By Artra
I will discuss the fashion design industry, taking a look at the value transmitted to its consumers.
Are high end designers creating enough value for us to pay the demanded price?
Let’s discuss this with two examples, Off-White and Louis Vuitton. Two very different high end brands.
Starting with Off-White, this brand was created by Virgil Abloh, a man who went from 0 to 100 in less than 5 years. The brand is famous for mixing streetwear with the high-end clothing market. Let’s look closely at their famous hoodies and the actual value of their design. Their design has become iconic, going from a 23 in the back to an “X” with arrows that it is easily recognized around the world. So, what is its true value? Currently the average price for an off-White hoodie is 300 dollars and the true cost of producing it is no more than 100 dollars. So, where is the value created? In the case of Off-White, we could see it more as a movement, changing the look of high end clothing from snobby to streetwear and wearing one other their pieces can be seen as representing this movement.
Now, in the case of Louis Vuitton we have a different approach. Louis Vuitton is famously known for their leather curation, specially their unique design of their bags.
Everybody knows how they look and what they say about a person who wears them. The cost to make a bag is between 200 – 400 dollars and sold from 1.500 to 40.000 dollars. Now that is a real mark-up. The value here lies on not only the actual high quality of the product but on the customer satisfaction. Customers feel part of a “higher” society when wearing a piece of Louis Vuitton. It sure does not satisfy everyone, some might say that what brands like these are doing is straight up high end robbery. But for those who don’t think alike, they are gaining an intrinsic value attributed to status.
We can clearly see that the tangible cost of the good is much lower than their price. These brands are attributing a “status” value to its consumers, and depending on who, this might not seem justifiable. Similarly, this happens with the high-end art market, where museums, galleries and critics decide what is good and what is not and what is a symbol to be seen for the world. Take Jeff Koons for example, makes inflatable animal sculptures among others and he is one of the most expensive artists today. Why does a lot of people want to own a Jeff Koons? One reason is status, to be known as a proud owner of one of it.
In the end, to answer this question we have to look at ourselves and think, will this product bring me happiness? Can I attribute a cost to that happiness? If so, then you have the answer.
Making sense of art and design industries 