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LUXE TREND 47
WHERE THE STREETS HAVE A NAME, PART 2

In the first part of this article, we explored some key brands that are riding the Streetwear trend of the moment. We covered some recent designer changes taking place in luxury houses, all motivated by landing the ideal creative director who can develop the next hot item for their luxury brand. From Louis Vuitton to Dior, designers have been selected on the basis of designing products inspired by Street style.

In this article, we are looking at a matrix of brands whose future growth might be influenced by the development and adoption of this trend. Can these brands still remain faithful in their luxury traditions? Will their eagerness to appeal to an ever younger demographic encourage them to embrace a product-development strategy beyond price-based exclusivity?

The last few years we have seen how luxury Streetwear has grown in strength and influence. Recently, even the NY Times declared The Dandy is Dead. And while the Times named the current Streetwear style Fugly, a characterization I completely endorse, luxury is dependent on it. The influence of these star designers who are appropriating styles from the street to create a high luxury equivalent, cannot be ignored. And since Menswear growth continues to be an important component of luxury brand expansions, luxury houses are encouraging further exploration to what may be considered a luxury product.

Fashion aside, this current wave of street-inspired style has also infiltrated lifestyle brands, either through its usage in advertising and promotion vehicles, product development, or a combination thereof. Luxury companies have understood they must offer products that appeal to a more casual lifestyle.

What is luxurious vs. what is cool?

Prada was one of the first modern luxury brands to make a connection between high luxury and casual cool. Prada also understood the importance of mixing high tech materials with vintage references. The recent growth of luxury Athleisure brands owes a lot to Prada and to Yohji Yamamoto. Athletic-inspired streetwear allowed both brands to offer a new, wider range of luxury product categories.

Luxury companies have been playing catch up in developing products and services that emulate the products of mainstream consumer brands, from footwear to wearable tech. Content to produce expensive facsimiles of original products, successful luxury brands have been slow to understand the importance of creating innovative originals. While Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton and Gucci can have a seasonal success with a highly-engineered sneaker, the continual pressure for these brands has been to make products inherently street-cool.

Some top designers are successfully collaborating with mainstream brands— Y3/Adidas being one of the first of such collaborations. Yohji Yamamoto was one of the first designers to understand this cultural change and the need to offer well designed products that address the needs of a new consumer. Since the beginning, Y3 has been fashionably casual, well designed, and inspired by nomadic asceticism, all within Yohji’s design expertise.

The Future is in the Past

Street-Cool loves to incorporate retro-chic, with up-to-the-minuted high tech. One way luxury brands with a long history of design expertise can profit by this trend is by introducing a savvy reworking of an old success. For example, Cartier has regularly relaunched old products, such as the Panthere watch - an ’80s success - in their current line. However, in the new climate, this product development strategy might prove to be less successful when the rollout is poorly planned. MCM has tried for many seasons to make their leather goods as popular as they were in the 1980s.

Bulgari with Serpenti and Tubogas, Rolex with their Submariner line, and other brands, have also understood the power of the line-revisit strategy. In the coming years, these brands are predicted to continue their growth as they are also bolstered by a strong presence in the luxury auction market.

In fashion, and within this trend, Dolce & Gabbana might see its fortunes beginning to falter. Despite its rich design history, DG relies on a version of opulence that has become the House style. Even though the brand posted a 9% profit growth in 2017, it has remained primarily anti-street. DG may soon begin to feel the pressure from Gucci and other competitors.

Fashion brands that offer a stylistic continuation of their design heritage will grow this trend, including small, iconoclastic ones, that are not in the immediate luxury consumer consciousness. Think Delvaux rather than Dior, and Isabel Marant rather than Fendi. The secret to succeeding with this trend is in the intentional omission of studied sophistication in any fashion choice. And, of course, in pursuing collaborations.

With a recently announced collaboration with Vivienne Westwood, Burberry is certain to experience renewed market interest — especially with Riccardo Tisci at the helm. Chanel might plateau, since it is in need of a creative, and consistent shot in the arm. Chanel’s recent Haute Couture show acknowledged the influence of the street by using a set that duplicated a Parisian Quai.

Moncler, and other luxury outerwear companies, will remain popular, as luxury consumers don’t mind paying high prices for products that have become veritable status symbols. With more creative collaborations — Coach and Disney, Off-White and Rimowa— the outerwear segment appears to continue having room for growth.

The luxury consumer is market-savvy and more sophisticated than ever. In the end, there is no substitute for authenticity. The market now requires that in addition to being stylish a luxury product ought to possess certain qualities: it should be customizable, personalized and, ideally, ecologically responsible.

Streetwear has enabled Luxury to move away from preciousness, and infused a certain exciting improvisational element to design. Streetwear has also robbed certain luxury houses the opportunity to be authentic. Creating a product that is temporarily “hot” is not a strategy for building luxury patrimony and pedigree.