In (Partial) Defense of Chanel: The Forking Paths

*** The writing does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice by any means***

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Mica Arganaraz for Chanel Resort 2021

Note: Today's post is more about business than law

Yesterday, Chanel unveiled its latest Cruise collection. Titled "Balade en Méditerranée" (translated as "a walk in the Mediterranean"), the collection recreated the airy atmosphere of Capri, a sense of refreshing calm so dearly missed during this tumultuous time. Aside from its aesthetics, several things stood out to me. First, it was the first time Chanel made a digital debut of its collection. For all the six collections Chanel presents in a year, the French couturier has never given up on the idea of a runway show. Second, in a series of Cruise-related posts, Chanel inserted a caption that the collection would arrive in boutiques this November, signaling to its loyal customers to keep their eyes wide open. The insertion could have meant to "re-energize" the market demand for current ready-to-wear products waiting to be sold. Last but not least, right after the "show", Business of Fashion released an interview with Bruno Pavlovsky, Chanel's President of Fashion, in which Pavlosky evinced his intent to stick to the current six-per-year calendar. He said, "I don't know if the right number is two or six; it's up to each brand. But we are quite advanced in the calculation of our carbon impact, all the time we're making a lot of progress in our approach. And we feel it's important to do these shows. We still need to have the creative freedom to express each moment."

Is Chanel making a move in the right direction in light of a particular set of challenges the current situation poses to the industry? As you already know from my earlier post, I am in favor of returning to the traditional Ready-To-Wear calendar, including Haute Couture for those who do it. In making that argument, I pointed out to 1) the shelf-life, 2) the creativity, and 3) the sustainability as sensible standards in evaluating the viability of the current business model. (See respective link to learn more about my opinions on these issues.) So you'd guess that I am not quite receptive to Chanel's decision to keep the "défilé" format going forward. After applying the three standards to the case of Chanel, I'd actually say, at least for Chanel, it makes sense as long as it steadfastly keeps its promise to constantly rethink its carbon footprint to effectively address the sustainability issue.

Chanel's Cruise and Métiers d'Arts collections have become, over the years, a creature of its own, the thing in itself. Karl literally trotted around the world to showcase his collections: New York, Venice, Dubai, Seoul, Cuba, you name it. Karl always took inspirations from different cultures around the world and incorporated those elements into his works, presenting a collection in a culturally immersive setting. I don't want to be overly dramatic, but the shows always beamed with his creative vision. Although Chanel does not release the details of its annual sales item-by-item, the numbers so far indicate that Chanel has resources to weather the current storm. (Caveat: we do not yet know the impact of COVID-19 on Chanel's sales figures.)

Even from the creativity standpoint, with Virginie now taking the creative helm, Chanel seems to be navigating uncharted waters just fine. It wows me that Chanel manages to do six collections with different themes and variations, which attests to the strength of Chanel's creative team. It also has multiple contracts (some are exclusive) with the finest artisan ateliers to bring to life its sartorial vision. As Pavlosky emphatically pointed out, the shows are executed at the pace that is able to "deliver novelty at the boutique level every two months" while adding that Chanel is "very comfortable with that pace".

Chanel, therefore, is right to pursue its own path. Taking Pavlovsky's promises as true, the world will need a couple more years to figure out whether those promises are kept. Pavlovsky is keenly aware of the uncertainty, too. It's relieving to see that his perceptions of the world are not based on some rosy predictions. He even confessed that he cannot guarantee that this particularly approach would work when he said, "We've done so many things we've never done before" working under the new constraints of "the new normal". His careful characterization of Chanel's approach further persuades me that the decision came out after thoughtful considerations.

I want to end today's post by invoking the imagery of forking paths. Kering, LVMH, and Chanel (it's privately-held company unlike the two) are pursuing fundamentally different paths going forward in times of great uncertainty. We do not know what each path will lead us to. Moreover, it is wrong to assume that only one would emerge triumphant at the end. However, when the time comes, we can take comfort in the fact that all these giants in fashion went ahead with their own business strategies to reanimate the world of fashion.