Paris Voice March 2003 Art & Style

During the ’80s and ’90s, “The Capital of Style” sparkled with legendary couturiers, avant-garde mavericks and gifted young hopefuls. Almost anyone with enough talent, imagination, patience and endurance could carve a niche for themselves... and there were plenty of people looking to embrace new expressions of style.

Unfortunately, things have changed. Catwalks are now vehicles for spectacular made-for-TV “costumes,” reflecting corporate image strategies and promoting accessories instead of real apparel. The CEO has replaced the designer as the fashion industry’s chief maker and shaker. Quite frankly, young people with dreams of making their mark in a world dominated by GAP, H&M and “rock bottom” discounters, have to be quite clever and business plan savvy to make it in this industry today.

In a recent round table discussion organized by the Fashion Group on this subject, Jean Jacques Picart, advisor for LVHM and a former partner of Christian Lacroix points out — “It’s inevitable that young designers have difficulties because the competition is increasingly fierce. Young designers are everywhere.” Italian designer Maurizio Galante insists, “We have to stop promoting this imaginary image of fashion as a dream job. As with other industries, it’s part economics, part politics and part communication.”

The challenges facing youthful indies are enormous. Gone is the support once extended by big companies to help start-ups. Banks won’t invest in what they perceive to be a risky game. The gargantuan structure of multinational companies has squeezed the little designer right out of the factory, making it difficult for him to order supplies and fabric. Trendy boutiques carry everything but newbie wear. And, if that weren’t bad enough, today’s customer, weaned on cheap, third-world produced casual wear, is tight-fisted when it comes to buying clothes. Fashion reporters with a curiosity and thirst for new talent are nearly extinct. Much of the media’s attention is diverted to the gilded names in style who not only attract readers but also draw advertising revenues. And, that’s just the just beginning.

“If I could do it all over again, I would have first developed a private clientele. By doing things this way, you develop a solid background,” states Kai von Ahlefeld. After struggling with his own label for several seasons, Kai restructured his operations and is currently involved in a fashion/Web/graphic/ product design partnership called “Bureau Paris.” “For me, the final financial calculations didn’t add up. In order to cover production costs, you have to sell 50 items per model. I was happy to sell 20. Most people I know were in the same dilemma. Moreover, there are very few clients who will buy from young or unknown brands. You know, the big houses are not telling you the whole truth. Their designer lines really lose money, but they exist in order to sell perfume or accessories with a 600% mark-up. Just think about it. If leading labels can’t make money selling clothes, how do you expect young designers to do it?

“Other than brands like Dior — who are doing phenomenally well — it’s very hard for the young designer to sell his work,” insists Frederic Baldo. “Many have been forced out of business.” Frederic is another “survivor” from the 1990s who’s had to reinvent himself to weather the market downturn. About 10 years ago he was one of the rising young stars, from Lyon... known for his wild experimentation with knits and textiles. “Right now the entertainment world is my thing,” says Frederic who dresses Britney Spears. “I’m trying to develop a made-to-order business. You have to do more hand crafted things in order to survive today. If not, I would have closed down a long time ago.

“Fashion is becoming increasing difficult. It’s hard to develop the commercial end of things beginning with production methods. Little by little the large multinational groups are buying up the factories. So now it’s difficult to find places that will handle small orders. There’s also the suppliers problem, when it comes to fabric and accessories.There are minimums and if you don’t meet them, the manufacturers won’t deliver or they’ll overcharge you and as a result, your collection will become too expensive.

“The question I've asked myself is who buys fashion today? In France the answer is: no one. You don’t see people dressed in Galliano. In fact, today’s customer is confused. As with contemporary music, they can’t discern between real fashion and products based on pre-existing trends created purely for consumption. We’ve also taught people not to spend much money on clothes. Let’s face it, people who have the means to buy real fashion don’t. Take Britney Spears for example. She wears jeans, sneakers and a 5E T-shirt. To young girls, that's what dressing like a star means. Fashion has been reduced to cheap copies of designer goods.”

“Fashion today is created with money instead of creativity,” insists Ralph Kemp. He also establishes an analogy between the music and fashion businesses, “there’s ‘Star Academy’ and then there are big multinationals like LVHM. Now, launching your own brand is as difficult as it is for recording artists to try to strike out on their own. And, as with music, it’s more about ‘mixing’ existing elements than creating new looks.” Ralph, who launched his label in the 1990s, has his own boutiques in Paris... He’s quite fortunate in that even if you can find a boutique to sell your “wears,” the mark-up is a whopping 320%, leaving little margin for the fledgling couturier. “A young designer has to be more creative and use hand crafted techniques,” points out Ralph. “But the real problem is with finances. Sure you might get orders for three million pieces, but for that you’ll need one million dollars upfront. And that’s only enough money to survive, not reinvest to develop your company.”

So, where does this leave independents with new ideas? “We’re in a period of ‘reassurance’ trends and frankly, modernity isn’t reassuring. In order for creative goods to triumph, we have to return to a structure that is smaller and more flexible,” concludes Frederic. Kai agrees, “Today’s designer has to figure out new ways to sell clothes directly to the public without the middleman.” Ralph is optimistic. “Maybe there will be such an overdose of ‘looks’ that people will make an about-face and look for change. I think it’s already starting to happen this season because of everything that’s happening in the world around us.”