#Lucien Pagès Communication

[mushimooshy]

The Giants That Eat Giants, When Survival Becomes Submission

When giants eat giants, creativity pays the price. #ThoughtsOfALouver

A tale of power, consolidation, and the price of creativity Hello Louver, It has long been said that in the modern luxury landscape, power begets power. The acquisition of Lucien Pagès Communication by The Independents Group marks yet another milestone in a growing trend: giants consuming smaller giants to bolster their dominance. While headlines paint these moves as mere strategic alignments,…

[systemmaguniverse]

Daily Thoughts : On Fashion (Part III) Lucien Pagès, founder of Lucien Pagès Communication Images by BOF “It’s too early to be sure how it will change — we’re still under shock.

[inapat14]

How Covid-19 forced the fashion industry to digitize itself?

In March 2020, President Emmanuel Macron announced the first lockdown in France due to Covid-19. This planetary pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis and a global economic shock which led to several consequences in the fashion industry. First of all, household spending on clothing decreased. Then, production and distribution channels were slowed down. Finally, fashion weeks were canceled. That is why actors had to find solutions to fill the gap. This unfortunate event has forced the luxury industry to move and adapt quickly. Luxury brands have quickly redesigned their communication tactics.

So, the fashion cycle has been broken. That’s why digitization emerged from the crisis in a position of strength. It was easy for those big companies : they already have digital know-how. With the impossibilities of real contact, the fashion industry has to engage itself with customers in a more authentic way. Social networks have become the privileged platform. Prior to Covid-19, they were generally only a showcase for these brands. But, social media have seen an important spike in usage during the crisis. Indeed, the majority of French people work or study from home. So, they spend even more time on their smartphone. Thanks to these platforms, brands continue to communicate frequently with consumers. A new and very powerful relationship appears between brands and digital communities.

New types of communication have been exploited : webinars, digital and party evenings… Several platforms are used: Facebook, Google, YouTube, and even Paris Fashion, a channel developed by Canal +.

Source : https://www.canalplus.com/paris-fashion/

To this day, Instagram is the most used platform to promote luxury. That’s why Influencers have become even more privileged mediators between brands and consumers. A lot of young influencers assist nowadays to the Fashion Weeks and post all the shows in their stories. Do their voices have nowadays more impact than the usual front row ?

Source : Instagram / Carla Ginola ; Lena Mahfouf

Before Covid-19, the sector of luxury was reserved for professionals. But, some major events have reinvented themselves in virtual format. For example, Fashion Week. The main goal was to recreate a coded universe through a screen. How do you transcribe an experience through audiovisual? Is that sustainable in the long term?

For some fashion professionals such as Lucien Pagès, the interest of a Fashion Week comes first and foremost in everything that surrounds the presentation: the front row, the backstage, the hairdressers, the stylists… In these digitized formats, we lose this part of theatricalization. But, with the digitization of content, it will be relayed to the general public via influencers. The luxury brands gradually reveal know-how. The elitist fashion world has opened up the common mortal through live broadcasting platforms. Moreover, we observed a large audience at those onlines shows. For example, the show Céline had more than 800,000 people live and 1.2 millions saw the replay show the following weekend. Thanks to Covid-19 and digitization, we observe a democratization of this sector.

Some brands like Dolce & Gabbana or Jacquemus refused a full digitisation. They held physical fashion shows with distance measures repeated live on platforms.

Jacquemus Runway Show, 2021. Credit : Jacquemus

Digitization won’t be a panacea. Will the digital revolution be the future of the fashion industry? It is not made to last, it’s just a temporary solution. Yet, in June 2020, the federation of fashion announced its intention to maintain the Women’s Spring-Summer 202A FW in real life. On the other hand, the experience of Fashion Week will tend to be more digitally translated through audiovisual (videos). It will therefore be more accessible than it was before Covid-19.

One question remains for us, who will archive all this digital content and what future for this audiovisual material?

Camille Garcia

Bibliography :

BEGHIN Claire, “Quel avenir pour la Fashion Week de Paris?”, I-D Vice, 03/07/2020

FAGUER Astrid, “Paris Fashion Week : les réseaux sociaux dévoilent les secrets de fabrication”, Les Echos, 21/01/2021

EAVES Emmaleigh, “The future of the fashion industry : a digital revolution?”, Verdict, 10/09/2020

GONZALO ; HARREIS ; SANCHEZ ; VILLEPELET, “Fashion’s digital transformation : Now or never”, Mckinsey, 06/05/2020

MENDES Silvano, “Covid-19 : la pandémie a accéléré la transition de la mode vers le “phygital”, RFI, 15/01/2021

NEYCENSAS François-Marie, “Fashion Week et crise sanitaire - rencontre avec Pascal Morand”, Hecstories, 16/12/2020

PERRIN-AUSSEDAT Eloi, “Mode : comment l’industrie fait face à la crise du Covid-19”, Forbes, 07/05/2020

ZOCCHETTI Vanessa, “Défilés online, e-shop boostés, reloking… 2020 ou l’année de la mode virtuelle?”, Madame Figaro, 06/07/2020

[byredooooo]

Byredo has become one of Europe’s omnipresent fine fragrance brands - with a cult following and enduring mystique of minimalism and intimacy. I chose to follow the brand for this final project for the ‘Brands in a Digital World’ seminar, however, as I was wondering how a brand like Byredo would adapt their communication and digital strategies during the era of Covid-19. How do you create and market something as subjective and personal as a fine fragrance in a world where all the boutiques are shuttered? How do you convince someone to spend 135 euros on a pandemic-launched fragrance they can’t easily sample themselves - or to buy a new makeup product in a world where everyone’s working from home in their sweatpants, and dance floors are abandoned and collecting dust?

The Swedish-headquartered brand really rose to the occasion, however. Their communication approach is split a few ways - their only forms of social media are Facebook (142k likes) and Instagram (378k followers). They cross-promote the same content, and so here on this blog I’ve focused primarily on archiving their Instagram posts, stories, reels, and live streams. In addition, Byredo is represented by Lucien Pagès Communication, the Parisian agency that represents other cult brands like APC and Lemaire, and consistently helps Byredo’s products reach top influencers and journalists.

Their digital strategies are driven and focused on establishing stark intimacy that defies traditional distances. We can see this in their short but deeply evocative captions; their abstract, creative art direction; their intimate Instagram Q&A’s and IGTV tutorials with Byredo’s makeup creatives; their dedication to the product above all else. In a crowded digital world, they clearly try to use their social media platforms, e-commerce presence, and featured press appearances to build into an ultimately engaging strategy - everything is to add meaning to Byredo’s brand experience and depth to its social community.

Byredo was founded by Ben Gorham in 2006, according to their website, ‘with an ambition to translate memories and emotions into products and experiences.’ You can see this brand mission connect through all their past few months of brand content and product launches, all the way up to their new limited time fragrance OPEN SKY. Rather than create and market a fragrance simply based on one notable place or traditional smell, Gorham and Byredo chose to create a scent dedicated to a feeling - the idea of ‘being on your way somewhere,’ ‘the void that exists between departure and destination.’ And to me, it’s this innovative, abstract perspective on scents and emotions which is what ultimately separates Byredo from every other fine fragrance and beauty brand that’s currently on the market today.

[insidefashionista]

Lucien Pagès Communication Is Hiring A PR Assistant In New York, NY

[leconsulat]

OFFICE DE TOURISME / LAROSE PARIS / ALEXI HOBBS / 2017

Office de Tourisme, collection de Larose Paris, sera présentée lors d’un pop up shop chez colette Paris. Mandatée par Lucien Pagès Communication l’installation “Les Vacances de Lulu” accueillera une trentaine de designers, réunis sous le thème des vacances d’été.

Alexi Hobbs propose des images qui baignent sous le soleil et la chaleur.

Pour en savoir plus, c’est par ici. 

CRÉDITS :

Photo: Alexi Hobbs

Modèles : Florence Provencher-Proulx / Samuel Fournier

Mise en beauté : Laurie Deraps

Direction Artistique : Isaac Larose

[moniquelhuillier]

BOF: Monique Lhuillier is the latest designer to align with the Paris haute couture schedule.

NEW YORK, United States — Joining a growing cohort of ready-to-wear designers showing during haute couture week, Monique Lhuillier will present her Spring 2018 collection at an intimate runway show in Paris in July. The designer, known for eveningwear and bridal, will reveal her forthcoming resort collection at the same time.

“After showing for 15 years now in New York Fashion Week, I feel like it’s time to be in front of international editors and grow our international exposure,” says Lhuillier, who did not stage a runway show in February, presenting by appointment as she considered her next move. “Also, with my aesthetic… a lot of [my clientele] are in Paris during couture.”

Haute couture week is quickly becoming a popular choice for ready-to-wear designers aiming to cut through the clutter and align their main lines with the lucrative sales period for pre-collections, when buyers spend about 80 percent of their budgets. In January, both Proenza Schouler and Rodarte announced plans to show in Paris in July, following in the footsteps of Vetements, which made the move in early 2016.

“We see what’s happening, the way that things are moving,” says Pascal Morand, executive president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, adding that he thinks designers are also interested in aligning with the haute couture schedule because they want to be associated with the spirit and craftsmanship of the tradition. “I’m not surprised that this is attractive as an environment, because it is reflecting what is happening today — this need and wish to be close to the product and to have the power of the hand, and have this ultimate sensory experience,” he says.

“One of the attractions of Paris is that it is still this unique place where any journalist from any country comes.”

But of course, showing during Paris Couture Week also has several distinct operational advantages. “Moving your collection to an earlier date can be an extraordinary move in that you get to buy the collection earlier, you get to produce it earlier and you get to receive it earlier,” explains Ikram Goldman, owner of Chicago boutique Ikram. “With Rodarte, for example, their clothes are so brilliantly intricate that if they need an extra few weeks to get an item out, we should allocate for that.” Pieces that arrive at the end of September, for example, only have a few weeks on the floor before promotions begin in October.

While Goldman allocates much of her budget to runway pieces, most traditional retailers spent the majority of their seasonal budgets on pre-collections that deliver earlier and drive the majority of sales. By the time buyers see an in-season collection debut during fashion month, they typically have much less budget to spend. “They come back to the showroom in October, but it’s for a few key items or pieces that they should have in the shop that get attention,” says Nathalie Ours, partner at PR Consulting Paris.

Monique Lhuillier has never shown her resort collection on the runway and hopes that by showing both collections simultaneously, “[buyers] will be able to split the buy, and it will be more representative of what’s on the runway.”

She also hopes to gain more exposure to press and buyers from around the world, who come to Paris to see both couture and pre-season collections, which are typically presented simultaneously in showrooms. “The calendar of pre-collection is perfect for couture week,” says Lucien Pagès, founder of his namesake PR and communications agency. He says the schedule is even more beneficial in January, when the last day of Paris Men's Fashion Week overlaps with the first day of haute couture. “You still have a lot of menswear editors who are in town, while the womenswear arrive for couture.” In July, however, one week separates the two sets of shows.

“One of the attractions of Paris is that it is still this unique place where any journalist from any country comes,” says Ours. Plus, haute couture week is not as packed as the city’s ready-to-wear weeks in March and October. “In five days in Paris, you can get a lot of attention,” she says. “You’re not in the middle of 100 shows, you’re in the middle of maybe altogether not even 50 shows, probably 30 shows. Then it means also in the news in general, they have more space for you.”

Pagès says the atmosphere of Couture Week is changing, too. “[Before], the press was much more luxury press and top editors. It was less cool than prét-a-porter.” Now it is more common for ready-to-wear brands to use haute couture week to launch fragrances, open stores or debut capsule collections. They take advantage of the editors and celebrity influencers who are in town for the evening couture shows. “I think it came with the explosion of events in fashion,” says Pagès.

“Coming to Paris, whether it’s October or July, makes a big difference on the international scene,” says Ours, predicting that the activity will spread across Paris Men’s Week and Couture Week. “My feeling is that it’s going to be a more and more important moment.”

The global awareness that Paris can provide is important to Lhuillier, who is eyeing potential new store locations in London and Hong Kong. But unlike the other designers mentioned here, she is not committing to the city and couture week long-term. Los Angeles, where her business is based, is another option. “We are open to experimenting with what’s right for the brand,” she says. “It feels very freeing.”

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