During New York's fashion week about a year and a half ago, veteran apparel executive Bud Konheim stood backstage and lamented that at least in the U.S., apparel retailers were likely to record poor sales during the coming holiday season. Why? Because there are no new ideas, he said, exciting enough to lure shoppers into the stores. At the time, the industry was stuck in heritage mode, as designers mined the archives and produced interpretations that on the whole steered a little too literal. The lack of innovation in an industry that historically has thrived on change from season to season has only become more apparent since then, as no widely embraced trends emerged. Apparel companies on the whole have had it fairly easy for the past couple of decades. In the years before the financial crisis, foolish fashion -- ranging from velour tracksuits to over-embellished evening gowns -- chased foolish money. Or maybe it was the other way around. Whatever, once the meltdown started, new spenders were required. Fortunately, China and Russia filled the billed, followed by other emerging markets. Even Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia, has a Louis Vuitton store. No corner of the globe has gone untouched by the big luxury and apparel purveyors. But global growth is slowing, as evidenced by the struggles of Italian luxury label Gucci, the flagship brand of another luxury giant, Kering SA. Kering blamed weaker spending by Chinese consumers for the 1.9% drop in comparable store sales for Gucci's third quarter. Industry watchers also suggest a Chinese government crackdown on corruption and graft is helping to cool conspicuous consumption there of recognizable luxury brands. Over in Russia, falling oil prices coupled with sanctions imposed by Western governments have caused a downturn that could deepen into a recession. These factors have dampened expectations across the board. In October, the International Monetary Fund lowered its projection for global growth to 3.3% from 3.8% for 2015. Meanwhile, the supposedly safe haven of the U.S. has become over-retailed, and consumers are more excited about the new iPhone and Apple Inc.'s newest gewgaw, a watch, due in April. The comparative lack of excitement in fashion has even bean counters, investors and bankers -- who are usually indifferent to what's walking down the runway -- wondering whether there's anything new on the drawing board. The runway, though, is where salvation may strut. What is shown there eventually filters its way down to your nearest Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. outlet or Macy's Inc. department store. Perhaps it is a new color or a new silhouette -- for example, the skinny jeans craze that was declared officially over last year. Sometimes a silhouette can become so ubiquitous that it transcends fashion and ends up defining a decade's style. Consider the 1950's and a certain hourglass shaped dress from the designer Christian Dior. (The Christian Dior label is now a major holding of Paris-based luxury conglomerate LVMH.) Dior's inspiration was the Belle Epoque and his muse was his mother and how she dressed during the early 1900s. He dusted off the memory, refreshed it, and voila, the old became new and was widely copied. Since then Dior's top designers have struggled to keep the fashion house relevant, burdened with that romantic history. But there are signs of life at the venerable maison. Just this past Monday, Dior's creative director, Raf Simons, let loose haute couture in which less of archival Dior was present: bodysuits in psychedelic or trippy patchwork prints infused with rich colors and coats made out of plastic that could have veered into the tacky, but are instead sophisticated -- a great distance in time from the iconic hourglass. That's the kind of thinking the fashion and the clothing industry needs. Retailers that depend on commercialized versions of runway trends here in the U.S. are declaring bankruptcy in rapid succession. The companies that remain face a future of store closings and financial restructuring. Web site redesign and improved social media strategies won't be enough to stem the tide of insolvency. Retailers need something from the fashion houses to get shoppers excited again. In the competition for discretionary dollars, a sleek smartphone will defeat a velour track suit. Every time. Read more from:
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