From Prada’s cut-out models and dollhouse video Real Fantasies (see video below).
Urban Outfitters has been having a tough time of things lately, not necessarily because they chain retailer is doing badly, but some of its other stores are weighing it down. Last week they announced that Urban Outfitters shares fell 8%. As Chief Executive Glen Senk said at the Wednesday conference, “We don’t blame the economy for our performance, we blame ourselves.”
So what exactly did they do wrong? Pricing. The big question of should retailers be discounting or not continues to be a debate -especially coming off of a back-to-school season where most everything was discounted the day collections hit store shelves.
Basically, there’s an expectation among today’s consumers, especially youth culture consumers who are by now getting used to shopping sales and discounts (more data on exactly what’s re-shaping shopping patterns can be seen in our Fall Youth Culture Study 2011 -released later this week).
According to Senk regarding Urban Outfitters’ problems, “I do question whether or not we are priced aggressively enough.”
An additional revelation was that Anthropologie, the retailer that tries to set trends rather than follow, has been off the mark. “We believe the company is struggling to reposition its merchandise, especially at Anthropologie, to its customers and their interest in Anthropologies’ new fashion offerings.”
Lagerfeld and Macy’s
Another hi-lo collaboration that has people talking, especially the designer, as interviewed by Associated Press and scores of others, is the Karl Lagerfeld collaboration with Macy’s. As the creative director of Chanel, it does seem quite extraordinary that Mr. Lagerfeld would do yet another masstige collaboration (his first being with H&M).
The collaboration collection features “affordable” women’s dresses, shirts, tweeds from $50-$170. This being said, it makes one wonder why this isn’t the way things are designed and priced in general? Why get a Chanel tweed at 5 times this cost when you can get one for $50 at Macy’s?
“This is a composition of different looks for different hours of the day, different lifestyles,” Lagerfeld said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It is a collection of elements a woman should play with.”
This pretty much says it all:
AP: Why did you want to design a more affordable line?
Lagerfeld: I collaborated with H&M before and was the first to do it. I think there is something very modern to do that. It is very limiting to be only the one who does high fashion. Fashion is high and low, and low isn’t low today anymore.
Maybe reality is starting to sink into the fashion industry.
Prada’s Real Fantasies Video
In other high-end designer news, while Prada isn’t the hottest youth culture brand (and barely on our radar in terms favorite fashion brands), fans do watch their new videos because of their ingenuity.
This latest, called Real Fantasies featuring their Fall/Winter 2011 collection is pretty cool as it looks like the models are cut-outs in a doll house. This would make for an interesting music video.
Prada “Real Fantasies FW11 motionbook” from Fashion Copious on Vimeo.
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