Trendiness Crisis (again) - YouLookFab Forum

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Trendiness Crisis (again)

rachylou

Veteran

Ok. I like being trendy and au courant. But I've been having a conundrum, and I think I will now enter a full blown crisis. I got the Marni email today that said I could pre-order for SUMMER 2014. Ack. I feel this is just too far in advance for designers to be letting out the buzz. Where is the "now"? I have become a vintage dresser without asking for it!

Do people really order next year's clothes a year ahead of time? Is this a financial issue? Designers trying to minimise risk with pre-orders?

Shopping

16 replies

Latest reply was from Firecracker (Sharan)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I don't get it! Marni hasn't even shown their Summer 2014 Spring Collection at Fashion Week yet (which will happen in Sept). There must be a catch.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Wow. And I thought NAS was hard. Clearly I have a lot of learning to do.

ManidipaM

Veteran

Um, guess who's still shopping for this summer, well past midsummer? Yeah, no help here. Just bugging eyes!

abc

Veteran

It's them, not you! That is just bizzare and wrong. I would like to know who actually DOES order that early and more importantly, why.

velvetychocolate

Veteran

This reminds me of those pre-sale condos - they won't be ready until some umpteen months or years into the future. From what I gather - the developer needs to 'pre-sell' a certain percentage of units in order to get financing to build the project.

Not suggesting that a fashion designer needs financing, but - I can't help but wonder if it's a way to have some sort of 'buy-in' ahead of time?

You won't catch me buying something for 2014 right now.

bj1111

Veteran

this is RIDIC. i could be dead by summer '14. then who's gonna wear my pre-ordered duds?

Adelfa

Veteran

I'm with Suz--I mostly can't even deal with the NAS because our Fall temperatures don't come till the end of November, or later!

Deborah

Veteran

bj just pop me down as your beneficiary on your order if you like! :

bj1111

Veteran

Deborah, you got it! Lemme call my lawyer.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I think it's intended to build buzz/hype. As in this stuff is so hot(scarce, valuable)that you need to reserve yours now or you won't get yours. It is also a tool to generate early revenue and to assess potential demand at the least.

Archer

Veteran

Do you think it might be that so many people buy bargains at the end of seasons so the tantalising waiver of the 'next season' s sent to cash in to play on the kinds of insecurities that are created by being a season behind and exploit the very crises that you wish to avoid.

rachylou

Veteran

Ya, I do think it has to do with buzz and must play on that feeling of fashion crisis - being behind. But it's sort of dismantling the whole thing for me. I'm just confused. I go into stores and can't find what I'm looking for because they're way off from arriving or were cleared out ages ago, so I'm disappointed. Even a bit paralysed. How can I follow a trend if I can't even find it?

I think things are gonna have to tribalise even more in fashion. It's the End of Dominant Culture. Zombie World approaches. These people will have snippets of this and those people will have snippets of that. You'll have those who wear the colanders on their heads and those who wear the macrame soda can yokes. No more fashion leaders.

Anonymous

That's just crazy. Your fashion prophecy may well come to pass!

MNsara

Veteran

Crazy indeed! And what happens when someone prepurchases a 2014 style that falls flat on its face in 2013. . .? (not that designers are known for going OTT, or anything like that)

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, yeah, that's a big question of mine, MNsara. What happens when the prepurchase falls flat?

And... frankly, I worry that getting out so far ahead of ourselves will actually encourage that to happen. You're definitely in last year's news at that point.

Firecracker (Sharan)

Veteran

Sounds like Marni is in crisis, not you.
I know what you mean about not finding what you want in the stores. I've been keeping an eye out for track-pant styles to try on, since seeing them here at YLF. And it's curious how few of them are actually available to try on. I did manage to find a few pairs, but there were some stores or departments where the sales associates would show me something so NOT the trend at all that I had a hard time not laughing out loud.
You are too funny--colander hats and soda can yokes!