Rebel sell

A new breed of fashion designer is making it big by breaking all the rules. Critic Alexander Fury ponders the power of the post-catwalk generation

Alexander McQueen was barely a year out of college when he began to court outrage and attention with his first fashion show in 1993. It’s a path many have followed since.

What’s interesting about a new wave of talent is that the designers aren’t using the catwalk to generate buzz and business. They seem to have successfully skipped an evolutionary step. Many customers’ first encounter with the cutting-edge Parisian label Vetements – currently whipping the fashion industry into a frenzy and being ripped off at every level – was in stores. Ditto, labels such as Wanda Nylon, Vejas and Wales Bonner. The first, founded in 2012, didn’t show for three years, while the other two show low-key and small-scale.

These are just a few of the growing breed of designer labels that are rewriting the brand-building rule book. And what’s more, they seem to be doing it at exactly the wrong time, running against the prevailing winds. US department stores are reporting slumps and cutting back – a symptom of a larger malaise in a fashion retail environment marked by high-profile stock crashes, price slashes, and dramatic spikes of success and failure in the fortunes of major international brands. It’s at times like these when, traditionally, young designers go bust.

Without the pull of a well-established brand, the chances of survival seem slim. But the new breed are doing more than survive. Against all odds, these fashion small fry are carving themselves a profitable niche.