Trend Alert: Why ‘It’ Bags Are Out
The WSJ weekend edition is one of the last places on earth I expected to come across an article on handbags (an interest of mine). I read the article this morning thinking it was going to be around Fendi’s “B” bag or Prada’s new colors for the spring but actually it was about a macro trend that I’d like to share.
The title of the article, written by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan and Rachel Dodes is Why ‘It’ Bags Are Out. Their thesis is that it’s too easy to attain an “It” bag. Traditionally, the popular bags of the season are mid-to-high priced which prices them above mainstream America and makes them aspirational. As the world has become more affluent and purchasing power is increasing, these traditionally out-of-the-reach bags are now accessible to more people, thus, dilluting their positioning as the ‘it’ bags.
History never changes: we want what we cannot have.
The world is becoming flat (if it’s not already) and access to anything is only a few clicks away. All I need is my credit card and I have the purchasing power to go and buy pretty much anything I want in any country of the world. For the world of luxury, this doesn’t bode well. Luxury is all about scarcity and demand.
The trend I’ve been watching is all about the “boutique.” Why buy the trendy bag from Prada when you can go down to the Lower East Side in Manhattan and purchase a hot up and coming designer and wear it with the same stature? Less people have access to these bags and scarcity plays in luxuries favor.
The trendsetters and influencers (market movers) always want to be one step ahead of the curve (if not a step and a half). There are certainly parallels that you can draw from the fashion world to the digital media world including those of social networks.