cheapbag214s
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 Posted: Tue 12:03, 03 Sep 2013 Post subject: Then it's time for real luxury |
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Then it's time for real luxury
Fatima toted two large shopping bags. One contained a £395 pair of "graffiti ballerinas" - demure flats enlivened by Louis Vuitton in Day-Glo appliqué letters atop the venerable French brand's traditional LV logo. Inside the other, from Chanel, was a quilted Chanel 2.55 handbag.
After a few linguistic pointers, Fatima grasped the meaning of "recession", yet was as nonplussed by the notion of economic gloom as by the recent ten per cent increase in Vuitton's prices. "Uh, OK - the economy. But we are on vacation so it is our time to shop!" she said, and made tracks for DKNY.
Economists would group Fatima and Leyla among the horde of visitors taking advantage of the weakened pound. But this duo are also part of the free-spending clique at whom a new brand of luxury is increasingly targeted. Call it niche opulence - that is, high fashion and costly accessories which,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], produced in small quantities, are tailored for the super-rich elite.
Back in the Nineties, ordinary shoppers would feel they could afford Gucci and Prada - like Becky Bloomwood in the film
Confessions of a Shopaholic
, they could simply charge up their credit cards. Today,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], the idea of mass luxury is as anathema as the City's bonus culture.
"Boutiques as well as department stores are buying less from manufacturers which are, in turn,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], making less," explains Guy Salter, deputy chairman of the Walpole Group, which promotes and develops British luxury. Yet rather than compromise and cut prices, designers are producing "statement" items in small quantities - such as Vuitton's Sprouse collection.
"Women with money will spend but on inimitable, distinct looks," says Paula Reed,
Grazia
's style director, drawing on comments made by department store buyers she canvassed during New York Fashion Week. "They are not in the market for a pencil skirt or a blazer,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," she says. "They are going for major,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], fabulous items."
"Rarefied pieces" is how Graeme Black described the mink shrug, silken jacket atop a snakeskin bustier dress and shift dresses embellished with feathers and crystals in his autumn/winter 2009 collection, shown on Saturday at London Fashion Week. "I'm not compromising because my socialite clients want quality - clothes that will last,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], clothes they will love and cherish," he says.
At his Savile Row showroom, Kinder Aggugini, a former Versace designer, concurs. His autumn/winter 2009 collection had suit jackets and frock-coats made from silk velvet and corduroy that looked like cotton but was actually crafted from deluxe cashmere. Why? Because he "doesn't do cheap". Quite right, reasons Harrods fashion director Marigay McKee: "If a piece is stunning, it will instantly be perceived as valuable."
So it seemed outside Hermès, where Anna Carlisle,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a 28-year-old administrative assistant from York, was clutching an Hermès Birkin,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], plus two Louis Vuitton shopping bags containing her own pair of graffiti ballerina flats and a £490 Sprouse scarf. Funds, for Anna, are never a problem. Her father is a successful businessman. "I place no price limit on what I buy because of my financial situation and I like expensive things," she said candidly.
Over at Dover Street Market, Jess Wade,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a 20-year-old Imperial College physics student, purchased not one, but two pairs of floral limited edition Nike trainers, produced collaboratively with Liberty of London. Her parents' recession-proof profession also means there is no need to curb her shopping. "My mum and dad are both doctors,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," she says. "We live in Hampstead and there is no talk of a recession up there."
But it takes more than money to acquire the limited-edition items of the moment, such as Roland Mouret's RM capsule collection of pricey demi-couture frocks, £1,000 acid wash jeans by Balmain, or £465 men's jeans by Tom Ford featuring pre-washed Japanese denim and an 18-carat gold-plated fly button.
A connection to a personal shopper is also key. These experts work behind the scenes of upscale department stores and leading boutiques such as Browns and Matches,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as well as luxurious online retailers such as
Net-a-PorterThey function as both sales staff and stylists, and their clients are the first to receive scarce items. Browns buying director Erin Mullaney says personal shoppers have a straightforward relationship with their VIP clients: "They know what women want,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], they call them and it's sold."
Scarcity fuels desire,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]. Two weeks ago
Net-a-Porter
went live with a limited supply of three dress styles by Christopher Kane. Within 24 hours they were "sold" to customers with personal shoppers, says Net-a-Porter's Allison Lohenis.
There was no such luck for Christian Louboutin. At the start of 2009, the famed French shoe designer launched 36 pairs of an ornate evening slipper. Inspired by Marie Antoinette, Louboutin produced them with the French embroidery house Lesage. But their £3,995 price tag proved steep even for Louboutin's customers. "We have 18 pairs left," admits Laboutin. The sales glitch proved educational: he is now building up his online presence instead of planning global shop openings.
"I've been working on a website,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," he says. "It suddenly seems important forme to display what goes into my shoes- the particulars, like how a copper heel is handmade by a craftsman in Indonesia,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], not cheaply in a factory. Because no matter what a luxury brand produces, right now, they have to show what they delivers."
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