After
taking a class fieldtrip to Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York I was able to
witness the process of editing garments from the runway to retail stores.
Before going into these retail stores I was aware that both stores have
different target markets. Neiman Marcus caters to a more sophisticated and
conservative clientele, while Barneys caters to the client that wants those edgy
and exclusive pieces from the runway. Both stores chose to exhibit Marni FW2012
as their focal point. As soon as you walked into the woman’s floor, the first
thing you saw in both Barney’s and Neiman’s was Marni. The designs stayed true
to the runway versions, and Neiman Marcus created a great cascade visual to
display the garments. At Barneys, the fur and trench vest jacket was the first
think you see when you enter the floor. The fur was bright red, and the trench
was a nice toasted brown, which brought your eye towards Marni. Here are a few
examples of the designs that were placed on the sales floor:
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| Found at Neiman Marcus |
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| Found at Barney's |
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| Found at Neiman Marcus |
Other designers that were found
on the sales floor that didn’t require many alterations from runway to retail
were the Bottega Venetta and Gucci handbags. Also, the Jason Wu jackets and
blouses stayed true to the original runway show.
The designer that I found had to
cut back on their designs the most was Proenza Schouler. Many of the printed
skirts were reworked to be simpler and clean while maintaining the same printed
fabrics of the runway. It’s a shame that Barneys didn’t choose to buy the
original, because the skirt sold in stores is boring compared to the one of the
runway. I guess San Francisco wasn’t ready for so much Proenza.
