The Decade in Fashion

Alber Elbaz once observed that “when there is a wind of change, we can build a wall to protect ourselves from the storm, or we can build a windmill to let the wind blow faster, so we can benefit from the wind and be part of change.” It’s a fitting summary of the luxury fashion’s past decade.

Luxury fashion consumers went from chasing trends to seeking a lifestyle, and wanting brands with a point of view, a singular attitude and a compelling promise. Traditional PR-merchandising complex spectacularly imploded. On one side, it had been replaced by a radical redefinition of the role of physical stores and wholesale partners. On the other, it has been edged out by content, collaborations, community-building, and curation strategies. E-commerce moved from the IT outskirts of the organizational chart to its front and center, with even the staunchest holdouts launching online shopping. Barneys went bankrupt. Investing in R&D and new materials remained low, unless a company was Stella McCartney. Sustainability moved from the domain of conversation to the domain of action, although still not quickly enough. Status symbols went from showing off one’s economic success to showing one’s cultural capital. Luxury fashion and streetwear became one, turning their premium mediocre products into Veblen goods. Luxury fashion consumers became the ultimate fashion authority, surpassing CEOs, editors, journalists…