Zhixuan Huang

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截屏2023-10-30-23.10.00

Purpose

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For a brand, purpose is certainly an extremely important indicator. An accurate purpose can help the brand establish a strong image. This is friendly to both the brand itself and the consumer market, which provides an opportunity for two-way choices. Brands can quickly attract target consumers by setting purposes, and consumers can also quickly lock in brands that meet their preferences.

Purpose can be understood as the philosophy of the brand, including mission, vision and value proposition. These are all important factors that make up and support the brand’s purpose.

Having a clear mission or purpose is essential for any organisation. It helps prioritise tasks, focus energy, and maximise impact on target customers. (Anthony Taylor, 2021) Taking the brand Bottega Veneta as an example, the brand changed the designer from 2021 to 2022, and the current designer Matthieu Blazy re-led the brand back to Quiet Fashion”, which is in line with the current trend of people’s consumption concepts and fashion preferences in the post-epidemic era, the pursuit of practical and comfortable design, and not blindly worshipping the trend. Especially for the “old money” aesthetics caused by “Succession” and “Gossip Girl” on the Internet, the new generation of young people prefer no logo, more dignified dress style, and pay more attention to quality and craftsmanship. Therefore, Bottega Veneta is even in the new The design and marketing strategy can also continue the glory of the past, which is undoubtedly a successful case of a brand philosophy.

The French brand Jacquemus is also clear about its positioning and goals. In addition to the design with a clear style, Jacquemus has strong social attributes in social media and offline Pop-up stores. Jacquemus’ marketing is a benchmark in the digital media era, whether it is a store in the shape of a handbag in Seoul or a clip of buses into a “Public bag”. The strange advertisements that Jacquemus has been exporting have attracted countless people to watch and discuss, making Jacquemus’s free, romantic and strange brand style memorable.

Prada’s sister brand, miu miu, has always been mistaken for Prada’s sub-line brand, however， miu miu is always the medium for Miuccia Prada to express her creativity and contemporary femininity. miu miu is a delicate and intellectual female fashion brand. Miu miu will even compare with Chanel on the mainstream social media Red in China. Most discussants believe that consumers who buy miu miu are young girls from rich families and can consume miu miu suits in their teens. It can be seen that a successful brand positioning and goal can bring clear brand positioning and target consumers to the brand.

Taylor, A. (2021). What is a Mission & Why is it Important? [online] www.smestrategy.net. Available at: https://www.smestrategy.net/blog/what-is-a-mission-why-is-it-important#:~:text=Having%20a%20clear%20mission%20or.

Attardo, K. (2021). A Fashion Psychologist on Post-Pandemic Dressing. [online] Marie Claire. Available at: https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a36321088/post-pandemic-fashion/.

Achala Jaglan (2021). Fashion trends during and post COVID-19 scenario. [online] www.fibre2fashion.com. Available at: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/9241/fashion-trends-during-and-post-covid-19-scenario.

Sangster, E. (2022). Why Are We So Obsessed With the Old Money Aesthetic? [online] Harper’s Bazaar Australia. Available at: https://harpersbazaar.com.au/old-money-aesthetic/.

A, N. (2023). Jacquemus gets Jazzy with Jumbo Campaigns. [online] Marketing in the Age of Digital. Available at: https://medium.com/marketing-in-the-age-of-digital/jacquemus-gets-jazzy-with-jumbo-marketing-campaigns-8709be99076a.

Morton, G. (2018). MIU MIU Marketing Report. [online] Issuu. Available at: https://issuu.com/gabriellemorton/docs/final_final_report.

RED. (2023). Why do I feel like I rarely see people around me carrying miu miu?. [online] Available at: http://xhslink.com/8Jgp1v

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louis-vuitton-yayoi-lead-1673019818

Profit

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Profit is a necessary condition to support all industries, including fashion industry, the profits generated by the sale of products will maintain the operation of a brand, from design to production, publicity and sales, and even the construction and decoration of physical retail stores in some cases.

Fashion is not just a costume art, it is a business. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion industry’s global revenue was estimated between $1.7 trillion and $2.5 trillion according to two different research reports by Euromonitor and McKinsey (Fashion United, 2022). It can be seen that the volume of the fashion industry is huge.

As mentioned at the beginning, fashion industry has many different departments, all with a clear division of labour and different responsibilities. It includes Design Department, Production and Manufacturing, Marketing and Merchandising, and so on.

Each part is crucial, and these divisions run from an individual studio to a large fashion brand, the only difference being that a single studio may have multiple responsibilities on one person. When a brand wants to start a new collection, it needs to research the market trend and analyse the audience from the preliminary work. Production costs, pricing, and volume are also considered after starting the design work. Publicity and retail are also two very important tasks… In short, these jobs are complex and require experienced people to do effectively.

When the market is affected by various human activities, fashion brands should maintain their competitiveness to avoid being eliminated by shrinking market. Many brands have attracted enough attention during the pandemic, such as Bottega Veneta’s handbag and “BV Green”, or Louis Vuitton’s years of working with people and businesses across industries. It is successful and can cause an uproar depending on a good design, but an excellent marketing campaign is easier and also able to occur a huge impact. For example, the collaboration between Louis Vuitton and the game League of Legends has attracted consumers in different fields and broadened its reputation in the game industry. And League of Legends has also gained huge exposure.

For a brand’s creative director, balancing creativity and commerce is significant. However, brand Loewe does both well. Loewe has been committed to funding and providing exposure to artisans around the world to promote handicrafts and craft techniques in different cultures and regions. Interestingly, Loewe’s outfits on the runway are not exactly the same as the actual clothing sold, and design director Jonathan Andrew launches surrealist style clothing on the runway, and the actual sales are usually only embellished with runway elements, more suitable for daily use and wear.

Statista (2023). Fashion – Worldwide | Statista Market Forecast. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/fashion/worldwide.

Graziano, G. (2021). What are the departments inside a fashion company / brand? [online] Glam Observer. Available at: https://glamobserver.com/what-are-the-departments-inside-a-fashion-company-brand/.

Duval, A. (2019). Louis Vuitton x League of Legends: what if you dressed as your favorite video game character? [online] Vogue Paris. Available at: https://www.vogue.fr/fashion/article/league-of-legends-characters-are-now-dressed-by-louis-vuitton-outfits-skins-trophy-case.

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截屏2023-10-15-23.14.05

People

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The pillar of People focuses on investigating all kinds of specific groups of people. It absorbs their ideas, preferences, consumption habits or other potential factors as the reference data of enterprises, so as to help enterprises make business decisions and make target consumers attracted by their products.

“Generation Z” is usually described as Gen Z, which refers to people born from 1996 to 2010. Gen Zers nowadays have lived through dramatic social events like climate crisis, epidemic lockdowns, and economic collapse. When the first crowd of Gen Z was born, it was the starting point of the rise of the Internet. Gen Z grew up with the Internet, smartphones and artificial intelligence. Gen Z has a long era span. The oldest Gen Z has begun to work independently and may shoulder loans, while the youngest group of Gen Z is still experiencing puberty. In such an era of complex social background and efficient information access, Gen Z has become an open and inclusive group. 

To attract Gen Z, brands must highlight their commitment to societal challenges such as diversity, environmentalism, sustainability, climate change and world hunger. (Scott Clark, 2022)

Gen Z attaches great importance to personal uniqueness and social hot spots. Gen Zers will be more willing to cooperate and consume with enterprises and brands with the same values as themselves, as long as Gen Z is a digital aborigine, they are well aware of the marketing routines of designing media, so enterprises must truly have a sense of social responsibility, otherwise, Gen Z will easily identify some enterprises’ false propaganda for marketing purposes.

Make-up brand Fenty Beauty has proved that the brand is diversified through practical actions. Fenty Beauty opened with 40 colours of powerful foundation (now expanded to 50) and is committed to launching a foundation suitable for all races and skin tones. Fenty Beauty has subverted the beauty industry and become an industry benchmark, “it is not enough for a beauty brand to have less than 40 colours of foundation.” (Funmi Fetto, 2020)

As mentioned above, the key skill to a fashion brand with People as the centre is to always pay attention to its target customer group and analyse the customer group (or even potential customer group) thoroughly to ensure that the brand is accurate to the customer portrayal. Always update the data of target customers, such as fashion trends, economic income and social issues that they care about.

Bibliography

McKinsey. “What Is Gen Z? | McKinsey.” Www.mckinsey.com, 20 Mar. 2023, www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z.

Clark, Scott. “What Does Gen Z Really Want from Brands?” CMSWire.com, 1 Aug. 2022, www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/do-your-brands-values-align-with-those-of-gen-z/.

Fetto, Funmi. “How Fenty Beauty Changed the State of Play in the Industry.” British Vogue, 6 Apr. 2020, www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/rihanna-fenty-beauty-diversity.

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Prada ReNylon

Planet

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“Planet” is one of the pillars of Fashion Business School at London College of Fashion. As the first section of the pillar, the significance of “Planet” is revealed, and people should be aware of the fact that a healthy environment and planet are the cornerstones of all human activities and development, including fashion industry.

To achieve the goal of environmental protection, The circular economy may be an effective step. The circular economy aims to eliminate waste and pollution, reusing materials and products and regenerating nature. The purpose of the circular economy is to minimise overconsumption and encourage people to buy second-hand products that are still valuable instead of tagged, thereby reducing waste and mitigating the excessive pollution caused by human daily production and consumption to the environment. By selling items that still have use value instead of directly discarding them, other consumers who have a demand for this product can buy second-hand goods, thus creating circular economy.

As the most polluting industry in the world, the fashion industry has gradually realized its own pollution, and sustainable fashion has become the latest and most popular industry standard and project in the fashion industry. Fashion sustainability must be driven and improved by many departments. Fashion companies, designers and consumers need to keep fashion sustainability in mind. As fashion companies, they need to take on the responsibility of developing more sustainable fashion solutions and inventions, such as refining recycling technologies. Marine Serre and Prada, for example, use a variety of technologies to make new clothes and other products by recycling used fabrics or materials. Fashion companies need to take the initiative to take more social responsibility and make tangible contributions to fashion sustainability, not just use this as a gimmick. Designers need to attract consumers with beautiful designs for all recycled fabrics, and they need to optimise their processes to ensure that consumers will be willing to pay for environmentally friendly products. Consumers need to consider whether the current consumption is a real demand or to follow the trend every time they consume, after all, the trend never stops, and only the classics will last forever. Consumers can also learn about high-quality second-hand products in addition to brand-new products and start with themselves to achieve circular economy.

As mentioned above, a factor, Responsible Consumption and Production, from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is the easiest goal for ordinary people to achieve. We can achieve environmental protection by reducing unnecessary consumption, and every consumer must take responsibility.

Bibliography

Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2023). What is a circular economy? [online] Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/circular-economy-introduction/overview.‌

Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2023). The circular economy in detail. [online] ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/the-circular-economy-in-detail-deep-dive.

Values • Marine Serre. (n.d.). Values • Marine Serre. [online] Available at: https://www.marineserre.com/en-uk/core/values.

Bateman, K. (2020). For Marine Serre, Upcycling Isn’t Just Some Sustainability Trend. [online] W Magazine. Available at: https://www.wmagazine.com/fashion/marine-serre-paris-fashion-week-green-upcycling-sustainable-moon-print.

Prada. (2019). Prada Re-Nylon. [online] Available at: https://www.prada.com/ww/en/pradasphere/special-projects/2020/prada-re-nylon.html.

United Nations (2022). Goal 4 | Ensure Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All. [online] United Nations. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal4.

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IMG_9984

My Favourite Brand

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Bottega Veneta, an Italian fashion brand based in Milan, was established in the fashion industry because of its impressive heritage and elevated aesthetic, as well as its exquisite sense of craftsmanship.

Bottega has captured the attention of fashion followers all over the world with its unique craftsmanship and upscale leather.

As one of the most eye-catching brands during the epidemic, Bottega has made a brand reputation with its simple and neat shape, strong single products, and marketing “BV Green”. In the era of the epidemic, people have returned to calmness and prefer to have products that can be worn for a long time. Bottega has once again captured consumers with its fashionable but not outdated design. Bottega can definitely be among the top of plenty of fashion brands because of maintaining its style while making continuous progress in tailoring and craftsmanship.

The classic knitting elements can be seen everywhere on Bottega’s bags, small leather goods, and shoes. Especially the re-design of the knitting elements by former design director Daniel Lee, which has revitalised the brand and is loved by the market again. 

Every product of Bottega is eye-catching, especially when the combination of leather goods and streamlined metal seems to connect the classic and the future. Even if Bottega’s bag does not carry any logo on the surface, the insider can easily identify “Oh, this is Bottega Veneta’s bag. This is the unique charm of Bottega.

The current designer Matthieu Blazy shows the “clothing art” to the fullest. Craft in motion and quiet power is the best interpretation of his Bottega Veneta. Mathieu knows the importance of exquisite craftsmanship to a brand, and design is also the core of the brand. Bottega CEO Leo Rongone also said that Bottega was born from the creativity and passion of craftsmen. Mathieu took into account the collectibility of each piece of clothing and how each buyer should match it.

Not only that, as a company that has Bottega Veneta and many other fashion brands with their own distinctive characteristics, such as Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen, I also appreciate the corporate values of Kering Group, such as empowering female artists, focussing on gender equality and environmental protection. Kering has also been committed to protecting humanistic works and arts, and Kerning returned the auctioned Old Summer Palace cultural relics “Rat Head” and “Rabbit Head” back to China. I sincerely believe that Bottega Veneta and other brands can better implement the concept of wearable art under the operation of Kering Group, and continuously produce better design and ingenuity, as well as its excellent corporate values.

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