Page 21
The Fashion Frontline
Interview Phadria Prendergast
FashionStock; Shutterstock When we talk about frontline members of staff, we typically think about NHS workers; the doctors and nurses that have been working tirelessly through the Coronavirus pandemic saving countless lives by risking their own and though we appreciate them all dearly, let’s acknowledge the staff who stand around for hours accepting the different emotions and endless demands that we as customers, hand out. The ones that make you feel welcome and usually brighten your day by simply paying attention to your needs and makes tedious shopping trips bearable. Let’s acknowledge the buyers whose keen eyes paired with an even greater mind knows exactly what you want, even before you know it yourself. Client advisors, for example, are trained to make you feel as though you are the only customer they have served that day when in reality, you’re probably customer number 60. So, meet the WOTC fashion frontline - a buyer and two client advisors who all work within the luxury fashion industry for some of the most highly sought-after brands in fashion. I caught up with each of them to find out how they have transitioned in this new beginning and what they believe the future of fashion looks like.
Candice Nicholas
Merchandising Manager & Buyer – Prada
Meet Candice Nicholas who buys for all of the 10 Prada Group stores in Central Europe and has previously worked for mytheresa.com and Harrods. “As a buyer, I’ve worked in several categories: furniture, menswear, childrenswear, bags and fine jewellery. Currently, I buy RTW, Shoes and Bags. I’ve also transitioned from e-commerce and wholesale retailers with a multi-band environment to now currently working for a mono-brand. But wherever you are in the fashion business, what has been very clear is that retail, especially fashion has needed a wakeup call and clean up for years.”
“Of course, it’s unfortunate and sad to see a number of brands and retailers close down amid the pandemic but they were experiencing problems before and Coronavirus just exposed their difficulties more harshly. Having been in the industry for approximately 9 years, the pandemic has mostly given a wakeup call on all areas of the industry from its supply chain, to retailer to consumer. As a buyer, the industry is incredibly fast paced. As soon as you’ve completed one season, the next one begins. The job involves thinking of the past, present and forecasting the future with detailed planning and constant analysis due to the multiple collections per year, which I believe can suppress creativity and of course sustainability.What we have seen are many brands actively changing their mindset, no more fashion week, stripping back to just two collections per year or even proposing to do a more timeless curated edit. In my opinion, there are too many products, too many collections, excess inventory every season and unsustainable product exit strategies. So, the question is ‘how should the fashion industry move forward’?
Candice also believes that brands, designers and companies should still remain business minded and find new ways of operating. “All the old methods of how you would previously run a business are out the window, which I don’t think is a bad thing because the idea for many people was there but with little execution. It’s not been in companies interests to execute them; methods have long been the same.” The biggest challenge now with Corona is if your company hasn’t diversified, how can it and how can they reduce the risk of a volatile industry.
Despite many apprehensions about whether or not consumers will still want to spend large amounts of money on luxury pieces, Candice is convinced they absolutely will. “I think what I’ve noticed is in terms of buying and in terms of product, what customers are looking for is signature pieces, inherent to the brand– not just investment pieces. People are sorely mistaken that consumers are thinking ‘I’m going to buy something black that’s timeless, that I can wear forever and ever and adopt a subtle luxury consumer behaviour.’
Actually, what I’m finding is that people are purchasing true to a brand's aesthetic and thinking of the product's value beyond the price point. That’s what is key and what customers are looking for and what they want from a brand.”
Candice hopes that from an employment point of view, the industry will not become even more exclusive. “Luxury is seen as ‘for the few’ and it’s not truly accessible to all. I’m hoping the reduced employment isn’t long term. But it’s understandable as businesses are consolidating their costs but will mean fewer hires, fewer fresh minds which can lead to a stagnation in the future.”
Candice has had a very positive experience and is completely working from home as she is able to do her workload around her life without commuting. “I think what the tech companies i.e. Google and Facebook do well because they understand that you can get your job done if you’re working from home. I would say home-office has created a more creative environment for myself especially.” For those of us who are and have been in the fashion industry, we know it isn’t always a particularly a kind one.“You’re up early, your emails are the first thing you check at say 7.30 am, you know all the things you need to do before you even get to work (she chuckles.), you don’t have time to eat breakfast, you don’t have time to have a proper lunch break. You’re often working very late, and I think working from home and that kind of environment gives more flexibility to put yourself first.” Whilst working from home isn’t a glorious experience for some of us and these last 3 months or so in lockdown has been nothing but counting down the days, we are very much in a digital age where we are all able to remain connected to people 247 and on a global scale at that. “You don’t even physically see half the people you talk to on a regular basis, so home-office hardly makes a difference,” she finishes.
For Candice, this ‘new normal’ within the industry means an opportunity to create more and exercise trial and error and play with risk. “Now we have to be more reactive to what’s going on. If no one is coming in the stores then before, maybe you would accept the situation but now it’s ‘what do we do? What is missing? How can I help the consumer? Is there anything new in my buying role that I can do for the stores?”
“In buying no day is the same and now even more so. When I look back on my career and when I first started, I honestly had no idea what a buyer does, and I couldn’t understand how they could be so busy. Now I’m in the industry, your foot and mind should always be on the pulse. The industry is fast, and you also need to be quick, so it’s challenging but you’re exposed to so many fantastic opportunities globally.”
Mariam Elmahdey
Client Advisor – Saint Laurent
Meet Mariam, a client advisor at Saint Laurent who considers herself lucky that she was furloughed during the early stages of the lockdown in March. “For everyone at first, I’m sure it was a really weird time where you were not sure what was going on. If customers had any questions (pre-lockdown), whether or not we had the answers to them, we tried our best to answer them in the most professional way possible. I feel like we had to just keep to the guidelines the government had given us and there wasn’t any more that could have been done.” Mariam believes that this time has shown more and more people how important retail staff really are. It has recently been announced that the UK economy shrank 20.4 percent in April alone. Despite all online stores being available for customers to shop – and of course there are many external factors that play a part in this figure too however, Mariam strongly thinks that with the temporary closure of all non-essential physical retail stores, brought along the fall in the economy. “I think that just goes to show that although a lot of people think that it’s easy to automate retail workers, sales advisors, client advisors, etc., we actually play a pivotal part in you know, growing the economy and contributing to the economy.”
Returning to work for Mariam is something she deems as of course, a ‘new normal’ but is sure that the level of customer service won’t ever be compromised. “It’s just the fact that there needs to be social distancing and that needs to be respected.” Mariam believes the new social distancing rules will actually improve client relationships with the advisors as there is now a respect boundary that has to be followed. It’s no secret that even now, there is a lack of respect given to retail staff members and roles within the retail space are often looked down upon. She also thinks that client advisors and sales associates will now be looked upon as a host rather than just as a sales assistant. “People often think we are saying hello just to get a sale, when we are really just saying hello to say hello. That sense of normality, people will appreciate it more now rather than run away from it, I think.”
Ikram Mazouz
Client Advisor – Dolce & Gabbana
Meet Ikram, a client advisor at Dolce & Gabbana who works in the bags and accessories department. Prior to lockdown, providing an excellent shopping experience for her customers was quite a different process for Ikram. She could easily pop to the fitting rooms and confidently assist customers by completing their outfits with matching shoes and accessories. Upon returning to work following all non-essential retail stores being allowed to open on June 15th, 2020, it’s quite the opposite with many rules and precautions still having to be followed throughout each retail store. The biggest issue of all for every single client advisor, personal shopper and sales associate right now – lack of contact. The two metre-rule now means that conversations are had from a distance and of course many customers were still afraid to have any conversations at all. Some simply do not want to be approached, and this certainly happened before with some customers simply wanting to shop without being bothered but now Ikram describes this encounter being a different feeling. Another factor that now hinders client advisor Ikram, is the speed in which customers now have to be served in, in order to combat the long queues of other waiting customers. “It’s not easy to communicate or build a connection with the customer because there’s people waiting outside.”
In terms of the products, Ikram who works with bags and accessories shares that customers now have to use hand sanitizers before touching the pieces in the department, which they are also unable to try. "This could be a problem for the customer. Maybe she wants to understand how the bag will look on her shoulder. She can only look at it, and that’s it. Maybe touch the material but not much more than that," Ikram states. A positive for Ikram is being able to assist customers digitally with apps such as WhatsApp where she can speak to multiple clients at once whilst they express what they want, and she provides them with real-time images of the products they are after. “We have to be more human in our approach and our relationship with the customer. It’s our job to be more friendly and familiar, more than before. It’s up to us to make them feel comfortable and make them understand they are in a safe place,” she finishes.