Something Rich and Strange

I now have irrefutable proof that the recession - or whatever the nom-d’economic disaster you want to give it – is over. The evidence arrived in my mail box recently, weighing in at slightly more than the latest Bantom Weight champion – in the form of the fall Restoration Hardware catalog. The September issue of Vogue would need to bulk-up to even come close to the heft of the offerings from this here-to-fore “traditional” retailer. In fact, the release of Restoration Hardware’s catalog and the famous issue of Vogue constitute a battle of the bulge for prime real estate in your mailbox.

The size of the catalog itself is rivaled only by the size of the pieces it is hawking. Steam Punk meets BarcaLounger sofas. Light fixtures that would be at home on a Phantom of the Opera set. A map of Paris that fills an entire wall. And lots of pieces that look like they were crafted from salvaged airplane parts circa 1965. In fact, to house much of what you see in this catalog you would have to live in a space roughly the equivalent of an airplane hangar.

So what’s up with timing a major re-brand to coincide with unprecedented unemployment and an economy intent on reaching new lows? According to CEO Gary Friedman in a missive that accompanies the catalog:

During the collapse of the global economy . . . we chose not to listen to the conventional wisdom encouraging us to follow the pack and lower quality to reduce prices. Instead, we saw an opportunity to be liberated, abandoning our past to embrace the future, one that has redefined the essence of who we are. No longer mere “retailers” of home furnishings, we are now “curators” of the best historical design the world has to offer.

We’ve destroyed the previous iteration of ourselves, clearing the way to express our brand in a never-before-seen fashion.

As we witness a rebellion against the one percent of Americans who are presumably Restoration Hardware’s new sales demographic, it will be interesting to note whether this born-again retailer will ultimately find salvation.