Why are high fashion brands so expensive?

Seriously though- do they use incredibly rare materials that are made with even rarer tools? Do they take three weeks to make a single piece (like the Burberry trenchcoat- as we've seen in the previous chapter!)? Let's get into it! 

As prices rise year after year, a lot of us (especially me) are left wondering 'what's going on? I used to be able to buy a t-shirt for a fiver and now it's gone up to £15!'. Well, if you think that's crazy, just imagine the luxury and high end prices!

The easy answer is that we're paying for the manufacturing and the desginer's time and effort, which is not exactly wrong, but in reality it's so much more complex. As Carlos Fialho excellently explains in his article, we're paying for the many takes to make one first design, of course the cost of licensing it, reproducing it (but NOT mass-producing it, this is important too- big brands usually don't mass-produce), the material costs, along with the labour costs (so, if it was made in say Bangladesh, it will be cheaper than if it was made in Italy). After the production costs, come the distribution costs, and obviously the staff need a salary (most importanly the marketing department), so add them on too, and to top it off, the rent costs for HQ, warehouses and shops. 

Being able to now understand where these prices come from has completely opened my eyes and changed my view on this subject, but let's not forget the key reason these garments are so pricey- if it's unattainable, it's more desirable! 

Where I found it all

Carlos Fialho's online article (which is amazing, go check it out!!)