Rent the Runway, a website which lets consumers rent designer clothing and accessories à la carte or through regular subscriptions, has recently partnered with Amazon in a quest for growth and profitability. Hundreds of items from the company’s “pre-loved” collection, including clothes from more than 35 brands such as Tibi and Kate Spade, can now be purchased directly through Amazon via a special Rent the Runway interface.  The center of the partnership is however represented by the introduction of the so-called “Design Collective”: a collection based on existing styles from Rent the Runway’s brand partners that have been altered according to the rental platform’s customer data insights. These specific clothes…

Hype culture has been a prominent part of the fashion and consumer goods industry for the past few decades. However, recent trends and consumer behaviors suggest that the hype culture may be on the decline. In this article, we will examine the reasons behind the decline of hype culture, focusing on the increasingly common lazy collaborations between brands and the heavily marked up prices they charge for their products. One of the key drivers of the decline of hype culture is the proliferation of lazy collaborations between brands. In the past, collaborations between brands were often highly anticipated events, resulting in unique and innovative products that commanded premium prices. However,…

Have you ever purchased a piece of second-hand clothing and asked yourself: “I wonder what’s the history behind it”? Well, according to where the fashion industry is headed to, it might not be long until you can answer that question.  “The moment a product is sold, the brand no longer recognizes it as asset”, says Natasha Franck, the New York-based founder and CEO of EON, whose digital product ID concept has received backing from Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet.   EON is one of many tech startups that aims at enabling brands to track products past the point of sale using Digital IDs: the ambition is to improve traceability and, most importantly, open up…

Nowadays, savoir-faire constitutes a unique, intangible asset that lies at the heart of most brands’ reputations. In fact, heritage brands uphold a level of respect and long-standing loyalty that sets them apart in today’s saturated market,as they maintain an aura of exclusivity and prestige. Luxury goods will always benefit from this aspect, since modern clients highly value reliability and preciousness. Additionally, heritage conveys a return to the past, which isemotionally soothing for customers. As a result, Maisons strive to preserve artisanal skills in the crafting of their products, protecting and developing centuries-old traditions. Today, artisanal defines modern fashion: the hours of care and attention put into designs ensure that their precious nature is acknowledged. The passing on of skills, know-how and experience, especially in the fields of…

Customer Experience (abbreviated CX) is the overall experience customers have throughout their relationship with the company: not just shopping, then, but an interaction/relationship that includes customer care and support and interaction with the brand. Retail stores are a crucial marketing tool for retail brands. For a retail store to be successful, customers must be drawn in from the outside in. This will encourage them to make more purchases and develop a stronger bond with the brand as a whole. The layout of a company’s retail locations should integrate into the larger brand narrative while also taking into account key requirements. Given that people are accustomed to purchasing expensive goods without first…

A new legal battle has begun between the Uffizi Gallery, one of Italy’s most visited art museums, and the French maison Jean Paul Gaultier, founded by the homonym designer Jean Paul Gaultier. The object of the dispute is no less than Sandro Botticelli’s most famous work of art: the Birth of Venus (1482-1485), symbol of the Italian Renaissance and of the central role of the city of Florence in Italian art and history. As is well known, fashion has always resorted to art in its quest for beauty. Jean Paul Gaultier is yet another example of high fashion’s long-term love affair with art that has led and continues to lead fashion and art to…

Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein is the largest online-only fashion company in the world. This year, the retailer overtook Amazon to become the most downloaded shopping app in the US and it is a record it holds in 50 other countries. In 2020, Shein recorded revenues of $10 billion, this represented a 250% year-on-year increase in revenue – the 8th consecutive year this figure was over 100%. Shein’s core market are Gen-Z shoppers which it attempts to lure in via Instagram and Tiktok where it boasts 21.9m and 2.8m followers respectively.  Despite the brand’s enormous online presence, there is little public information available about the company as it has a reputation for…

Abercrombie & Fitch has (almost) disappeared. The well-known lifestyle brand of sporty and college clothes has been off the grid for years now, and despite several attempts to regain a spot in the market, it looks like fashion addicts have eventually moved forward. Today, indeed, it is extremely rare – if not impossible – to spot someone wearing the classic tartan branded shirt, undisputed icon of the label. However, that was not always the case: the Manhattan-founded brand has been dominant among kids and teenagers from the late 90s and for the entire first decade of the 21st century, before entering a downward spiral and collapsing under the burden of what…

Buying vintage clothing is surely a unique experience, a special feeling that comes with “giving a second life” to clothing pieces, wondering how many it’s already lived. There is, however, also a lot of doubt in the buying process of secondhand clothing regarding the authenticity of the piece and the convenience of its price. How to be sure that it’s not a fake? How do we know it’s the most affordable option?  What used to be a manufacturing hub for French fashion and has by now become the center of authentication expertise, Lille, France, is today home of the headquarters of luxury online reseller Vestiaire Collective, where the lives of…