Paris Men’s Fashion Week | LuxeNews International

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James Lawson, director of Ledbury Research, highlights the promise of luxury for men, but feels that Chinese trends may mask a global shift

Accounting for 40% of global sales, men’s spending on luxury also grew almost twice as fast as women’s in 2011, 14% compared with 8% respectively (Bain). This segment therefore remains heavily in focus by those in the luxury sector, with the likes of Burberry and Coach flagging it as an area of expansion and aiming to join the ranks of menswear veterans Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss and Dunhill.

At Burberry, where menswear and men’s accessories currently represent 27% of sales, the brand is looking to “double sales over time”. Coach has developed a dedicated men’s space at its flagship on Madison Avenue, subsequently leading to a doubling of its men’s sales to 20%.

Luxury giants have also jumped onto the bandwagon: LVMH’s Berluti expanded its niche from luxury footwear to debut its first men’s ready-to-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week in January, while PPR bought Italian suitmaker Brioni in November last year and signalled its faith in the segment’s prospects by announcing an expanded offering as well as new flagship plans for Europe, America, China and the Middle East.

“ Accounting for 40% of global sales, men’s spending on luxury also grew almost twice as fast as women’s in 2011 ”

Alexander McQueen is another brand investing in menswear. The PPR owned house will open a 185sqm dedicated space on London’s Savile Row in September, showcasing both the ready-to-wear collection and Alexander McQueen by Huntsman, a bespoke service announced in January. Prices for the bespoke service will range from £4,500 – £5,000 and the pieces will take about 12 weeks to make.

Creative director, Sarah Burton, said bespoke was a natural progression for the brands menswear offering. “We already offer couture for women, and wanted to add it for men. And our clients were asking for it. With this service we want to give them beautiful, handcrafted clothes, and emphasize artisanal work,” she told WWD.

Net-a-Porter’s menswear counterpart, Mr Porter, launched in February 2011.

Many attribute this growth to China, where men account for over two-thirds (70%) of all luxury sales. This is in part due to the popular gift-giving culture amongst businessmen and government officials. The question, however, is whether this has been overhyped, and if Chinese male appetites for luxury are sustainable in the long term.

Because while China may currently still be dominated by male spending, this appears to be changing: we are seeing Chinese women play an increasing role in wealth creation (see High Net Worth December 2011). The rise of self-purchasing women may soon come to overshadow male demand in China, and cause a shift in the balance of luxury demand between the genders (see Ledbury’s Modern Matriarch Chinese Wealth Segment).

“ Many attribute this growth to China, where men account for over two-thirds (70%) of all luxury sales ”

Despite this, brands are still targeting men, the new big luxury spenders. This is partly due to the globally shifting attitudes. Traditionally male spend has been impacted faster and harder by the downturn, but men are now becoming more discerning.

Net -a-Porter’s Mr. Porter (since February 2011), Gilt Groupe’s GiltMAN (October 2009) and the latter’s full-price men’s site Park & Bond (August 2011) have not only tapped into the relatively underpenetrated online space in menswear, they have also recognized the change in the shopping habits of today’s men and have invested heavily in their editorial content.

Park & Bond, a partnership with GQ magazine, offers advice and how-tos, buying guides, and even free personal shopper assistance on their website to “find your own personal style”. As a further sign of male demand, Gilt has invested in a full-price men’s site before that for women, indicating the large potential in online male luxury spend.

The above is based on a collection of insights taken from Ledbury Research’s flagship publication High Net Worth. For more information please visit this link.

Ledbury Research is a research company specialising in the understanding and engaging of High Net Worth Individuals.

Bespoke consumer work spans all forms of quantitative and qualitative research, typically conducted on a multi-country basis, in wealth hubs around the world.

The analyst team delivers market information, trends and analysis through regular reports on the luxury and wealth markets.

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KCD’s Digital Fashion Shows technology could mean the end of the ‘front row’ as we know it

KCD’s Digital Fashion Shows platform wins the approval of editors and designers, but does it pose the potential to negate the need for the press?

“I was dubious about the technology thing at first but it’s become the complete norm now,” declared British designer Roksanda Ilincic to Vogue UK, following the news that PR powerhouse KCD is to launch complete digital coverage of shows, debuting later this week at New York Fashion Week.

“I think digital fashion shows will definitely be a success,” she continued, “but on the other hand, it will be very different from when people actually see and feel the clothes at a show.”

For decades, the catwalk has been the fundamental place for designers to reach retail buyers, magazine editors and flaunt relationships with influential stylists and celebrities. Digital technology has more recently extended the reach of the runway to consumers and bloggers, whilst the Internet alone has facilitated rapid sharing of complete collections by both brands and the media.

“I think digital fashion shows will be a success, but it will be very different from when people actually see & feel the clothes at a show.”

That said, the most innovative digital catwalk projects have so far focused sharply on consumers. Burberry has led the pack with Runway to Reality (for VIP clients to shop the runway) and last season’s Tweetwalk (for the aspirational advocates on Twitter).

Dolce & Gabanna, Louis Vuitton, Viktor & Rolf and Gucci have all called upon live-stream technology to share their runways with the world, but aside from the selective but brilliant video coverage from Style.com, detail, craftsmanship, inspiration, beauty and construction are often issues left immediately overlooked.

This is all set to change should the fashion set embrace KCD’s Digital Fashion Shows platform, which co-president Ed Filipowski claims will provide “all the information and materials needed to review, cover and potentially buy the collection, just like a physical show.” Uncharacteristically democratic, the KCD model extends a front-row invitation to all invitation-only guests and behind the scenes access to match.

“The platform provides all the information and materials needed to review, cover and potentially buy the collection, just like a physical show.”

Designers pay $150,000 to $300,000 – the approximate cost of a small-to-medium-size show – to share their collection with its password protected guests, who can view the show on computer, tablet or mobile. Designers are required to display looks head-to-foot and provide detail shots, information on the clothes and beauty notes for the use of editors and buyers (WSJ).

The concept has already been celebrated by designer Paul Smith, who believes that the “idea allows a brand to say exactly what it wants to about its collection” and describe collections in all the details the brand feels necessary.

“Suzy Menkes might simply describe a ‘leather jacket’, while we can say what exactly it’s made of, and why it’s the most beautiful item in the world. I’ve struggled in the past with journalists getting it wrong – calling my prints ’computer-generated” when they were actually hand-painted fabrics, for example. So it would make quite a difference to be able to say it ourselves,” he told Vogue UK.

Burberry’s Runway to Reality allowed VIP clients to order directly from the catwalk, on custom iPad technology within Burberry stores

Editors such as Vanessa Friedman (Financial Times) and Alexandra Schuman (Vogue UK) have also acknowledged its conceptual relevance, citing “economic pressures on magazines, newspapers and retailers” and the need to cover “a huge amount of collections” as key reasons KCD’s platform could become an industry staple.

Designers and editors alike have mused on the benefits the platform could have on the quality of coverage as well as product, particularly when it comes to autumn and spring pre-collections. Roksanda Ilincic explained it could curb the need for her brand to travel to New York to sell the pre-collection, a process that often delays work on the mainline.

Vanessa Friedman explained that digital coverage could put two pre-collections that currently run sporadically for two months “all in one place, to be viewed and reviewed as a whole in a way that has been impossible thus far.” But she then went on to wonder what this could all mean for the role of the critic, begging the question: “if editorial outlets can get all this information for free, why have a middleman?”

“The platform begins to negate the need for the press. These days brands can reach huge audiences via our own social media.”

Paul Smith concurred, suggesting that the platform “begins to negate the need for the press. These days we can reach huge audiences via our own social media,” he continued. “A brand need only put someone famous in its clothes and eight million people on Facebook can know about it immediately.”

It is doubtful the platform will change the structure of the fashion media in its formative years. Brands may relish the ability to tell their own story in great detail, but it is difficult to think any technology could rapidly replace the current system of press coverage based largely on attendance.

But in an increasingly digital media arena, the system certainly has the potential to enhance the richness – and accuracy – of content and ensure truly global coverage, unrestricted by the costs associated with fashion week travel. For young designers attempting to reach a large audience on a relatively small dime, it makes nothing but sense.

“There is an entire generation of people whose eyes are trained digitally – it’s how they view fashion,” explains Ed Filipowski. “We need to look at our industry and ask how we can cater to that, as well as maintaining the integrity and credibility of fashion while making our lives easier. This way, we can hopefully offer a creative way of offering a front row experience to more than just the usual elite few. This way everyone gets the fashion knowledge.”

To further investigate Fashion & Digital Technology on Luxury Society, we invite your to explore the related materials as follows:

– Luxury Society Report: The Digital Agenda
– Digital Leaders: Kamel Ouadi, EVP, NOWNESS
– The Latest Digital, Chanel, Valentino & Montblanc
– Augmenting Luxury Realities: Jonathan Chippindale, Holition

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MEN: THE NEW LUXURY BIG SPENDERS?

Net-a-Porter’s menswear counterpart, Mr Porter, launched in February 2011.