Tags
amazon fashion, branding, distristribution chain, fashion, fashion industry, fast fashion, sustainable fashion, vogue
The other day during lunch break I flipped though a Vogue magazine that was available in my favorite coffee shop.
I love vogue and Harper’s bazar to get inspirations on style. I adore the adds as well as the photo reels. I guess you know what I mean. The pictures in Vogue are for me the non plus ultra of design and style, a pice of art.
But this time by opening the first pages, which usually have the most luxurious adds I was shocked. Between the pictures of Prada, Gucci or Armani, I saw Amazon and an other online shopping portal. What is its going to tell us about the divergence of online shops into the stylish fashion industry?
Is it the ritterschlag of Amazon and the like.
Or is it the contrary that our famous fashion labels lost their individuality. They can be replaced by a consumer portal.
The add suggest that the customer is no longer asking for the like as Gucci or Armani but instead looking for the Amazon fashion. The individual designer brand could become interchangeable more easily. The brand loyalty could switch to the wholesaler instead of the producer. As a result a new powerful intermediary is locking itself into the distribution chain.
As of today the fashion labels show the trends for the next season in their courture shows, their pret a porte shows are slightly downgraded to show fashion that people could actually wear. Recently this cycle has been extended to mid season shows and ready to wear shows. The inspiration from those looks is adopted by all various fashion labels up to the fast fashion labels such as Mango, Zara and you name it.
The fast fashion labels are still recognized as producer of fashion whereas Amazon would be a distributor or whole seller.
The widespread internet allowed fast fashion labels to run their own online platforms as a subelement to their shops or flag stores. That vertical distribution is quite common as it is a down ward integration.
In the case of Amazon and other whole seller they are establishing a buying power and strengthen their position in the chain.
So far so good. But the fashion industry is not really known for their sustainable production. The production is highly suspected to be unethical at all. So what will happening to the prices in production when the competition has increased and the intermediates have more buying power?
I would leave this necessary debate to an other post. My concern is should a fashion magazine that considers it self as “high class” support such behavior. Should they take the money for those adds? Should art not also includes an ethical lifestyle?!
Just questioning!
Source: Vogue Germany, 10/11 2017 edition
