The Demise of Fashion

To paraphrase Hemingway, it happened slowly, and then very quickly. Probably the rot set in across the mid- to late nineteen eighties, provoked by a boom-to-bust economic system and therefore the emergence of AIDS as being a potent metaphor for the delayed hangover that adopted the 1970s. The effect of the disease was terrifyingly real as it tore through the creative economic system, robbing it of a few of its brightest emerging stars. More costume than dress, they served as inspiration for the monochrome severity that characterized the tail end of the 1980s. More than anything, though, this was the era of the yuppie, the young upwardly mobile professional, whose clothing signified success. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Ralph Lauren had been steadily building one of the ultimate fashion manufacturers. Ralph was brought up on the Hollywood movies of the 40s and 50s, mentally filing away images of Cary Grant and Fred Astaire so that he could recreate their style. The stylish neckwear proved a big hit at Bloomingdale's, and by 1970 Ralph had taken over a corner of the Manhattan department store with an entire range of upmarket attire. Lauren designed [his] outpost to feel like a gentlemen's club, with mahogany panelling and brass fixtures'. In The End of Fashion, Teri Agins suggests that ladies lost curiosity in fashion mainly because they ended up being much more involved about their careers: '[They] commenced to behave even more like men in adopting their very own uniform: skirts and blazers and pantsuits that gave them an authoritative, polished, power glance. In addition, the Paris catwalks had lost their relevance in the face of MTV culture and streetwear. Levi's, Nike and Gap seemed a lot more connected to quotidian reality than some ethereal vision on a runway. Even supermodels began to look less 'super'. As Teri Agins explains, 'Such fashion houses just also occur that should be publicly traded providers, which need to preserve regular, predictable growth for his or her shareholders. Further, she observes that the utilitarian blandness of Nineties clothing made marketing more important than ever. Branding played a critical role 'in an era when just about every store in the mall [was] peddling the same styles of clothes'.

The Renewal of Fashion

The glamour factory had been plotting its resurgence all along, humming away in the background throughout the late 1990s, while industry observers fretted about the rising tide of 'smart casual'. He was one of the first contemporary designers who really realized the power of promotion. He was not a snob about his work - he wanted to sell. Or, as Roitfeld puts it, 'He created a dream world. So what did the Gucci name mean, exactly? It meant sex. Even those who could only afford to buy their jeans from Gap found some extra cash for a Gucci belt. As Roitfeld observes, '[Ford] created clothes people wanted to wear, and then he explained to them that if they couldn't afford the dress, they could at least buy the sunglasses. New York intellectuals and London businesswomen loved it. The Prada bag replaced the Filofax as the status symbol of choice, and the shoes and clothing quickly followed. As unlikely as it may seem, the resurrection of Paris as the world's most glamorous city can be credited to one ascetic, understated businessman. Two decades later, he is president of both Dior and LVMH, with a glittering portfolio of brands that includes Céline, Kenzo, Thomas Pink, Givenchy, Loewe, Fendi, Pucci, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan - not to mention Louis Vuitton itself. And although the two men have radically different personalities, Arnault's tactics are not dissimilar to those of Tom Ford. In the opinion of Jean-Jacques Picart, 'One of the things that can enable a fashion brand to face out is transgression. Gucci, Prada and Dior's formula of young, inventive clothes and affordable accessories, plus aggressive marketing, seemed to reanimate the public's inner fashion victim. Even if they could stretch to a handbag or a pair of sunglasses, where did they get the clothes to match? Enter Zara, H&M and Topshop - high-street brands employing talented youthful designers who made fun, fresh creations that wouldn't seem out of location on the Paris runways, and were definitely sometimes directly impressed by them.

Surviving the Lowpoint

In their latest incarnation as dream merchants, fashion manufacturers seem curiously resilient. He also acquired beauty and cosmetics company Sanofi, which owned Yves Saint Laurent. On 19 December 2001, an article in The Independent reported, 'Profits fall by half at Gucci and Italian fashion giant predicts no upturn till late 2002'. Fast-forward to 16 October 2003, and a headline in The Guardian: 'Fashion back in fashion as Gucci gross sales surge'. In Time magazine's autumn 2004 Style and Design complement, an content headlined 'Luxury Fever' commented, 'Despite increasing curiosity charges, staggering power costs. In December 2003, market researcher Mintel pointed out that high-street fashion manufacturers H&M, Zara and Mango obtained all managed to double their gross sales between 1998 and therefore the close of 2002, despite slowing development. At the time of writing, the 'fast fashion' brigade continued to announce healthy sales increases and new keep openings.

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