PARIS — “They’re gonna want to horde it. There’s just no doubt about it.”
That’s how retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky predicts customers will react to the final Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche collections designed by Tom Ford, the first of which will be unveiled Wednesday night in one of the most hotly anticipated runway shows of the year.
Most retailers agreed, saying the majority of luxury customers are well aware of Ford’s forthcoming exit from Gucci Group in April — and eager to stock up on clothes and accessories bound to have collectible and vintage appeal.
“There is a real devoted Tom Ford client who is going to want to grab as much as she can,” said Kalinsky, who operates Jeffrey stores in New York and Atlanta. “When you know you can buy something forever and ever, you take it for granted, but when you know it’s not going to be there anymore, you’re more apt to horde it.”
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One of those devoted clients, Ford friend and fan Rita Wilson is coveting every last piece like a souvenir. Viewing a salon-style presentation of YSL’s spring 2004 collection at the Rodeo Drive boutique last month, she ticked nearly every item on the run of show. “I have to have every piece,” she repeated. When someone asked whether they might prove collectible, she quickly responded, “Completely.”
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Many retailers echoed the sentiment, citing historical precedents of covetable last collections — from Isaac Mizrahi to Jil Sander to Gianni Versace.
“We are definitely anticipating an uptick in demand — people will want a rush of what Tom Ford stood for,” said Anna Garner, head of fashion at Selfridges, which carries Gucci.
Robert Burke, vice president and senior fashion director at Bergdorf Goodman, said he detected “heightened interest” in Gucci and YSL merchandise since November, when it was announced that Ford, Gucci Group creative director, and president and chief executive Domenico De Sole would exit the luxury group in April.
“The consumer is very connected to [Ford’s] departure, much more than we had originally thought,” Burke said.
Claudia Amati, owner of Leam, a multibrand store in Rome, said she estimates that about half of her customers know that Ford is Gucci’s designer and that most people who buy a Gucci bag are buying it more because of the brand name than because of anything to do with Ford. This contingent should keep the brand afloat even after Ford leaves, she reasoned.
At the same time, she said more fashion-aware shoppers should fuel a boom in accessories sales for Ford’s last collection.
But Kalinsky hinted: “I think I will be buying more. Maybe I would be a fool not to increase my budget, because if the customer finds a great pant, for example, she might want it in every color.”
Villa Moda owner Majed Al-Sabah, who operates Gucci and YSL franchises in Kuwait, said he predicts “great demand” for both collections, not only for historic and collectible reasons.
“I think emotions are going to play a big role in the demand,” Al-Sabah said. “I also think that we’ll be seeing thousands of pages of editorials all around the world. This will bring a load of traffic to the stores for sure.”
Citing strong reaction to Ford’s recent collections for Gucci, Al-Sabah said he plans to up his budgets for fall. What’s more, he’s planning new Gucci boutiques in upcoming Villa Moda outlets in Mumbai, Qatar, Damascus and Oman.
“We are definitely going to buy more this season as opposed to last because we are expecting a surge in sales,” said Garner. “I think the Gucci pieces will immediately become collectibles — especially the G-styled accessories. We’re already seeing the resurgence of logo items in magazines.”
Retailers cited numerous examples where they saw a surge in demand after a designer left a brand, went out of business or — in the case of Gianni Versace — met an untimely demise.
In 2000, when Prada Group announced that Sander was leaving her eponymous brand, Bergdorf’s witnessed an “immediate reaction” from customers who stocked up on her fall collection that year, believing it to be her last, Burke said. Sander returned to the creative helm at the house in May 2003.
“When Isaac [Mizrahi] closed, the last collection sold like hotcakes,” added Julie Gilhart, vice president and fashion director at Barneys New York. “There was so much publicity about that.”
Although Barneys does not carry Gucci or YSL women’s wear, Gilhart said Ford has a lot of fans, and his departure would represent a selling point. “Women have to connect to clothes, and buying something from Tom’s last collections has a personal appeal. It makes a purchase so much more enjoyable and meaningful.”
At Selfridges, Garner said, “When Stella McCartney left Chloé, we saw nearly 100 percent sell-through on her last collection, and we’re expecting the same for Gucci.”
Sue Patneaude, vice president of women’s designer apparel at Nordstrom, said demand for Gianni Versace’s last collection was unprecedented. “The sell-throughs came to an all-time high that season after he died,” she said. “It was a phenomenon.”
With some observers detecting a “greatest hits” quality to the fall men’s collection Ford showed in Milan last month, retailers said they would not be surprised to see some tried-and-true styles reinterpreted for Ford’s finale, especially at Gucci.
Burke said he hoped to see some greatest hits, along with some “completely over-the-top” styles. “We’re all going in with the expectation that he’s going to do a phenomenal show and he’s going to want to go out with a bang.”
Al-Sabah agreed. “For both Gucci and YSL especially, it is his challenge to prove to the world and [Gucci Group majority owner Pinault-Printemps-Redoute] that he is indeed a great designer,” he said. “With this collection, he’s looking to Xerox this into everyone’s brain forever, just as he Xeroxed his hit 1995 collection, with the low-waist velvet pants and big-G belts. This is going to be on the same pace.”
Nordstrom, which has two YSL boutiques, expects Ford’s last collection for that brand to be coveted, especially items like velvet blazers, fur stoles, ruffle-front coats and leather pieces.
“Tom hasn’t been there long enough to have a highly defined signature,” Patneaude noted, “but those are the things people will want to snap up.
Not all retailers are sizzling about the collection, however. For one, vintage doyenne Rita Watnik of Lily et Cie in Beverly Hills is taking a pass. “It’s not to say the clothes aren’t good, but in terms of collectible, that’s another matter. We make so much of everything now, it’s unlikely. If any piece does resonate a long time from now, it won’t be that hard to find.”
There are modern exceptions, however, she continued. “When I saw that John Galliano was being released from Givenchy, we bought two of the most important pieces of haute couture for our collection. There will be a time when people will look back and see that letting John go was one of the biggest mistakes the house ever made.” And it’s that kind of historical footnote that could up the value of such investments.
Whether consumers really buy for historical sake or just for the season is up for debate, believes John Martens, president and general manager at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, “I don’t really know if people do that, but I do know people buy if they like something. And they have responded very well to the Gucci fall collection and what is coming for spring. They like the colors, and, of course, logos.”
And while Martens conceded that his customers are likely aware of Ford’s departure, he doesn’t believe it’s the deciding factor at the register. “They do have to still wear it, regardless of the name on it. It’s ultimately more about the product.”
Of course, retailers confessed to some anxiety about the future, since PPR has not yet announced Ford’s successors at Gucci or YSL, and has vowed not to until Ford takes his final bow at YSL on March 7.
Alexander McQueen, pegged as the front-runner for the YSL post, declined the offer. It is believed Stefano Pilati, women’s design director at YSL, is assured of a high-profile post within the group. The former Prada design wiz had been widely cited as headed to Gucci, but he may be retained at YSL now that McQueen has removed himself from the running.
“We’re very anxious about this transition, but we think we have to be positive,” Patneaude said. “A lot of it depends on who the designer is.”
Amati in Rome also voiced optimism: “I am sure that the Gucci brand won’t die.”
But it is hard to deny that curiosity, like the hoarding instinct, is reaching a new zenith.
Said Al-Sabah: “Now the only question I get from my clients is, ‘Who is coming next after Tom?’”
— With contributions from Samantha Conti, London; Luisa Zargani, Milan, and Rose Apodaca Jones, Los Angeles