I see some herald this OMEGA x Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch as a great sign that they are NOT following Rolex.
Are you suggesting they may be imitating the artificially created scarcity to drive demand(I don't believe you're insisting, simply suggesting), even though they are differentiating themselves with such a high-low colab (which they are uniquely positioned to do given their vast range of watch levels)?
Rolex didn’t invent scarcity-induced hype, they’ve merely had the freedom (private company) and position (price-point and manufacturing scale) to come to exemplify it in the watch world. (Though AP, PP, and plenty others do this just as well though at few units and less obtainable price points).
So, creating a halo-hype product steeped in exclusivity as a way to drive up demand for the
brand (not the specific model), would be Omega merely following luxury apparel 101 in the 2000’s.
Case-in-point: other luxury brands long ago determined that limited
editions (with numbering) paradoxically do not draw the same attention and fervor as product with simply
mysterious availability that is
likely to be exclusive.
So, on that view, Omega’s move to avoiding limited
editions in favor of instead simply limited
production is another indication that Omega is catching up with the times. This doesn’t start with the MoonSwatch, it starts at least 3 years back with NEW321, Snoopy, etc.
That background stated, I’m not insisting I have special knowledge of Omega’s plans and know for a certainty they will continue following the hype release playbook, but instead insisting only that people confident that Omega
isn’t doing that are ignoring lots of contrary data.
It would be very interesting if Omega floods the market with these MoonSwatch. Interesting in part because it would run contrary to the past 10-15 years of luxury apparel hype release playbook. It’s even an optimistic view of Omega’s “otherness” - but one not recently well supported given the NEW321, Snoopy, etc., behavior.
More on that in a moment.
But if you’re interested, here’s a 2020 piece about the recent “history” of these releases, the “playbook” created, based on a review of the 2004 collaboration between Karl Lagerfeld and H&M
“Seminal Moment: When Karl Lagerfeld Embraced H&M
The project broke down barriers between luxury and mass; democratized design; and foreshadowed rampant collaborations, drops and pop-up concepts.“
An interesting bit of history that article
doesn’t get into, however, is what became of Karl Lagerfeld’s view of the collaboration
after he realized H&M was intentionally throttling production:
In an interview with German magazine Stern, as referenced by
Vogue and recounting in this
article, he later accused the retailer of "snobbery."
"It was great to work with the people at H&M as we all helped each other to make it a success," he said. "But the incomprehensible decisions of the management in Stockholm have taken away any desire to do it again. They did not make the clothes in sufficient quantities."
He continued: "I find it embarrassing that H&M let down so many people… I don't think that is very kind, especially for people in small towns and countries in eastern Europe. It is snobbery created by anti-snobbery."
So, on one hand, the Lagerfeld X H&M collaboration is viewed by many as having changed fashion marketing forever by introducing these high-low hype rollouts.
But on the other hand, that same collaboration’s creator was ultimately put off by the whole thing due to the
appearance of intending to democratize and widely distribute while simultaneously having no intention to do so.
From that framing, I continue to say: I’ll believe “widely available” when I have purchased 2-6 of these for MSRP, in a casual manner.
