OK, “war” is probably too strong a word. But as I reflect on last month’s New York Fashion Week, I’m stuck by the quiet struggle that has been going on for a while now in the American fashion world between four different types of designer brands: street, avenue, lane, and track.
When a certain kind of person dreams of luxury, and of New York, they dream of Broadway: neon-lit marquees, gorgeous gilded theaters, thick red velvet curtains, the best singing and acting in the world, the electricity of live performance, the intelligence and engagement of the audience members, the cacophony of sound emanating from Times Square and Restaurant Row. When I was a kid in Detroit, Broadway was emblematic of my hopes for the future: bright, bold, and irresistible.
In a recent post, we here at Dandelion Chandelier explored the continued adoption of body modifications like tattoos and multiple piercings by the luxury class. There’s a tech angle that we left unexplored then, and it’s the next chapter of the story: the widespread use of temporary tattoos as a fashion statement, even by the wealthiest among us, has recently been married with some fascinating new technologies. Smart skin is here. And it’s pretty cool.
Traditionally, luxury was considered to be the height of seriousness. The lofty price points seemed to necessitate a sober mien and a clear head. There’s nothing funny about spending serious amounts of cash on something that strictly speaking you could easily live without. So for many years, I didn’t think that humor had any place in the luxury milieu. But then I had a little epiphany.
As New York Fashion Week wound down, the Dandelion Chandelier team made the rounds to take the temperature of luxury retailers and consumers in the wake of the festivities. What’d we find? Consumers running at an average temperature, neither hot nor cold on the New York shows, breaking out the leather and suede and anxiously awaiting Milan, London and Paris. But the New York luxury retailers? Low grade fever, accompanied by irritability and envy.
