I was recently flippling through a Harpers Bazzar and I was taking note of the Spring 10 advert campaigns from the designer labels, and as I am flipping through, I am seeing page after page of adverts that resemble photo shoots - this lead me to question, what happened to branding in fashion?
Every designer used to have their own unique style, their own unique trigger to what makes their brand, a brand name connotated to a certain lifestyle and expectation.. but these past few seasons, it seems campaigns are mere plugs for the "it" item and does not much to reinforce brand image or build recognition and understanding of the brand.
Take a look at these below,
Prada - known for its classic tailoring and elegance, all black, now represents a look much like that of Marc Jacobs - cool, edgy and slick - not a bad thing - but not what we know as Prada - or perhaps I am outdated,
DKNY - who came up with this layout? it used to be about the inner New Yorker, about street wear, about being urban and this print ad looks like a catalogue collection - how is that supposed to attract shoppers to the brand? how is that reinforcing DKNY as a brand?
Gucci - a brand which I believe has long lost its direction - ranging from high end to trailer trash, what is this ad supposed to represent? the boots are very cool - but what does it mean for me as a consumer if I buy them?
Dolce and Gabanna - I think I must have really been out of the loop - what happened to the young trendy out there looks? what is this supposed to reinforce about the brand? I do not understand what they are trying to communicate in the slightest - why bother with ad space, why not just do an editorial?
Bottega Venetta - How is this image BV in the slightest? Had I not seen the brand, I would have assumed this was for Ralph Lauren, or Bally even.
Sorry - but this is how I feel - having grown up with brands I feel like they no longer represent the lifestyles and the status they once had, designer labels are special because they are aspiration brands, they are supposed to represent beauty, luxury and uniqueness - a lifestyle that you aspire to - perhaps I am idealistic, but feel that these print ads do not communicate any of that anymore.
No comments:
Post a Comment