The emerging trend seems to be consuming some kind of accessible luxury. Top-notch designer brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga and even Chanel take their advantage of this “premium mediocre trend” – a new concept Business of Fashion shed light on. Look around you and you’ll soon notice baseball caps worth over 200 dollars, over-the-top designer sneakers and other street style-chic items surround you. What does this mean for the fashion industry?
Cover photo: © @allyouneedisstreetstyle on Instagram
Accessible luxury and high fashion
Flashy sneakers, logo tees and Gucci socks. With just saving a couple months, they are accessible to many. A couple of months ago we already wrote about the influence of street style on fashion designers. How do for example influencers have an influence on new collections of big fashion houses such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Chanel? In many ways, actually. According to Business of Fashion it goes even further than the fashion industry. There seems to be this kind of premium mediocrity, which expresses itself in a billion dollar industry of high fashion accessible luxury. For example, a couple of seasons ago the Balenciaga Triple S sneaker was sold out before it even hit the stores. Visit a shopping street in a big city and look around. You’ll soon notice the abundance of designer shoes, caps, scarfs and other simple – yet significant, to many – accessories worth an average monthly apartment rent.
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How it all started: couturiers and fast fashion
Despite this trend seems new, it actually stems from the 80ies when Parisian fashion designers teamed up with mass (fast) fashion companies. Soon after, the big crowd walked in Pierre Cardin and other – suddenly affordable – luxury brands. It formed the start of accessible luxury and it marked a festive period for consumers, but not for these luxury designer brands. Many labels soon saw their images drop from luxury brand to regular fashion label. As a consequence, many designer brands had to redefine what they stood for.
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Today’s fashion collaborations
This is quite different today. Many labels such as KENZO, Viktor & Rolf or – more recently – Moschino team up with H&M to make their products more accessible to the big and younger fashion crowd. They literally create accessible luxury for the big crowd. Another example is the more expensive line of Tommy Hilfiger and Gigi Hadid. Younger girls who adore this famous fashion model suddenly became into Tommy Hilfiger as well, giving the overall brand a big boost. The original price points of these brands, however, remain the same. Brands get a boost and become more wanted by crowds who usually wouldn’t buy these products.
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Treat yo’self
On top of this, let’s not forget the big influence of social media and its influencers. On a platform such as Instagram, luxury becomes visible to everyone. Treating yourself is the new norm and you don’t need a lot of money to buy a designer product. Save for example 250 dollar and you’re able to buy a Balenciaga cap. The logo has become one of the most important aspects in this scene. It’s an easy way to show your “worth” on Instagram.
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Looking at it from the bright sight, this accessible luxury and street style trend have led to a sort of “democratization” of the fashion industry. High fashion is not longer solely assigned to the rich and famous. On top of this, trends come and go. Who knows how the fashion industry will look like in a few years? It remains a fascinating industry, with a big impact on society in general.
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Quite nice, don’t you think? Just like this article about accessible luxury in high fashion, we have many more inspiring fashion articles. Check out our section dedicated to designers here. Or check out our entire fashion section. We bet you’ll like it!
Source: www.businessoffashion.com
