Fashion and Furniture: An Uneasy Marriage

The fashion industry gave its all to stand out this year at the Salone del Mobile and gain space and attention through cocktail parties and press releases: Hermès has launched the home project, Armani has moved from kitchens to wardrobes, Moroso and Foscarini have been working with Renzo Rosso of Diesel at furniture collection. In the list of opening cocktails we find Italian top fashion brands like Ferragamo, Trussardi, Versace, and many other. All have tried to make their entrance into the home decor sector, sometimes just by designing textiles or letting manufacturers use their showroom to display their products.
From a managerial point of view, this was an occasion to reflect on the much-heralded cross between fashion and interior design. We do not have quantitative data to appraise the economic success of these initiatives, but we can provide qualitative comment. Why is the home furnishing business so appealing? And why hasn't it worked the other way around, with furniture makers venturing into the fashion business?
The media success of these initiatives notwithstanding, doubts remain about the consistency of these business projects. They are excellent PR stunts, but we are usure about their entrepreneurial value.
But creating new lingerie and branding dishware is not the same as designing bedrooms and kitchens. Particularly wrong is the idea of trying to impose the "total look" which consumers already disdain in fashion. People tend to mix and personalize items of furniture rather than identify themselves with a pre-made style.
If production complexity cannot be outsourced, the management of distribution is even more problematic. Where can you sell these products which require specific selling skills? How to find space when the market is saturated? Are mono-brand retail spaces the answer? We think not, because unit prices and product rotation are markedly different.
The furniture industry has always worked with industrial designers, and has thus embraced operational attitudes that are very different from fashion. The latter is characterized by the singularity of creative references. In furnishing, the relation with designers is often multiple and not necessarily continuous. This is what gives the firm and its production high value.
The forays of fashion houses in home furniture occur in already crowded markets and have to compete with established specialized brands. Ad hoc partnerships can remove such obstacles, such as the collaboration between Armani and Dada on kitchens.
A peculiar opportunity can be located in those cases where the union between the two worlds exploits the fundamental assets of a firm. And there the good lessons are to be found in furniture design rather than fashion. Kartell launched Glue Cinderella (flat ballerina shoes), Lady (platform shoes) and Sofia (rubber boots), not because it wants to become a fashion house, but to further exploit its consolidated technical skills in furniture design with plastic materials. The product is selling well in traditional shoe stores and clothing boutiques.