Ventures in Massclusivity

The news that Vera Wang is partnering with Kohl's Corp. to produce a moderately priced line, "Very Vera by Vera Wang," for fall 2007 has got me thinking about the current trend of "massclusivity." In recent years, a slew of high-end designers have worked with lower-end firms to offer "designer" products at low prices. This trend came to be termed "massclusivity"--the idea being that a lower ticket price would make high fashion available to the masses.

However, not all massclusivity partnerships meaningfully further the democratization of fashion. Moreover, this is not always a bad thing. Let's take a look at the cases of Stella McCartney for H&M and the Nine West Front Row Project in order to better understand what I mean.

As much as I am looking forward to Viktor & Rolf for H&M, I would argue that the Stella McCartney for H&M collection did not do much to further the democratization of design.

First, there is the issue of geography. Location, location, location was the key determinant of who had access to Stella McCartney's collection for H&M. It was released in a mere six cities in the United States. As a result, the average shopper not living in New York or Washington, DC did not have the opportunity to happen across the clothes in his or her local mall.

Then there is the issue of implicit vs. explicit costs consumers bear to acquire items from the line. If you wanted a piece of Stella McCartney for H&M, you had to be the first in the know and look up the line on the H&M website. You had to register to receive an e-mail to be notified of the date when the collection would be released, or mark it on your calendar at the very least. You had to wait in line the morning of, perhaps missing work--and you had to be ready to battle it out for the desired piece. The implicit costs--i.e., all of these non-monetary costs--are very high. For someone living in say, Ohio, or even say, Vermont--the items remain as cost prohibitive as their non-massclusive (but merely exclusive) counterparts.

Another "massclusivity" venture that will not significantly further the democratization of design is the Nine West Front Row Project. Nine West has commissioned Vivienne Westwood, Thakoon Panichgul and Sofia Kokosalaki to produce capsule collections which will, come fall, be available in 20 Nine West stores and about 40 Macy's. Each collection consists of only a handful of pieces and will only be available for one month.

Now, how can such a venture benefit the average fashion consumer? Well, it keeps the designers we love in business; it helps safeguard their lines against the fate of the Rochas ready-to-wear business. The designers get exposure, but not so much as to erode the prestige of their ready-to-wear lines, and "money [injected] into [their] companies outside the biannual market frame" (as Panichgul put it).

Photos from Style.com. From left to right: designers Stella McCartney, Vera Wang, and Behnaz Sarafpour. All three have gotten in on the massclusivity game. *Behnaz Sarafpour's line for Target is now available. Check out La Femme's review here.

Comments

[minhphin]

Very interesting blog - i'm loving the analysis of the intersection of fashion and economics.

Regarding 'massclusivity' - I would tend to agree with you: there seems to be a veiled hypocrisy in the idea of high end designers going mainstream at Target, Nine West, et al., when said designers' massclusive products are barely available to the average consumer. However, I was surprised to find an abundance of Paul & Joe for Target at my local Tar-Jays, way out here in the suburban Bay Area...

[misty ann]

i also wonder this; is the average consumer who is going to be purchasing nine west shoes going to really care that vivienne westwood designed a pair of pumps? is the typical target shopper going to really be scrambling for behnaz sarafpour's collection?

and furthermore, is the person who recognizes these names and cares going to actually shop at nine west? don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to sound uppity, but it seems a bit...skewed, i suppose.

let's just say that i'm not holding my breath for charlize theron to exclaim on the red carpet that her shoes are nine west by vivienne westwood, you know?

[Elsa]

Oh misty ann...thanks for your thoughtful comment. Clearly, Charlize Theron is NOT going to be purchasing Nine West for Vivienne Westwood--neither I, nor executives at Nine West or the designer Vivienne herself are holding their breath for her or any celebrity or regular consumer of "normal" Vivienne Westwood products to do so. Well...perhaps a few die hard Westwood fans would venture to Nine West to secure a few of the lower priced items (as many a Stella fan battled it out at H&M when her line hit stores). But generally, you're dead on.

The thing is, "massclusive" lines are not meant to be perfect substitutes for the regular designer lines.

These product lines seem to be aimed largely (but not exclusively) at consumers who would not consider shopping at Nine West or Target if not for the "massclusive" product offerings. In this way, Target and Nine West might draw in more customers...which is always good for business. Offering massclusive products is also a good way to keep your customer base interested. And this is also a good strategy for competing with "good" stores that offer "higher end" products than Target or Nine West.

Does that help to clear up some confusion?

minhphin, thanks so much! I hope to see you back. As for the hypocrisy...well, I would hate to put down Vivienne Westwood as I actually really respect her work. However, when one realizes how exclusive the massclusive products she designed for Nine West really are...well, it's hard to swallow the statement she made about "changing the world." In any case, while it may not be a very revolutionary move on her part...I view it as a positive development.

[thepeppers]

Interesting article. I definitely like the Behnaz and Paul & Joe lines that have been at Target. I think massclusive products do introduce the average american to something new and fresh that they might not otherwise find. While the average target shopper may not be going to Target just to see the Behnaz collection, they might come across it while shopping there for something else and have their eyes open to something new. And while I would be going to Target just to get the brocade skirt from Behnaz, I certainly don't mind paying less for it, it leaves me more money for my creme la mer. BTW, do you know if the H&M in metro center will carry the Viktor and Rolf line? In your opinion, is that line worth checking out in the store?

[Elsa]

Hey thepeppers!

I agree.

As for the Viktor & Rolf collection for H&M, according to the H&M website the only DC store that will stock it is the one at 2025 F St. Although I love Viktor and Rolf (their actual clothes fit like a dream...oh my gosh), I'm not as excited for their H&M collection as I was for Karl or Stella for H&M after seeing the photos. That's just me, though. I will probably pay a visit to the store to check it out, or even just to witness the chaos of the opening day...will I see you there?

[thepeppers]

I think you mean 1025 F Street, which is the store located in between Metro Center and Chinatown. I am still on the fence as to whether I will go down there on Thursday. I definitely won't be waiting in line for hours, but I might stop by and see if it's crowded and if not, then go in. I read somewhere that if you don't go the opening day, that it is recommended to go 2-4 days later, because that is usually when people start returning stuff so their stock may be better.