The Death Of The Designer

Suzy Menkes in the IHT has a lengthy piece where she argues that the fashion industry will no longer see the likes of big name designers domineering the business.

The current state of the industry and a cultural state of mind makes it virtually impossible for any new designer to brand-build in the way that the 1980s seedlings flowered into mighty trees.

Of course there will be creative talents who inject new energy into the fashion scene. Heaven help us if there were not those forces for change and artistic souls whose vision reflects what is happening in the wider world.

But will any of these construct a mighty empire with a global stretch, selling everything from lipsticks to bed linen?

…Now, the truth is that nobody is building a global business – unless the label is attached to a powerful parent company, as with John Galliano at Dior and Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton. And if you compare the figures, these two LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton designers have tiny companies under their own names compared to the might of their brands.

Who’s next in fashion? No one. – Style – International Herald Tribune