Runway photos create value
Look images, archive databases, searchability. Only clothes that can be found become more expensive.
The value of clothes is originally decided by “strength as an object.” I want to firmly say that, but recently, another important axis has been growing that cannot be ignored.
That is “being able to find.”
Even for the same clothing, those with referenceable photos, traceable to season and look number, and rediscoverable through search, are more likely to be discussed in secondary markets and have higher prices.
In other words, runway photos have become infrastructure of value, not just records.
Here, the mechanism by which runway images create value is carefully broken down through history and structure.
1 The “value” of clothes is supported not only by the item itself but also by “reference” becoming a part of it.
When archives are valued, the market’s desire is not only for “rarity.”
It’s powerful that third parties can follow what the clothing is and in what context it is placed, in the same way.
Runway photos create this “traceability.”
Having photos allows three things to happen simultaneously.
It can be confirmed when, which brand, and which season the clothing is from.
The same clothing can be referenced to see how it was styled at that time.
Others can verify it later (in other words, explanations can be reproduced)
The more a clothing item shifts from “artwork” to “reference material,” the more its “referencability” converts into value.
This is the foundation of why searchability began to influence prices.
2 The major shift of the 2000s: “being able to see all looks” changed the culture
The now common “viewing all looks” was not obvious from the start.
Style.com, launched in 2000, expanded the experience of viewing all runway looks and reviews online, changing the flow of fashion information, as later summarized by Vogue.
The change that occurred here is not just convenience.
Traditionally, understanding a collection was based on “limited published photos” and “magazine editing.”
By lining up all looks, readers can verify with their own eyes.
In other words, clothes became “comparable data.”
At this point, the way value is created changes.
Value is no longer determined solely by the editor’s aesthetic judgment; the depth of records that anyone can review later forms the basis of value.
3 The importance of the 2010s re-edit: not just “viewable,” but “searchable”
In 2015, Vogue Runway was launched, evolving as a successor to Style.com’s mission and archive, as clearly stated in Vogue’s own articles.
The key point here is not just the existence of photos, but that “search, trace in chronological order, and use as an archive” are all in place.
And at the same time, “searchability” accelerated from another direction.
The system of classifying runway images with tags and enabling searches by color, item, and element, started in 2016, as introduced by official sources and major media.
In other words, the 2010s was an era when runway images evolved from “viewing” to “search.”
This directly relates to value creation. Because search is a device for rediscovery.
4 An infrastructure that existed even earlier: photographer-led archives
Even before the digital trend, runway photos laid the foundation of value.
A prime example is firstVIEW. Founded in 1995, it is introduced as an archive initially aimed at viewing and selling runway photos.
There is an important implication here.
Runway photos become valuable not just because someone leaves them, but because they are “left and managed.”
In other words, the history of runway photos has been designed from the start as “assets for circulation.”
5 The specific mechanism by which “clothes that can be found” become more expensive
This is the main topic. Why does searchability affect prices?
The market movements mainly overlap with the following four factors.
1 Referencability helps with authenticity and age verification
Being able to explain “what this clothing is” is powerful in secondary markets.
Clothes that can be matched with look images tend to have a clear explanation and become a reassuring factor in transactions.
2 “Clothes that can be discussed”
Having photos makes it easier for media and SNS to create context.
As context increases, demand tends to concentrate on a single point.
When demand gathers, prices tend to rise easily. It’s a very straightforward supply and demand.
3 “Comparable clothes” lead to targeted buying
When all looks are available, a buying pattern like “I want this look from this season” emerges.
Demand is intensified by targeted buying, making price increases more likely.
4 The era when “images become assets” has arrived
Images are not just records; they can also become assets for commercial and media use.
The fact that large libraries like Getty Images handle vast numbers of runway images itself indicates that photos are the foundation of circulation.
In short, searchability changes not only the “number of buyers” but also the “density of how they buy.”
As density increases, prices tend to rise easily.
6 Conversely, are “clothes that cannot be found” without value?
This is a point that is easy to misunderstand. It’s not that clothes that cannot be found have zero value.
Simply put, clothes that cannot be found have a high “explanation cost of value.”
No matter how good the clothes are, if there are few reference photos,
Additional information is needed to explain which era, which brand, and which position the clothes belong to.
Items with high explanatory costs tend to be less likely to be priced higher in a broad market. As a result, they tend to be “market prices only for those who understand.”
In other words, highly searchable clothes “expand the market.”
As the market expands, a foundation for prices to rise is created.
This is the main reason why clothes that can be found are strong.
7 Future issues: searchability progresses from “images” to “proof”
Runway photos have already become an infrastructure of value.
the next phase is when images are linked to “proof.”
As discussions around transparency of product history and authenticity (such as digital product passports) intensify,
Image archives are moving towards not only “mood reference” but also “verification reference.”
Then, clothes that can be found will become even stronger.
And clothes that cannot be found will increasingly remain in a market of “people who can explain.”
The polarization of value might be just the beginning.
A dash of MOOD
There is a slight interesting tension in the era when runway photos create value.
Clothes are originally only complete when worn, but images give “meaning” first.
That’s why MOOD wants to verify once again the “persuasiveness of the actual object” for clothes that have been overly spoken about in images.
The strength that can be found as a record, and the strength that remains when you hold it in your hand. I believe that only those that have both are able to withstand prices for a long time.
