Fashion that must check out
TAKING the long-term view is always a tricky business in fashion. What is hot today can soon be off the boil in an industry that reinvents itself every six months.
Look at the Burberry check. A few seasons ago it was a fashion must-have, with everyone from Kate Moss to Madonna pictured in the label's distinctive trademark design. Whether or not Burberry can sustain sales without relying on its most familiar signature remains to be seen.
The Burberry check bikini may still be a sell-out at airport Duty Free stores, but if you try to find some of the trademark check in the latest magazine ads featuring Kate Moss, you will be sorely disappointed. The brand's high-fashion line, Burberry Prorsum, designed by Christopher Bailey and shown in Milan earlier this year, was a virtually check-free zone.
The fashion crowd - who are crucial to long-term appeal - have moved on and Burberry must move on too. But managing transition in such a fickle business as fashion is always risky.
