Earlier at fall/winter 2022 Paris Menswear Week, Nigo showcased its first collection since joining Kenzo. As expected, Nigo has created a traffic code for this classic brand that fits the context of the times, and the wardrobe combination composed of bomber jackets, denim suits, and American retro workwear not only highlights Nigo's signature design elements, but also coincides with the aesthetic orientation of today's young customers.
It is worth noting that Kenzo's blockbuster element "Tiger Head" has also been given a new face. Former Creative Directors Humberto Leon and Carol Lim designed the "Tiger Head" with realistic lines and colorful colors to give a bold and vibrant look. Nigo, on the other hand, reinterpreted it in his cartoon style, simplifying the tiger head style and making it more modern and youthful, but also lively and interesting.
Kenzo's Fall/Winter 2022 collection
Nigo's nodal choice and design orientation for Kenzo debuts just begs the question to be discussed today: Why are luxury brands betting on the menswear track? Why has street and fashion become the same reform direction of high-end men's wear?
In the past, menswear has been on the back burner in the category matrix of luxury brands. Now, although the share of the men's wear category in the market is still relatively small, it has shown a vigorous growth trend. Research firm Mordor Intelligence once pointed out in the report that from 2020 to 2025, the compound annual growth rate of the global men's wear market will reach 5.7%, and the development growth rate is expected to significantly outperform women's wear.
According to Luca Solca, head of luxury research at Bernstein, although the menswear business accounts for a relatively small proportion of the LVMH Group overall, "menswear is growing much faster than women's wear" and the growth rate is "definitely double-digit". Similarly, Balenciaga CEO Cedric Charbit has publicly stated that the reason why the brand has become the fastest-growing representative of the Kering Group is that in addition to the pursuit of millennials, the momentum provided by male consumers cannot be ignored. Cedric Charbit emphasizes that both male consumers and millennials are the fastest growing category of a brand's customer base.
In the face of the booming development trend of the men's wear market, the participants in the industry have also made a positive response. Tamara Sender, a senior fashion analyst at Market Intelligence, said that "more and more retailers and brands are entering the growing menswear market by expanding their supply and opening specialized stores and websites". In recent years, popular luxury brands represented by Dior and Prada have chosen to add stores focusing on men's wear categories, while Mytheresa, a German luxury e-commerce company that has long focused on women's wear business, also opened a men's wear channel in early 2020, and has since launched an exclusive men's capsule series with brands such as Gucci, Valentino and Tom Ford.
Dior menswear limited time shop
The rise in sales of men's clothing is largely due to men's increasing emphasis on their own image management. In the traditional concept, the word "fashion" has a strong feminine color, and men are easily criticized by the outside world if they catch up with the trend. But time has changed, as men's self-perception has changed, the definition of "male image" has also been broadened, becoming more inclusive and diverse, and dressing up is no longer exclusive to women.
Interestingly, suits and leather shoes, once considered the standard for high-end elites, are no longer a popular choice for male customers.
In the United States, the image of successful men represented by Wall Street has changed long before the epidemic. The most representative example is the investment bank Goldman Sachs Group issuing a notice to Wall Street employees that traditional business dress is no longer a mandatory rule for daily work. Ceo David Solomon explains, "I think it's more of a social change than to emphasize that Wall Street or Goldman Sachs is changing."
According to Roopal Patel, fashion director of Saks Fifth Avenue, a famous luxury department store in the United States, this "social change" is that men's clothing is becoming more casual and close to life, and men need clothing that can be worn on weekdays, weekends and sports, so more casual items such as sneakers and bomber jackets are increasingly replacing the traditional suit three-piece suit.
Under the guidance of the casual daily policy, luxury brands have implemented drastic reforms to their menswear collections. Comparing the finished products horizontally, it is not difficult to find that street and tide branding are the largest common denominators.
When it comes to street and trendy branding, Virgil Abloh is an unavoidable name. Virgil Abloh's appointment as Louis Vuitton Menswear Art Director breaks with the "white supremacy" tradition of the fashion system and marks a further melting of the boundaries between street culture and haute couture. Sidney Toledano, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH Group and member of the LVMH Executive Committee, has publicly stated: "Virgil Abloh's debut not only earned eyeballs, but also brought a deeper trend of popularity. We can clearly see in sales that demand in the menswear business has become very strong, especially for the younger generation of consumers. ”
After virgil Abloh's sudden death, who will take over as louis Vuitton menswear art director has become a topic of great concern. LV Chairman and CEO Michael Burke previously revealed that the brand is not in a hurry to find a successor to Virgil Abloh, saying: "LV is large enough that it can run on its own for a period of time." At the same time, he also stressed that the brand will not limit the gender, orientation, race, age limit of the successor, or even exclude the appointment of the first female LV menswear creative director.
LV Fall/Winter 2022 Menswear Collection
Although who will take over Virgil Abloh is still undecided, it is certain that after the success of this "experiment" on Virgil Abloh, the LVMH Group, which has explored a methodology, will most likely continue the trendy strategy of LV menswear. After all, outside of the LV of the first tier, the group has already brought the same changes to the givenchy and Kenzo brands in order to enhance the market competitiveness of the second tier.
In June 2020, Givenchy announced Matthew M. Williams as the brand's creative director, sending a message that the brand is embracing street trends. Matthew M. Williams and his predecessor Clare Waight Keller are entirely polarized on the fashion spectrum. Clare Waight Keller is loyal to the brand's founder, Hubert de Givenchy, who excels at creating a classic image of elegance and elegance, while Matthew M. Williams is known for his functional street style. Matthew M. Williams founded his own brand, the 1017 ALYX 9SM, in 2015, and the brand's best-known piece is the buckle belt inspired by the roller coaster seat belt, which was worn by the well-known rapper A$AP Rocky and immediately became a screen spree.
Givenchy's Pre-Spring 2022 collection
Letting Nigo take over Kenzo highlights the LVMH Group's bold progress on the road to fashion, because in addition to his status as a designer, Nigo is also a trend idol with his own halo. In an official appointment statement, LVMH said Nigo "has changed the landscape of global street culture, innovating the way fashion brands connect with their audiences, and this approach has become the industry standard".
In recent years, the most unexpected case of hipster men invading luxury brands is Rhude creative director Rhuigi Villase or bally, which has always been known for its classics, and Bally has not had a main designer in the town for five years. The brand founded its own trend brand Rhude in Los Angeles in 2015 and served as CEO and creative director himself. He draws on an exotic perspective on American culture from his childhood, using elements to create boldly conflicting designs without losing texture. Rhude has been loved by celebrities, including Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Blackpink's Rosé, who have all appeared in Rhude pieces.
Rhuigi Villase or
Commenting on the appointment of Rhuigi Villase or, Bally CEO Nicolas Girotto said: "After learning more about the development of Rhuigi Villase or, I am delighted to learn that he has become a great creative in the fashion industry with natural creativity and full spirit, and actively developed the community. His deep understanding of bally's brand history and his unique vision of the Swiss lifestyle help guide the future direction of the brand. ”
From the consumer level, the logic of luxury brands to transform men's clothing is not complicated. The results of the Boston Consulting Group market research show that unlike the mature business population, China's post-90s male consumers no longer regard luxury car watches as the first choice when buying luxury goods. Driven by casual social and trendy culture, ready-to-wear and footwear have jumped to the most popular choices, with both categories reaching 55% penetration among post-90s male luxury customers last year.
Bain's data shows that millennials have jumped to the forefront of luxury spending, with it expected to account for 45% of total global luxury spending by 2025. On the other hand, according to Nielsen's research, the main customer base of street fashion brands is after 95 and 00, accounting for more than 50% of the total, which is why luxury brands are more and more frequently borrowing the grip of trend culture, because only in this way can they do what they like, so that street youth are happy to pay for it.
In addition, the reason why luxury brands compete for the transformation of men's clothing is largely to use the community culture behind the tide brand to absorb high-sticky consumers. The word community, derived from Latin for people who share living space, interests, or other commonalities, or refers to intimate partnership, is a very important concept in sociology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that describes relationships between people. Communities have always played a very important role in the field of streetwear, whether it is the community of geographical concepts, the community of loyal followers of each brand, or the community of streetwear enthusiasts in a broader sense.
At a time when consumer loyalty is easy to wander, communities derived from interests, hobbies or identities have increasingly become the ace weapons for brands to divert traffic and lock streams. Within a community, members can not only complete interpersonal communication, but also meet their own needs at a higher level such as identity building or cultural identity. The closed exclusivity of the community also gives members a strong sense of cohesion and loyalty.
Mick Batyske, a streetwear opinion leader, points out that consumers are now buying streetwear from luxury brands, but they are not actually paying for the most exquisite craftsmanship and the highest quality. Instead, consumers are buying a subculture. "Maybe those streetwear aren't necessarily worth the money, but considering that you're qualifying for a certain circle by buying a single item, this justifies the high pricing of luxury brands."
All in all, street trends that reflect social realities can quickly connect with generalized people and have a decisive role in this era when attention is becoming increasingly difficult to grab. Luxury brands' involvement in street trends is essentially a way to break the game in the face of growth dilemmas, and to make up for the sluggish consumer demand of high-net-worth individuals by entraping the mass market led by the younger generation.
However, it should be pointed out that for the street trend change of luxury brands, the outside world is actually not in a state of applause. In an interview with vogue, Nigo said that streetwear has changed from a counterculture to the norm of everyday wear, and it has become ubiquitous. But in the eyes of many fashionists, streetwear still seems to be equated with the word "non-design", because everyone feels that it is a way of making clothing that does not require designer skills.
Ye, Nigo, and Pharrell Williams are close personal friends
Street trends have become the main way to open men's clothing of luxury brands, this trend is good or bad, I believe that different people will have different answers in their hearts. However, it is worth emphasizing that brands focus on streetwear, seemingly relaxing the requirements for craftsmanship and quality, but in fact, the street fashion is changing rapidly, and young consumers' preferences are uncertain, which may test the brand's innovation and adaptability. WWD
Written by Drag
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