Loading ...
« Happy Year of the Ox! | Home | Your Weekly Dose Of Fashion Scoop »
Help Doc! I’m Suffering From Luxury Fatigue
By admins | January 28, 2009
Right now, we are all questioning the role of luxury goods in this economic climate. If you have not yet heard the phrase “luxury fatigue” you soon will, and in fact you may be suffering from it. For so long the name brand or designer label was the epitome of fashion, but that has begun to change. Having the “it” bag of the season was the goal for many women over the last decade, but it’s time has passed. The consumer is literally getting tired of keeping up with the Joneses and spending larger and larger percentages of their income on fashion merchandise. Part of our fatigue is due to the abundance of luxury goods, which as we all know, quantity can dilute quality. While we often write here about the mass and mid-tier markets selling out, the luxury market is also a culprit. The high-end market has become so oversaturated that it has lost the ability to evoke emotion any more. Many of these designers are more about PR and marketing than innovative fashion. The effect of licensing out your name or logo onto any product under the sun, results in luxury fatigue for your customer.
Luxury fatigue is hurting many designer’s bottom line this year. In the past, even during economic troubles, luxury brands survived because the very wealthy still had large disposable incomes. However, in the last decade these brands have grown and expanded because, with credit so easily available, a Chanel bag was within reach to all. As the designer label grew in status, American’s credit debt grew as well, until of course the bubble burst last fall. Now these luxury brands are seeing significant drops in sales, as only their core customers remain. We’ve already seen a number of designers pull out of New York’s fashion week due to financial constraints. High-end stores posted major losses for 2008, and brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Cavalli are having difficulties staying afloat.
A major factor in luxury fatigue is, that luxury is at the wrong end of the spectrum in the fashion cycle. Right now, our culture is all about: change, going green, cutting back, homemade, sustainability, service and rejecting the greed that got us in this situation to begin with. Just like the backlash to those driving Escalades instead of Priuses, the fashion police are saying no to the big labels, “it” bags and exotic furs. We began to see this trend last fall, when after Wall Street began to crash the wife of Lehman Brother’s Ceo was seen at Hermes hiding her recent purchases in generic shopping bags instead of Hermes signature orange ones. The flourish of socialites and wealthy New Yorkers hiding recognizable Tiffany and Prada bags inside non-logo shopping bags became a trend throughout last holiday season. Not only are we all suffering from luxury fatigue, but it is no longer fashionable to be a walking billboard. Those obsessed with brand names and designer duds are now being viewed as out of touch and old. Now is the time that individuality is valued over brand name and wearing an indie designer rather than a couture label is the hot trend. Even our first lady with her choice of newcomer Jason Wu rather than Oscar De La Renta is a sign of our changing times. So this year as you hit the stores, if you’re feeling luxury fatigue kick in, take the opportunity to find innovative ways to express your style in your own unique way.
**For more inside fashion scoop, please visit our forum and share your opinions**
Here is more related scoop;
Topics: designers, economy, fashion, shop, trend | 14 Comments » 
Email This Post
January 29th, 2009 at 11:51 am
[...] 39thandbroadway.com – Luxury fatigue is, being over it; just saying no to the latest “it” bag and no to spending half your paycheck on the newest designer labels. [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
It really is an interesting time for this. I recently posted an article in a similar vein, looking at the effect of imitation products on designer goods. After reading this article, I think I’ll have to study the economics of it a little more, fascinating stuff.
January 29th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
[...] 39thandbroadway.com – Luxury fatigue is, being over it; just saying no to the latest “it” bag and no to spending half your paycheck on the newest designer labels. [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
fascinating post! i’m glad more indie designers will get attention over some more well known lux brands. the mega-brands may feel a pinch with lower sales due to the economy but they probably won’t lose their core customers. Indie designers will have a tougher time in a difficult economy, so its great for them to get the spotlight and more customers. Also, maybe it will foster less of a uniform ‘look’ and encourage people to cultivate a truly individual style.
January 29th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
[...] 39thandbroadway.com – Luxury fatigue is, being over it; just saying no to the latest “it” bag and no to spending half your paycheck on the newest designer labels. [...]
January 29th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
[...] 39thandbroadway.com – Luxury fatigue is, being over it; just saying no to the latest “it” bag and no to spending half your paycheck on the newest designer labels. [...]
January 30th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
Thanks for the post. This is really interesting. It seems like independent artists in music, fashion, and beyond are getting more notice these days.
January 31st, 2009 at 7:48 am
i dont think the luxury consumer will ever lose its core customer. But even this economic slump is effecting the rich, because it’s the stock market going down and with the Madoff scam too.
I would like to see the midmarket brands become more popular.
January 31st, 2009 at 7:03 pm
I couldn’t agree with this more. This was going to be my topic for today, but I’m going to link this instead. Excellent! Adding you to my link list.
February 1st, 2009 at 10:36 pm
This is an interesting topic, but I fear that people will embrace indie designers for all the wrong reasons just as they embraced big names in prosperous times for all the wrong reasons. Buy clothes and bags and accessories because you love them, not because you want to be perceived as being “in touch” and “young,” or you want to convey that you’re not spending in an uncouth way on luxe labels.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 am
Thanks everybody for all the feedback. You have some great points here. Hopefully this economy will push designers at all ends of the spectrum take a new approach to fashion this year.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:13 am
[...] 39thandbroadway.com – Luxury fatigue is, being over it; just saying no to the latest “it” bag and no to spending half your paycheck on the newest designer labels. [...]
May 4th, 2009 at 6:12 am
this is an interesting topic, but I fear that people will embrace indie designers for all the wrong reasons just as they embraced big names in prosperous times for all the wrong reasons. Buy clothes and bags and accessories because you love them, not because you want to be perceived as being “in touch” and “young,” or you want to convey that you’re not spending in an uncouth way on luxe labels.
June 9th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
[...] touched on many issues that we have written about as well, specifically in our posts regarding luxury fatigue and recessionistas. Neither Cathy’s speech nor our pieces are the only ones of their kind [...]