‘The Devil Wears Prada’ showed us how trends spread. 20 years later, what has changed?

We’re a little over a month into spring — which means if you’re doing some clothing shopping, you’ll likely be entering stores to see racks of new, shiny clothing, or browsing some websites with bold banners showing off new arrivals. No matter your preferred shopping medium, This season’s trendsLike retro prints and utility-inspired apparel, will be everywhere.

There is a whole system behind how this clothing trend reaches your wardrobe. They often start at the top with high fashion and luxury brands, and work their way down to more affordable retailers.

The top-to-bottom effect is perhaps best exemplified in an infamous scene from the 2006 film the devil Wears Prada. The staff of a fashion magazine is choosing between two blue belts to decorate a dress for a story. He looks very much like fashion newbie Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway. Saks Snickers – and Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, whips it over her head to educate her on how cerulean blue made its way from the runway to her “clearance bin” sweater.

the devil wears prada 2 Released in theaters on Friday – it marks 20 years since audiences first saw Miranda challenge Andy. And in the meantime, that trickle-down system has changed significantly. Fashion experts say the Internet has increasingly given way to trends and the groups that own many high-fashion brands are valuing profit over creativity.

“Speed ​​is most important, simply because consumers move at a much faster pace than years ago,” said Michael Fisher, a New York-based trend forecaster and consumer behavior expert.

What’s inspiring high-fashion designers?

Historically, high-fashion designers have looked to the realms of theatre, architecture and travel to inspire their collections. The world’s economic and social states also often work their own way, said Lauryn DeVita, associate professor of apparel design and merchandising at Baylor University.

“They want their designs to reflect contemporary ideology or the spirit of the times,” he said.

But some designers’ priorities have changed over the past 20 years, thanks in part to the expansion of conglomerates – such as LVMH, parent company of Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Celine, and Kering, which includes Gucci, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta. Divita said, this can promote a culture of equality.

He said, “They are actually expected to increase sales every season, resulting in a distinct lack of innovation, and that’s a real shame.”

Recently, brands have begun to use artificial intelligence To find out what will sell. For example, AI is a good tool for pricing and surveying inventory data, said Michael Palladino, a lecturer in the business of fashion program at Kingsborough Community College in New York City.

But AI is less suitable for driving fashion design in the future, Palladino said.

“There is a need for authenticity and everything that goes with it,” he said. “It means human touch, it means empathy, it means truth.”

A fast and irregular fashion cycle

fast fashion, Low-cost retailers like Zara and H&M, and ultra-fast fashion retailers including Shein and Teemu, want a share of high fashion’s influence. They know consumers want those looks at lower prices — so they do it, Palladino said.

“Everyone wants to wear designer, so it’s close to their budget,” he said.

Copying runway looks is nothing new. There have long been designer “duplicates” — short for duplicate, or designer look-alikes without the branding — as well as outright counterfeit copies of those clothes, DeVita said.

At one time, department stores actually sent artists to copy runway shows, Divita said. Few designers would accept this, he said, because the process of getting duplicates into stores was much slower, and therefore, the risk was lower.

“It would take so long that by the time the knockoffs hit stores, the designer would be on to the next one,” he said.

But then internet came to the city. When? circulation The magazine launched its website in 1998, it would post photos of the entire collection. And social media has made it easy to disseminate trends at rapid speed.

“Everyone, whether they’re in the Midwest, or they’re in Paris or New York, now has equal access to what’s trending,” Fischer said.

Because of greater visibility, what used to take months and years to copy and sell now takes hours and weeks. Many fashion brands also have faster logistics systems than before. Quince, the direct-to-consumer brand For exampleIt has its own factories and can eliminate any middlemen, Fischer said.

Fast fashion has become so fast that sometimes counterfeits hit the market before the originals, Divita said.

In the US, copyrights don’t offer much protection for clothing, so fraudulent brands only need to make small changes like “changing the buttons, changing the stretch on the zipper… and then you’re not copying, you’re inspired,” Palladino said.

To avoid copycats, some designers are relying more on their logos, which are easier to protect, DeVita said.

He said, “You can’t copyright a short-sleeved sweater dress. You can only copyright the Fendi ‘F’.”

Although the imitators are fast, they don’t capture the essence of the original, Palladino said.

“They can’t necessarily translate verbatim what’s going on on the runway because they also have to offer something to the public, so it has to be a little more palatable,” he said.

meeting of minds

However, from time to time, high- and low-level markets converge. Target pioneered these high and low collaborations with its 1999 home goods collection with Michael Graves, the architect who worked on the Washington Monument. Over the years, Target has partnered with luxury fashion names like Zac Posen and Missoni. Other brands have also taken notice, Fisher said.

For example, in March, Zara announced that former Dior creative director John Galliano would be reimagining some of Zara’s vintage pieces over the next two years.

These are mutually beneficial relationships, Divita said.

High-end designers get a stream of revenue that they can use to fund their own labels, while still keeping them distinctive. They are also introduced to a new group of consumers who can shop at designers’ major brands for affordable items like sunglasses or bag charms, Divita said.

“A lot of really high-end brands make the bulk of their income by keeping the image upscale, but actually selling at scale,” he said.

And more affordable brands get “more attractive,” Palladino said.

what remains the same

Although the gap between luxury and more affordable brands has narrowed in some ways, in some ways, it is the same as it always was – especially by class.

Divita said, “The upper class already sees that the lower class is copying them and they move towards a new style.”

It’s a phenomenon called “chase and run,” he said.

However, high-fashion brands tend to have a lot of prestige and influence, which affects the ups and downs, Fisher said. For example, around 2008, streetwear started appearing on the runways, he said.

And now, it’s high-fashion brands that are “putting forward a very strong approach” that are helping to reclaim the luxury market’s influence on trends, Fischer said — like Loewe and its “weird, very colorful… very free spirit.” Elsa Schiaparelli and her eponymous label also have a timeless, “rebellious attitude,” Palladino said.

But consumers still have most of the electricity. Divita said her values ​​on comfort, modesty and value continue to influence the work of high-end designers.

“We decide what’s in and out,” she said.

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