Rolling back prices - on designer threads?
While flipping through the 600-plus pages of the September 2005 issue of Vogue magazine, featuring the lovely Sarah Jessica Parker on the cover, I came across something rather odd and perhaps groundbreaking for what I thought to be an exclusively high fashion magazine.
While sifting through the articles and couture ads, I stumbled across an eight-page campaign for Wal-Mart! At first I thought I was seeing wrong, because certainly a magazine such as Vogue wouldn't have such an unlikely sponsor. As I flipped to the cover of the magazine to confirm that yes, I was reading Vogue, I found myself puzzled and shocked. Not that I have anything against Wal-Mart, I mean who does, I was just intrigued that alongside ads for Chanel and Christian Dior were a series of ads for the not-so-pretentious chain store.
Usually it's the necklines in the magazine that are plunging, not the price points of their ads. And as an avid reader of many fashion magazines, I have never come across such a contrast.
In a sense, it's nice to know that the same target audience who purchases YSL and Marc Jacobs goods is interested in Wal-Mart. Otherwise, why would their ads be in the magazine? If you can't afford the designer duds featured in those types of magazines, this type of mixed marketing makes you feel like there is still something for you. This sudden merge of high-end fashion with off-the-rack, generic merchandise signifies the begging stages of eliminating class barriers in fashion.
You may recall a few years back, at an Oscars ceremony, Sharon Stone dared to wear a modest black Gap tee shirt ($22) with her husbands white dress shirt and a couture skirt, in an effort to place emphasis on her talent, not her outfit. An event such as this not only brought more attention to her outfit, but also changed the atmosphere of the red carpet. More women soon ditched the couture and went for comfy. And now, only a few years later, Vogue opted to aid Wal-Mart in changing their marketing strategy by including them in their September 2005 issue. Wal-Mart is trying to improve their image, and they are using the reputation of Vogue readers to do so. But will it work? The online consensus is that mainly Wal-Mart shoppers will never see the ads, and Vogue readers will simply disregard it. Apparently it isn't enough that the worlds' largest corporation is destroying small business, along with homogenizing quite literally all of consumer spending in the United States and now Canada. Now its entering the field of high fashion, where it may use its influence to force creativity out the door in favour of low margin, mass-produced clothing that relies on powerful names such as Chanel, Dior, et al to propagate itself. These beautiful brands may lose prestige and lose market share like Burberry did when they provided value-priced accessories (Burberry plaid scarves and hats) to stimulate customer loyalty within their market. This ended up putting them in a situation where their products have saturated the market, not only making their merchandise less desirable but also quite generic. This trade off can go two ways; either society becomes more creative and comfortable with itself because high fashion will be more accessible, or high fashion will lose its creativity and uniqueness because this accessibility to its product equals potential millions for the label. Either way, this groundbreaking collaboration will stick in the minds of many, and may pave the way for a new shabby/chic type of fashion; it doesn't matter who designed it, or how much it costs, but how fabulous it looks and feels on you!
Jen St. Denis is Fanshwe's veteran Fashion Police Chief. If you've spotted some terrible trends or some fantastic fashions and want to tell her about it, email her at fanshawe_n_fashion2004@yahoo.ca
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
While sifting through the articles and couture ads, I stumbled across an eight-page campaign for Wal-Mart! At first I thought I was seeing wrong, because certainly a magazine such as Vogue wouldn't have such an unlikely sponsor. As I flipped to the cover of the magazine to confirm that yes, I was reading Vogue, I found myself puzzled and shocked. Not that I have anything against Wal-Mart, I mean who does, I was just intrigued that alongside ads for Chanel and Christian Dior were a series of ads for the not-so-pretentious chain store.
Usually it's the necklines in the magazine that are plunging, not the price points of their ads. And as an avid reader of many fashion magazines, I have never come across such a contrast.
In a sense, it's nice to know that the same target audience who purchases YSL and Marc Jacobs goods is interested in Wal-Mart. Otherwise, why would their ads be in the magazine? If you can't afford the designer duds featured in those types of magazines, this type of mixed marketing makes you feel like there is still something for you. This sudden merge of high-end fashion with off-the-rack, generic merchandise signifies the begging stages of eliminating class barriers in fashion.
You may recall a few years back, at an Oscars ceremony, Sharon Stone dared to wear a modest black Gap tee shirt ($22) with her husbands white dress shirt and a couture skirt, in an effort to place emphasis on her talent, not her outfit. An event such as this not only brought more attention to her outfit, but also changed the atmosphere of the red carpet. More women soon ditched the couture and went for comfy. And now, only a few years later, Vogue opted to aid Wal-Mart in changing their marketing strategy by including them in their September 2005 issue. Wal-Mart is trying to improve their image, and they are using the reputation of Vogue readers to do so. But will it work? The online consensus is that mainly Wal-Mart shoppers will never see the ads, and Vogue readers will simply disregard it. Apparently it isn't enough that the worlds' largest corporation is destroying small business, along with homogenizing quite literally all of consumer spending in the United States and now Canada. Now its entering the field of high fashion, where it may use its influence to force creativity out the door in favour of low margin, mass-produced clothing that relies on powerful names such as Chanel, Dior, et al to propagate itself. These beautiful brands may lose prestige and lose market share like Burberry did when they provided value-priced accessories (Burberry plaid scarves and hats) to stimulate customer loyalty within their market. This ended up putting them in a situation where their products have saturated the market, not only making their merchandise less desirable but also quite generic. This trade off can go two ways; either society becomes more creative and comfortable with itself because high fashion will be more accessible, or high fashion will lose its creativity and uniqueness because this accessibility to its product equals potential millions for the label. Either way, this groundbreaking collaboration will stick in the minds of many, and may pave the way for a new shabby/chic type of fashion; it doesn't matter who designed it, or how much it costs, but how fabulous it looks and feels on you!
Jen St. Denis is Fanshwe's veteran Fashion Police Chief. If you've spotted some terrible trends or some fantastic fashions and want to tell her about it, email her at fanshawe_n_fashion2004@yahoo.ca
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
