During Paris Fashion Week in February, students at the International Fashion Academy of Paris were approached by Paramount Pictures with a proposal. The entertainment company wanted the young French designers to create a collection of wearable pieces — jackets embedded with phone chargers, for instance — in order to promote the studio’s upcoming action film “Ghost in the Shell.”
Jean-Baptiste Andreani, IFA’s managing director, hesitated.
“Instead of going down the road of advertising wearables to the world, we managed to convince [Paramount] that appearances — what looks like ‘high-tech’ — aren’t important,” said Andreani. “How technology can enhance your life through a garment is. And from a broader view, in Paris, that’s where we’re going.”
To Adreani’s point, Paris isn’t devoid of innovation. But when it comes to adopting new technology and responding to a changing consumer, the region, as a fashion capital, has a reputation. The industry in Paris is considered traditional, a kind word for antiquated. Local fashion houses like Dior to Chanel are steeped in heritage, a value that often takes priority over modern progress.
“There’s a stronghold in Paris on remaining loyal to heritage and culture and history,” said Rony Zeidan, the founder and CEO of luxury agency RO NY. “It takes a bit more time to open up to change. They tend to take the approach of wait-and-see, and that means they move slowly.”
Progression around fashion technology in Paris is tenuous, at least by appearance. But as the market is indeed figuring out how to stand by its long-standing traditions and heritage while still taking advantage of modern technology, a lot of the conception that Paris is behind the times boils down to a culture that doesn’t talk itself up.
A less flashy approach to communication
Brandon Solis, the global digital strategy director at McCann Worldgroup, relocated from McCann’s New York office to Paris three months ago. Before making the move, he had some hesitation to take his work there. He was under the impression that Paris was behind in innovation, acknowledging that came from a “very New York perspective.”
“I’ve been surprised to see that they’re on board and on par with the rest of the world,” said Solis. “I hit the ground running when I got here because the team was up to speed on new technologies, platforms and features that clients are asking for.” McCann’s Parisian clients include L’Oréal Paris and Latam Airlines Group.
Solis believes that the outside perception that Paris is stuck in the past exists because the industry doesn’t choose to talk about its innovation initiatives in the same way brands and agencies in the U.S. do.
“In Paris, there’s a culture around not talking about what you know, whereas in the U.S., there’s a big ‘case study culture.’ You do something, you package it, you talk about it,” said Solis. “It’s understood that you’ll brag about it. In Paris, you do your work and move on, and there’s not an ingrained moment where you stop and talk about what you do.”
Solis said that, while there’s value in taking a step back to reflect on your work, a lot of American agency culture has gotten too caught up in talking about projects. In fashion, brands who spend their time focused on the press around a new technology initiative end up spinning their wheels, without much resulting long-term impact. This is particularly true when retailers focus on “of-the-future” initiatives.
“As far as innovation labs and innovation director titles go, it’s not always clear what their purpose is, or what those people do,” said Marc Bain, the fashion editor at Quartz. “Here, we prize innovation as an end in and of itself. In Paris, it’s more of a means to an end — and it’s only worth it for brands to get involved in when it makes sense for them.”
Introverted innovation
In Paris, “innovation” is less about futuristic store prototypes, augmented reality, Instagram fashion shows and flashy wearables, and more about product development design, according to Andreani.
“Innovation goes into the production process,” he said. “It’s not about wearables — at the end of the day, it’s too tacky and not what the customers want. But there is an emphasis on 3D printing, laser cutting and sustainability in supply chains.”
Kering and LVMH, both headquartered in Paris — and overseeing brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga (at Kering), and Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Céline (at LVMH) — both point out innovation efforts in their 2016 annual reports. Kering, which led a company-wide e-commerce effort, laid out how it balances heritage and modernity in the below chart.
Source: Kering’s 2016 annual report
Kering has also been lauded for its sustainable supply chain efforts. LVMH, meanwhile, frequently mentions “innovation” in its 2016 report, but doesn’t get into specifics. “Aggressively pursue innovation” is listed as a strategic priority.
“In the Paris fashion industry, there is a mindset of: These are the rules, and this is how you do things,” said Bain. “That results in less ‘showy’ innovation. LVMH and Kering both have operations in place, but they’re not going to jump out at you. It stays behind the scenes.”
Efforts are being made to bring technology and innovation top of mind. In February, LVMH launched its annual Innovation Award in partnership with Viva Technology, a Paris-based summit focused on innovation that offers up $40,000 worth of startup grants annually. Andreani said technology incubators for fashion and retail, dubbed “fab labs,” are popping up.
Parisian companies are also investing in technology externally: LVMH’s investment arm, L. Catterton, recently invested $10 million in Mizzen+Main, a performance menswear brand based in Texas. Founder Kevin Lavelle said the company’s draw is its work with supply chains to figure out new and innovative ways to make synthetic performance fabrics.
“From the outside looking in, it’s fair to assume we’re behind, because it’s the only assessment you can make,” said Andreani. “But when you dig in a little bit more, there’s a movement happening around fashion tech. It just doesn’t reach the consumers.”
“We need to move on”
Despite its efforts, Paris’s fashion industry has a history of turning up its nose when it comes to addressing that luxury consumer behavior is changing. The time it took to embrace e-commerce as a viable selling platform is proof. Most recently, the regional approach to the (flawed) see-now-buy-now movement demonstrated a resistance to change.
The model of immediate luxury, involving a strategy overhaul to an in-season fashion calendar, took hold in the U.S. and London in the past year. In reaction, Ralph Toledo, president of Mode à Paris, the organization in charge of Paris’s fashion calendar, said no changes would be necessary as “clientele is educated and informed on how the system works.” Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault echoed that sentiment, adding that the notion of see-now-buy-now “is a negation of dreaming, of desire,” in a statement to WWD.
“The French have a tougher time dealing with change,” said RO NY’s Zeidan. “They’re more classic in their approach, whereas the U.S. is always on the customer’s tail.”
Bain agreed that commercialism doesn’t drive French fashion houses in the same way it drives brands like Tommy Hilfiger — and pointed out that Kering and LVMH aren’t exactly hurting. (Kering posted an 8 percent lift in revenue last year; LVMH, 5 percent.) But Andreani sees Paris’s history and heritage as a weight on its shoulders that stems progress.
“Holding on to tradition is dragging us down,” he said. “Times are changing and we need to move on, but still, without denying our past and heritage. That’s the most difficult thing to balance.”
