I missed this back when it was published in September, but I found Alan Flusser’s opinions on reviving Brooks Brothers after its bankruptcy last year and sale interesting to read.
I always doubt my own opinion when it comes to how a retailer might find success since I have such narrow tastes, but part of what he says is essentially what I think as well:
However, in the face of all this, I would counter that Brooks Brothers’ supposed slump is less marketplace driven and more merchandise abetted, the result of a gradual distancing from its true fashion legacy — its treasury of authentic pre-war classics and promise of time-tested good taste. Brooks Brothers survived the Great Depression in the 1930s, Carnaby Street and the Peacock revolution in the 1960’s, and the designer explosion in the 1970s by building their merchandise assortments around the extraordinary number of iconic articles of apparel that they either designed, brokered from Europe, or marketed into popular fashion prior to the outbreak of WWII. There was very little in the way of upper-class fashion that the firm not only pioneered but created from within.
I would tend to agree: let Brooks Brothers be Brooks Brothers, and don’t try to stretch the brand beyond what it does well. Leave cashmere sweatpants to Ralph Lauren.
It was after this was published that Michael Bastian was named creative director, who posted that he was looking into the vaults to find gold. So that gives me hope. But what’s always worrying is what the corporate overlords want and whether that’s compatible with making the brand really good again. We will find out.
