Sidney Toledano (Dior): "Our customers aren't anxious for immediate consumption"

On Friday, Sidney Toledano, Dior's CEO, expressed his opposition to a system in which some clothes presented at the shows are to be made available immediately afterwards, as several brands have begun to do. He explained that his fashion label's customers "aren't anxious for immediate consumption."

Right after the publication of a survey commissioned by the CFDA, the institute representing the US fashion industry, which put forward the 'see now, buy now' system, the top manager stated to the AFP agency that this solution does not fit "those fashion labels who share our kind of creativity."

"Our current, existing customers do not have this impatience for immediate consumption," he said at the end of the presentation of the autumn-winter ready-to-wear collection, on the fourth day of Paris Fashion Week.

"I often refer to the case of those great wines which you first present to the experts and to select clients, and then you have to wait for it, you need to learn to wait for it, creating a yearning for such creations," continued Sidney Toledano, whose position is aligned with that of the French Fashion Federation.

"Fashion shows must not be a promotional selling tool," said Toledano. "This is our model, and I respect those who have a different one."

A fact that does not prevent Dior shows from always featuring spectacular settings and sceneries. "Of course, because we make millions of people dream," explained Toledano.

"It's like haute couture: it's destined to a few hundred customers, yet there are tens of millions of people who look upon it. That is a show's purpose: a dream moment, a source of inspiration. And don't let anyone worry about us, we will know how to talk to our customers!"

"When a very short cycle is required, then we are not dealing with a system of creativity, of desire creation," added Sidney Toledano.

Several brands, especially in the USA, have already announced that they will engage with the 'see now, buy now' system, among them Rebecca Minkoff, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford, Diane von Furstenberg, Michael Kors, Proenza Schouler and Tory Burch, as well as Burberry from the UK and Courrèges from France.