>> Is it the end of a "designer century"? Every once in a while, Suzy Menkes publishes an absolutely standout article, and yesterday was one of those days.
She explored the idea that there will soon no longer be room for designers like Karl Lagerfeld or Yves Saint Laurent -- who built up up a cult of personality and very much have the focus of the brand on themselves. "Brand managers now believe that too much focus on the designer is detrimental... New designers are being tapped more for their ability to come up with saleable merchandise than for their charisma."
It will definitely be interesting to see how the increasing corporatization of designers plays out in the next decade or so, especially since character has played such a part in the success of designers for so long now (Karl, Yves, Coco, John Galliano... the list goes on).
by philleif
>> Is it the end of a "designer century"? Every once in a while, Suzy Menkes publishes an absolutely standout article, and yesterday was one of those days.
She explored the idea that there will soon no longer be room for designers like Karl Lagerfeld or Yves Saint Laurent -- who built up up a cult of personality and very much have the focus of the brand on themselves. "Brand managers now believe that too much focus on the designer is detrimental... New designers are being tapped more for their ability to come up with saleable merchandise than for their charisma."
It will definitely be interesting to see how the increasing corporatization of designers plays out in the next decade or so, especially since character has played such a part in the success of designers for so long now (Karl, Yves, Coco, John Galliano... the list goes on).
