The Demise of Fashion

Not that this grim decade was entirely devoid of hope. This was, after all, the time of the New Romantic. The period also saw the emergence of the Japanese designers, notably Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo (of Comme des Garçons), whose ethereal black numbers combined minimalist rigour with futuristic interpretations of conventional garb. More costume than dress, they served as inspiration for the monochrome severity that characterized the tail end of the 1980s. Giorgio Armani's unstructured but easily identifiable suits were worn as a badge of success. His rag-trade-to-riches story has been told many times before, but it's worth briefly repeating here. Ralph was brought up on the Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s, mentally filing away images of Cary Grant and Fred Astaire so that he could recreate their style. He got his start in the fashion enterprise selling suits at Brooks Brothers, and later turned a wholesaler of ties and gloves in New York's garment district. But Ralph Lauren is important for another reason. Ralph Lauren was the perfect brand for the 1980s, when fashion became less necessary than 'lifestyle'. Even supermodels began to look less 'super'. As Teri Agins explains, 'Such fashion homes just also take place to always be publicly traded firms, which need to sustain steady, predictable development for his or her shareholders. Branding played a critical role 'in an era when just about every store in the mall [was] peddling the same styles of clothes'. Nine years on from the publication of Agins' book, fashion has - inevitably - transformed by itself again.


The Regrowth of Fashion

The story of Gucci resembles an opera, replete with glamour, envy and murder. Or, as Roitfeld puts it, 'He created a dream world. It was fine that in winter 1995 Ford showed a collection of sexy, sophisticated clothes that attracted the attention of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow. Even better that he reintroduced the bamboo-handled bags that had been the making of Gucci back in the 1950s. But he also redesigned each element within the brand name, from print ads to retailers, ensuring that every thing gelled to produce an 'ideal' of what the Gucci name designed. Ford brought lust back into fashion with a sequence of overtly erotic advertisements that have been swiftly tagged 'porno chic'. Sex, as everyone knows, always sells, and many consumers wanted in. Prada, too, understood that the brand message had to be carried right through from advertising to clothing to store. But what was happening in Paris? By the end of the 1990s the city was a shadow of its former self, its image as the world's fashion funds eroded by the sluggish decline of haute couture and also fast ascent of Milan, not to mention the dominance of US pop culture plus the influence of American designers. Two decades later, he is president of both Dior and LVMH, with a glittering portfolio of brands that includes Céline, Kenzo, Thomas Pink, Givenchy, Loewe, Fendi, Pucci, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan - not to mention Louis Vuitton itself. And although the two men have radically different personalities, Arnault's tactics are not dissimilar to those of Tom Ford. 'Dior now has 310 boutiques around the world, so it can't be described as a luxury brand in the classic sense of the term, which implies exclusive. At the end of the 1990s, when fashion leaned in the direction of the minimalist, John exploded on towards the scene using a private imaginative and prescient inspired by background and costume. It had the effect of a firework display.


Surviving the Death

The disputed territory was Gucci. But neither Tom Ford nor Gucci CEO Domenico De Sole liked the idea of being swallowed up by LVMH, where they suspected they would lose control of the brand. The flurry of acquisitions that followed on both sides looked like a duel between billionaires - Monopoly played for real. On 10 September 2001, he sold his Gucci shares, allowing his arch-rival François Pinault to take full ownership of the company. We all know what happened the next day. In New York, the fashion carnival was in town for your spring-summer collections. The huge marquees that would be the setting for several with the shows experienced been erected in Bryant Park, practically in view of this Twin Towers. The industry was therefore witness to the horror that was to cause its latest nervous breakdown. We need to take a break from it occasionally, but sooner or later we come back for more.

References:
Fashion
Fashion Trends
Fashion Designers

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