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By Luca Solca October 18, 2016 05:29

LONDON, United Kingdom - Luxury brands spent much of the last decade trying to tighten their grip on distribution. These efforts coincided with the growth of the broader online marketplace, sowing widespread fear of digital threats to both price discipline and control of distribution, two fundamental pillars of modern luxury. As a result, the luxury industry was relatively slow to adopt - and adapt to - digital media.

But after a slow start, the industry has raced forward to seize the e-commerce opportunity, the only bright spot in a stagnant luxury market. Being late to the party has allowed players to take advantage of established technologies and learn from the missteps of first movers and, today, the luxury industry is evolving towards a new reality where the physical and digital worlds are merging, allowing brands to tap a deep pool of profitable growth. At the same time, exploiting the digital opportunity is not without its dangers.
Channel conflict
E-commerce increases the risk of channel conflict and magnifies deficient control over distribution. What you do not want as a luxury brand is wholesale customers selling your brand on the Internet at lower prices than your own stores. In the past, you may not have noticed - or may have turned a blind eye towards - wholesale customers selling your products at a cheaper price; but you will certainly feel the difference when lower quality websites are selling your products from anywhere in the world. This may seem obvious, but it is what happened to Luxottica with Ray-Ban. As a result, the company was forced to slim down in the US and implement a MAP (or Minimum Advertised Price) policy, prohibiting wholesale customers from advertising Ray-Ban products at a deep discount in order to "protect the reputation" of the brand.
Geographic conflict
E-commerce can also short-circuit the geographical price-gap architecture that's built up within the industry over the years. A brand that sells at higher prices at stores in China, but then gives Chinese consumers the opportunity to buy at lower European or American prices from its website, will clearly face problems.

Several American brands are in this predicament. Closing access to US or European websites for Chinese consumers would mean losing significant business. But maintaining an inconsistent approach between digital and physical channels can lead to even greater problems in the future as digital sales grow.

To go a step further, it's one thing to have a physical wholesale customer soft-discounting in-store or selling cross-border. It is quite another when the same behaviour is magnified across the Internet: suddenly anybody, anywhere in the world can access the 'store' and the resulting damage to revenue and brand is exponentially higher.
Digital off-price
This leads me to the danger of brand trivialisation through digital off-price distribution. In the early days of digital luxury, using the Internet to clear end-of-season merchandise seemed a great idea: it was cleaner, more efficient and generated higher yields than conventional clearance channels. But that was when digital luxury was still niche. Today, digital luxury is mainstream and consumers enjoy far higher convenience in price discovery. Indeed, checking for off-price offers before buying anything at full price is just a smartphone screen away. The days of driving to a distant factory outlet mall may soon be over. And the implications of this have yet to sink in, though luxury companies may decide to become more stringent in their online off-price forays.
Niche competition
Finally, the Internet is a democratic domain that goes some way towards levelling the playing field for smaller niche competitors. Luxury megabrands have built high barriers to entry by escalating investments in physical flagships. But the Internet now allows smaller brands access to global consumers at a relatively modest investment level. Acquiring customers is still a challenge, but paying prohibitively high real estate rental costs is less so.

That said, companies with a strong grip on distribution have a lot to gain from e-commerce and are least likely to fall for the "dark side of digital." Louis Vuitton and Hermès rank highest. Other soft luxury companies come just behind them, with Moncler, Prada and Ferragamo ahead of most. Watches and eyewear brands have the most fragile position. Indeed, Luxottica is currently paying a price to bring order to its wholesale distribution, while watch brands have yet to address how they can move to a tighter distribution arrangement.
Luca Solca is the head of luxury goods at BNP Exane Paribas. Related Articles: The Digital Iceberg
Do 'Digital Flagships' Deliver?
Does Digital Finally Have a Seat at the Table?

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By Luca Solca October 18, 2016 05:29 LONDON, United Kingdom - Luxury brands spent much of the last decade trying to tighten their grip on distribution. These efforts coincided with the growth of the broader online marketplace, sowing widespread fear of digital threats to both price discipline and control of distribution, two fundamental pillars of modern luxury.

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Week 11 - Chelsea, Alise, Izy

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Kardashian Instagrams #ad

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The Content Brief: Luxury Brands Learn To Love Social Media

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Episode 86: Luxury brands thrive on exclusivity, but social media is downright democratic. How can the two meet?

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Department store Myer has launched its Autumn/Winter 2017 collection with an extravagant fashion show staged in an underground carpark, of all places.

The Wednesday night dinner and parade saw the face of Myer, Jennifer Hawkins, plus 25 other models walk a red-carpeted catwalk in front of 120 VIP guests.

The location may have seemed familiar to anyone who has studied at the University of Melbourne - the entire production took place in the campus's on-site South Lawn carpark.

Designed by Dutch-born architect Jan van der Molan, the carpark's innovative design has also provided a backdrop for reality cooking series MasterChef.

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The location drew both admiration and bemusement on social media from those who recognised it from their university days, as well as those who recalled it being used in the first Mad Max film.

Some were simply miffed they couldn't access their regular parking spot, with one social-media user posting: "Are you serious? This is why the car park was cleared."

In an interview with the university, Hawkins described the grounds as "relaxing and tranquil" and the architecture as "grungy and sexy".

"Yeah nothing says sexy like a $100k+ HECS debt, mind numbing tutes and sleepless library night sessions," one student joked on Facebook.

The general consensus among the fashion set, however, was that the parade was a triumph, with the unlikely setting used to full advantage for the gothic-themed show.

Celebrity guests including former Bachelor Tim Robards, radio host Andy Lee, The Project panellist Carrie Bickmore and several Real Housewives stars were treated to a three-course dinner before the main event.

Models arrived in Teslas to herald the introduction of a Tesla showroom to Myer's Melbourne store, making the new Model X, the store's most expensive item.

Hawkins closed the show in a silver Toni Maticevski gown, walking the runway to the tune of Ave Maria, which some guests pointed out was the song used in the wedding scene in the 1994 Australian classic Muriel's Wedding.

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Myer's big gamble: Jen Hawkins in an underground carpark

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Department store Myer has launched its Autumn/Winter 2017 collection with an extravagant fashion show staged in an underground carpark, of all places. The Wednesday night dinner and parade saw the face of Myer, Jennifer Hawkins, plus 25 other models walk a red-carpeted catwalk in front of 120 VIP guests.

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Step inside my own kitchen for recipes and treats

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An example of blogs advertising little known brands.

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Highsnobiety has steadily built a strong brand in the online fashion and lifestyle world. Today the blog and print magazine sit among the most visited global sources for inspiration in the areas of fashion, sneakers, music, art and lifestyle culture. Innovation, progression and always being several steps ahead of the curve are just some of the core values of Highsnobiety.

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(Melbourne-based) Street Style & Fashion Photography website

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(Melbourne-based) Street Style & Fashion Photography website

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http://fashionphotographymelbourne.com.au/street-style/

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All street style images were created by, and copyright licensed to Karen Woo. Please seek permission regarding licensing before use on social media/web by emailing hello@karenwoo.com.au. Jump to: Thank you so much for your support.
Mercedes Benz Sydney Fashion Week 2016
WGSN Street Style 2015
Kookai AW16
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2015
Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2015 - Art Comes First
Melbourne Central Guest Street Level 2015-16
Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week 2014
Mercedes Benz Sydney Fashion Week 2015
Mercedes Benz Sydney Fashion Week 2014
Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival 2016
Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival 2014

New York Fashion Week 2016 Street Style

All images are copyrighted and created by Karen Woo. Please do not use without permission and purchasing rights for image usage. Thank you for support.

Mercedes Benz Sydney Fashion Week 2016 Street Style

WGSN 2015 Street Style

Karen's published Melbourne street style work for WGSN Trend Forecasting agency based in New York.

Kookai AW16 Street Style

Street Style captured at the Kookai Australia AW16 Runway show pre VAMFF

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2015 Street Style

Pre GQ, Mister Runway, Melbourne Spring Carnival and Resort Runway.

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week 2015 - Art Comes First

Melbourne Central Guest Street Level 2015-16

Street Style highlights as commissioned by Melbourne Central.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia (#MBFWA) 2015
Please credit my work accordingly if you intend to use these images on your blog/website/instagram/tumblr by tagging @heykarenwoo. Thank you so much for your support x
Street Style captured during Sydney Fashion Week.

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week New York (#NYFW) 2014

New York Street Style captured during New York Fashion Week.

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) 2014

Representing Jess Dempsey from What Would Karl Do and UK online retail store, boohoo.com, here are my street style images for MBFWA2014.
Please credit my work accordingly if you intend to use these images on your blog/website/instagram. Follow @heykarenwoo for more updates! Thanks.
My street style images are currently featured on boohoo.com here.

Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Week 2016

Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival 2014

Highlights of Melbourne VAMFF 2014 streetstyle - featured on Boohoo.com.

More images on my blog here.

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All street style images were created by, and copyright licensed to Karen Woo. Please seek permission regarding licensing before use on social media/web by emailing hello@karenwoo.com.au. Jump to: Thank you so much for your support.

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The rise of a plethora of fashion blogs has led, almost inevitably, to the rise of a style of fashion photography known as "street style." The all-access blogging medium gave photography enthusiasts who admired what legends like Bill Cunningham do a way to break into the industry and share both their opinions and pictures.

Over the past several years, however, the practice has exploded - much to the chagrin of big fashion editors and journalists who now have to deal with massive crowds of photogs outside of major fashion shows. GARAGE Magazine's Take My Picture is a short documentary that explores this explosion, and tries to offer both sides of the story.

As they explain in the documentary's description, a short that was originally meant to simply observe "the phenomenon of fashion bloggers and street style stars," turned into much more:

As we started to review the footage, two salient trends became apparent: fashion editors frustrated by the ensuing commotion outside of shows, and the rise of "peacocking" street style stars as a result of the proliferation of blogs. This film examines these themes from both perspectives.

The documentary gets takes from everybody involved: photographers, fashion journalists, editors, bloggers, "street style stars" and designers all chyme in and offer their two cents on this paparazzi-like craze.

(via Cloudal)

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Documentary Explores the Explosion of 'Street Style' Fashion Photography

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The rise of a plethora of fashion blogs has led, almost inevitably, to the rise of a style of fashion photography known as "street style." The all-access b

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www.hug-you.com by Sylvia Haghjoo I Fashion & Lifestyle Blog

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Remix of various footage movies from 30's to 1983. More on http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/ - Chanel secret vintage perfumes and their history

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Chanel 2016

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Fall-Winter 2017/18 Ready-to-Wear - CHANEL Shows

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Haute Couture & Ready to Wear

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Week 10 - Bri, Flynn, Sophie & Huang

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Week 9 - Allie, Dan, Amie & Steph

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Uganda & Pakistan: Second hand clothes markets

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Subscribe to BBC News www.youtube.com/bbcnews The UK is the world's second largest used clothing exporter - trading more than $600m worth of discarded fashion overseas each year, according to the latest UN figures. Top destinations are Poland, Ghana and Pakistan. What effect is this having?

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So often the fashion conversation among siblings revolves around clothing that has gone, ahem, "missing." But for Kenyan sister-brother duo Velma Rossa and Oliver Asike, a shared love of clothes and art yielded a wildly popular blog, 2ManySiblings, documenting their eye-catching street style and insatiable vintage shopping habit, and their annual Nairobi Thrift Socials. The 20-something siblings use the Thrift Socials as an opportunity to spotlight the flourishing network of creative individuals throughout the continent. Championing the designs of young African designers like Fashion Mountain, M+ K Nairobi, and their own brand, Rossa and Asike have shifted the conversation on fashion in Africa.

Here, Rossa gives us a 2ManySiblings view on the African thrifting scene, including which flea markets to scour when visiting Nairobi, and what to expect from the emerging fashion capital.

It's All About a Mix
"Nairobi's style is a mixed bag: different style tribes whose diverse cultures are inspired by all things vintage. There's the gentlemen influenced by the sapeurs or those who prefer the luxe minimal caftan (sometimes in wax print) dictated by the weather we have, mostly sunny all year round. The other end of the spectrum has the skater cool-kid style of dress. We draw influences from everything in the city: shapes and lines of buildings; colors of food and spices in the local market places; people and their individual sartorial vibes."

Vintage Africa "We wouldn't say we are secondhand experts: We simply document that industry and the lifestyle associated with it. Many of our peers make a living out of it and it has contributed immensely to the street style culture in Nairobi. The biggest misconception is that we are too dependent on the secondhand industry and that we can't produce for ourselves. Most people in Kenya, for instance, are low-income earners and buy secondhand clothing because it's affordable. However, things are changing and people are supporting more locally produced clothing. The best place to buy vintage has to be Gikomba, which is the biggest flea market in East and Central Africa. It's always good to go early in the morning to get the best options before everyone else."

On the Rise in Nairobi "This is the 'California' neighborhood, which is in Eastlands, Nairobi, and is right next to Gikomba: We don't come from there but it's the most fashion-conscious neighborhood we know. You would think you are in Soho or in Paris. The Alchemist Bar is a pretty chill place to visit if you are in the city, too. It has the best live gigs, people, and diverse selection of food. We love Mama Rocks African-inspired gourmet burgers. It's a favorite place among the creative community in Nairobi."

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Is Africa the Next Big Thrifting Destination? These Kenyan Siblings Think So

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So often the fashion conversation among siblings revolves around clothing that has gone, ahem, "missing." But for Kenyan sister-brother duo Velma Rossa and Oliver Asike, a shared love of clothes and art yielded a wildly popular blog, 2ManySiblings, documenting their eye-catching street style and insatiable vintage shopping habit, and their annual Nairobi Thrift Socials.

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http://www.realmenrealstyle.com/200-vs-2000-suit/

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What's the deal with functioning sleeve buttons on a suit jacket (a.k.a. surgeon's cuffs)? I have a custom suit with working buttons, and I like them so much I had my tailor put them on my new Purple Label suit for $40. Are they just for show, or do they have a function? I saw an ad in which the button closest to the cuff was unbuttoned. Is this a faux pas? Or is it fashionably correct, like wearing the bottom button of your vest unbuttoned?

Working buttons are generally indicative of a bespoke suit. Thus, to show that the buttons work and that the suit cost as much as a decent used car, many men leave the last button flagrantly unbuttoned. Is this a faux pas? No. Is it showing off? Sure. It's also "correct." This is one way I show off, and it's much easier than one-handed push-ups. And being self-employed, I sometimes leave several buttons unbuttoned, not always symmetrically. If you ask me, it's a lot more bohemian than wearing a Day-Glo mohawk. As for functionality, I have on occasion undone all the buttons and rolled up my jacket and shirtsleeves, when, wishing to remain warm or dapper, I am involved in some activity such as detoxifying deadly fugu (hence, surgeon's cuffs) or showing I have nothing up my sleeve. If your jacket has a groovy lining, rolled-up sleeves will show that as well. I will admit, however, that I might never have thought of rolling up my jacket sleeves had I not seen a photo of Jean Cocteau doing the same while reading the newspaper. (I would suggest rolling up your sleeves before reading the New York Post, the Enquirer or the Star.) And by the way, you don't have to be rich to enjoy this vice. A good tailor will put working buttonholes on almost any jacket for about $5 each.

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ONE

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Functioning sleeve buttons on a suit jacket

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What's the deal with functioning sleeve buttons on a suit jacket (a.k.a. surgeon's cuffs)? I have a custom suit with working buttons, and I like them so much I had my tailor put them on my new Purple Label suit for $40. Are they just for show, or do they have a function?

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The world's busiest street crossing on a rainy November night. I just love the sounds & sights of this exotic location, it's like a clip from Blade Runner come to life... Shot with Olympus E-P1 digital camera, post-processed in Final Cut.

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http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/australian-fashion-week-five-designers-who-got-their-break-on-the-sydney-catwalk-20150410-1mi8xk.html

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Global Positioning Of Australian Fashion key points 

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Australian designers who gained success from fashion week 

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Australian designers who gained success from fashion week 

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MBFWA presents the ultimate fashion icons.

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For more FashionTV anytime & anywhere, click here: Itunes: http://apple.co/2oxd0Bo Google Play: http://bit.ly/2n6KruT PARIS FW - COLLETTE DINNIGAN SHOW - SS 2011

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View some inspiration of Australiana motifs that are incorporated in design.

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australiana native flora fauna furniture homewares

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Bonnie & Neil 'Rosella Grey' cushion, $145, and 'Cockatoo Black' cushion, $155.

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A walk down memory lane with Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson

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A walk down memory lane with Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson

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Indulge in an interview where Australian icons of fashion, Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson discuss their journey in Australian fashion.

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A walk down memory lane with Jenny Kee and Linda Jackson

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The Flaming Park and Beyond exhibition at the Bendigo Visitor Centre Living Arts Space is coming to a close. Don't miss your chance to see the iconic fashions of these twin souls before the exhibition wraps up on November 6.