How we all got hooked on holiday shopping
We already know that something very strange happens to the frontal lobe on holiday. It makes us feel, inter alia, that the money we spend on holiday somehow doesn't “count”.
Tourism shopping now accounts for 40 per cent of the international brands’ total sales. 60 per cent of that is conducted in airports. Let’s not torture ourselves doing the maths, but rather agree that that’s an irrational amount of money to spend before the plane has even taken off. Heathrow, a huge conduit for business travellers, employs 38 personal shoppers who service around 2,000 customers a month.
What’s interesting is the double-think in which the world’s mighty luxury brands engage when discussing this surging source of profits. Which is to say – they don’t really discuss it. No luxury brand wishes to be known chiefly as a purveyor of same-y bags and “small leather goods”. They want to go down as creative giants. So a great deal of money is invested in catwalk shows, which are then played on a loop in airport terminals with the express intent of encouraging everyone to rush in and buy…small leather goods.
I’m not decrying this. Small leather goods are portable (clue in name) and relatively affordable, although parameters of what’s good value stretch with every tedious hour by which your flight’s delayed. Small leather goods are also, it so happens, where it’s currently at, fashion-wise. The inexorable rise of the mini-bag has given large wallets a boost in status. Dior has cleverly capitalized on this, launching a range of “Croisière” wallets with gilt straps that mean they can easily double as evening clutches, or, for the supremely disciplined, a small, neat day bag.
Croisière bag, £700, Dior
Why stop at wallets? Earlier this year, Louis Vuitton opened a 1500 sq ft store at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 selling not just accessories, but part of the ready-to-wear collection, including catwalk pieces. If there was ever any stigma about buying clothes in an airport, it has evaporated in a cloud of Armani Si.
The Monopoly Money mentality of airport shopping – the sense that once you are through security, spending doesn’t really count – is seeping through the entire holiday experience. Tourists have always been seduced by local “bargains”, but increasingly attractive mobile website apps, a constant feed of Instagram pictures showing “friends” in their #OOTD (outfit of the day) and same-day service is proving an irresistible part of the holiday ritual.
Stylist Giovanna Battaglia recently treated her 390,000-plus Instagram followers to a picture of herself in the Hamptons in her new silver Altuzzara silver skirt with the caption: “This was a real same day delivery. I was thinking about this @Altuzarrastudio silver skirt few hours ago ... And it appears @nataporter #HamptonStreetStyle”. At the time of writing this had 4,831 likes.
Designers and e-tailers are doing their best to service this new frenzy of holiday consumption. Some brands offer limited edition city-specific collections. Net-A-Porter recently launched The Net Set, a shoppable app where fashion junkies can post selfies and egg each other on to ever splashier sartorial investments. Then there’s the new breed of designers who focus on exactly the kind of thing you discover you need on holiday – once you’ve left home. Vita Kin, a Ukrainian designer who specializes in embroidered cotton pieces, is one such holiday hero, as are Lisa Marie Fernandez, Zimmerman, Loup Charmont and Figue.
Meanwhile, within days of showing their Alta Moda couture collection in Portofino last month (and insisting on a social media ban on all pictures of it) Dolce & Gabbana launched a Portofino-themed ready-to-wear collection of sundresses and swimsuits on Net-A-Porter. The colourful printed leather, £1,200 tote bags sold out in the first week.
Portofino dress, £1,450, Net-A-Porter
This is the spirit of localized holiday shopping without the stress of having to get down and dirty in the souk – but still with the visceral thrill thanks to the fact that diligent e-browsing will track down the same item on different websites at vastly different prices. I’ve just spotted an Anna Sui floral shirt on two different sites for £275 and £380 and a Barrie cardigan for £899 and £733 respectively
The Net Set probably don’t care for such small-change savings. Unexpected weather glitches and memory lapses mean there is no respite from shopping. Matchesfashion.com says that when some of its clients have forgotten to pack favourite items, they simply re-order en route to the airport and get them sent directly to their villas and yachts.
Neoprene swimsuit, £266, Lisa Marie Fernandez
There is, too, the thrill of nabbing next season’s key pieces and finding that fabulous Topshop Gucci “tribute” before any of your friends do – by which point it will have sold out. Clearly sightseeing, family and catching up on novels should never suffer at the altar of consumption…but holidays provide plenty of R&R moments for planning and scanning those key autumn purchases. Get that out of the way, and when you get back you’ll have more time to work and actually pay for them.
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