Yet increasingly, there appears to be growing talk of crowdfunding as a viable alternative to enable emerging fashion brands to access start up capital. Spearheaded by Kickstarter, the premise of the crowdfunding model lies in allowing entrepreneurial creatives to appeal to their community in order to raise the necessary funds for a specific project. Typical reward-based campaigns enable engaged community members to support a project by subscribing to a specific reward, and the funds are made available only in the event that the minimum project funding goal is reached.

While there are numerous success stories that demonstrate the power of crowdfunding across other creative industries, the question is, can this model be successfully applied to fashion? Up until recently, the answer was unclear. The oft-quoted statistic is that across Kickstarter fashion remains the category with the least of submitted projects, as well as the category with one of the lowest success rates (success being defined as projects that reach their minimum project goal).  A number of early attempts at applying crowdfunding or crowdbacking to fashion, such as FashionStake or StyleTrek, failed to gain the necessary traction within the fashion community, and soon floundered.

Recently however, the industry has witnessed some growth in fashion crowdfunding, led by a number of high-profile campaigns across mainstream platforms. Most notable were ex-Gap creative director Patrick Robnisons’ Kickstarter campaign to raise $50,000 for his new venture, Pashko as well as US based Everalene’s “CrowdFund Canada” campaign, to raise $100,000 capital for the brand’s Canadian expansion. Both campaigns reached their target in record time, in Robsinson’s case even exceeding the minimum project funding goal, and demonstrated that fashion crowdfunding has viability, after all.

Moreover, Robinson’s campaign in particular indicated how crowdfunding might provide brand owners with representative market testing, something that up until now was largely impossible for fashion brands. After all, while fashion tech start ups have the benefit of hacking a minimum viable product to ascertain market appeal, while for instance a young graduate must still find funding to sample, sell and produce that crucial first collection. By taking the crowdfunding route, emerging fashion brands are able to test the market’s appetite for a product of aesthetic ahead of incurring high development costs to then discover the market just isn’t there.

Interestingly, a number of new generation, fashion-specific crowdfunding platforms are readying to launch in the coming months across the global stage. While their specific business models remain to be seen, the significance cannot escape us. Apart from the traditional core metrics used to evaluate the success rate of a crowdfunding platform – number of projects launched, total value, success rate – it will be interesting to see how these platforms will perform under two additional criteria. These are firstly, the level of project or brand curation that the platform employs and secondly, the type of rewards which the platform encourages brands and designers to make available.

While these criteria are hardly objectively quantifiable, they do respond to what is widely perceived as having been the Achilles heel in early fashion crowdfunding models: a lack of real curation and a perception that product-based rewards could dilute brand value, while experience-based rewards risk distracting designers from their core business. This last consideration is something that for instance Ana Caracaleanu, co-founder of Toronto based fashion crowdfunding platform Luevo (launching in August), thinks is critical. “We actually made a conscious choice to move away from reward-based incentives. At the end of the day, crowdfunding is not about receiving $25 in exchange for a thank you card. It’s just not efficient – what if you’re so successful that you have to write 500 thank you cards?”

Ultimately, how the industry – and the wider public – will respond to this new-generation of fashion crowdfunding platforms remains to be seen. Certainly, until Luevo and its peers launch, truly successful campaigns on generalist crowdfunding platforms such as Pashkos will probably remain outliers. There is still a pervasive sense that it will take time for the fashion industry to accept crowdfunding as a mainstream approach to accessing capital, not least because ironically, despite fashion’s seasonality being a cause of concern to most companies’ cashflows, talking about financing remains taboo.

Nonetheless, the first signs indicate that the potential of fashion crowdfunding becoming mainstream could be quite considerable – not to mention quite disruptive – and may well occur sooner than we think.

Ceci Joannou is the founder and editor of Brand & Commercial. www.brandandcommercial.com

www.hudsonwalker.com

What the story went on to explain is that, if global luxury brands continue to open bricks-and-mortar stores at the present rate, growing revenues from their online channels will cannibalise sales from their physical stores. The findings came from luxury consultancy Bain & Company. Essentially, brands are continuing to open more stores but sales from these stores are flat, while online is growing by double digits. So, sales per sq ft are falling. Currently, online sales make up between 3% and 4% of total revenues; when that figure reaches 20% (analysts predict this will happen in the mid-market by 2016), it could prove a “disaster”, according to Bain, for luxury bricks-and-mortar stores if retail expansion continues at its current rate.

The first point to consider is the validity of Bain’s figures. Bain’s reputation is solid in the luxury market, so chances are, its predictions will come true. Bain believes luxury brands could reach the 20% mark in five to 10 years’ time. But that’s a very long time in fashion. Who knows what could happen between now and then? A backlash against digital in favour of the physical? Possibly. After all, the luxury industry, at its best anyway, thrives under exclusivity and originality; following mainstream cultural trends is not part of its remit.

But then by the same token, neither is saturating a market with hundreds of stores – where’s the exclusivity in that? Rather than open stores on auto-pilot, luxury brands need to ensure their retail proposition is multi-channel. If there’s one element that luxury businesses can’t compromise on, it’s service. But service isn’t just a friendly shop assistant who offers to find you a cashmere jumper in a different size. Great service is satisfying and facilitating the customer’s journey from browsing to purchasing. If your customer would prefer to browse online at home, visit the store to try the garment on, compare prices on a mobile while over lunch, return to the store but request pick-up of said garment at a different shop on a different date, you must let them.

The fact is that shoppers don’t necessarily care how they purchase something, provided they buy what they want, how they want it, when they want it. Having said that, it seems many luxury fashion businesses in the UK, at least, have stopped innovating in their bricks-and-mortar stores. Why should you go to Sloane Street when you can buy the same product from Net-a-Porter? Bar a few exceptions, these luxury stores are doing very little in terms of retail theatre or service to lure shoppers  through their doors. In the Far East, it’s a different story. A friend has just returned from Hong Kong singing the praises of Lane Crawford and its Alexander McQueen exhibition to promote its new season collection from the luxury brand. He also enjoyed a cocktail at Dunhill’s three-storey flagship, which has a bar, restaurant and wine cellar, and bought some flowers from a dedicated Armani florist at the Italian brand’s store. As for smaller brands, he said to me: “Generally, service in Hong Kong is very fast. In some of the smaller shops, they’ll run your purchase to a seamstress across the road, and you can get your trouser length adjusted by the time you’ve paid.”

Whether a luxury shopper is buying online at home, on a mobile or Tablet, or at a shop, fashion brands must ensure each channel is at the top of its game. Competition is too rife to rest on your laurels.

Hands up how many people can claim a similar experience here in UK. I doubt there’d be many, if any. And yet, to go back to Net-a-Porter as an example, there’s a sense that this is a business that truly understands its customer and is innovating outside its digital origins. Part of Net-a-Porter’s point of difference is its editorial content, which by the very nature of the business’ proposition – i.e. an etailer – is digital, and one that many, be it retailers, brands or publishing businesses, have tried to emulate. As a journalist, who began her career in print media, I’m always aware – and adapting – to developments in digital media, but what has Net-a-Porter gone and done? Launched a print magazine. How very retro. And how very clever. It’s called The Edit and will be available to consumers in the coming months.

The Edit allows Net-a-Porter to exist outside the digital sphere with a physical leisure product, therefore extending the amount of time its customers spend in the Net-a-Porter world. Whilst Tablets and mobile phones mean we’re online more than ever, there’s also a school of thought that says such devices are associated with work and being available every second of that day. Many people embrace that, notably the digital natives, but for an increasing number of others, who are time-poor and me-time-poor, the idea of spending their sparse leisure time in front of a screen doesn’t appeal; there’s no differentiation between work and play. Note the name of the magazine, too: The Edit. It’s designed to give customers an edited version of what’s available to them. With so many blogs, so many brands, so many stores, so many Instagram and Pinterest pages to follow, it’s a wonder any of us actually get around to buying anything at all. Net-a-Porter takes all that away.

Few would argue that the future of fashion retailing, whether in the luxury or mid-market sector, lies in a brand’s multi-channel strategy. But the clue is in the “multi”; this doesn’t just mean etailing, it means every single sales channel. For luxury businesses, where service is so vital, they can’t afford to prioritise one over the other. Even in an online boom, bricks-and-mortar stores need to be given careful consideration. But there’s no cookie-cutter approach to all channels. Each deserves careful thought and, above all, innovation.

Ana Santi is Deputy Editor of Drapers

www.hudsonwalker.com

Fast forward just 36 months later and it is almost impossible to imagine the digital landscape without the iPad (or the new, impressive Android tablets).   In 2012, 9.8 million people used tablets to browse the Internet in the UK, representing 140 percent growth from the previous year.  By 2016, that number will reach 23 million.[2]  In the US, 25 percent of adults already own a tablet.[3]   With the PC market reporting a decline in global sales for the first time in 11 years in 2012, some have identified the rise of the tablet as a contributing factor.  But it’s not just PC sales that are being disrupted – even smart phones are losing ground to tablets when it comes to browsing.  As of March 2013, “the share of global site traffic generated by tablets overtook traffic from smartphones (8 percent vs. 7 percent).  In effect, tablets have become the primary mobile browsing device.”[4]

In the luxury industry, the first sector to embrace the transformative potential of the tablet was publishing.  The recession had raised fears of extinction in the world of print, where advertising dollars were disappearing, circulation was down and publishers were feeling the full force of having ignored the digital disruption taking place around them.  Quite understandably, executives jumped on what finally appeared to be a gadget that could actually translate the feeling and experience of high-gloss print onto a digital platform.  And the results have been overwhelming.  American Vogue cites their current circulation at 1,222,373.  Average monthly visitors to Vogue.com number 2,200,000, with a significant percentage of traffic now coming from tablets.[5]

It has taken time for luxury brands to follow suit.  Louis Vuitton launched their first iPad app in May of 2012.  “100 Legendary Trunks” showcased exclusive brand information including unpublished texts and documents, videos, sound clips and images. While rich in content, the lack of any commercial aspect broadly demonstrates luxury brands’ strategy toward the tablet to date – namely an emphasis on content without any consideration of commerce.  Even though digitally savvy executives have been focused on mobile commerce for smartphones, the tablet has not received the attention the meteoric rise of the platform merits.  Earlier this month, New York based digital think tank L2 released an intelligence report on tablets and retail.  The findings are explosive and categorically reveal both the opportunities and challenges of tablet commerce:

“To date, retailers’ ‘tablet strategy’ has been an adjunct to PC and smartphone development efforts. As tablet devices continue along the most successful adoption trajectory in history, retailers will begin to shift priorities. Swiping and tapping to purchase—vs. scrolling and clicking—warrants a distinct approach.”[6]

Colin Gilbert, who served as L2’s research lead on the tablet study, defines what true tablet optimisation means, saying “’optimisation’ does not mean the site loads successfully – it means the site loads at speeds on par with the desktop, the site adapts to either orientation mode, and texts/buttons/images are sized appropriately for touch… it’s these small details where most brand efforts fall flat.”  He goes on to say, “While apps could potentially serve as a compensatory measure, most efforts fall into a common trap.  While 60 percent of the tablet apps examined promote commerce, only 10 percent offer native in-app checkout.”

In 2013, Americans are expected to spend $24 billion shopping on their tablets.  That amount will double by 2015.[7]  For luxury brands, this represents the perfect storm; 47 percent of households with an annual income of $75,000 or more now own tablets.  Add to that attractive target audience the fact that both the average spend and conversion rate for tablet commerce are higher than any other digital platform.[8]  Luxury retailer Nordstrom has been one of the first to seize the opportunity.  As opposed to the majority of apps that push users to the browser to start or complete a transaction, Nordstrom offers native, in-app checkout, providing the consumer a seamless experience while avoiding the risk of user abandonment.

So, how do luxury brands respond to this enormous opportunity?  E-commerce is something the industry was notoriously late in adopting and something many companies have just begun to successfully integrate into their business models.  In many ways however, the tablet is more suited to luxury commerce than desktops – the sleek design and high-resolution experience that attracted early adopters and the publishing industry are still driving factors of the tablet experience. Building a successful strategy for tablet commerce will involve leveraging the learning from the development and execution of desktop and mobile commerce, as well as the successful integration of key elements specific to the platform.  Here are a few basics to keep in mind:

1)      Although HNWIs prefer the iPad (of those who own tablets, 70% are iPads), Apple’s domination of the tablet arena is expected to decline in the coming years.  Building for iOS and Androids from the get go is a good idea.

2)      Do not rely on desktop or smartphone site architecture to drive the tablet experience.  One size does not fit all.  Have developers use a Java-based web app, a structure that can serve different content on different types of screens.

3)      Feature and functionality are key – slow load times, lack of ability to view all items on a page and the absence of onsite or in-app checkout, all risk user abandonment.

4)      Design for the user experience – text size, finger friendly buttons and maximising valuable screen space in either orientation, makes full use of the platform.

5)      Tablet usage peaks in the evening hours – 7pm to 10pm.  The capture of this relaxed, casual consumer mind-set is powerful for retailers.  But 40 percent of tablets are used while multi-tasking, so content is competing for attention and should include incentives for users to stay engaged and shop.

It’s impossible to deny – the time of the tablet has arrived and luxury brands will want to turn their focus to creating truly optimised, commercial sites designed specifically for the platform.  Early confusion as to what exactly the iPad could and would do when the product launched is already a distant memory.   It’s time to use the magical tablet to enhance not only our lives, but also our business models.

[1] Bobbie Johnson.  “Apple iPad: the first review.” The Guardian, January 27, 2010.

[2] “Tablet Commerce: Best Practices.” Onbile, March 16, 2013.

[3] Lee Rainie.  “25% of American Adults Own Tablet Computers,” Pew Internet & American Life Project, October 4, 2012.

[4] “Intelligence Report Tablets: Retail.”  L2 Think Tank, April 2, 2013.

[5] Condé Nast Media Kit, Vogue USA, 2013.

[6] “Intelligence Report Tablets: Retail.”  L2 Think Tank, April 2, 2013.[1] “Tablets, Smartphones Drive Mobile Commerce to Record Heights.” EMarketer, January 9, 2013.

[7] “Tablets, Smartphones Drive Mobile Commerce to Record Heights.” EMarketer, January 9, 2013.

[8] Chantal Tode. “Tablet users are big spenders compared to smartphone users.” Mobile Commerce Daily, January 31, 2013.

Perhaps we shouldn’t be overly surprised by this trend? In the current challenging trading environment executives and managers have found themselves feeling the effects of the economic downturn in the form of declining sales and profitability with resultant cost cutting including head count ‘freezes’ and cuts. Under these pressures their focus has turned increasingly to the ‘day to day’ management of their respective businesses and away from forward looking strategic priorities. However I believe that the recent retail casualties in the UK are a warning sign that needs to be heeded and acted upon.

In my area of specialty - the development of international consumer and retail brands – there are a number of areas that businesses should be reviewing and addressing if they want to ensure that they are meeting the changes and the challenges of the global marketplace.

My first message is ‘one brand.’ This issue now surfaces and becomes more relevant than ever because of the way that many companies have traditionally been structured and operated.

In the past most companies have grown organically, starting, (quite rightly), with a strong domestic business before initiating their international expansion through a new and separate company division that was frequently allowed to operate with a fair degree of autonomy. Then as the global business grew, regional offices were established which being both physically and culturally distanced from ‘head office’ started to make their own developments and nuances to the brand locally. I have worked in companies where the communication between the ‘domestic’ business and their international colleagues is all but non-existent resulting in local market variations in product, marketing, pricing and a consequent divergence of the brand.

These days it is more vital than ever that a consistent brand image and positioning is presented to consumers internationally because of the increasing awareness bought about by the growth in internet access and the rising popularity of social media combined with accessible cheap air travel leading to a massive growth in global tourism. This means that building differing or isolated brand positioning across the globe in today’s better connected and increasingly homogeneous world is now untenable and companies need to pay attention to ensuring that all their represented markets present a consistent and unified brand to today’s savvier consumer.

Now let’s look at the way that brands are taken to market. When they initiate their global expansion, most businesses usually build their international trade through locally based third party companies, whether that is wholesale supplier, a retail master franchisee or a similar distribution option. Until recently these overseas entities were considered to be customers and as a result both the business model and the trading terms and conditions were effectively dictated by the brand, with minimum room for negotiation by the partner. It was up to the partner to ‘make it work’ locally in their market. In the current economic environment brands are required to forge much closer relationships with their overseas distributors and build business partnerships whereby the brand owner takes a healthy interest in their partner’s ability to make a reasonable profit on their investment and to assist them in doing so. This is the new way of doing business; the customer has been superseded by the partner.

The recent high profile changes in consumerism and the spectacular growth of e-commerce are affecting the way that people shop. Even five years ago it was perfectly feasible to build an international consumer business through a one dimensional distribution policy, i.e. just wholesale or alternatively solely franchise retail. Today, the looming power and importance of the internet requires a multi-channel strategy to be developed in all markets. In a recent ‘white paper’, market leading retail consultancy, Javelin Group, identified that “To date, no retailer has developed an international multi-channel model of any significant scale. While there are some examples of retailers presenting their offer in new markets, both online and through stores, almost no examples yet exist of a seamless multi-channel approach in multiple countries”.(2)

The same report also identified that; “Javelin Group’s analysis of major retail markets around the world suggests that some large markets are (or soon will be) ripe for development with a multi-channel approach and that this approach, judiciously applied in well-selected markets, will permit greater and faster market penetration with lower investment than would be possible with either stores or ecommerce alone”. (2)

Therefore, if the international retail scene is not to follow some of the high profile casualties that have occurred in the UK recently it is vital that companies react to what is happening out in the market place and develop a multi-channel strategy. Even if this approach is not feasible in the short term, not having a plan, (and the consequent inaction that inevitably results from this), is always a worse option than a positive and thoughtful approach. As an example in October last year Chanel announced that they would not be developing an on line e-commerce presence in the immediate future as a point of differentiation from their competitors. (3) Therefore even if the choice is no, this channel is not for my brand at the moment, at least ensure that there is an intelligent and well thought out strategy behind that decision.

My final point is one about consumers and the need for brands to have closer links with them, wherever they may reside. Traditional business models tend to delegate responsibility in any given overseas market to the local distribution partner for both brand communication and customer satisfaction. In this changing world of mass tourism, and social media, consumers have much greater awareness of what is happening across the globe and this has also empowered them to have very public dialogues with fellow consumers as well as with the brands themselves. They are now better informed not only about your product and marketing but also your CSR credentials and the quality of your customer service. As Jeff Rosenblum wrote in a recently published article: “However it (referring to a brand), can’t be built exclusively through great products and great advertisements. That model is antiquated. Consumers have too much information and too few dollars.” (4) The old ‘one way’ communication with consumers has evolved into a two way dialogue and brands need to be equipped and engaged to have those conversations in many places and in multiple languages.

The world is a rapidly changing place and those brands who are failing to move with the times are all too readily finding themselves consigned to the history books. It’s important to take a look out of the window, see what is happening across the globe and react in a positive way to keep your business invigorated and ahead of the competition.

1 – www.freshbusinessthinking.com – “Did digital really kill the high street store” by Marcus Leach published 23rd January 2013

2- Javelin Group White Paper – “International Retail New Channels and New Frontiers” July 2012

3 – www.vogue.co.uk.news/2012/10/23/ published 23rd October 2012 4 – http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681023/how-patagonia-makes-more-money-by-trying-to-make-less

Tony Keen has worked for market leading brands and companies including Nike, Converse and The Pentland Group. His most recent corporate role was as Vice President of Global Distributors at Timberland.

 Tony now owns his own consulting business, AMK Business Solutions, advising brands on their international expansion strategy.

www.hudsonwalker.com

Given the renewed interest in bespoke products of all kinds, of reviving ancient skills, and of celebrating the individual (both as a maker and as a consumer), the formation of The New Craftsmen group is a timely and welcome initiative. Through this organisation – which is effectively a sales agency for the finest craftsmen (of both sexes) – the cream of our artisans will be allowed to rise to the top.

Having a beautiful individual item made expressly by personal commission is surely the height of luxury purchasing. So, by that definition, the 30 individuals or tiny firms represented already within The New Craftsmen should attract the notice of anyone with an interest in seeing the British luxury sector flourish. A pop-up presentation that opened on December 3^rd in a smart Mayfair townhouse opposite the Connaught attracted an appreciative audience that bought finished items from the participating craftsmen and placed commissions for one-off creations.

Although the pop-up at 5 Carlos Place closed at the end of January, it is highly likely that a more permanent base for this intriguing showcase will be found very close by. The range of talents on show is as surprising as it is fascinating. Far above one’s memories of heavy-handed creations at a local crafts fair, the products were exquisite, made with precision to exacting standards in fine materials. From textiles to silverware, from furniture to ceramics, from shoemaking to working in wood, from jewellery to glassware, this was an emporium of beautiful things.

From Teresa and Simon Brogan, trading as Isle of Auskerry, who hand-cure the skins from North Ronaldsay sheep in Orkney to Cameron Short, who specialises in hand block-printed wallpaper, fabric and limited edition prints in rural Dorset, this already represents every corner of the UK and Irish craftsmen are soon to be included.

Two years in gestation, The New Craftsmen has been formed by three enthusiasts for artisanship, traditional skills and craft being used in a contemporary ways. Mark Henderson is the chairman of Gieves and Hawkes and a director of Walpole, the British luxury goods group. Natalie Melton spent five years as commercial director of Arts & Business, a charitable organisation that connects commerce and culture. Catherine Lock has more than 15 years’ experience as a product, trend and brand developer with UK high street retailers, but has tired of their obsession with making things overseas.

The commercial backgrounds of the trio is important and encouraging because they have set The New Craftsmen up as a business, not as a philanthropic endeavour. They are aiming to represent 100 craftsmen. The idea is that they will offer the best of the artisan makers in the British Isles a sales platform, thereby allowing the craftsmen to do what they do best – make things.

Mark Henderson sees three ways in which the established luxury sector can support this endeavour. Firstly, luxury retailers and brands can buy already finished work from the group. Secondly, those who believe in the concept can become shareholders; they are 12 shareholders already, but a second round of funding is being sought. Thirdly, they can propose imaginative and creative collaborations to have The New Craftsmen make products for their stores, offices or showrooms. As Henderson puts it: “Why buy something bog-standard, when you can commission something unique?” Anyone looking closely at the products of The New Craftsmen will agree that he has a very good point.

The degree to which the major luxury brands engage with the initiative will be interesting to watch. The large international players ought to note, however, that the promotion work being done by The New Craftsmen on behalf of small makers may cause some consumers to question what defines true luxury. As the tailors of Savile Row can attest, there is a worldwide demand – from those who can afford it, obviously – to have useful products made bespoke. To commission a craftsman to make a unique piece from scratch to your precise specifications is a very attractive proposition. One could imagine that it could become even more attractive than visiting a glossy luxury emporium (which seem to be getting bigger and more impersonal all the time) to buy something ready-made off the rail or off the shelf. Could “luxury craft” become a significant aspect of the luxury market? The success or otherwise of The New Craftsmen many provide the answer.

Eric Musgrave has been writing about the fashion industry for more than 32 years. He is a former editorial director of Drapers and the author of SHARP SUITS, a pictorial history of men’s tailoring. www.ericmusgrave.co.uk

www.hudsonwalker.com

Photograph of The Treasure Tree Cushion by Tif Hunter www.tifhunter.com

Today anti-wrinkle creams, fashion blogs, and on-line shopping have become part of the modern man’s daily routine. The men’s beauty industry is a $33bn+ business and men’s fashion is expanding twice as fast as women’s. Bain Consulting reports that the global fashion market is now 40% menswear, and swelling at a rate of 14% a year.

Booming new markets over the past 10 years, such as China and Russia, have produced an enormous crop of new target male consumers with money in their pockets to spend. Economies were expanding, social norms were different and the good life was equated with looking and feeling good. Sporting the hottest fashion labels was a sure mark of success. Competition between men in the workplace was no longer just about the smarter man but who dressed better for the part.

In fact,  even in countries hit by the financial unrest of the past few years, the recession has been a catalyst for increasing menswear sales. Burberry accounts published for 2012 showed a 26% increase in menswear sales, driven by its tailoring offer and their Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts, has commented on how much more conscious men have become about presenting a sharp personal image in the work environment.

Television shows such as Mad Men feature sartorially successful men in power suits. This formalization of style has given brands the opportunity to expand their product ranges. Department stores internationally now stock vast selections of pocket squares, tie slides and scarves, all of which provide excellent margins for the designers and a handy opening price point for the brands in stores. Indeed the demand is such that Mr. Porter now has twenty two different product sub-sections in its accessory menu. Magazine covers such as GQ and Esquire feature style conscious It-men of the moment. Brand endorsements by celebrities or athletes have enticed men to buy from names they idolize and trust. Suddenly men realized that even if they couldn’t bend it like Beckham they could at least dress like him.

So what happened?  How is it that today’s everyday guy is suddenly sensitive to seasonal shoulder shapes?  We have witnessed the transformation of once relaxed chino and t-shirt brands trading up to stand- alone men’s shops. Take J Crew, for example, who have recognized that their key consumer has risen from disheveled dorm room to board room dapper, recognizing the opportunity in a stand-alone retail format that offers tailored suits and haberdashery to their fashion conscious audience.

This shift translates to dollars and cents globally and savvy companies understand the need to drive men to the till. Luxury fashion conglomerates such as PPR and LVMH have been investing heavily in the male consumer. LVMH has evolved high end shoe brand Berluti into a men’s lifestyle ready to wear collection. Not to be out paced, PPR added Italian iconic menswear label Brioni to their stable of brands. Free standing menswear-only retail concepts have sprung up, seemingly overnight, from brands such as Hermès, Bottega Veneta, and Burberry. It was also telling that Tom Ford announced his come back into fashion by launching a menswear collection before following this with womenswear in 2010.

In my assessment, the catalyst for the clean up has been the proliferation of “at-the-ready” technology, the simultaneous explosion of on-demand media, with the criss-crossing of newly opened, global markets driving the explosive growth of menswear, creating an ocean of first hand consumers where before there were only reluctant or second-hand recipients.  The merging of on-line shopping, high end style content and new markets has quickly groomed our weather beaten macho man into a carefully styled modern day Adonis.

With the onset of technology, the beauty and fashion industries were able and capable of directly reaching an affluent market sector with disposal income that had long been unreachable.  Studies show over 19 million affluent males are on-line daily with incomes over $100,000. Men seem to be even earlier adapters of technology and therefore quicker to adopt e-commerce and on-line shopping. The success of sites such as Mr Porter demonstrates that men not only want to buy fashion, but welcome style advice as well. Men are perfectly suited to shopping on the Internet, as they are famously resistant to visiting stores. And their appetite for newness is demonstrating equally as ravenous as women.  The end result is that it is no longer un-manly to look polished.

Perhaps one of the most profound changes today is the invention of the fashion blogger and style sites. Men can switch between reading daily financials on-line with the FT or click over to The Sartorialist for a new way to wear tweed. Multi-brand on-line retail sites offer men fashion advice, fit guides and a chance to pick up the latest, must-have seasonal item without leaving the comfort of lounge chair.

These sites are easy to use, authoritative, and do not require any awkward discussions with a sales associate. It is the kind of no-nonsense, straightforward experience many men prefer. However, should the discerning gentlemen want a more personalized shopping experience then he may simply request help on line from either a stylist or tailor.

Whatever the reasons, at the end of the day, what man doesn’t want to feel younger, healthier and better looking? Confidence and attitude may be expressed in dress and it is easier and more convenient for today’s man to say it with style. And while the Marlboro Man has galloped off into the sunset, it is clear his well attired replacement is here to stay.

Jason Basmajian is Creative Director of Gieves & Hawkes and the former Artistic Director of Brioni

www.hudsonwalker.com

One wouldn’t think so until the latest installation, Skyfall, and its recurring catchphrase – “Sometimes, the old ways are best.” – driven home with all the subtlety of an explosion at MI6.

Marking 007’s fiftieth anniversary, the movie is an impeachment of so-called progress.  Like a good mid-life crisis, Skyfall asks questions about age and values, and our relationship with time.  But while we are used to this nostalgia from our elders (“Kids these days…”), for once, it is the older generation that gets taken to task for leading the world astray.

James Bond makes an interesting case study because, for half a century, the 007 franchise has sat firmly at the crossroads of popular culture, socio-politics, technology and luxury.  James Bond captured the public imagination as a jet-setting playboy hero long before frequent flier miles.  So it is interesting to see our faster-more-sexier-easier culture suddenly crying out for slower, simpler, more intimate and meaningful ways.

Technology has given us the ability to achieve anything in an instant.  But as humans, can we keep up?  While we rely on gadgets, we have become immune to their novelty as we realise that speed does not equate to better, more meaningful experiences.  Speed requires compromise.  Speed leaves no time for experience, depth and the ability to think things through.  While technology is useful and here to stay, it must stay in our own service rather than become the taskmaster.

“Time is money” is the standard argument in favour of speed and efficiency.  But are speed and efficiency the same thing?  The hyper-consumption of resources and the hyper-production of waste are inefficient by any standard, as is the short lifespan of something produced too quickly and on the cheap.  So if time really is money, the value of something is at least partly determined by the time invested in it.

That time comes in both the production – the gathering of skills and experience to produce something – and the consumption – its ability to serve our needs and desires at length.  It also comes in the posterity – its ability to last beyond its immediate purpose and become part of human heritage.  To luxury, all three are of utmost importance.

Enter the Slow Movement, which is not about the lack of speed or efficiency, but about taking the correct time to do a job right.  That is “the old ways” – measuring value by the outcome, not by the stopwatch – and it is the ultimate definition of efficiency.  A loose affiliation at first, beginning with Slow Food, the movement is becoming more organised, most recently giving rise to the Slow Made Association in France, a collaboration of the Ministries of Commerce, Culture and Education.

By educating about and supporting a better-paced way of working, Slow Made is helping build new economic models.  On the surface, being in France, the links to luxury and artisanal craftsmanship are old-hat: luxury that carries the sensuousness and quality of the personal touch.  But this is not just about traditionalism or even luxury, and the implications are much more broad, pertinent and concrete.

Slow Made is re-directing attention and investment toward home-grown industry.  It is helping re-build the European manufacturing base at a time when Western countries are wringing their hands over high unemployment amid outsourcing to cheap labour markets.  They are learning to benefit from what Swiss watchmakers have known for a long time: If you build, perfect and pass down high-level skills over centuries, the work (and the long-term economic viability) cannot be sent off to artisans in the neighbouring canton, let alone to factory workers in Canton, China.

Of course its success relies on demand.  And here too, the movement is gaining ground, especially in this time of economic uncertainty.  Consumers are more sensitive than ever to deeper value.  Luxury customers, even in flashy emerging markets, are losing their appetite for logos in favour of qualities like design and innovation.  Impressing those worth impressing now means showing off your savvy, not just your spending power.  Conspicuous consumption turns into intelligent consumption.  This philosophy has kept the Hermès brand at the top the luxury hierarchy for ages.  While others share its ambitions, few bother to match its slow-growth discipline and savoir-faire.

The emerging production and consumption models come together to form a more sustainable economic eco-system.

Leading others is luxury brands’ perpetual challenge.  Luxury is a sensuous experience that helps us appreciate time.  Rather than racing ahead, going “slow” gives them the opportunity to lead by putting their core processes to maximum value in addressing global challenges today and in the future.

But this does not have to be about the future, or the world.  It is about now, and ourselves, and benefiting from older, more intimate, more meaningful ways simply by rediscovering the sense of time.

Nair-Safir, founded by Misha Pinkhasov and Rachna Joshi Nair, is a branding and communications consultancy whose mission is putting people in business.  www.nair-safir.com

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The ubiquitous “celebrity” fragrance is, thankfully, on the wane, with a few notable exceptions. Elizabeth Taylor’s “White Diamonds” remains the world’s top-selling of its genre, and rightly so, as it’s a rich, grand floral in the old-school style.  Its release in the late 1980s allows it to class as a vintage perfume – one which lasts for hours, has a good sillage (the waft of fragrance behind you, as you walk into a room),  and has ideas above its station. Perfume should be aspirational, not the norm. Thank God for Liz Taylor’s glamorous, wonderful  life…

I’m so bored with clean smells. If I wanted to smell simply clean, then I’d douse myself in Lenor and squeeze a lemon on my head.  For goodness sake, we all smell clean anyway these days; we all shower or bathe regularly.  No, perfume is about adding that magical, wonderful layer of femininity or masculinity…..not about the smell of soap.

No wonder  the consumer is turning away from the mainstream and heading to the world of niche fragrances.  The rise of the internet has made previously difficult-to-find masterpieces accessible, and the wise retailers have moved away from the homogenised High Street offerings.  Harrods had the genius stroke of inviting Roja Dove to launch the Haute Parfumerie on the 5^th floor. Handpicked by the man himself, this dark and mysterious emporium is the place to discover the joys of vintage Caron,  amongst hundreds of others. On hand is a genuinely knowledgeable and personable expert to guide you through the world’s best niche fragrances. Roja’s own range of fragrances is a definite, and I believe deliberate,  throwback to the great age of perfumes (1912-1948). Passionate, evocative and magnificent!  “Enslaved” and “Reckless” are my favourites.

Many niche fragrance brands are family affairs. Perhaps the best known is the wonderfully, authentically French brand Annick Goutal, now run by her daughter Camille.  Check out Camille’s first creation, “Songes”, inspired by the smell of frangipani flowers on her honeymoon in Mauritius. The story is a personal one, which makes it all the more affecting.  Annik passed away in the late 1990s, but her divine fragrance “Petite Cherie” is her perfumed interpretation of her love for her daughter, and it is heart breakingly beautiful.

And then, there’s “Fracas” by Piguet.  Robert Piguet’s  fashion is now a footnote to history, but his fragrances are outstanding. I have never yet managed to walk past a Piguet counter and not smell Fracas. It’s the best tuberose fragrance ever – a swirling, narcotic, dark and heady fragrance that has been skilfully reformulated. You’ll only find it in the world’s best stores. Joe Garces, the hilarious and gruff  President behind the brand, showed his brilliance when he gave each leading store in the UK an exclusive fragrance, so check out Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Liberty, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason for their own particular Piguet fragrances.

The range is also found in my favourite retailer, the beautiful and intimate Les Senteurs in Belgravia, and now Marble Arch.  With a hand-picked portfolio of the world’s best, this is the place to try the shimmering class of Serge Lutens, the clean modernity of Frederic Malle, and the strangely erotic and controversial Etat Libre D’orange, whose range includes the bleakly melancholic “Fat Electrician”. Visit the store to hear the story behind this curiously-named masterpiece.

Perhaps the grandest of the niche fragrance ranges is the splendidly extravagant Amouage.  I remember the first time I experienced their signature fragrance, nearly a quarter of a century ago. It floored me with its symphonic  and unbelievable beauty. Taking its inspiration from the exotic Sultanate of Oman, it was an exhilarating, magical and wonderful journey through the heavens. Christopher  Chong, their Creative Director, is one of my personal heroes, as he refuses to compromise on any level, with the results being sheer perfection.

In addition to niche creations, more companies are realising the power of vintage. Guerlain, arguably the greatest of the French perfumers, are promoting “Shalimar” from 1925, although I would avoid the “Parfum Initial”, a weak attempt to modernise the original great Oriental. You don’t remake “Gone with the Wind” or “The Wizard of Oz”.  If only they had the courage to promote “Jicky” (1889), and “Mitsouko” from 1919 (incidentally, the latter is my favourite smell, ever.)

Lanvin’s 1927 classic  “Arpege” is divine. Like being enveloped in a cashmere wrap on a chilly night, this is one of the most wonderful evocations of a bygone age of elegance. If you’re on a budget, and want a truly huge floral, 1982’s “Gloria Vanderbillt” is the price of a glass of wine, and for that piffling amount you get an explosion of flowers and aldeyhdes, the synthetic note first used to great effect by a certain perfume mentioned below ….

One final thought – why didn’t they all think of doing this earlier? After all, the world’s most famous fragrance has proved for decades that vintage sells – 1921’s “Chanel No. 5”. The clues were all there…..

Peter Sherlock is the world’s only TV fragrance buyer and presenter, and has sold over a million bottles of fragrance via that medium. Last month he launched his first fragrance – Phenomenal Woman.  He has been in the business for 25 years, and recently co-wrote Harvey Nichols first dedicated perfume magazine.

www.thescenttrain.com

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The challenge that the luxury fashion sector is facing today is one of re-adjustment. When the global recession hit in 2008, the sector was largely immune to it. Whilst mid-market businesses suffered, luxury brands continued to open huge, shiny stores. It also satisfied the seemingly never-ending craving of the Chinese consumer, hungry for western brands. Double-digit growth became the norm.

But that sort of growth was never going to be sustainable. Never mind the economics of it; luxury, by its very nature, shuns ubiquity. Consumers who buy into luxury fashion brands do so for a variety of reasons, including exclusivity, quality and innovation – not to see the same collection everywhere they turn. So, if the economics and consumer sentiment don’t allow for another 50 stores, don’t open 50 stores. Open just one, but a truly brilliant one – and go for bigger market share instead.

Look at Burberry and its newRegent Streetflagship inLondon. It’s a sight to behold. The atrium’s glass and bronze cabinets sit comfortably next to more than 100 screens and 160 iPads. In the changing rooms, tags fitted to the garments mean that as a shopper enters, the mirror displays information about the chosen item. This is augmented reality at its very best, as the physical seamlessly meets the virtual.

This statement of intent from Burberry brings together two key factors in addressing growth in the luxury sector: experience and digital. At the same conference where I listened to Robins’ speech, McKinsey’s Natalie Remy said that digital is the sector’s fastest growing channel and that experience matters more to consumers than product. With theRegent Streetstore, Burberry offers both. And that’s what luxury brands must do: lead by example by understanding what their customers want and how they want it.

When Robins spoke of limitation as a positive thing, I thought of Ralph Lauren and Hugo Boss. Both have recently closed sub-brands –Rugbyand Boss Selection – and for very similar reasons: to focus on their core product and drive stronger sales. Consumers of Hugo Boss already expect the very best in quality and design from the brand; having a more premium sub-brand doesn’t make sense, particularly in a tough economic climate.

That’s not to say that sub-brands don’t work. Look at successful diffusion lines from high-end luxury labels like Chloe and Marc Jacobs. But the difference here is that they target the same customer as the mainline, just younger, with less expensive product. They are nurturing the future shoppers of the core ranges. And this is vital, because the brand values – which is what drives luxury consumer spending – are underlined by the core collection. Brands must stick to what they stand for and understand the best ways to connect with their customers today.

Ana Santi is Deputy Editor of Drapers

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Technically speaking, 3D printing is actually a misnomer, as the process involved is more akin to computer-generated sculpture using the same principles of addition or subtraction. Moreover, the technology is not particularly new; product designers have been replicating and prototyping using different versions of this technology for decades.

However, recent developments that have led to lowered costs are increasingly enabling regular consumers to own their very own 3D printer, meaning that low-cost personal use is not as distant a reality as before. For luxury brands, the repercussions of this latest development have the potential to be disruptive, leading to re-thinking the concept of the designer as prescriptive role, democratising manufacturing and irrevocably opening up distribution.

Within the short term, these concerns are particularly apt when it comes to entry-level categories, such as sunglasses or fashion accessories, as the technology is already able to replicate in a variety of plastics, metals and ceramics. While current technology doesn’t yet allow for a perfect reproduction of, say, a pair of designer sunglasses, there is no doubt it will get there before too long.

The consequent loss of control that luxury brands may then experience (for example, if their designer sunglasses were routinely “re-printed” by consumers at home), given that these categories often make up a sizeable component of many well-known luxury brands’ revenues, could be quite alarming.

Despite this, it is equally true that luxury is very much about pushing creativity through constant innovation and offering customers a high level of exclusivity via bespoke personalization. In this sense, there are certainly opportunities presented by 3D printing which some luxury brands might be in a position to leverage to their advantage in order to offer clients a truly unique product.

Social media offers an interesting analogy of how luxury brands have had to adapt in the face of technological innovation and ultimately relinquish the historical control they wielded when it came to their communication strategy. Where once there was a one-directional, highly prescribed seasonal advertising message, now both consumers and brands are engaged in a multi-directional exchange, simultaneously shaping brand perception in often quite unpredictable ways.

Moreover, it’s also worth remembering that luxury is not necessarily incompatible with the use of so-called “poor materials” – as regularly evidenced by brands such Marni or Prada – and this could mean that even in its most basic declension, using 3D printing technology could enable brands to offer their consumers quite interesting creative opportunities, to customise and personalise products to their own liking.

Of course, along with considerable social and economic repercussions, there are serious legal implications in the rise of 3D printing. The speed of innovation in this space has made many commentators raise questions about the limitations of the current IP system and whether it is capable of being ‘stretched’ in order to cater to scenarios for which it was never really envisaged.

Oddly, the current IP position seems to favor 3D print hobbyists, in that most 3-dimensional works will be protected by patent law, which is far less stringent than copyright law. Meanwhile copyrights – which may subsist in patterns or designs – would not be able to be reproduced by 3D printers, and moreover benefit from a personal use exemption that could mean that as long as the home- printed copy is not for commercial use, all bets are off.

The big concern on the legal front remains that manufacturers might take a leaf from the US recording industries, and attempt to pass legislation similar to the highly contested Stop Online Piracy Act. However, as the strong anti-SOPA protests demonstrated, such a heavy-hitting attempt to retain control and restrict creativity may not sit so well with end-consumers who have had the opportunity to sample the delights held within this Pandora’s box.

After all, 3D home-printing isn’t just about copying, but instead it is about the power of this new technology to promote and circulate innovative ideas, generate new culture and empower the individual, in parallel to the profound effects of the invention of the Gutenberg press or the world wide web. Certainly, it would be something for luxury brand owners to start thinking about.

Ceci Joannou is the founder and editor of Brand & Commercial. www.brandandcommercial.com

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