A Heyday for New Fashion
To satisfy young consumers’ thirst for the undiscovered, investors and retailers are giving young designers unprecedented attention and visibility
There may never be a better time to be a fledgling fashion designer. Retailers increasingly need a stream of discoveries to woo shoppers into stores—leading to all manner of ventures seeking business relationships with new labels. It is no accident that several of the hottest fashion labels right now—Vetements, Jacquemus—are barely off the starting blocks. Consumers are hungry for new brands: The less familiar, the better. Shoppers in their 20s and early 30s in particular often prefer unusual or unknown brands over established labels, according to recent research by NPD Group.
There may be a certain amount of brand fatigue for consumers bombarded with advertising messages. In a farm-to-table era, small brands have cachet. As a result, the fashion industry is rallying support for newbie labels, and hoping to discover the next Alexander Wang while they’re at it.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently inaugurated the third class in its fashion-incubator competition, which offers new labels a two-year program including studio space and professional mentors. Italy’s fashion council, the Camera Moda, has begun encouraging new designers, connecting them with established mentors such as Giorgio Armani.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH employs scouts to search for new labels in which to invest. And last month, Saks Fifth Avenue held a showcase for emerging designers and selected two labels it plans to work with closely and carry in stores and online.
Barneys New York has long been a champion of new designers, says Daniella Vitale, chief operating officer at the retailer. “The difference today is we try very hard to mentor, cultivate and guide them on building a business,” she says. “The worst thing we can do as a company is launch someone who is supertalented and watch them flounder.”
A new venture to nurture new talent emerged last fall. The London-based retail site, called 151Luwolt, sells emerging design collections and serves as a talent incubator, nurturing brands with mentoring, networking connections and the potential for financial investment.
Launched by Roy Luwolt, a fashion-industry businessman, the website acts as a virtual butterfly net, catching and propagating emerging talent such as Azede Jean-Pierre, a New York-based former assistant to the couturier Ralph Rucci, and Edeline Lee, a London-based designer of colorful, graphic styles.
Mr. Luwolt recently included Charles Harbison, who launched his New York-based Harbison label in fall 2015, in a pop-up shop in Dubai. “I walked away with store contacts in Dubai and Doha,” says Mr. Harbison, noting such global reach would have been nearly impossible on his own.
Article Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-heyday-for-new-fashion-1462998571
There may never be a better time to be a fledgling fashion designer. Retailers increasingly need a stream of discoveries to woo shoppers into stores—leading to all manner of ventures seeking business relationships with new labels. It is no accident that several of the hottest fashion labels right now—Vetements, Jacquemus—are barely off the starting blocks. Consumers are hungry for new brands: The less familiar, the better. Shoppers in their 20s and early 30s in particular often prefer unusual or unknown brands over established labels, according to recent research by NPD Group.
There may be a certain amount of brand fatigue for consumers bombarded with advertising messages. In a farm-to-table era, small brands have cachet. As a result, the fashion industry is rallying support for newbie labels, and hoping to discover the next Alexander Wang while they’re at it.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently inaugurated the third class in its fashion-incubator competition, which offers new labels a two-year program including studio space and professional mentors. Italy’s fashion council, the Camera Moda, has begun encouraging new designers, connecting them with established mentors such as Giorgio Armani.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH employs scouts to search for new labels in which to invest. And last month, Saks Fifth Avenue held a showcase for emerging designers and selected two labels it plans to work with closely and carry in stores and online.
Barneys New York has long been a champion of new designers, says Daniella Vitale, chief operating officer at the retailer. “The difference today is we try very hard to mentor, cultivate and guide them on building a business,” she says. “The worst thing we can do as a company is launch someone who is supertalented and watch them flounder.”
A new venture to nurture new talent emerged last fall. The London-based retail site, called 151Luwolt, sells emerging design collections and serves as a talent incubator, nurturing brands with mentoring, networking connections and the potential for financial investment.
Launched by Roy Luwolt, a fashion-industry businessman, the website acts as a virtual butterfly net, catching and propagating emerging talent such as Azede Jean-Pierre, a New York-based former assistant to the couturier Ralph Rucci, and Edeline Lee, a London-based designer of colorful, graphic styles.
Mr. Luwolt recently included Charles Harbison, who launched his New York-based Harbison label in fall 2015, in a pop-up shop in Dubai. “I walked away with store contacts in Dubai and Doha,” says Mr. Harbison, noting such global reach would have been nearly impossible on his own.
Article Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-heyday-for-new-fashion-1462998571
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