Sunday, Oct 9, 2022 • 18min
7. How To Transform Yourself Through Fashion, With Professor Paola Cillo
Play Episode
Paola Cillo is a Professor of Marketing Creativity Innovation and Value Creation in Luxury Markets at Bocconi University Today we’re focusing on the fashion industry and talk to Paola about how storied brands can continue making beautiful products that are also culturally relevant.
This is for any listener who loves dressing up, but is also interested in figuring out the language of fashion choices and why certain products can make you feel like a different person.
Looking for a new guide to drive innovation and change? The Talent Show is a new podcast series from FT Talent, a hub of innovation from the Financial Times. Hosted by under 30s for under 30s around the world. Each episode we have important conversations for you and with you. We speak to experts in different fields, and bring you in to ask them your burning questions and delve deep into the topics that really matter to the younger generation today, find inspiring tips, analyse trends and bridge generational gaps. And we didn't just rely on our own curiosity - we invite our audience bright students and early career professionals from all over the world to ask questions directly to our guests. The FT Talent Challenge is a competition from the Financial Times that invites bright young talent from all over the world to pitch solutions aimed at solving our most pressing business challenges. This podcast gives you a taste of the creative, educational and entrepreneurial atmosphere at FT Talent Challenges. FT Talent is a commercial division of the Financial Times. This first season of The Talent Show Podcast is in partnership with Bocconi University, a leading university of business, economics and management teaching and research. The FT Newsroom is not involved in its production. Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Read more
Talking about
Speakers
(4)
Paola Cillo
Virginia Stagni
Presciana
Show more
Transcript
Verified
Paola Cillo
00:00
So people don't buy just the brand and the product, of course, just to cover themselves or to wear something. They buy a meaning. they buy some symbols that they want to use, also to show their personality to the others and to interact with others.
Share
Virginia Stagni
00:17
This is The Talent Show, a new podcast series from FT Talent, a hub of innovation from the
Financial Times
, hosted by under thirties for the under-thirties around the world. This first series is in partnership with Bocconi University
, a leading higher education institution of business and managerial advancements. I'm Virginia Stagni and this is the guide you need to drive innovation and change.Share
00:46
Today we're focusing on the fashion industry by talking with an expert who understands how storied brands can continue making beautiful products but are also culturally relevant.
Share
00:57
This is for any listener who loves dressing up but is also interested in figuring out the language of fashion choices and why certain products can make you feel like a different person. Here is our conversation with Paola Cillo, Professor of Marketing Creativity Innovation and the Value Creation In Luxury Markets at
Bocconi University
.Share
01:19
So Paola Cillo that is connected from Bocconi. Hi Paola. How are you today?
Share
Paola Cillo
01:23
Hi Virginia, I'm doing well and thank you for having me.
Share
Virginia Stagni
01:26
Professor Cillo has been a part of the FT Talent Challenge in the past editions, actually, the very first one that we did in partnership with Bocconi and it's great to see you here to give us tips and analysing trends around the fashion industry.
Share
01:38
So the first question that I would have for you Paola: How did you first become very interested in researching the fashion industry? What was your journey that led you then to be an expert in this field?
Share
Paola Cillo
01:50
That's a very good question because, clearly, as many of us here in
Italy
, you know fashion is an industry that you look at because we used to have so many brands that have basically built what is called the credible tailor, ready to wear. While in France it's more relevant into the haute couture items for the high end customised product and fashion, Italy
has really a very strong seasonal and...Share
02:17
So brands are like
Prada
of, for example, or Gucci
that is very popular nowadays. All brands that have been part of the imagery of many of us while growing.Share
02:29
Actually I started my PhD programme and my field of investigation is innovation. The literature coming from the US, it was mostly high tech and pharmaceutical, especially pharmaceutical because it was clearly like very easy to research because it was based on patterns.
Share
02:44
I thought, you know, what can I add from
Italy
you know, probably I should leverage on something that is unique about our country, where we have to say, where we can make others understand what do we mean by innovation and creativity because this is the most relevant part of this industry.Share
03:01
And so I studied, during my PhD, to work of course on innovation but basically twisting and approaching this phenomenon by looking at innovation in low tech, high touch industries and in particular I focused on this concept that it was quite unique at that time.
Share
03:17
That was the idea of symbolic innovation that is related to the industry of meaning because at the end of the day, you know, when a brand, especially a luxury brand into the fashion, puts out a product it's first of all an artistic product and secondly it has like some kind of symbols. So people don't buy just the brand and the product, of course, just to cover themselves or to wear something. They buy a meaning, they buy some symbols that they want to use, also to show their personality to the others and to interact with others.
Share
03:46
This is basically like the path. So I said, “Okay maybe I can say something interesting from the country I come from”, and there, you know, I started to make research and to work together of course with companies interviewing people, interviewing designers, interviewing people from the business. In this way it started my journey into the fashion business.
Share
Virginia Stagni
04:04
I'm really glad you touched upon this concept of symbolic industry and the meaning of creativity and culture.
Share
04:11
So when you are a global brand, how you can adapt to different cultures when symbols do take different meanings depending on the cultural background where we are applying them for? What has been your take in the fashion industry, you can adapt without losing authenticity of a brand especially when you're talking about symbols?
Share
Paola Cillo
04:31
Yeah Virginia, this is a very good question, because, you know, at the moment, now the brands are clearly global and, you know, when I started to approach the industry it was not so, right, because clearly the digital impact has been so relevant for companies that has wrote their offering, but also, you know, the image and reputation across borders.
Share
04:50
I believe that each brand has its own values and its own meaning. So clearly what we have assisted in in the past years has being like a transformation of the brands from just, you know, selling beautiful products to actually being culturally relevant for their society at large.
Share
05:08
At the end of the day the creative directors are artists, right? They create a piece of art. This is a way to which they express themselves, their imagery, but they also somehow express the identity of the brand. I do believe strongly that brands and creative directors cannot, let's say, give up to this important role that they have within society.
Share
05:29
That is to tell their story from their angles, from their point of view and from the point of view of the brand, being culturally relevant from their perspective. So taking, like, a position that implies, of course, making choices. You cannot probably like, please everyone. You are more probably interesting or relevant towards some communities and less relevant for others.
Share
05:49
But this is really like the choice that brands are doing now. Of course, in this way they can be relevant to probably not necessarily like geographically relevant for specific countries. So they are relevant for communities of people that are communities that are across countries.
Share
06:06
I might speak more to certain communities than others, independently from geographic position, let's say of the country. And I think this is the part in which the brand express their identity, their authenticity, trying to please different countries based where the higher spending power is. I don't think it's a successful kind of strategy at the moment.
Share
Virginia Stagni
06:27
Do you have one piece of clothing or let's call it like fashion art in this sense that has inspired you and can you tell us why?
Share
Paola Cillo
06:38
I think that piece of clothing that I like the most and I possess like hundreds of those are jeans because I think that the jeans is of many different brands, many different shapes and colours. I use them a lot in more casual occasion, but also like sometimes in a more formal, of course not very formal, there with a nice blazer.
Share
06:59
I have also a piece of jacket, actually have to tell you that he's an old jacket that I have from Celera that for me is like, good luck. So I use it in a very special occasion, but especially when I need to feel, you know comfortable. When I am a little bit, you know uncomfortable maybe because I need to give an important talk or I need to speak in front of an audience and that is not familiar for me, I usually pick that jacket.
Share
Virginia Stagni
07:23
I would love your perspective on sustainability and fashion. What's your view on the future of fashion when it comes to sustainability and maybe new good trends that you've seen it happening now in the fashion industry market?
Share
Paola Cillo
07:37
I think that fashion companies are now very much concerned about becoming more sustainable also because we all know that the fashion is one of the industries that is most polluting, I mean at least it was. There is not one single approach to become like more sustainable and to reduce the impact on the environment.
Share
07:54
I think that the companies are on the one side trying to make some operational changes, like reducing the amount of water, for example, that they use for the production of certain product, trying to use materials that are more sustainable and again, you know, another example of operation is what I mentioned before, trying to be more precise in the amount they produce, so that you know, there is no waste that that they need to take care of afterwards.
Share
08:19
I'm thinking about for example, some brands have been partnering with second-hand companies such as for example, the Steer Quality or The RealReal trying to support the idea that the customer gives back his own jacket or his own bag and will receive some kind of ticket that allows to buy a new product in store. It's a way to keep things going into the business so that there is not much waste, right.
Share
08:45
At the same time I believe that the idea of having high quality, high end product that are in many cases like timeless is somehow part of the DNA of this industry that is sustainable since the inception in the sense that, you know, I have jackets that my mother wore 30 years ago and they're still amazing. Perfectly like wearable and also somehow make an impact in terms of like messages, and so we go back to the languages because you know they they are clear like vintage. So they say something about the person that has these products before me.
Share
09:24
These are all different opportunities for brands from the more like tactical one to the more instead like strategic one to try to change this business and make it more sustainable and this scarcity approach that most of these luxury brand have to make the product limited quantity, I think we allow it somehow right? Because it helps, of course, the brand identity and brand equity because, of course, it creates a higher aura of exclusivity around the brand.
Share
09:55
We make of course the brand more desirable. At the same time we also somehow educate the customer that you cannot necessarily have what you want to have. That is something that I think in the past years we probably forgot. So we are used to such a velocity and using and buying and consuming things that probably we think that everything can be both used and then wasted. And now clearly we are getting the message that this is not always the case and in this respect, I think that some lateral companies are providing us with a lesson.
Share
10:27
They are educating us, right? So we need to be patient because they actually sort of need time also to be produced. Think about a watch, think about a piece of jewelry, you know, they need time. There are like, you know, hours and hours of hands of artisan just did uniquely for you.
Share
Virginia Stagni
10:44
And that's something that we should all go back to even when we're thinking about how fast paced and cybernetic is all our life. Going back to the beauty of the waiting, it's also what makes it quite more valuable and good. I think there is a rediscovery, especially in the younger generation of that, maybe? Or maybe there is a question, a request from the brand to be telling a story and telling stories takes time. It's not just a 10 seconds video on
TikTok
.Share
11:12
You're a younger person, you're in your twenties, you're really interested in your industry. What would you study? What would you do to enter in such a competitive and also, allow me to say, sometimes a bit elitist industry. very similarly to the one of the news. What would you do? What is your suggestion, Paola?
Share
Paola Cillo
11:31
First of all, I think each one of us has a passion, has a talent that needs to find and I think that this is the most difficult part of our life, to find what is our talent and our passion?
Share
11:47
But this is the most important part of our life because passion is what drives us and what makes us make the last mile. To work in this industry I think is important to be passionate. Really passionate, but not just to say: "okay, I like dresses", this is not enough.
Share
12:03
You know, you really need to read the stories. To know everything about what have been doing in the past designers? It's exactly like what in other, you know, in art, in the movie industry, you know, you need to really do your homework, right, and know everything about it and then you need to think of how your talent can add. So what is the extra value that you can add to a brand or to a company that company probably needs?
Share
Virginia Stagni
12:35
And bringing maybe a bit of innovation and making the brands, once you enter, thanks to your creativity or creative thinking, takes certain risks. So we are at the very end part of our podcast and as we usually do, we have two questions for you. So, over to Presciana for her first question.
Share
Presciana
12:54
Hi everyone, my name is Presciana. I was a participant of the FT Talent Challenge in 2019. I'm originally from Bulgaria. I'm currently a consultant at
McKinsey London
focusing on financial services, but also fashion and apparel.Share
13:12
So my question is: what can the luxury industry due to be even more sustainable quicker? Will we see the end of certain materials for example, such as leather? Will we see more and more in resale and rental and will that be successful for luxury? Thank you so much. I really look forward to hearing from you.
Share
Paola Cillo
13:32
So I think that these are exactly two very important new business model that companies are more and more like trying to embrace for sure. The pre-loved product one, so the second-hand one is probably the most relevant at the moment. And in terms of like the projection on this market are like roughly around more than 30 billion in the next three years.
Share
13:53
And this is for sure it's an important way to which companies can somehow phase the main issues that is related to the over consumption of fashion and clothing, the leather goods as many of them, everybody taking this opportunity to try to use these channels as a way to make the product evolve.
Share
14:12
Gucci
in particular has created this Gucci
Vault that is not using platforms. They are trying to sell special product, you know, vintage product through their own channel. For the rental, at the moment, there are not very many cases of luxury brands that have been pushing this strategy but for sure it's a strategy that is more and more potentially relevant.Share
14:32
There is an Italian brand that has created these "please don't buy" brands. So the idea is that you have this offering of products that are very well made in terms of materials and craftsmanship and you can rent them for three days for a price that goes between €90 to €250 before the most sophisticated ones.
Share
14:52
In this way you then return the product that is also issued. so if something happens, you don't have to pay extra. In this way, you can always wear something new. This is a nice idea and so I hope that this is a potential new business model that for sure will help companies actually become more sustainable, less polluting for our environment.
Share
Virginia Stagni
15:12
That's very interesting of course from a sustainability point of view, but also for our listeners. So you don't need to worry anymore about your Instagram feed as well as from the spilling of the wine on your dress because there is insurance. So I think this is a very interesting idea what you mentioned, so will definitely check it out.
Share
15:30
And last question is from Enrique. Over to Enrique.
Share
Enrique
15:33
My name is Enrique and I was a participant of the FT Talent Challenge, Bocconi 2022 edition. I'm originally from Madrid, Spain with an Italian mother but I'm currently living in London. I recently graduated from Istituto Marangoni and studied a BA in fashion business, communication and new media that led me in attaining a position here at the
Financial Times
. I'm currently a luxury and weekend advertising intern.Share
16:02
My question is: How do luxury firms approach marketing in lower middle income countries versus high income countries? What are the marketing strategies that help luxury products work in these different contexts? Thank you so much. Looking forward to cross paths sometime soon.
Share
Paola Cillo
16:22
Thank you Enrique for the question, interesting question. I think this is a strategy on which many companies need to work. At the moment, I think, they try to be attractive for the low income countries mostly through their entry level categories and more than that probably with the licenses.
Share
16:38
When I talk about licenses, I talk about, you know, eyewear or cosmetics, perfumes that are usually like the entry level to the brand. So it's the first things that customers can buy is a way to which somehow they feel part of the brand, of the brand community, even if they do not have a higher spending power.
Share
16:57
You can feel part of the brand by buying, like, products that is accessible but still has the mindset of the designer, that has ideated that product. We buy products to feel part of the community more than just to express ourselves versus the others.
Share
17:14
You can access the brand in many different ways. There are different ways which you can be part of the community of the brand that you like and I think that at the moment this is mostly like the strategy. So entry level categories and licenses.
Share
Virginia Stagni
17:29
Paola, thank you very much for answering to all our questions and walking us through so passionately about your field of expertise that is been of course fashion and luxury brands. So thank you so much. You have been one of the very, very first professors that took part to our first edition. I hope you enjoy the time together. Thank you so much to our listeners of The Talent Show and thank you again Paola Cillo.
Share
Paola Cillo
17:51
Thank you so much for having me again.
Share
Add podcast
🇮🇹 Made with love & passion in Italy. 🌎 Enjoyed everywhere
Build n. 1.36.0
Paola Cillo
Virginia Stagni
Presciana
Enrique