Why Is Fashion So Expensive?

 I guess y'all rememeber this post on Nicki's Instagram page, well if you didnt no worries,

Quite a spirited discussion erupted on a recent Instagram picture of Nicki Minaj, who posed with a few ATL stars in a Stella McCartney shirt that originally retailed for $880(N176,000) Nigerian currency

The striped tee, now on sale for $528, got Instagrammers up in arms, with many saying, “No sane person pays that much for a plain T-shirt. I bet you bill gates wife got the same shirt for $3.00 at the goodwill/salvation army,” “800 bucks for a Cotton tee?””

They have a point! Though the top is bold and bright (and Nicki looked absolutely gorgeous!), I too wondered what made her simple short sleeved shirt ring it at close to $900. So below is a few reasons why,

1. Brand Positioning

Sometimes, with designers, it’s a matter of simply staying on par with the current luxury market. Brand Consultant Soma Lisa Choudhury says, “Prices are set to differentiate markets. It has nothing to do with how much things cost to make, unfortunately, but moreso to stay within a certain bracket of designers.” She continues, “Say you’re starting a collection tomorrow and you have a certain aesthetic. If your prices range from $200-$500, you’ll stay in the contemporary market along the lines of Theory and Joie. If your prices range from $495-$1,00, you’re classified as lower luxury to higher end luxury. That’s how retailers categorize you. That’s how they know where to put you on the floor, which designers to sit you next to. That’s just how it is.”

Teri Agins, former Wall Street Journal reporter and author of Hijacking the Runway, further explained, “If you’re a designer, certain things have to be priced at a certain level. [Stella McCartney] can’t make the t-shirt for $100, because it won’t fit with the other stuff in the department. [Designers] have to price it so that it fits with everyone else.”

2. Exclusivity:In order to keep and build interest, most brands have had to diversify their labels in order to generate income by amping up Men’s Ready to Wear, creating diffusion lines, and launching baby, home, and fragrance. With all of that, and how seasons change so quickly (also interest, trends & what celebs wear), brands have to release, and within months – go on sale. Louis Vuitton doesn’t do that. With the exception of broadening our mens universe, we have maintained an elevated sense of exclusivity & brand awareness, history with modernity, and an insanely expansive collection that fashion folk, and casual shoppers revere as the Go To House of Luxury. Simply put: it’s expensive, stays expensive & gets MORE expensive (every year or so…) to maintain the exclusivity & luxe lifestyle attachment that Consumers Expect.”

3. Marketing and Fashion Shows:Alluring advertisements and fantastical fashion shows aren’t cheap! But all those expenditures are apart of the brand’s story and help to market items in an aspirational way.

4. Labor Costs:Agins says, “Stuff from Italy, France, and the United States demands higher wages, and that’s going to be reflected in the price. [It’s cheaper to get clothes made in] Bangladesh, India, and China.” So yes, you can get a similar striped red and blue shirt from the GAP. But please note Stella McCartney is made in Italy, while the latter is made in China, hence the price difference.

5. Quality (Sometimes):June Haynes, who owns luxury consulting firm June Haynes Luxury Retailing, says, “Most luxury brands are European and therefore there are costs such as duty and freight that are factored into cost, as well as craftsmanship, such as finishing by hand, hand beading, etc. Sometimes anything that is heavily embellished, hand stitched, etc takes time to finish and takes a skilled seamstress or tailor to put together.”

I hope this article has answered a few of your questions about why fashion items are so expensive.

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