Retail's Big People Problem

“The clothes are uniformly out of reach of almost everyone.”

Models walk the runway at Prada.

The sentiment from the Fashion Month behind us feels like a collective “meh.” Critics across outlets fell hard for very little. There were highlights: Prada elicited unanimous audulatory praise. Paris was cited as “an explosion of creativity.” But there’s an undercurrent of disdain rippling through the ether.

Audacious Pricing

“The clothes are uniformly out of reach of almost everyone,” writes The Washington Post’s Rachel Tashjian. “The fashion world is no democracy, even if it keeps saying it is. The clothes have gotten outrageously, laughably expensive: A dress that Meryl Streep wore to the SAG Awards on Saturday night, from Prada’s Spring 2024 collection, is $16,000. An acetate gabardine jacket from the debut collection of Gucci’s new designer, Sabato De Sarno, arriving in stores now, is $3,980. An oversize wool coat by Burberry is $5,900. The number of designers bringing up ‘reality’ in backstage interviews this season is an added, if hilarious, irony.”

Emilia Petrarca

echoed the sentiment in her newsletter, Shop Rat. “Fashion feels so disconnected from real life right now,” She writes. “And insane prices don’t help. Sure, Bottega Veneta looked nice. But will I ever spend $11,000 on a top? Nope. At the very least, I hope to scroll through a collection (god, there are so many collections) and feel excited about getting dressed. Feelings are free! But brands are so focused on making another billion dollars in sales that they don’t seem interested in ideas anymore. ‘My theme is the clothes,’ said Gucci’s new designer, Sabato De Sarno. That’s like a chef saying their theme is the food. Give me something to chew on!!!”

The Very Important Client

Despite the unassailable rightness of winning collections from houses like Bottega, Bally, and The Row, it begs the question: who is paying for this? BoF cites a staggering number, “For online retailers, just 1-to-3 percent of clients can make up anywhere from 20-to-40 percent of revenue.”

While the buy at luxury retailers may vary slightly — MyTheresa veers more trend-forward, for example, while Net-a-Poter’s ethos is more about wardrobe-building — they all generally carry the same thing. So, something has to set each apart. For Moda Operandi, fashion is in step with the runway, offering pre-order reservations mere hours after models walk. They amp it up with an editorial-style content strategy and a feminine buy that echoes brand founder Lauren Santo Domingo’s personal style.

But for the top 3%, shopping online is an entirely different experience, and there’s an arms race to capture their business.

On Net-a-Porter, EIP (Extremely Important Person) customers enjoy collection previews and pre-orders (shown in a special section of the website not visible to non-EIP customers), access to exclusive items not onsite (fine jewelry and The Row’s coveted bags in exotic skins, for example), invites to events and fashion shows, reserved shopping carts, and more.

“Where private shopping once meant a monthly trip to a department store, online retailers have teams of personal shoppers available to chat around the clock on WhatsApp, fly to clients' homes for last-minute couture appointments, and make the buy for an entire holiday wardrobe.”

MyTheresa employs many of the same perks — but with exemplary high-touch customer service from an expert personal shopping team. They’re also infamous for curating best-in-class experiences: dinner with a designer in Paris, front row at your favorite runway show, a curated trunk show for you and your friends. For top spenders, whatever you desire is accommodated graciously and without question.

For Matches, a more gruesome fate despite a present VIC program: shuttering altogether. They’re not the only retailer whose immediate fate hangs in the balance, which is why amping up the buy of top clients is more important than ever.

Influence Over Affluence