Designer + Discounter = Gold
2004 saw H&M start a new trend - making luxury designers affordable to the masses. This started with Karl Lagerfeld and spread from H&M to other big box and discount retailers. The teaming of these two market extremes became the poster child for what retailers were describing as ‘The Death of the Middle’. It highlighted the need to stand for something if you weren’t a discounter and did not have the credibility or product to go high-end.….so one recession later and nearing the end of the decade why is the discount/designer pairing still so attractive to the consumer?
One thought is that it is a different group of customers who are now attracted to the idea ie. Curve of adoption; another is the result of the recession. At the beginning of 2009 it was taboo to be seen spending $$$$ on flashy designer wears, when the person next to you could be losing their job – or so the scenario goes. The result was a more conservative buyer, where fashion became less about badge value and more about quality/design or about seeing to be savvier with your money. Hence the potential attraction to designer for discounter ranges – which hold no badge value outside of the retailer but holds design values on the street.
Pictures Jimmy Choo for H&M 15th November Launch
