In the recent Fortune magazine, Gucci Group CEO Robert Polet shares his ideas for tips for managing fashion brands, where art and commerce collide:
MAKE THE BRAND, NOT THE TALENT, THE STAR. In the late 1990s, Gucci’s lead designer, Tom Ford, engineered a legendary turnaround of the label–and became an A-list celebrity in the process. But now Polet says it’s crucial to promote the product, not the personality behind it, since the brand can outlive a designer or a manager. So he picks creative directors with strong opinions but with a clear focus on making great goods. “The designer works in the service of the brand,” he says.
ASSIGN A BUSINESS (AND A CREATIVE) MANAGER TO EACH BRAND. The Gucci Group has ten brands under its umbrella, including Yves Saint Laurent and Boucheron. Previously, creative control of individual brands was concentrated at the top of the Gucci Group, but when Polet took over, he installed a two-person team to run the labels: a creative director to lead the vision and a CEO who works as the “business partner in the marriage.” That way, he says, the products achieve the right look but also have the right merchandising strategy. “It’s not creativity for creativity’s sake,” he says.
DON’T MICROMANAGE. Unlike his predecessors, Polet leaves virtually all design decisions to the designers. Where he exerts control is in selecting the right leaders, setting three-year business plans for each division, and creating what he calls the “rules of the game,” a two-page description of what’s allowed and what’s not. “Then we actually say to the teams, ‘Go for it.’” says Polet. “It’s about the art of letting go.”
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Yeah, I just put down this article. Looks like Polet has his stuff together.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:15 am
Tom Ford promoted his personality? Yes, maybe, but he also resurrected the Gucci brand that was almost dead. And now, again, it’s merely alive.
July 19th, 2007 at 5:38 am
Major luxury labels are all about the partnership between the brand and the designer. To think that either could work without each other in the case of Gucci is stupid. In Fact to think that Gucci will not fade to grey without a leading personality at the helm is to not understand fashion. Tom Ford developed personal relationships with press and customers. When the press is Wintour and the Customers are many A Listers then the designer who helps facilitate this communication works, communication is not just the goods arriving in Gucci bags on the doorstep of miss A Lisers house………… Any high fashion brand where the designer is not part of the marketing mix becomes mediocre, we all know this in our hearts.
Gucci Group has really only one brand where this all matters and that brand is Gucci. Stella and McQueen are led by the designers which are the houses of the future. What does your attitude say to these guys Mr Polet?
One question I would ask is how long till this totally irrelevant brand is killed
off? A high fashion brand without a designer point of view should be given zero time by anyone. Design by committee will only ever have a communist manifesto. All hail the blue mascara and bleached jeans!!!!!
July 20th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
I HAVE A NEW FASHION DESIGN THAT WILL HAVE MEN DIGGING IN THEIR POCKETS AND WOMEN IN THEIR PURSES! MY IDEA IS TO BE SOLD NOT TOLD! T FEEL MY PRODUCT WITH GUCCI IS PERFECT… BUT I ALSO KNOW MY PRODUCT WILL INVOLVE MORE MONEY TRANSACTIONS THAN YOUR LATEST! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, YOU CAN CONTACT ME BY EMAIL.
THIS OFFER DOES EXPIRE.
August 6th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
I have a designer idea that I think would really take off for Gucci but I don’t know who to contact or the steps to take to present it to someone. Please contact me via email.
Thanks,
Sarah Drahos
March 18th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I would like to send out a letter to Mr.
Robert Polet; Chair, President, and CEO
of Gucci. Could you please send me this
information. Or, return a response to my
inquiry. Thank-you
March 27th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
How can i send an idea directly to Mr. Polet?
January 24th, 2009 at 9:15 am