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Priced to kill

posted on January 5th, 2009 · by Laila Lu · Add comments?

The recession might be happening right now and affecting the fashion business just like anyone else but some companies are still churning out clothes with sky-high prices. Most of the time (all the time actually) we see clothes being photographed beautifully on the magazine pages that scream ‘buy me!’ but at the little corner in the smallest fonts, there goes the prices, in a whooping five figure, and starts with a 2.

Here are some haunting figures (all in USD), taken from US BAZAAR Jan 09’s “The New Collections” editorial.

Dolce & Gabbana

Jacket alone: $24,750

00590m

Salvatore Ferragamo

Gown: $22,000

00420m1

Yves Saint Laurent

Cage coat: $24,995

00150m1

Versace

Dress: $20,720

00520m

Christian Dior

Gown: $23,090

00360m

Balmain

Gown: $24,000

00240m

While US BAZAAR is featuring a lot of clothes that go over the five figure sum, Vogue is being selective by not choosing clothes costing over $5000 for the new season editorials, if not, the price is hidden— the Balenciaga that Chanel Iman is wearing in the last shot surely goes over $5000.

Pretty audience friendly, no? What a winning a formula.

images: style.com


No Responses to “Priced to kill”

  1. Acdtrsh says:

    There was this article apperead in the L.A. Times about Thakoon’s collection for Target wich had identic pieces has his latest spring collection. It made you somehow realise that you dont need to pay 800$ for a coton skirt wich was something very less at Target. Some pieces shouldn’t be this expensives, of course theres many aspects we have to take consideration of.

  2. Kassie says:

    $23,090 for that Dior dress!!! That’s crazy its basically lingerie!!!

  3. peek-a-boo says:

    In my humble opinion, except maybe for the Ferragamo gown, the rest don’t really look the money.
    I used to be involved in a clothing company and I know how absurdly an outfit can be priced even after taking into consideration the fabric quality and workmanship.I once saw an outfit worth $120 getting priced at $1350 without an iota of guilt from the designer’s marketting team.
    I know of course there are overheads to consider but exagerration seems de riguer when it comes to pricing at almost all fashion houses especially the Uber ones.

  4. t4jotr says:

    ill just go to the nearest florist in my PJs and jump into the roses to get the first look for just…..39.95?
    hah.
    OVERPRICED!

  5. Camille says:

    I saw that editorial! I actually fell in love with a few pieces. Then I had a heart attack when I got ahold of the price range. Then I doubled over again when I figured out my thumb was covering a zero!

    Crazy, crazy world.

  6. Theresa says:

    These are definitely overpriced! I think customers will be paying for the BRAND instead of the actual clothing in a way….The versace dress is really creative, and the idea, I feel, might actually be quite worth the price after all. But as for the rest…it’s daylight robbery.

  7. Sukaina says:

    You know what, I don’t personally even like the Dolce & Gabbana dress, so I won’t even GO there. 20,000 above for a kaftan dress is way too much, honestly, using the same material, I think I could get my local dress-maker to fix something like that up for me. Most people EARN that much.
    20,000 above for a short RTW dress is way too much! I mean, really?
    I agree with Theresa, THAT is daylight robbery. No wonder Chanel had to sack 200 workers. They won’t earn money this way.

  8. Yikes! That is like a down payment on a house in Nebraska.

    But I noticed that most of the dresses are from very recognizable brands. Smaller brands probably won’t be able to survive with those price tags.

    I hope they have some less expensive clothes in the collection.

  9. passionista says:

    @peek-a-boo:
    thats why some designers but especially the ceo’s are so filthy rich! as you know of course.

    @theresa:
    right! thats how it is you pay for a name. sad isn’t it?

    i really begin to believe the economic crisis is going to wake up some fashionistas! giggles a bit. sorry my ladies.

  10. asyraf says:

    That Ferragano gown is just so overtly expensive! It’s like a piece of fuschia cloth with a brooch.
    By the way, how much is US Bazaar in Sin Dollar? I really want to have a copy of this issue. Only thing is, I can’t find it at Times:( They only had UK Harpers Bazaar and it was $16.20,

  11. Laila says:

    @Asyraf: I got it at S$11, from Borders…

  12. asyraf says:

    To Laila, haha, thanks, finally got it at the airport. Weird place huh!

  13. la poubelle says:

    how much ar couture pieces in relation to this?
    i am shocked at the prices – i thought only high end accessories were this obscene!

  14. Laila says:

    couture pieces can easily go up to huge six figures though, these are just about one tenth of the prices of a couture garment :-)

    yes, agree— very offensive prices!

  15. ValentinaG says:

    OMG they are soo expensive :O
    Does anyone know the collection for the Balmain dress? :)

  16. Laila says:

    ^ it’s the Spring 09 collection

  17. Alisa says:

    I guess really really rich people who can afford these clothes are not really really affected by the recession. And… is there a recession? Or is it just matrix telling us there is? :)

    Laurela Fashion Blog
    http://laurela.us/lingerie/lfl-lingerie-football-league/

  18. ValentinaG says:

    Thanks Laila :D

  19. [...] Russia Snejana ph by Terry Tsiolis (in that $20,720 Versace dress). Must-see: Alana Zimmer’s ed in this issue, ph by Yelena Yemchuk. [...]

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