Designer Licensing, Part 2

The good stuff vs the less good stuff

If you missed Part 1 of this newsletter, go back and read that here!

Licensed Designer Goods vs In-House Designer Goods

So what exactly is the difference? In short, everything. Designer apparel usually warrants its high price tag for a few main reasons: labor, materials, design, and brand name. The seamstresses and artisans that are employed by designer labels are paid much more for their work, often have years of specialty training in their fields, and are given the proper tools and timelines to be detailed and meticulous. The fabrics, fastenings, and trims are higher quality and more expensive. Luxury fashion houses have creative directors and designers leading teams to come up with concepts and looks.

A 1969 ad for the Cardin "Pajarobe," an example of his many licensed products vs one of his famous Space Age looks from the runway

While there are certain very specific exceptions (like YSL in Japan, as mentioned in my last letter), most licensed apparel is sold at a much lower price point than any in house lines, including diffusion lines. Licensed apparel keeps the brand name, but significantly lowers the bar on labor, materials, and design. You can expect cheaper fabrics, trims, and finishings, with construction indicative of lowered labor costs. While licensing agreements do have certain parameters to be followed, both the production and design of these goods are in line with mass-market apparel, inspired by the designer name on the label.

It would be easy to say that all of the garment workers employed by luxury fashion houses are much more skilled in their positions, but I want to avoid that generalization. There is so much racism and classism inherent in the fashion industry, and with that, so many garment workers who are never given the opportunity to work within their true skill level. I don’t want to diminish the immense skill and talent at work at designer labels, but at the same time I never want to do the same for (the mostly POC women) doing hurried, dangerous, poorly paid labor for less expensive brands.