As the retail market tightens, high-end designers hope the world catches on to limited editions, as we have in the Middle East. Lauren Cochrane explains. When it comes to fashion, everyone wants a look that is unique. But in a world where clothes are made in runs of thousands, and sold for bargain prices, it's becoming increasingly likely that you'll find yourself in the dreaded situation, turning up at a crucial party to discover that someone else is wearing the same frock as you. It's the stuff of style nightmares.
There is, however, a growing trend that will help you avoid any spot-the-difference fashion crises: the limited edition. After all, what are the odds of wearing the same outfit as someone else when only, say, two of them were ever made? Shops in the Middle East (a comparatively new luxury market) have already established limited editions as key sellers. Villa Moda, which is opening its second and third shops here (its first is in the Atlantis), is the classic example. Its Kuwait shop made international headlines in 2002 by persuading design houses such as Prada, Missoni and Fendi to make limited-edition kaftans for the store. It's a strategy that still gives them an edge today as it continues to introduce exclusive items, such as a hijab by Vivienne Westwood and exclusive Manolo Blahnik shoes.
"Unique luxury is important in the Middle East," says Cindy Ho, Villa Moda's fashion and merchandising director. "It's a way for us to be different from the other stores." Ho says customers particularly appreciate the designer version of culturally specific pieces - kaftans, hijabs, dishdashas. "They request the pieces that accommodate the culture of the Middle East," she says. "I think that's how limited editions will evolve - with something unique to its own culture."
Limited editions are also evolving from being traditionally a very male take on fashion. Specifically, streetwear has had a monopoly on the market in the past. For example, the countless limited-edition trainers (all in tiny runs, mind you) by the likes of Nike, Adidas and the Japanese streetwear label A Bathing Ape. BAPE, as it is known, not only produces items in minuscule amounts, it also discourages bulk buying: customers are only allowed to buy one of each piece. Rather than limiting the brand's potential, such exclusivity has won BAPE a collaboration with the hip-hop star Pharrell Williams, and its items are available at 21 aptly named Busy Workshop shops around the world.
Meanwhile, womenswear retailers and designers have seen what is happening on the men's side and realised that these special features can set them apart in an increasingly competitive and unstable market. Limited editions give a demi-couture edge to fashion, if you will. Unsurprisingly, Comme des Garçon's Dover Street Market location in London, one of the world's most innovative concept stores, is a destination for limited-edition womenswear. Yves Saint Laurent creates pieces specifically for the shop, while Salvatore Ferragamo shoes come with an assigned number, so you know just how special they really are.
Roland Mouret, already a master of making a woman feel like a million dollars, has made limited editions an integral part of his exclusive line, RM. For autumn/winter 2008, he designed dresses for specific department stores, such as Harvey Nichols, Net-A-Porter and Harrods. It's something that customers at London's iconic retailers really appreciated. "His dresses flew off the shelves," says Marigay McKee, Harrods' fashion and beauty director. "The fit and sophisticated design were perfect for our customers."
She also loved the details that added to its one-off status. "The special 'RM For Harrods' label really made customers feel they were only one of a very select few able to own the piece." The idea for these special pieces doesn't always come from designers - a shop's buyers can be the driving force behind the clever marketing tool. As McKee says, "Our customer wants the 'wow' factor and we need to deliver. Unique key pieces set Harrods apart and drive our sales."
In other words, products only available in Harrods attract customers and ensure they associate the shop with that special, exclusive feeling. "At the end of the day, a significant purchase is an emotional one and the customer needs to fall in love with a piece," says McKee. Making the customer feel the item is unique only helps to build that attachment. The evolution of limited editions may continue as consumers reconsider lavish lifestyle choices in a recession.
Exclusive items may grow apart from high-end design and fashion altogether. Thomas Lundgren has a plan that could overturn the elitist association attached to limited edition. At his Abu Dhabi furniture company, The One, customers can buy a coffee table made from a distinctive piece of tree root at a reasonable price while avoiding Ikea syndrome, which occurs when your living room looks identical to your neighbour's.
"Repetition is for parrots," laughs Lundgren. "It makes me bored, which would make my customers bored." Instead, Lundgren works closely with his suppliers to ensure each piece has a limited run (that can mean anything from a one-off to 40 pieces) and a low price. "The One doesn't offer luxury goods per se," he says, "but our customers appreciate the fact that our furniture is limited edition, because it offers them a high degree of exclusivity at an affordable price."
It sounds like the perfect combination - and one that protects against embarrassing repeats, whether it be a party dress or a sofa.
