Is the Recessionista the new Fashionista?
For the past year, the fashion industry has changed drastically. A victim of the economy in recession, the world of runways, magazine covers and couture has taken a major hit and suffered losses that have left few striking a pose. The result: a newfound modesty and humility in an effort to connect with more consumers. Fashionistas are out, recessionistas are in. The true test of this new trend will be to see if it becomes a fashion classic or have the endurance of last year’s boot cut jeans.
The fashion industry has never been known for its consistency but the change it’s had for the past year was anything but welcome. It started with the pages of fashion publications. Week after week more cutbacks and downsizes were reported even for the ones that seemed to be untouchable such as Hearst and Conde Nast. Then it was the lavish stores in Manhattan that seemed to disappear one after another before the eyes of New Yorkers; first Sergio Rossi, followed by Bill Blass and even Russian prodigy Kira Plastinina. Then, finally it became official. Karl Lagerfeld, the man and living legend behind the designs of Chanel made a statement that declared that the fashion industry was entering a much more subdued era.
“There is no creative evolution if you don’t have dramatic moments like this. Bling is over. Red carpety [sic] covered with rhinestones is out. I call it ‘the new modesty,’ ” said the designer about the current economic situation.
While Lagerfeld’s words are true considering the crisis of the industry, they have to be held as hypocritical in the least and not by any means a sign that the industry is changing its elitist ways. Like Lagerfeld, the fashion industry seems to have no problem admitting that it is in a crisis yet it is too proud to adapt to it.
Perhaps the biggest effort the fashion world had made to stay in touch with its consumers in the midst of economic hardship was coming up with the term recessionista. The noun refers to a stylish woman who is also savvy in her buys. She is a fashionista on a budget. The industry had no problems accepting the term and even Vogue incorporated into its pages… on a section of the best buys for under $500.
Marc Jacobs’ idea of adapting to the economy was to cancel its legendary after party for the upcoming fashion week season as well as designer Alexander Wang and runway veteran Calvin Klein. While the excesses of the industry may have been cut, its barebones are still overly expensive. To remedy this problem, designers and editors are trying to reach new customers. Elle’s idea was to hire a full time employee to explore opportunities in the television market to expand its readership. Miu Miu, Armani and Vivienne Westwood opted for the celebrity appeal on their campaigns. The only idea that doesn’t seem to have been explored is, dare I say it, the most obvious: to lower the price of merchandise.
A pair of peep toe sandals from Prada’s Fall collection costs $650. Helmut Lang leggings $920 and the latest Marc Jacobs tote bag $438. Not really what one would call recessionista prices.
While designers watch their sales go down and magazines watch their advertisers pull out as a consequence thereof, they are all struggling to bring in a new wave of consumers and trend followers. Their struggle will remain in vain, however, if they continue to disconsider the fact that the audience they’re targeting simply cannot afford their products.
It is a paradox that cannot exist but the fashion industry is trying desperately to make a reality: reaching for the masses while still staying exclusive. Like an old money bourgeois family, designers and editors are holding so tight to their elitism that they’re bringing about their own demise. The solution would be to truly appeal to the recessionistas and make them their target audience but that would require exchanging Louboutin for Aldo heels and what fashionista wants to do that?
The New Working Class
The fashion industry has been eternally glamorized. The couture, the styling, the trend setting and being surrounded by clothes all day sounds like a dream job to anyone who’s part of it. But before aspiring fashionistas can work their stilettos into the tents of Bryant Park, there’s a lot of work to be done. Working over time when photo shoots take longer than expected, working the coffee machine at the office and, of course, working for free in the form of an internship.
That is if you’re not a celebrity. After all, celebrities don’t wait in line, they don’t do their own groceries or drive themselves to their destinations but they certainly do get what they want. As of late, it seems that what they want most is not a table at the Ivy but a job in the fashion industry.
Hockey star Sean Avery was the first celebrity to enter the fashion world by getting an internship with none other than Vogue Magazine.
“I wrote to the editor in chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour, and expressed my desire to intern for the magazine once my team won the Stanley Cup,” he explained in a four page essay published on the Men’s Vogue website. “After just a couple of days I got the answer I was looking for.”
One of the benefits of being a celebrity is not having to travel through the usual channels. While hundreds of students and recent grads have to rely on a resume and cover letter directed to the human resources department, Avery can simply ask La Wintour for a job.
But his start wasn’t the only thing that set Avery apart from Vogue’s other interns. While fashion design students held on to their degrees and qualifications while running around Manhattan running errands for their supervisors, steaming clothes and packing for photo shoots, Avery was styling them, sitting on meetings with the managing editor and getting his own company e-mail address and desk.
Also riding the internship-of-my-dreams train is NFL Eagles player Stewart Bradley who’s currently an intern for Elle Magazine. So far he’s been seen at Fashion Week events with executive editor Anna Pezik and guest blogging for their website about his experience.
In his first blog post, the linebacker explained just how football has made him qualified for the job.
“During the “off” season each year I like to try to find an experience that will expand my horizons and take me out of my comfort zone. It’s a good way, I think, to grow as a person and learn new things,” he said. “What better way to do so than to intern at the world’s most circulated women’s fashion magazine?”
So while most candidates looking for an internship at Elle are trying to follow a career path, Bradley is on a journey to self-discovery. It is another benefit of being a celebrity; getting something that everyone else wants just because you can. This benefit applies to the most famous of celebrity interns: Kanye West.
The rapper is currently an intern for the legendary Louis Vuitton. According to the fashion house’s website a candidate for an internship needs to be a fashion design major who can earn school credit and be proficient in Photoshop and Illustrator. While West’s incompetency in the first two is guaranteed and the latter ones are more than likely the same, that didn’t stop him from getting the job, starting his own line of sneakers and attending every Fashion Week show seated on the first row.
So if these “interns” obviously aren’t qualified for their positions, why are they being hired? Because all other qualified candidates can’t give these companies one valuable gift: publicity.
Kanye West has mentioned Louis Vuitton in every interview he’s done since December. Vogue and subsequently Elle have gained notoriety for accepting their all-star interns. Diane von Furstenberg, perhaps, was the one with the biggest celebrity marketing plan by employing New York socialite Olivia Palermo.
Palermo’s biggest accomplishment may have been to climb the social ladder, she is also a part of the MTV reality show “The City” and is conveniently dressed in DVF for every scene she’s in. That allows DVF not only to have their name exposed to prospective buyers every Monday night, but to have a link on their website for the outfits featured on the show and it is no coincidence that they’re all sold out.
Every year, thousands of people graduate from colleges and universities around the country with majors in Communications, Journalism and Fashion Design with one goal in mind: to enter the fashion industry. They know it’s an uphill battle, that it is an exclusive place and only a selected few succeed and now they have to add the competition of every vapid celebrity who wishes to have a Devil Wears Prada moment. Since designers and editors could use any publicity they can get in this economy, those real aspiring professionals can only hope they at least get a letter of recommendation out of all of it.
