Two great articles this week highlight what we’ve been talking about for half a year or more. JC Report gives us part three of their Death of Trends series, which analyzes the shift of the fashion industry away from a two-season system and toward a more fluid system of “constantly evolving blend of eclectic micro-trends.” As Julie Fredrickson, founder of the fashion community and blog Coutorture, puts it in the article:
The two-season system is essentially defunct as designers are pressed to keep consumers stimulated with new goods. In that sense, there isn’t room for an overarching vision because the schedule has accelerated so dramatically
Almost simultaneously, an article appears in the Telegraph discussing the factors which have led to the explosive success of Zara - specifically in contrast to the lagging of The Gap, which had been such a powerhouse in the nineties. The reasons for Zara’s success lie precisely in the company’s understanding of the new fashion and retail paradigm:
There’s a four-letter word beginning with F that Gap has never got. The word is fast and Zara has based its entire business model around getting looks from the drawing board to the store in a reported fortnight, bringing in quick and cost-effective catwalk interpretations that have even alarmed the luxury brands.
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