Van Noten at Puig: can designers survive without a large corporate backing?

Dries Van Noten is a distinctive figure in the small circle of high-end
fashion. To start, he is one of the few independent designers who have
managed to keep his businesses afloat for several decades, without the
support of a larger company. Secondly, the Belgian designer manages to
stand out in media coverage without buying advertising space — quite a
feat, considering how dependent fashion magazines are on advertising
revenue.

It is very challenging, if not impossible, to be featured on the pages
of a major fashion magazine without becoming one of its advertisers. What
is the cause of this? Is it because editors and journalists lack curiosity?
Not exactly. As brands are becoming concentrated under an ever smaller
number of large corporations, such as LVMH and Kering, the power of those
companies over the fashion media has become unparalleled in the history of
ready-to-wear. As traditional media becomes more dependent on advertising
revenue but cannot keep adding more and more pages to the magazines, the
space devoted to journalistic articles becomes almost an extension of the
advertising pages.

The fact that an independent house like Dries Van Noten has never
yielded, either by choice or necessity, to the rules of media advertising,
yet still manages to remain relevant to influential editors, qualifies it
as an exception to the rule. In short, Dries Van Noten is a perfect example
of an independent creator with both commercial and critical success.

Puig becomes majority shareholder of the brand Dries Van Noten

In mid-June, Catalonian company Puig announced in a press release that
it had acquired a “majority stake” in the Dries Van Noten house, founded
in 1986. The 60-year-old stylist, who had until then been the sole owner of
his namesake label, will continue to serve as the brand’s Creative Director
and Chairman of the Board.

Puig is a leading player in the perfume and cosmetics industry. Founded
in Barcelona in 1914, this family-owned company holds fragrance licenses to
Jean Paul Gaultier, Nina Ricci and Paco Rabanne, which leads us to believe
the future of the Van Noten brand will probably be linked to perfume.

Although the financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, Van
Noten’s aim is clear: to ensure the longevity of his brand in a competitive
environment, in which the ferocity is elevated by the increased power of
its’ players. With big players such as LVMH, Kering, Richemont, Chanel and
Hermès dominating the market, it is difficult for an independent designer
to remain relevant, however brilliant they may be. Dries Van Noten’s annual
turnover is estimated in 80 million euro. For the sake of comparison,
Chanel’s turnover is estimated in 8.6 billion.

For many, this announcement confirms that there is no room left for an
independent creator in the current luxury and high-end fashion landscape,
regardless of his or her talent. Many reacted by saying Dries Van Noten was
the last independent designer standing, the last one to throw in the towel.
Such a statement is an exaggeration, considering there are still some
independent designers out there, such as Rick Owens or Rei Kawakubo from
Comme des Garçons.

Furthermore, there are also many discrete, tenacious and hardworking
designers that spice up the current fashion landscape. Their turnover,
although modest compared to the giants of the sector, demonstrates their
obstinacy and talent.

These independent creators enjoy little to no space on the pages of
magazines. It remains to be seen how they will they keep up, despite the
disappearance of concept stores like Colette. However, we must believe that
talent will always find a way to the heart of consumers who search true
vision. We can also believe, albeit less poetically, that most of these
creators have no choice but to join a large conglomerate either in the role
of artistic director or as a consultant behind the scenes, usually in an
assignment basis (i.e a fixed-term contract).

Upon the announcement of Dries Van Noten’s acquisition by Puig,
independent designer Lutz Huelle, who assisted Martin Margiela from 1995 to
1998, posted the following message on social media: “I have always sold the
clothes that I designed to a very loyal clientele, even when I was
invisible in the mainstream press. It was precisely this invisibility that
enabled me to focus on my task: to improve myself and to become the best
designer possible. That pushed me to work for those men and women who wear
my clothes; in the end this may be the only recipe for success and
longevity”.

Huelle founded his namesake label at the dawn of the new millennium,
whilst acting as a consultant at MaxMara. He has recently joined the
fashion label Brioni. It’s creators like him, who are discreet and “under
the radar”, who keep the fragile flame of passion burning in fashion.

This article was originally written for FashionUnited.fr.

photo: AW18 Dries van Noten, Catwalkpictures