Posts Tagged ‘italian fashion’

John Fairchild, founder and owner of the fashion publishing empire Fairchild Communications, is considered the arbiter of 20th century style and taste in the fashion, beauty and design world. His many publications provided the last word on the history, trends and forward looking direction that these notoriously fickle categories would follow. Mr. Fairchild was a visionary in a world of creative geniuses and risk takers.

In his 1989 book, Chic Savages, Mr. Fairchild observed the following: “Fashion is a sub-art and is not intellectual. Fashion is a business and operates best when born out of instincts. Fashion appeals to the senses and comes from gut feeling…true fashion comes straight out of the jungle”.

This quote, which summarizes John Fairchild’s observations of the creative instincts essential to become a successful cosmetic, fashion or design entrepreneur are applicable to any form of entrepreneurial endeavor. Any widget invented to fill a market void requires a certain cunning instinct on the part of the creator to not only visualize a product, but to create the thing in reality, sell and market the piece, and fully commercialize their unique creative drive.

The world of high fashion is built on product exclusivity. Most people would love to own a Ferrari, Balenciaga gown or a Cartier, even though it is not realistic given their personal financial circumstance. We aspire to these luxuries. We know of these, and many other limited distribution, high end fashionable brands.

Recently I read a history of the rise and fall of the iconic Ungaro house of fashion. Ungaro, in the 1970′s and 1980′s was one of the leading haute couture brands in the world. Ungaro fashion ensembles were extremely successful in this ultra-competitive, stratospherically priced space. Ungaro himself came to exemplify the ideal of the uber-creative Italian fashion genius. The family was ultra-successful in licensing the brand name to dozens of products including cosmetics, fragrance, bags, jewelry and household goods.

There was a constant look and feel to all goods that carried the Ungaro label. They were of the highest quality, sold only in a few of the best stores, exuded artisan craftsmanship and offered the gorgeous Ugaro-look that emanated from the fashion houses couture lines. Ungaro was the ultimate aspiration-al brand. The more expensive and exclusive the distribution the more consumers sought and desired Ungaro products.

In the mid-1990′s, at the height of the bubble for luxury acquisitions, Ungaro was sold. The family gave up creative control, was paid handsomely and believed that the new investment bankers that had bought the firm would continue the traditions that they had employed to make the brand a world-wide phenomenon. They were soon to be proven wrong on every count.

The new owners brought in a new design team and began to apply modern finance and cost control measures to production and to control overheads. In order to support the debt service incurred in the purchase greater sales volumes needed to be achieved. The result was a classic push-pull between the creative side of the business and the operations side. The need for more sales meant the need for more distribution which began to diminish the exclusivity that had been so important in building Ungaro.

These business pressures resulted in a constant churn on the creative design team and ultimately a lack of direction and loss of the styling edginess that made a garment an Ungaro. Retailers, and more importantly consumers, started to notice these changes and walked away from new Ungaro collections. The family looked on in dismay as sales plummeted from hundreds of millions of dollars in the 1980′s to only a few million dollars at the turn of the 21st century.

Ultimately the House of Ungaro has been bought by a Silicon Valley, tech industry multi-millionaire with no, nada, zero fashion industry experience. The brand was purchased for 85 million dollars and the descent has only accelerated. The outlook, especially in the current economy, is grim for Ungaro.

Investment bankers and technology barons are great at asset utilization, reading balance sheets and designing software to make life easier. But entering the fashion jungles as described by John Fairchild is a completely different universe requiring a completely different set of creative skills.

The instinct for design and fashion greatness possessed by Ungaro, Valentino, Ralph Lauren, Charles Revson, Pininfarina, Enzo Ferrari or Harry Winston is not transferrable like the ability to read a blue print or follow a schematic outline in manufacturing. It comes from the gut, and appeals to the senses in ways that are not easily described. The rise and fall of the House of Ungaro is a cautionary tale that all entrepreneurs can and should learn from. Vision is a rare and beautiful thing that cannot be readily manufactured.

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money. After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) have assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Author: Geoff Ficke
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Italy and Fashion have a very unique and special relationship, and when you consider such names as Dolce&Gabbana, Versace and Armani, to name but a few, it’s not difficult to see why. But if we look back into the history of Italian Fashion, (e.g. see also the article on Nina Ricci) we start to understand what gave Italy such a status in the Fashion World.

Count Giorgini started the ‘Italian Fashion’ craze in 1951, when he organised a fashion show to be presented to an International audience in Florence. He then continued to present other fashion shows at his palace, presenting new collections modelled by nobilty against a backdrop of fine arts and scenery. Nobilty would also model new collections at museums or exhibitions next to famous pieces of fine art. This all contributed to elevating the status of Italian fashion, and implanting in everyone’s minds that Italian fashion gives you status, is very rich in quality,and almost ‘fairytale’ like.

In the 1970s and 1980s Milan made its mark as being the Fashion Capital of Italy, and the phrase Made in Italy became universally recognised as meaning ‘high quality’, and ‘high fashion’. Today there are various fashion trade fairs in Milan, and it is considered by many to be the Fashion Capital of The World.

Juliana de Angelis is a travel writer about Italy…read more articles, travel guides and information about Italy, its people and culture at her website: http://www.madaboutitaly.com/

Book flights, hotels and shop for Italian products at [http://www.italianshopsonline.com/]

Author: Juliana De Angelis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Italians have made their mark in the world. They are quite known and are leading in different fields like Italian fashion, interior design, culinary arts and visual arts. Italians are very much proud of their origin and their heritage. And who would not be?

Fashion icons and popular designers are considered to be the finest in the world. To name a few Italian designers – Armani, Prada, Gucci, Versace and Valentino. Milan is one of the most important and prestigious centers of fashion in the world.

During the twelfth century, Florence is known fore the Florentine feronnerie and in the fourteenth century, there was the success of the scarlati wools of Venice. Italian even boasts of the invention of eyeglasses or roidi. As early as 1300, Italy is already releasing licensed designer sunglasses worldwide.

Italians are responsible for the some of the most refined leather and fur craftsmanship of the twentieth century. Trussardi and Furla were both family companies founded in the early 1900s and promote the most beautiful leather goods in fashion. Fendi has been a longtime producer of pieced and dyed furs.

In 1920, the United States saw the first hand made shoes of the first Italian luzury brand Salvatore Ferragamo. Among other exclusive fashion names are Valentino, Gianfranco Ferre, Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Fendi, and Dolce & Gabbana. Gucci is the greatest- selling Italian fashion brand, with worldwide sales of &7.158 billion dollars.

It was Count Giorgini who started the “Italian fashion Craze” in 1951. He organises a show to be presented to an interntional audience in Florence. Nobility would present the new collection against a backdrop of fine art or scenery. This contributed to the status of Italian fashion. This had put into the customer’s mind that Italian fashion is very rich in quality.

Milan made its mark as being the Fashion Capital of Italy in 1970s and 1980s. Italian brands are now universally recognized and regarded as “high quality” and “high fashion”. Fashion fairs in Milan are always considered to be an international and national event.

Italian fashion is not only available in Italy. There are great fashion houses that are very popular in most of the countries. But there are people who found branded Italian clothes are very much expensive for their pockets.

There are great shopping stores in Florence and in Rome near the Piazza di Spagna. There are also fabric stores and notions shops in Mercerie. Mercerie hosts a wide array of buttons, bindings, cords, and tassels.

Italian fashion has been a landmark for the fashion industry. Italian fashion is a representation of love, art and values of Italians. Education and of course, culture had greatly influenced the fashion scenario of the country. Italian fashion saw a big change during the sixties, dresses changed from a mere dress to something that was reflection of creation and design.

Italian fashion looks like a fairy tale. For Italians, fashion is an instrument of social redemption whereby class is determined by what one wears. Fashion is becoming a tool for confirming the social status. Italian fashion had evolved for a long time. It evolved from simple fur and leather products to immensely expensive and beautiful clothes.

Following the fad is just never enough. Knowing the brand and learning from its origins, it his matter, we learn about Italian fashion, helps us make right choices whether it is for family or for personal.

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