Amazon has never been front-row material as far as fashion goes. The behemoth retailer has thus far failed to break into the higher echelons of the industry, but it has found its moment with the pandemic-driven retail devastation.
As New York Fashion Week strives to find its footing online this week, Amazon today launched Luxury Stores, a so far invite-only shopping experience that lets customers purchase designer goods through Amazon with an authenticity guarantee.
Authenticity has been a real sticking point for many fashion brands on Amazon. In the past, some have pulled their stores off the site when Amazon failed to stop the sale of fake merchandise alongside their own. Luxury Stores aims to solve this issue by shipping orders directly from the brands.
(Image: Amazon)
Customers with an invitation to the new shops will find them on the web and the mobile app, but access to the actual Luxury Stores is available only on the app, and includes "exclusive items from each luxury brand, with Prime delivery.”
So far, there's only one store: an Oscar de la Renta shop filled with finds like the Landscape Midi Day Dress ($1,690) and Moiré Faille One Shoulder Bow Gown ($5,690). De la Renta dresses are the provenance of red carpets and galas, far from the usual fare you’ll find as far as Amazon fashion goes.
The linkup might be a shock to the fashion crowd but it shouldn’t be a surprise. Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour recruited Amazon to aid the industry in May, the first true sign of the fashion retail apocalypse. With so many designer storefronts closed, Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced Common Threads: Vogue x Amazon Fashion, an Amazon destination that has designs from Anna Sui, Cushnie, Batsheva, and other names you would not expect to slip into your shopping cart along with bulk orders of paper towels.
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This latest venture is even more exclusive since Oscar de la Renta is in another stratosphere of design. Hence its invite-only status at the moment. Prime customers who don't have an invitation can request one here.
To keep designer gowns away from orders of boxed mac and cheese, Luxury Stores purchases are placed in a separate shopping cart. Purchases still get the Prime shipping treatment, though, and there is a return policy of 30 days from date of delivery with no shipping charge.
Whether this will be a trend or not remains to be seen but it’s certainly the biggest shakeup fashion has had in a while.