Many commentators decided that this passed season may be remembered more for the bizarre game of designer musical chairs that took place, rather than the actual clothes presented on the catwalks. In London, Claire Wright Keller left Pringle to pursue “other projects” only to reappear at Chloe. In Milan, Gianfranco Ferre’ let go design duo Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi, while Trussardi and Milan Vukmirovic amicably agreed to part ways and Alessandro Sartori presented his final collection for Ermenegildo Zegna before joining Berluti.
In Paris, Vanessa Seward exited Azzarro, Cacharel continued with its designer revolving door policy, letting go of Cédric Charlier, Chloe did not renew the contract with Hannah McGibbon, Christophe Decarnin of Balmain was replaced following a nervous breakdown, and of course, John Galliano spectacularly lost his tenure both at Christian Dior and his eponymous brand, John Galliano. Wow.
Within most fashion houses, the delicate task of replacing the designer has already been done. Notably, several high profile brands have yet to make an announcement – the Dior board in particular may still have work to do, and after this week it was revealed that LVHM approached Azzedine Alaia, only to be turned down. Nonetheless, regardless of the discussions that have been bubbling up about the pressure that brand creatives are under following the unfortunate Galliano debacle, the decision of who will pick up the creative reigns within an established fashion house is not one that the brand will take lightly.
Inevitably, the conversation will focus on the brand’s DNA, or brand identity. Who, out of a list of candidates, will best be able to respect and adopt the historic aesthetic codes of the brand in a fresh and interesting way? It follows that a firm grasp on what elements comprise the brand identity is a vital prerequisite.
Brand identity should be an everyday tool for a fashion brand – firstly, to identify those features that make the brand unique and second, to determine and implement a commercial strategy that leverages those unique features.
Recently, in an opinion piece in Marketing Week, Mark Ritson relayed a speech given by Robert Polet, former CEO of Gucci Group. In his speech, Polet spoke of the importance of a clear and succinct articulation of brand identity. As Ritson writes, “When Polet arrived at Gucci he recognized immediately that each of the brands was unsure of its own identity. So he set about working with each team to capture the essence of each brand with one clear proviso: no more than three words. Gucci defined itself as “Seduction, Powerful, and Accomplished.” Boucheron opted for “Precious and Mysterious.” Sergio Rossi memorably defined itself as “Sexy and Comfortable.”
While the approach is nothing new, the nod to brevity is the real masterstroke – one that it would be wise for the rest of the industry to sit up and listen to.
As Ritson continues, the secret of every fashion house is that it can define its brand in up to four words, and by contrast, the central issue with any brand facing problems is often found in an unclear and overly verbose brand identity statement. “Any moron can come up with twenty words to capture the essence of their brand. One the good ones like Polet are smart enough to whittle it down to three.”
This may seem obvious, however too often the concept of brand identity seems elusive and foreign, particularly in an industry where levels of managerial control differ dramatically between small, designer-as-founder brands and large, corporate luxury groups. Moreover, the industry is predicated on the expression of an individual’s creative vision – whether or not he or she is still living or involved with the running of the brand. After all, where the designer and founder are one and the same, what need is there to define the identity of the brand? The brand is whatever and wherever the designer’s aesthetic sensibility and tastes take him or her, or whatever the archives reveal.
Or, in the words of Louis XVI, “L’Etat c’est moi.”
However, it would be erroneous to underestimate the importance of brand identity at all levels of the luxury fashion industry, including instances where designer and founder are one and the same. This is because within luxury, the brand identity sits at the center of the organization’s competitive advantage.
This is quite anomalous. According to the traditional viewpoint, competitive advantage occurs when an organization acquires or develops a set of resources that allow it to outperform its competitors. Brand identity is left to marketers, almost as an after-thought, to develop visual clues to differentiate one organization’s product from another’s. By contrast, the resource-based view holds little traction within the fashion industry, where it is the very uniqueness of the brand and what it stands for which enables it to differentiate itself from its competitors, and it is hoped, achieve and sustain levels of return that exceed the industry average.
Given the importance of brand identity in the luxury sector, it follows that clearly articulating the brand point of view in a concise and easily understood way, which should be absorbed at all levels of the organization, is paramount. Approaching brand identity like pillars to an ancient Greek temple, one can ask, “What are the three or four pillars which support the whole brand concept?” The answer to this question – the core brand pillars or the brand identity statement – should perform three useful functions:
1. Ensure that all brand elements – stylistic, marketing and communication – are consistent and relevant.
If the brand identity is focused on the three words “Seduction, Powerful and Accomplishment,” it follows that the fundamental drivers behind product, positioning, place and promotion need to line up. In particular, the social media strategy of a brand – a hot topic and one on which Fashion’s Collective seeks to provide a fresh and insightful approach – may well benefit from a strong articulation of brand identity, as a means to ensure that both the choice of platforms and the content created is consistent with what the brand is about.
2. Focus the corporate vision and team effort in one clear direction.
In the same way that if all elements are consistent, the overall experience seamless, conversely, the existence of one jarring or incongruous element shatters the illusion. At the core of the organization – the very people who make up the heart and soul of the brand – there needs to be a rally around a very clear message, such as “Seduction, Powerful and Accomplishment,” as it is incredibly important to make sure the brand pushes towards a shared vision.
3. Provide a vital check-and-balance system against which the organization can evaluate its performance.
A strong concentration on brand identity can help focus the discussion to areas of development or evaluate whether ongoing areas of activity are in-line with the brand DNA – for instance, the decision to extend the product ranges into new categories. While there are multiple choices of extensions that a brand may choose from, rooting the decision on whether the category makes sense given the focus on “Seduction, Powerful and Accomplishment,” may help considerably in narrowing down the options.
The vacancies created during the past season at the artistic helm of many fashion houses will soon be filled – either with individual designers or with a creative team, which seems to be the new fashion, in, ahem, fashion. What will be of particular interest as the presentations for Spring/Summer 2012 come to a close in October will be how the different new creative forces at work were able to navigate the delicate balance of respecting brand identity and proposing an innovative, fresh perspective in their respective collections.
Author: Ceci Guicciardi
Copy editor: Gina Conforti
Photo Credits: Paper Boat Creative
