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| It wasn't long before things began to go horribly wrong. |
FURIOSO
Although they call it the fur laboratory, workers at this plant on the outskirts of Rome don't just experiment — they produce each fur Fendi sells, including this €19,300 one. The dress with cut outs is €3,300 |
| Brand names began to suffer. Designers lost prestige. Consumers lost interest. So, in 1987 when Gucci embarked on its legendary turnaround, priority No.1 was buying back the licenses. "At some point the unity had disappeared," said Domenico De Sole, Gucci's CEO. "Someone was designing shoes, someone else was designing lighters." Priority No.2 was making sure the products Gucci did sell were of the best quality. When De Sole became ceo, his initial task was to pay personal visits to his top suppliers — some 300 of them — to reassure them about the company's future. Between 1994 and 1998, Gucci's production of leather goods increased 277%. Since further growth wouldn't be possible using the existing suppliers, Gucci began looking for new ones. But it wasn't alone. Prada was also on the prowl for new factories. So was Giorgio Armani. And more. For luxury goods, Asia isn't an option. The brands needed the quality that only Italian factories can provide. Before long the solution became clear — the brands must buy or build factories themselves. What followed was a spate of acquisitions of little-known Italian companies like Calzaturificio Regain, Zamasport and Genny in order to convert them to big-brand manufacturing. The established designers also drew up |
plans for new plants. All this made new designers uneasy.
Where could they have their products made if all the factories were turning into single-brand producers? For a lucky few, the answer came in the form of Franco Pene, the ceo of Gibo. The firm acts as the manufacturing and distribution wings for emerging fashion companies, not only making the clothes but selling, shipping and invoicing them. "We take care of the new designers that none of our competitors were interested in," says Pene. So far so good — contracts with Gibo helped launch the careers of Helmut Lang, Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. The security a factory provides is an advantage that's hard to underestimate, as Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana can attest. When they started, Dolce's father had a manufacturing plant that turned out their early collections. Now they own that plant and several others, and they are looking at producing for other designers too. "Now the factories don't give new people time to grow," says Dolce. "I'm not a genius. I wasn't born a genius. You need time." And a factory. |
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FROM TIME MAGAZINE'S FASHION FALL/WINTER 2002-3; POSTED SUNDAY, SEP.22, 2002
© 2002 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
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