I read a couple of articles that grabbed my attention this morning within the world of Fashion. The first one was some research, published in February, from Harvard Business School which highlighted those interested in luxury are more self-obsessed and self-centered. I suppose this should be no surprise given some of the archetypes that they need to follow to feel they fit into this industry.
The other article, which I also found rather interesting and am now pondering, came from one of my favourite blogs Ruby Pseudo Wants a Word. The article, (Link Here) by the superbly named Whathehelle Fontenelle, highlights the progress that fashion brands are slowly making in digital. Recent examples, although not highlighted in the article (but in the comments) include:
Burberry’s – The Art of The Trench (Link Here) & 3D Show (Link Here)
House of Holland – Blackberry App (Link Here)
To me, and pointed out in the article, Fashion houses have always been about their exclusivity and elusiveness. The article argues that they should be using digital to become much more mainstream. I think this is fine for fashion brands such as H&M, TopShop etc, but not for the fashion houses.
The problem I see with taking a very open digital approach to their brand, is that the alienate the real fashionistas and buyers, somewhat doing away with the cult they have built up, simply to appeal to the masses. By delimiting their brand, are these fashion brands going to end up devaluing something that has been built up not just for decades but through families as well?
A potential strategy:
Highly exclusive social networks around the fashion houses. By buying a product from the fashion house you gain membership to an exclusive social network which has reams of content (guest edited by Vogue writers), style tips, and tightly protected exclusive offers. There is an exclusive network in New York which is only open to members of certain zipcodes – a similar highly limited network would suit fashion houses.
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Meaghan Fitzgerald
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mattbambow
