Diffusion lines mean Joe and Jill can access designer looks at non-designer prices. But does it also mean those products are made from a lesser breed of fabric? Not necessarily, Assia Benmedjdoub discovers.
As far as casualties go, there were probably more flesh wounds than silk slashes that fateful day in March, 2007.
Shoppers had already begun to gather outside Target's Westfield Bondi Junction store long before its shutters were rolled back for trade. At 9am they finally entered. By 9.10am, they had stripped the racks bare.
Had Stella McCartney's collection for Target not endured a rigorous quality control process, customers wouldn't have been the only ones nursing scratch marks and slap stains.
Since the debut of Australia's first major High Street collaboration of the noughties, many prominent retailers including Myer and Sportsgirl have introduced their own dedicated designer programs. Unlike luxury diffusion brands, such as Prada's Miu Miu label and Donna Karan's DKNY line, the question of quality and craftsmanship often arises with the former. Does, for instance, Toni Maticevski's exclusive line for Myer take into account his reputation for creating $1000-pluspieces from fine, handfinished silks?
Myer private labels business manager Bridget Veals, who works closely with designers who produce diffusion lines for the department store, is quick to dismiss any uncertainties surrounding quality.
"All fabrics need to pass Myer's intensive quality and performance approval - we have all fabrics tested at independent testing houses to ensure they meet quality performance standards," she says. "We also work extensively with the designer to ensure they are part of the design, fabric and trim process."
She says costings are minimised when larger scale collaborations such as Wayne by Wayne Cooper, stocked in 42 Myer stores to Maticevski's nine, meet fabric/production minimums and can thus be manufactured offshore. A blouse from the latter, for instance, retails at $79 while an Australian-made Maticevski dress can retail for up to $900. Much like his ready-to-wear label, Maticevski is also incessant about the fabrics used in his collections.
"We use both nominated fabric sources from designers and [in-house] fabric sources," Veals says. "Our current private brands source from European fabric and yarn mills through to Japan, Taiwan and Asia so in fact, we can open up a broader choice of fabrics and better end fabrics than sourcing just locally in Australia."
The collaborations have proved so integral to the department store's overall offering, it's planning to expand them beyond the current stable of Karen Walker, Maticevski and Cooper.
"Diffusion lines from all three designers have been hugely successful to Myer. They allow us to give our customer greater designer product in all stores at prices they can afford. They are also exclusive, ensuring Myer retains a product point of difference in the market," Veals says.
The same goes for womenswear Melanie Cutfield, whose diffusion line muccia has in fact superseded her core stockist base by 17 retailers. Twenty new retailers jumped on board for the label's autumn/winter 2009 collection, with a total of 71 stores throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Cutfield says while there are no fabric pricing restrictions for her main line, which can retail from $250 to $725, her approach to muccia take a more conscious approach at delivering value. First class fabrics such as Italian linen, wool, pure silk, chiffon and cotton are sourced for the high-end incarnation while the diffusion line places its emphasis on machine or hand washable materials.
"There is still a strong emphasis on the quality of fabrics for the muccia by Melanie Cutfield collections; however, the fabrication is cheaper to provide a designer look without the price tag," she says, explaining that prices range from $145 to $395. "Melanie Cutfield products are only dry-cleanable and this is a representation of the premium selection of fabrics, exclusivity of the design element and original features for the brand."
Detailing is also minimised to keep prices competitive with those on the High Street. While a fabric in the core line will be worked to include at least five unique features, muccia might only include one or two details. The autumn/winter collection features simple pleating and folding techniques, spliced fabrics and cotton, cotton/silk and cotton/cashmere knits.
"For muccia, we try to put value where the customer will see it," Cutfield says. "For example, a tailored jacket will have fantastic shape but no more than two features to keep the price point low. Because the brand is purely domestic, we try to inject more colour, lightness and a relaxed feel to compliment our Australian climate and culture."
Both brands deal with one production house in China for knitwear - where many luxury knits are manufactured - and six different specialty production houses that focus on specific fabrics in Australia.
"At the moment, fabrics that are made in China are expensive so, in fact, it's more profitable for our brands to produce locally and support the Australian economy."
In some cases, diffusion lines can also help designers broach into new markets without having to change fabrications or production methods. Billion Dollar Babes designer Michelle Cooke says she was thrilled by the opportunity to collaborate with plus size retailer City Chic because she was able to use her own suppliers. Quality silk and jersey fabrications were sourced for a range of evening and Grecian dresses priced for around $300.
"We were price conscious but at the same time, we were not delivering a lesser quality garment by any standards," Cooke says. "Due to the production being larger than a normal Billion Dollar Babes order, we were actually able to get better prices for the same quality fabrics and trims. We used our makers for this order so there was also consistency."
Although price pointed at a similar rate to that of Billion Dollar Babes, the diffusion range was kept competitive through tighter editing of Cooke's core collection. City Chic executives chose five signature styles and translated these back to the High Street.
"The difference in approach was only to fit and change the designs so that they were flattering to a different body shape while retaining the overall feel of the original," Cooke says. "We use up to eight metres of fabric for certain style and we certainly didn't cut back on that for the City Chic range."
Womenswear designer Josh Goot is equally glowing about his limited edition collaboration with discount department store Target. Goot worked closely with Target supplier DPK to develop an exclusive Australian merino fabric blend, which featured tactel and elastene and was coated with a dense silver resin.
The wools Goot uses in his core ready-to-wear collections are often heavier and dry clean only.
"With Target, I had to tick every box with one cloth," he says. "It had to be machine washable, dye well, have low shrinkage and so on. We're talking something like 14,000 units across 12 styles - we usually do 40 to 50 styles a season and produce anywhere between 10 to 100 units per style. It was incredible."
This meant the collection was able to be produced in China and retail at a significantly lower price point. Australian footwear brand Senso takes a similar approach to its diffusion range, sourcing good quality fabrications and minimising costs through manufacturing offshore. The autumn/winter 2009 range retails for between $120 to $395 while the core collection, manufactured in Italy, is priced from $200 to $500.
Creative director Kim Meller says both lines use a similar quality of leather.
"Once we have designed the collections we then source the fabrics that best suit the style. Senso Italy uses the finest Italian leather and has leather soles while Sense Diffusion uses synthetic soles with leather uppers in the latest finishes and colours."
Subtle variations in embellishments also allow it to compete with prices on the High Street.
"If the look of the season dictates crystals, for example, then we would use Swarovski crystals for our Senso Italy range and a Taiwanese crystal for our Senso Diffusion line," Meller explains. "It depends entirely on the season and what the current trends are."
The Senso Diffusion autumn/winter 2009 collection features aggressive detailing such as studding, buckles and fringes while the Italy range is slightly more classical with lacing, patent leathers and suede.
"Putting together both ranges each season is a huge challenge," Meller says. "They each have their own customer base and therefore we have to approach both ranges from different perspectives."
Diffuse the situation
Throw the term at a retailer today and you'll probably hear more than one definition in return.
On the one hand, names like Marc by Marc Jacobs, Moschino Cheap & Chic, Emporio Armani and DKNY could be referenced to describe the second tier luxury lines which cater to a broader base of consumers. These offshoots -DKNY is the sister brand of American fashion house Donna Karan - generally offer consumers high quality, trend-driven garments at more affordable entry points. For instance, a DKNY pencil skirt at $195 to offset the pinch of a Donna Karan ready-to-wear version for $895.
On the other hand, High Street collaborations such as Karl Lagerfeld for H&M, Stella McCartney for Target and sass & bide for Topshop could also be mentioned in reference to diffusion lines. The price imperative is much more pronounced for these diffusion lines - some pieces from the Karl Lagerfeld collection retailed for around AU$20 - and goods are often manufactured offshore to keep RRPs doubly competitive.