Years ago, many fashion designers scoffed at the idea of selling their pieces on the web. Even considering selling a broad range of the season’s cast offs would have seemed ludicrous. After all, from the mid 1990s to 2008, highly recognizable brands were selling like hotcakes. Some designers would only allow shoppers to visit their stores if they scheduled an appointment, but now they are virtually begging them to purchase from their websites.
As of yet, there are no official percentages, but many industry analysts believe that some prominent designers are making the bulk of their sales online. Aside from department stores that have long had online shopping portals, even the likes of Gucci are selling $4,000 handbags on the Internet. Of course, there are a few designers that still won’t subscribe to the changes in shopping trends. If you want to purchase a Hermes handbag, you will either need to get a personal shopper who can go to one of 12 stores, or you can settle for a used purse, which can easily be found on the web.
The fact is that even major designers are suffering from the effects of the economy. The same shoppers that would have no problem dropping $500 on a pair of jeans are now out of work. The independently wealthy and bourgeois only account for a small portion of the population, and they alone cannot sustain the high fashion world. Some designers will eventually come to their senses and establish an online presence in order to capitalize on this new trend.
