BRAS and prices.
Those are the two things you won’t see at the fashion shows clogging up New York this week.
The absence of the first, of course, is easily explainable.
Most of the models hired to show off the latest slinky designs really don’t need any secrets from Victoria. And, while I suppose this is a secondary concern to the clothing designers, the lack of undergarments does tend to keep the males in the audience (or, at least, one I know) a little more attentive.
But the fact that nobody advertises how much any piece of clothing will cost is something that’s pretty curious to us folks who know nothing about fashion but something about economics.
Pick any other industry: autos sold by Ford, Trump’s real estate, a Picasso painting, cookies by Nabisco, or even the Nathan’s hot dogs sold by the vendor on the street corner. Every product has a price attached – so you know what you are getting for how much.
Not true in High Fashion.
Let me ask you this: What woman doesn’t consider price when choosing clothing? What husband doesn’t consider spending habits when considering a wife?
So, in defense of price comparison – that old tradition that transcends generations and nationalities – I did the unthinkable. I went to a bunch more fashion shows this week and started asking the price of things.
I asked one publicist for a price list for a very elegant line of evening gowns. (I thought they were prom dresses but that’s because I have daughters who wouldn’t be allowed to wear them.) She promised to e-mail the numbers but never did.
Asking people in the Fashion Week tent at Bryant Park wasn’t any more productive. “That just isn’t available,” whispered one insider in a way that’s usually reserved for telling someone their fly is open.