Buyer Victoria Sagmeister on the balancing act between consistency and change in luxury fashion

From a woodturning workshop to an antique shop to one of the most important destinations for luxury fashion in Austria. Sagmeister is a family-run establishment with a long tradition that moves with the times. The best example? Sagmeister is currently in the midst of another transition phase, says Victoria Sagmeister. Her mother who tapped into the luxury sector a good 30 years ago is now gradually handing over her buying-responsibility for the entire women's department to her daughter. 

In the midst of the ordering phase for spring/summer 2025, Sagmeister provides insights into the strategic preparations and the challenges that the mother-daughter duo are currently facing. The buyer also talks to FashionUnited about the balancing act between consistency, transformation and current fashion trends, as well as the constant change of creative directors at the major luxury fashion houses. 

How did you feel at the start of the spring/summer 2025 season? 

I started the season with a good feeling. We've been living in very uncertain times for several years now, there's no denying that, and we're also battling inflation and the bad weather, especially in April and May. Overall, we've had rather quieter months, but I'm still positive about spring/summer 2025.

What do the preparations for a new season look like at Sagmeister? 

We work primarily from a budgetary perspective, but we plan not only according to the previous year's figures, but also according to customer satisfaction and always pay attention to what is currently happening in the world. In the past three years in particular, events in the world have been very decisive for our planning. We also always seek out dialogue with our employees. My mum also works on the shop floor herself, which also helps us to get direct information from the customers with which we start the order process. 

Are you and your customers looking for consistency with well-established brands after the challenging events in the world I just mentioned?

There is of course a certain mix of brands and also classics such as Saint Laurent, Prada and so on, which as a retailer you always want to have. However, we're not in a huge city, we're not in Hamburg or Munich, so we have plenty of regular customers who already have bags or clothes from certain brands and are therefore constantly looking for something new before they buy a similar dress or trousers again. That's why we as buyers are continually looking for brands that offer something new. 

What is the key when you look for new things?

We have to bear in mind that most brands look incredible in their own showrooms, for example in Paris, but it still takes a while before it can actually be realised in-store. As a buyer, you see the brand and its entire story in your own space, so if you've only ordered two or three pieces, it can be challenging to carry them forward. 

You have already ordered several collections and visited showrooms. What is the verdict in terms of fashion so far?

The collections so far have been very strong. We have reintroduced the US brand Khaite and Chloé, a brand and style that we feel very connected to again under the new creative direction, is also coming back as part of the product range. It's precisely the kind of fashion that the Sagmeister customer is looking for. 

Can you define what the Sagmeister woman customer is looking for? 

Basically, we are looking for fashion for an adult woman and sometimes the trend is going slightly too far in a trendy, young direction. For us, the focus is on flattering clothing in which the customer feels comfortable - without it being too short, too tight or too complicated.  

Is the Sagmeister customer conscious of price points? 

The price of many brands has risen considerably, which is not easy because some products are hardly affordable to begin with. But then there are other brands, especially in German-speaking countries, that offer other price points. At the end of the day, it's not just about what customers can afford, but what they want to afford, and when certain pieces that cost almost a third or almost half as much two years ago, customers notice that too. 

Are you in dialogue with the brands in this regard? 

In general, most brands always ask for feedback and of course we also speak to them if we think that some specific bags or even some ready-to-wear products have become too expensive. Ultimately, of course, we are only a small customer and there are many customers worldwide and many of the huge companies have enormous structures, but we are always listened to. 

Do price increases and inflation also have consequences for your budget planning? 

We generally prefer to plan a little more conservatively, but the budget is roughly the same. Of course, we've had a lot of inflation recently, so you sometimes buy fewer items for the same amount of money, but the budget has remained the same. In addition, we haven't changed our brand mix much from last spring/summer to this spring/summer - except for Chloé. But we only stopped buying that for one or two seasons. 

Are subsequent reductions - which are being used increasingly and prematurely in retail - already being considered in budget planning?

We see that colleagues are starting sales earlier, earlier and earlier, but we actually take a very negative view of this. Of course, we need sales reductions, but on the one hand there are parts that don't necessarily need to be marked down as they will be delivered again next year, and on the other hand there is only a certain margin. 

With too many markdowns, you eventually get into trouble, so we welcome it when suppliers determine and clearly specify markdowns. The goods should always remain in the full-price segment for as long as possible. I also find excessive discounts very negative from a customer perspective. There is a risk of devaluing the goods. 

The devaluation of goods is also a point of criticism in relation to online retail, particularly in the luxury sector. You have been working with Farfetch for years, a partner that is currently facing difficulties. Are you considering taking over the online business yourself? 

There have been various considerations, but now would definitely not be the right time. Online retail is associated with incredibly high costs and achieving profitability is difficult. That's why our core business will remain bricks-and-mortar retail. That's where our strength lies, and it makes little sense for us to create the hundredth online retailer. We shouldn't become megalomaniacs. We are also happy with Farfetch, even if we are being increasingly restricted in terms of the brands we are allowed to sell there. But that's simply a decision we have to go along with. 

And yet, the stationary fashion trade is not immune to crises...

We know that the times when you had a nice shop with beautiful merchandise and people just came and bought are unfortunately over. You need good employees, you have to offer customers something and, ultimately, you can't lose faith. That sounds very pithy, but it helps when there is a bad phase, be it weather-related or socio-economic. 

Let's come back to your brand mix. You mentioned not much change earlier. Is there still a chance for smaller or newer brands to be included in the Sagmeister range? 

There is always a smaller budget that we reserve for smaller brands and surprises. We usually already have five or six brands that we think about, and we may order two or three of them. These are, of course, monitored beforehand. Feedback from our customers and sales staff regarding brands that they think are great and would like to have also plays a big role here. 

What fashion trends do you currently observe? And which are relevant for Sagmeister? 

For us, the strongest pieces have always been practically good quality, without a lot of logo print. That's why the decline in logo mania is a very pleasant turn of events for us. It remains to be seen whether the term "quiet luxury" is relevant for us, it's more of a TikTok term, but the direction is right.

However, trends are difficult to judge until you have seen all the main collections, but I don't necessarily see one specific trend. When you order the collection, there are often five or six different themes that you could delve into. So trends are also very dependent on the brand mix and the specific retailer or buyer. What I definitely see, however, is that most of the collections were very compatible with a more grown-up woman and streetwear has almost completely faded away. 

You mentioned Chloé earlier, a brand that has just undergone a - seemingly very welcome - change of creative director. What do you think of the current constant change of creative directors in general? Doesn't this also bring risks for you? 

I don't think change is generally negative, but it is definitely a source of tension.  We are very curious about Valentino. We were once very, very successful with Alessandro Michele and his Gucci, but we don't yet know how customers will take to it. Valentino is an important brand for us, also in ready-to-wear, but I still think it's good that something new is coming. So far, we have also seen the change at Gucci in a very positive light, as the collection under the new designer is selling very, very well. There are many customers who like the new Gucci. It's incredibly sellable and probably easier than Gucci before - at least visually. 

However, although we welcome change, we need a certain stability. A brand that changes direction every three years is not easy for us or for customers. Customers need a certain continuity to get to know the fashion house and understand the designers behind it. 

Are there any negative examples? 

Of course, it can occasionally happen that a brand is taken over by someone and then no longer works at all. That's what happened to us with Balenciaga, for example, when the brand drifted strongly in the direction of street style. That was simply no longer our market. I can imagine it working in a larger city or in an extremely urban centre, but not for Sagmeister. 

However, if one of our main brands was to drift in an entirely different direction, we would certainly have to try and come to terms with it. Sometimes there are changes, even with larger budgets, that are not sustainable. At the end of the day, we are a company that has to make money and collections have to meet the tastes of our customers. Fortunately, we haven't really had that problem so far. Let's see what else happens, you never know. 

This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.DE.