teri agins on finding whitespace By Danielle Muscarella
In the late 19th century, Charles Frederick Worth began stitching a label bearing his name into the dresses of his design—an audacious move for a couturier to place his own ”brand” on equal ground with his famous and well- heeled clients. A little more than a hundred years later, the situation is reversed—now it is the clients who dare to design. Journalist Teri Agins has been studying this phenomenon over decades of work as a fashion reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Agins recently gave a candid speech about her latest chronicle, Hijacking the Runway, at the Raymond A. Rich Institute for Leadership before a crowd of 200. Agins insists on providing her readers with the unvarnished truth - from who hosted the most “swinging afterparties” (Sean Combs) to which celebrities have hoodwinked their way into a seat at the fashion table. When asked if writing this book tarnished her relationship with certain celebrities, Agins explains that she has always been “respected, not beloved.” Just one of the sacrifices made by people who choose to follow the story, wherever it may lead. The book provides an exhaustive chronology of the encroachment of celebrity on the fashion industry since Charles Frederick Worth’s time. Agins identifies the watershed moment as the early 1990s, when celebrities began to fill the front row seats at Fashion Week, sometimes turning documentary photographers into little more than paparazzi. Also during this time, Anna Wintour made the editorial decision to make actresses, athletes and reality stars the face of Vogue magazine. Fame, not fashion, became the rule. Well-known entertainers like Jessica Simpson and Kanye West have both started to design their own lines, using the aid of their already established personal brands and the help of more experienced designers. According to Agins, Jessica Simpson’s shoe line (designed with the assistance of Vince Camuto) brings in $1 billion a year at retail. These numbers nearly double those of household name and Parsons Design graduate Donna Karan, who brought in a mere $662 million before selling her brand to fashion conglomerate, LVMH. Kanye West has also achieved some success in the fashion industry with no formal design training. For his collaboration with Adidas, West produced 9,000 pairs of his Yeezy brand sneakers priced at $350 a pair. Within minutes of the 2015 release, the shoes sold out, generating over $3 million in revenue. As a result of this celebrity-branded boost, Adidas global revenue rose 17% in the latest quarter. It seems that with enough fame, a fashion line is sure to follow. To aspiring fashion designers, this phenomenon may seem unjust: after enduring years of schooling, no sleep and harsh critique in order to develop one’s talent, it could all be overshadowed by someone with a pop hit or a pile of cash from cable television. “Fret not,” says Agins.
She ensures that there will always be room for true innovation because it’s all about identifying the “white space,” (a term used frequently by this journalist) through investigating which markets are still not being catered to by the fashion industry, and who is being left out? Assuming that all the white space has been taken up and that there are no new ideas in fashion is “wrong, wrong, wrong,” says Agins. She suggests, as an example, thinking about one customer who designers consistently neglect--to their detriment: women over 40. These women have a substantially higher flow of discretionary income and social influence, but are forced to browse racks of short skirts and cropped tops designed for girls who can barely afford dinner. Agins challenged new designers to take the bait and create a bridge line of dresses with some very specific details, for the customer saying,“I’m 63 and my arms look great, but…” Most women, as they get older, want a sleeve, a higher neckline and a longer hemline. There are some notable celebrities mentioned in Hijacking the Runway who have made a more dignified transition into the industry by skillfully identifying white space. Victoria Beckham and the Olsen twins had to work harder than most designers to shake off their celebrity images in order to avoid scrutiny. Although these women showed impressive work, many accused them of receiving outside help. Agins powerfully disagrees, stating that the three of them are absolute “workaholics.” When considering Beckham’s career, Agins declared, “…she’s a designer. Period.” She wanted a beautifully tailored sheath dress that was impossible to find, so she made one herself. Turns out that many, many other women wanted one too, even at $2700 a piece. Similarly to Beckham, the Olsen twins want to keep their former acting career far away from their clothing label. Neither Mary Kate’s nor Ashley’s name appears on apparel sold for their two lines, “The Row” and “Elizabeth and James.” Instead of exploiting their name, the Olsens managed to find legitimate white space in the industry—creating luxury basics using high cost, high quality materials, and selling out. The Olsens managed to prove critics wrong when they won a CFDA award in 2012. Beckham also garnered praise for her 2011 collection, taking home a British Fashion Award. After years of hard work and dedication, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen gave themselves a new public image that had nothing to do with solving mysteries or hosting parties. As for Victoria Beckham, Posh who? So, if celebrities have indeed “hijacked the runway”, at least Agins has given us a behind-the-velvet-rope tour of who is real, who is fake, who possesses a true talent, who is simply bored and who has the work ethic to be around for the long term.
46 | Marist Fashion
Vol. 3 | 47
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