FT Alphaville is a fan of using fashion magazines as proxies for consumer sentiment. Plus Fintag seems to have picked up on current fashion themes so lo and behold, we are jumping on the all-black bandwagon.
Specifically, the “Back to Black” issue of UK Harper’s Bazaar. It’s an entire issue devoted to dark-hued merchandise - clothes, accessories, furnishings, etc. Why the monotone? Editor Lucy Yeomans contemplates the following in her letter to readers:
… A leading designer told me just last week how one US department store had, after realising quite how bleak the economic situation was, swiftly revised its order for the season, eradicating all bright colours and reordering every piece in black. So is this black resurgance a case of tough times calling for a more sober outlook?
If the department store in question was ordering for the current Autumn/Winter 2008 season, they would have been submitting their requests a while ago - suggesting austerity may have been on the minds of the world’s fashion pack for some time.
We note as well, that US Harper’s Bazaar has a feature titled “Gucci or Gas? How to recession proof your wardrobe.” We’re not sure the average Gucci-affording fashionista would have to make that decision. In fact, we think it’s more likely to be “Primark or Petrol?” Or, “Food or French Connection?”
Nevertheless, stringent spending seems to have filtered towards fashion’s upper echelons - at least in sentiment.
Vogue suggested gold-dipped fur as an alternative fashion ‘investment’ in last month’s issue. The metal is rising today in London trading (up some 1.2 per cent to $813 an ounce on the back of rising oil prices and Fannie/Freddie uncertainty) - though it has dropped from about $832 an ounce, when Alphaville wrote its post.
Still, Vogue’s about on a par with UBS analysts for accuracy so far - they predicted on Aug. 28 that the price would go up to $850 within a month.
Further reading:
Fashion week: News from the runway - FT
