The New York Time’s Thursday Styles section has been more about botox and babies than Balenciaga lately.
But today, Eric Wilson answered a question that we’ve been asking since we were old enough to pick up a magazine.
He offers an in-depth explanation of that annoying credit listing, “Price Available Upon Request,” which we always assumed meant way too expensive unless you employ someone to make phone calls for you.
But it’s actually more interesting than that: Most of those pieces, aside from the jewelry, aren’t even manufactured, “Out of 30 items for which prices were requested, 21 were not available at the stores at which they were listed.”
Fewer and fewer runway pieces are going into production, while retailers focus on pre-season collections. Which means that ready-to-wear is like the new couture - a vision of the designer’s ideas and themes which get watered down into slightly less expensive, less fashiony, and more wearable clothes, which, given the current economic state makes a lot of sense.
But it also makes us nervous because at some point, some investor will say, “Hey, why should I pay for an extravagant runway presentation when these clothes won’t make a single penny back but serve just to satisfy your creative whims and fill the pages of Vogue?”
Because the fact is, those clothes aren’t couture, which actually can be bought anyway. And as high fashion brands make an increasing percentage of their money off of it-accessories and pre-season tank tops, it’s only a matter of time before ready to wear goes the same way as couture.
And that makes us want to cry.
posted by guest
Nov 06, 2008 1:10PM
I loved this article, because I work at a fashion company and after market our sales department decides what pieces will be put into production and what will be "discarded" based on the buyer's reception. It's the least favorite part of my job. What is funny is that these "discards" make up at least 75% of the requests from magazines. Therefore, they are credited as "price upon request". Throughout the season, there were a few items that were meant to be purely editorial that were ordered later after press coverage and put into production. One piece in particular that was seemingly in every magazine happened to have a watered down version that was in stores and eventually sold out. These editorial pieces do help get the name out and sell the more wearable pieces. As a shopper, I find it disappointing to go into a store and see that the cooler items are no where to be found. It has also been noted that people who are buying clothes in this economic climate are looking for standout, unique pieces that you can't find at a lower price point.