Branding the man: why men are the next frontier in fashion retail

(SAN FRANCISCO) – As a personal friend of Wilkes Bashford, I featured him in my new book, Branding the Man. “To be a successful men’s store you must have a vision of who you want to appeal to,” said Bashford, one afternoon in 2008 at his favorite lunchtime retreat, Le Centrale. “If you establish your vision and direct your efforts towards that, then you can build a meaningful customer relationship. The mistakes most people make is that they’re not consistent.”

Bashford was anything if not consistent. But in this economy, was that enough? I was quite moved by the recent news that he had filed for Chapter 11 (read about it here.) It is of course no secret that his business — like everyone’s —  is suffering. I think there are several important points which need to be raised here about the current retail climate and Wilkes Bashford figures in all of them:

1) Discounters and outlets have grown in strength and in their ability to supply consumers with high quality designer goods. It’s now increasingly possible to find even the current season’s looks. In some cases, retailers are cannibalizing themselves by selling off excess inventory to outlets — often one that is just down the street. I wrote about this on my blog at www.brandingtheman.com/blog.

2) Luxury retailers have been consistently fighting a losing battle with their key customers. The top 5% of critical luxury shoppers buy early in the season (or even pre-season) and often not in places like San Francisco. A store like Wilkes Bashford becomes less relevant because those who buy those clothes are a dying minority. If the WB brand had one weakness it was that they were stubborn in how they grew their customer base.

3) The specialty store and luxury boutique has become an expensive warehouse. More and more customers phone in their orders and don’t feel the need to buy in a store.  Case in point, Yves Saint Laurent is closing both its 41-year old Madison Avenue boutique AND San Francisco’s Maiden Lane store — the brand’s second attempt to settle in San Francisco. I wrote about this on my blog at www.brandingtheman.com/blog.

4) The recession has taught consumers that living with less is actually not that bad. Where a year ago it was painful to not be able to shop, now people have discovered that they really can do more with less and that their quality of life is more meaningful without so much stuff. The definition of “value” has changed.

This last point is the most critical. Retailers, rather than innovate are still digging in their heels and hoping that things will somehow change. They won’t. The consumer is in control, so if retail is to offer any real value, it needs to be in service — not just product.

Wilkes Bashford represents one very sad truth about the American consumer and American culture in particular: with the democratization of fashion and the evolution of retail channels, stores like Wilkes Bashford could simply become obsolete. Mr. Bashford was a vanguard of his time, ushering in some of the first designer goods on U.S. soil — Zegna, Armani, Montana — and he continues to have a sense of fashion that deeply understands the significance of innovation and style. At this time of writing, Bashford has committed to staying with the company after Ed Mitchell West LLC finalizes the purchase. I for one, look forward to his continued influence on the brand.

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(NEW YORK) – The blog Madison Avenue Spy reports that Yves Saint Laurent will close its 41-year old Madison Avenue store, YSL’s first U.S. outpost.  It’s no secret that Madison Avenue retail has lost plenty of pow in recent months with numerous stores closing or limping towards 2010.  YSL fans will now need to schlep up to the store on 57th Street.

But it’s not only happening in New York. We’ve heard from one YSL insider that San Francisco’s Maiden Lane boutique is next on the list. Originally slated to close December 15, the date has now been pushed up to late November, with a confirmed date of November 12 for an invitation-only 20% off shopping event (the Madison Avenue store will host a similar event on November 16th, and then will accept presale orders for first markdown.)

A salesperson with one of Yves Saint Laurent’s boutiques has told me that it’s become increasingly frequent for customers to simply phone in their orders rather than visit the boutique. That means fewer opportunities to upsell them on buying more.

But it’s something that is happening everywhere. With such high-quality internet and advertising content out there, most people already know what they want before it even hits the store. The luxury boutique, once a place to experience and discover the magic and allure of a brand’s image, is now simply a place of procurement —  an expensive warehouse rather than showroom. This may not be the case for everyone, but certainly for those who matter; i.e., those luxury VIP’s who often know more about the product than the poor salesperson who lives off a commission. Those people are a luxury store’s bread-and-butter, and now… the store is toast. Adieu.

Ironically enough WWD reported on November 19, 1986 — almost to the day of the rumored closing of YSL’s now second foray into San Francisco retail —  that the first Yves Saint Laurent boutique at 450 Sutter Street would close for good. Saint Laurent himself attended the opening of that store. In 2001, I attended the opening of the Maiden Lane boutique where I encountered a “woman of a certain age” standing in front of that store. She smiled and offered me an unopened pack of YSL cigarettes — a gift to her from the original Sutter Street store when it opened in the early 1970′s. It was packaged in bergundy and black with an embossed gold logo, so reminiscent of a time when YSL had a Midas touch with marketing everything from socks to cigarettes.

Au Revoir, Yves. Hope you come back to San Francisco. Next time though, please don’t do the black bathrooms with black toilets — that Tom Ford cocaine look is so dated, and my eyesight is terrible and I can’t see a bloody thing when I’m in there.

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(SAN FRANCISCO) – Since his wild-child debut in 1998, Yigal Azrouel has made a name for himself with beautifully draped clothes that are deceptively low-key. It’s not unusual to find an exquisite little mink cape nestled amongst racks of distressed wool, cotton, or linen dresses. Azrouel’s collections are rich in textures, colors and already have fiercely loyal fans, especially amongst the young New York fashion set. For those wanting a vagabond style, look no further: these are clothes that appear to have taken part in the Paris – Dakar Rally; dusty, rugged, but richly textured and elegant. His women’s collections in particular ooze a languid aesthetic that calls to mind Kristin Scott Thomas in “The English Patient.”

His 2010 men’s collections follows along those same lines and in some cases even exceed expectations for a designer who first made his mark in women’s wear. The 2010 menswear collection is boyishly disheveled but finely drawn in silhouette and message.

At a recent trunk show at Saks Fifth Avenue in downtown San Francisco, Azrouel showed richly textured jackets, pants, and his signature scarves that called to mind the sun-bleached life of a Nomad in the deserts of Morocco. A model wearing a black and dusty blue tie-dyed shirt with cardigan and striped scarf epitomized the look which has become distinctly Azrouel’s own style — one which might strike a chord with many men who are hoping  to gain at least an ounce of Azrouel’s mojo.

“I love San Francisco,” said Azrouel. “But I don’t always have much time to explore it when I’m doing events like this.”

The designer, never lacking in charm, had it in spades at the Saks event, and it certainly helped sell the clothes. Wearing a mossy green cardigan and scarf, Azrouel intermittently adjusted each of the models while sipping champagne and meeting guests. It seemed that some who had never seen Azrouel before, were too shy to meet the designer and  hung back on the periphery of the room, peering over their champagne glasses as he showed VIP’s some of his favorite pieces.

Yigal Azrouel is available at Saks Fifth Avenue’s men’s and women’s stores, both located on Post Street in downtown San Francisco. Photographs courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue and Drew Altizer Photography, www.drewaltizer.com.

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