Randy Federgreen is a business advisor at Neiman Marcus and President at Bamford. He took some time (out of the middle of Fashion Week) to answer a few of our burning questions about luxury goods and the latest trends.

TILE: Where do trends start – on the street or the runway?
Randy: It’s kind of a circle. The trends start on the street and on the runway. The street inspires the designers because the design teams are out on the streets of the major capitols – the shops and the boutiques of Paris, London, Milan, New York, and Tokyo. It comes from the street but then runways inspire the street as well. Really, the colors and the textures and the fabrications start even earlier because the mills spin and color the yarn and make the fabrics show at the yarn, fabric, and leather fairs. The design associates go to these fairs, and bring them back to the designers. Right now, they say it’s all about red but the reason is that 10 months ago the fairs may have been showing red so that all these design assistants who pulled the fabric to show the designers all pulled things being driven by the mills. That’s why there’s so much consistency in the market.

TILE: So, it’s really a chicken and egg scenario?
Randy: It’s circular because the street inspires the designers and designers inspire the street. And then you have the mills and producers of the yarn that are really dictating colors, textures and patterns that you start seeing everywhere.

And if there’s something really hot, let’s say there’s a mill making a tweed that has a silver yarn running through it and several designers get inspired by it. Let’s say Armani picks it up, Prada picks it up, and Ralph Lauren picks it up, they all interpret it in their own different ways. Ralph might make a riding skirt, Armani might make a gown, and Prada might make a jacket and boots in it. Each designer puts their own handprints on it, but it’s the fabrics and yarns that run through all these different collections.

TILE: How is fashion dictated by the economy? Can fashion trends reflect the markets?
Randy: Yes, they say the length of a skirt tends to go down when business is bad. Today, watch sizes are getting smaller on men and women maybe to say enough with the excess, enough with the flash. The watch faces are getting smaller because people are getting more conservative and more tasteful. Watches were getting larger and larger for years (in the boom) and now we’re seeing a shift. This current fall season, we are seeing more conservative clothing for both women and men, it just feels right. You will see all shades of greys, dark purples, reds and of course, a lot of black. Going into spring, I expect you will see more feminine and soft fashions for her. You will see luxury brands lowering their prices and I expect that will get her out to shop.

TILE: How about purchasing behavior? Are people buying different items?
Randy: One of the trends is that a woman will spend more money for a few key piece in her wardrobe, like a Chanel jacket and wear it with a Theory trousers or a simple skirt. A new pair of Louboutins will certainly spice up a simple black suit or dress from last year. And she may wear a beautiful scarf from Hermes and throw it over a sweater from J. Crew. She’s certainly not buying the skirt, the jacket, and blouse from one designer anymore. She’s buying a few pieces. And I think that is a trend to stay because I think the head-to-toe dressing in one designer has become excessive. We won’t see those days again for a long time.

TILE: How does fashion inspire the way you live in your life?
Randy: I think something new or something exciting added to someone’s wardrobe or home gives them a little boost, makes them feel happy, energized. Rarely do people go out and buy something new and think “God I look horrible in this.” Especially now, people get inspired by beautiful things because they’re really looking at them. That whole consumerism thing that was going on for so long where women would pick up a new pair of Manolo’s once a week – those weeks are gone. And that’s kind of been crippling to the industry but the reality is that it never should have been like that. Everyone is thinking through their purchases; whether you’re Amy Butte (CEO of TILE) or someone with a $40k a year assistant’s salary. You’re looking at every purchase you make whether you are shopping at Anthropologie buying a $180 dress or shopping at Chanel. Purchases are made out of emotion and necessity and you think about them before you buy.

TILE: How has the recession changed the modus operandi of stores?
Randy: Now, the biggest challenge and opportunity in the fashion business is to inspire men and women to come in and see something new. Designers have done a lot to realign their prices and to come up with new and exciting things. It’s now up to the stores to get the customers back. But stores have cut their budgets for things like marketing and advertising so far down that they really don’t have the luxury to do that kind of outreach anymore.

There is also far less inventory in the stores. A few years ago, if you wanted an Armani jacket and shirt there would be 2 on the floor and a dozen more in the back stockroom. Today there are 2-4 pieces on the floor in that jacket and that’s all. So, if a customer is holding off on a purchase and hoping – like before – that it will go on sale… well, there is not going to be that much to go on sale. It’s going to be like buying Christmas ornaments the day before Christmas and having the store be completely out of ornaments or going to buy a Halloween outfit on Halloween, and there is nothing left but candy corn, Dracula capes, bunny ears and a nurse uniform. I like the saying, “you snooze, you lose.”

TILE: What is the best piece of advice you’ve received in the fashion industry?
Randy: Know who you are. You can’t be everything to everybody.

TILE: How about the best compliment?
Randy: The best compliment I ever received was when Ralph Lauren told me I inspired him. I worked at Ralph for 22 years. That was one of the most memorable moments, which I will never forget.

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