot
ignore it. He already designs a capsule collection for Chanel which is not
shown to any buyers or press prior to arrival in store. “The world is
changing — not always for the best — but we have to follow the changes and
the Internet, but there is a way of doing it, you know?”
Mario Boselli, the honorary chairman of Italy’s fashion chamber, sees the
ongoing debate as a contrast between how the UK and US fashion houses run
their business models against the more conventional approached favoured by
the French and Italian fashion houses. “New York has always been the land
of branding and marketing. We and France, we are more the area of
creativity and manufacturing,” Boselli said. “I think the logic is
different. They follow their interest, we follow ours.” For smaller fashion
labels, or emerging designers the continual shortening of the fashion cycle
is trying.
“People should understand, if you make something that is about research and
luxury and beauty, it needs time,” said Faust Puglisi, an Italian designer
who make his first fashion mark in the US. “I don’t understand what is
going to happen in the future. We can kill ourselves.”
Photos: Prada, Fendi and Gucci AW16 shows, Facebook