Fashion in Crisis: Creatives vs Merchandisers

Fashion in Crisis: It's Time for Creatives to Step Up and Merchandisers to trust the new

In the face of overwhelming product homogeneity, fashion needs bold design and creative energy.

In a random store, on a random street, a beige-toned oversized blazer is styled over a white ribbed tank. Next to it hangs a pair of wide-leg pants, either denim or black linen. Across the sales floor, identical flat sneakers line the wall. Try the store next door – the same kind of product mix appears again. Fashion is supposed to be an industry booming with creativity, so why does everything look the same? For the majority of brands, creative decision-making is no longer in the hands of their design team, but with profit- and data-driven buyers and merchandisers. Less visible to the public, the role of a merchandiser involves determining for a brand what it should make, and in what style, size and quantity. Based on the same market data of what's selling and what's not, it's no wonder everyone is churning out identical items."The real crisis is about what it means to buy fashion when you have so many collections with the same products, no authenticity or a point of view," the Business of Fashion reports. In recent years, the merchandiser's influence has catapulted many of them to the C-suite, typically into the Chief Product Officer ("CPO") position. The CPO's main role is to determine how a product should be communicated across all the company's different channels – a task that involves heavy influence on the product itself. Many of the CPOs are driven in their decision-making by data. Currently the boardroom's shiny new toy, CPO positions have been created in recent years at brands such as Michael Kors, Burberry and Merrell. At Salomon, Vans and Dickies, former CPOs have been recently promoted to executive or brand president roles. But can data-driven design ever be the antidote to the current state of market homogeneity? In fashion's current uncertain climate, there's a strong sense that consumers are craving a return to real, authentic vision – a shift in power from marketers to creatives. Mytheresa Chief Commercial and Sustainability Officer Richard Johnson tells Vogue Business that overreliance on data can flatten a retailer's offering. "While data is invaluable, fashion also thrives on creativity and intuition. Over-relying on data can potentially stifle the creativity and risk-taking that is essential in luxury fashion," he says. Brands that have managed to circumvent the retail slowdown tend to be those that are concept-driven and with a strong creative identity: Hermes, Bottega Veneta, Rick Owens and Comme des Garçons, for example. None of them have publicly listed CPOs.