I find the news confirming that Procter & Gamble, owner of high-end fashion label Rochas, has recruited Marco Zanini as its new designer perplexing. It's not the choice of the Versace alumnus and former lead designer of the re-launched Halston brand per se that I question but rather the actual re-launch of Rochas itself. Why now?
Procter & Gamble, maker of Crest toothpaste, Tide laundry detergent and other mass market commodities has been down this road before. If you'll recall, under the direction of the gifted young Olivier Theyskens, fashion followers the world over swooned over the critically acclaimed goth-inspired collections. Yet, despite both widespread critical acclaim from fashion editors and popularity amongst red-carpet regulars, P&G shuttered the brand in 2006 due to disappointing sales. At the time, P&G explained that fashion was simply not its 'core competency' (W Magazine, November 2006, p.112). In a nutshell, the company simply didn't have the stomach for the challenges of the high-end fashion industry.
At the time, this was seen by many in the luxury industry as a critical lesson in looking before you leap. It takes considerable time to build a luxury brand and a willingness to stick with the vision even during turbulent economic conditions. Ultimately, I don't believe that companies whose business models are premised on volume and mass distribution have the sensitivity or the stamina to stick it out in the luxury market. This principle was illustrated again recently when Narciso Rodriguez and Liz Claiborne Inc. officially parted ways after only 18 months over differences relating to the proposed expansion of the brand - the fashion industry's equivalent of 'irreconcilable differences'. At the root of the discord was the inability to agree on crucial issues such as licensing, a risky move for any luxury brand. This is unfortunately an all too familiar scenario in fashion.
The fact that P&G is at this again, in a less than favorable economic climate for retail in general and fashion in particular, makes me wonder about what exactly they have in store for the brand's image and growth strategy. Not to take anything away from Mr. Zanini but Olivier Theyskens had hit all the right notes during his brief but meteoric tenure at the helm of Rochas and seemed perfectly suited for the label. His only real 'failing' of sorts seemed that he wasn't able to generate enough sales to satisfy the business team, a tall order for any designer to meet let alone when the business is run by people accustomed to selling mass quantities of household goods. My fear is that the critical acclaim amassed under Theyskens' tenure and the 'fashion credibility' that came with it will be squandered and Rochas will become just another fashion label top heavy with accessories and fragrances with little real effort invested in cultivating the label's aesthetic identity. The deal struck by P&G with Italian apparel manufacturer Gibo already indicates that manufacturing will most likely be shifting from France to Italy, a move often made for the purpose of reducing costs thanks to the particularities of Italy's apparel industry and its reliance on a diffuse (often shadowy) network of small manufacturers. More importantly, it shows P&G's utter disregard for the label's history or roots (Rochas is a French label founded in 1925). As for the label's new aesthetic, we'll have to wait for the unveiling of Zanini's inaugural collection in Paris next March. Sadly, despite being an optimist at heart, I see little to inspire confidence in the future of the once venerable house of Rochas.
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
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