I miss Bennetton! And still own a classic pair of Bennetton wool trousers I
bought over 25 years ago.
As for the "we" comments about today's fashion and culture - I think that they
are simply gross generalizations about today's youth and should be viewed as
such. From the little I have read from the folks here, I don't believe any of
us would fit into the mould of today's pop culture. I know I don't. In truth, I
don't think a vast majority of young people fit this mould either. Just to give
one example, my niece buys all vintage 20th century fashion, mostly from the
40's and 50's.
Annette M
Message: 10
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2005 16:31:11 -0400
From: Gail & Scott Finke <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Penny wrote:
> We want everything fast and then throw it away in a short
> amount of time. We are all guilty of throw it away instead of
repairing
> products. Mass production makes it so much cheaper to purchase a new
> product instead of repairing.
This is not true in Europe, or at least it wasn't 10 years ago when I
wrote
an article about Benneton for a retail magazine. The company had opened
US
stores, but they failed miserably. They were trying to redo the stores,
and
the person in charge told me that the company had misunderstood the
American
market. Benneton sweaters, she told me, were considered middle-priced
clothing in Europe, while here they were considered expensive (they
were
about $80 on sale then). The company was not geared to a "wear it for a
year
or two and get rid of it" mentality. They expected people to keep their
Benneton clothes for a long time.
She also explained that Benneton did not have any ladies' dress
jackets, and
that this was a staple of American women's work wardrobes (dress
blouse,
dress skirts, and dress jackets, all of them mix and match). She said
that
in Europe, women wore a lot more dresses to work, and a lot more
matching
suits.
Benneton was designed for people who have fewer, nicer clothes, and who
keep
them longer. It could not compete as it was with the American market
for a
LOT of less expensive clothes. I don't know what it's like now...
Gail Finke
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