Off The Rails

I can never find what I’m looking for when I’m out shopping for clothes which, admittedly, is most of the time, and I suspect that I’m not the only one. Seen a collection and rushed to the nearest stockist, only to discover a single rail of T-shirts? Me too. The yawning gulf between the show collection and what arrives in the stores is growing ever wider, to the detriment of shoppers and shops alike.

Thom Browne (shown above and below) is perhaps the biggest offender, known for flamboyantly theatrical presentations and dressing Michelle Obama for the presidential inauguration, the American designer’s tinkering with tailoring directly influenced the boxier menswear silhouette we see today. His shows are full of outlandish proportions, furiously clashing fabrics, and extreme styling. The gothic horror implied by Browne’s Autumn/Winter 2013 menswear collection was outdone this week (at the womenswear A/W'13 show) by a creepy Garden of Gethsemane set-up in New York, featuring blindfolded booted and suited men in crowns of thorns tied to hospital beds. All to sell some grey flannel.

Donatella Versace suggests enlarged animal prints, overprinted Prince of Wales check, and sheer lace shorts for the coming season (shown below), yet the end result will be some polite plaid suits in House of Fraser. Fans of Dolce & Gabbana’s attempts to drive their menswear upmarket will be disappointed to discover almost none of it will ever appear in a UK store, eschewed in favour of the more commercial D&G-by-any-other-name Dolce & Gabbana Gym.

Some people may argue that anyone who can afford to spend £280 on a hoodie (at Dolce & Gabbana) without flinching would probably pay out for more directional items. Whilst traditional retailers seem stuck on entry-level accessories and tops, online stores such as LuisaViaRoma.com are buying up show collections and proving that there is a tangible market for them. Whilst the fashion flock swoop to snap up uncompromising catwalk pieces, the majority of the “selling rail” bought by bricks and mortar retail (up to 70% by recent estimates) is destined to end up in discounters and outlet stores.

Of course retailers factor all of this into their margins, meaning that the price of the garment is inflated beyond its actual worth, and leading to a selective band of shoppers (myself included) who refuse to pay full price for anything. The recent round of sales taught us that those retailers who could afford to reduce merchandise by 75%, and sometimes even adding a further discount, were probably making too much money to begin with. Anyone can see that this self-fulfilling cycle of misjudging demand than slashing prices is reductive.

Society is changing, and economic commentators have suggested capitalism isn’t working. Customers are more educated. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the high volume/high margin approach to fashion retail? Whilst stores have focused on the retail experience, the actual product itself seems to have become secondary.

Most importantly, buyers need to stop dictating to designers because, at the end of the day, everyone loses out.

Article written by Lee Clatworthy (@TeamChutzpah) for Katie Chutzpah blog.