FASHION ADVERTISING

- How effective ‘Advertising’ is in the fashion industry is a point that is very often debated. There
are two sides to the story. Long drawn battle. Both advertising agencies and fashion houses
disagree on each other’s methods. According to advertising experts most fashion advertising will
never pass a true advertising test. Cliched and repetitive. No Big Idea.

According to Art Director, Thomas Lenthal who has worked for brands such as Dior and YSL, “In Fashion
you don’t need an Advertising Agency…you just need an address book with a handful of names in it”

-Many up market fashion brands don’t have a marketing department. The designer becomes the ‘Artistic
Director’ – in charge also of advertising imagery.

-In 2004, Chanel spent 26 million pounds on a TV commercial and press campaign to re launch No5,
starring Nicole Kidman, directed by Baz Luhrmann, director of Moulin Rouge. The fashion fraternity
raved about the commercial. However, commenting on it, adman Trevor Beattie ( Chairman and creative
Director of London based ad agency TBWA said “…the ad sucks so hard it nearly vacuumed my living
room carpet”.

Beattie himself was responsible for creating the most successful British high street brand, French
Connection UK. He changed the brand name to FCUK FASHION and with it changed the fortunes of the
brand. Great example of how Advertising strategy and understanding the target audience works for a
brand.

Other great examples of what advertising can do for a fashion brand include the campaigns for Levis and
Diesel. Both brands use advertising agencies.

-On the other hand there are examples of brilliant advertising for a fashion brand that have been
created by a team consisting of the fashion designer of the brand, an art director and a fashion
photographer working closely…as in the case of Dior with the team of John Galliano, Thomas Lenthal
and Nick Knight. Together they created 2 controversial but highly effective campaigns for Dior dubbed
Porno-Chic and Trailer-Park- Chic respectively. Both had a raw, almost sleazy look drawn from Lenthal’s
insight into the ‘brash brutality’ in Galliano’s designs.

- The bottom line is that Fashion Advertising , to be successful, MUST capture the essence of the brand
whether created by an ad agency or not. Although ads can look similar, codes saturate the image and
the target audience receives the message almost subliminally.

-Also, the cost effectiveness of the formulaic style of traditional advertising can be questioned when you
consider that you can make the phone ring off the hook by placing ‘the right jacket on the right celebrity
at the right party’

- Therefore it is safe to state that unlike traditional Advertising in Fashion advertising there are a lot of
other elements that constitute the success of the brand.
The Fashion Designer as a Brand

- When clothes leave the factories where they are made they are merely ‘garments’ or ‘apparel’.
Only when marketers get hold of them, do they magically became FASHION
- Fashion brands employ many techniques to persuade us to part with hard earned cash. This is
what fashion marketing is all about
- “ Traditional Marketing is based on need. You take a product that corresponds to an existing
demand and attempt to prove that your product is the best in its category. But Fashion is based
on creating a need, where in reality there is none. Fashion is a factory, that manufactures
desire…” Fashion Scholar, Bruno Remaury

Charles Fredrick Worth

- In a sense the very first ‘fashion brand’ was none other than Charles Fredrick Worth, the very
first designer, so to speak
- Born in Bourne, Lincolnshire 13/10/1826. Was English, his market was French
- Before him, dressmakers did not create styles or dictate fashion. They were merely suppliers…
much like the small tailoring outlets in India. Clients chose the fabric, colour and design
- Humble background. Son of a local solicitor. Left for London due to financial problems. Worked
as a book keeper at a drapery firm. At the age of 20, left for Paris.
- Got a job at a drapery store …GAEGLIN&OPIGEL. In his spare time, designed dresses for his
young French bride who also worked in the store. Customers noticed and appreciated the
designs. Was soon given a small room at the back of the store to display his designs.
- As he grew in popularity, so did his ambitions. Teamed up with a wealthy Swedish draper, Otto
Bobergh to set up WORTH&BOBERGH
- Big break came when he designed for Princess Metternich, wife of the Austrian ambassador to
Paris. Empress Eugenie spotted the dress and summoned the designer.
- His clients trusted his taste. He always knew best. Did away with bonnets and cut dresses closer
to the body…but more than all that is the fact that his success can be attributed the fact that he
was a marketing genius.
- Previously dress designs were displayed on wooden busts and scaled down versions were sown
onto dolls and sent out as promotional devices. He was the first to actually sit his clientele down
and give them a little ‘show’, having first dressed up a series of attractive young women whom
he called ‘sosies’ or ‘doubles’. The concepts of the fashion show and the fashion ramp model
were born…
- Also, he would identify fashionable women on whom he would ‘place’ his dresses, knowing
they would create a buzz as they mingled in high society. Fashion designers follow this trend
even today…
- But most important was his persona. Dapper with a prominent moustache…dressed head to toe
in velvet…beret…cigar in mouth…be-ringed…greeted clients reclining on a divan…furious
temper…All this contributed to a distinct brand image that had a huge positive rub off on his
designs, setting him apart from the rest, in a league of his own
- In short , he brought together all the ingredients of contemporary fashion marketing
 1. RUNWAY SHOWS…2. CHARISMATIC BRAND SPOKESMAN…3.CELEB MODELS…4. ELITISM

In the fashion world today, we still have popular fashion designers who stand apart because of the
distinct personalities that they are…they are brands…

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER – First fashion designer to cross over into the realm of the pop star. Actually made
a record ‘ How To Do That’ ( Ow To Do Zat !!). Peroxide blonde…striped sailor sweaters…his ‘Pain
Couture’ showing where he dressed up his models in freshly baked bread is just one of the many things
that set him apart…

TOM FORD - The man who became fused with Gucci and contributed hugely to the brand’s success
before venturing out on his own. Always was in the forefront with his three day stubble, open white
shirts and burning gaze. “ What some fashion designers do is art and I have an incredible respect for it,
but I don’t pretend to be anything other than a commercial designer and I am proud of that” Positions
himself in a niche that is all his…

JOHN GALLIANO – Very flamboyant, swash buckling…

Closer home, Indian designers like Rohit Bal/ Manish Arora also have personalities that create an
identity for the clothes they create. Media plays along because a people story is always a good story.

Basically, a glamorous star designer in most cases is one of the main factors that separates a luxury
brand from high street fashion. Of course, there are always exceptions. Miuccia Prada for one…stayed in
the background and let her clothes do the ‘talking’.

-Sometimes a personality dominating a brand can be dangerous… eg…When Tom Ford quit Gucci; If
Galliano leaves Dior; when Paul Smith retires from Paul Smith; What happens to designer labels like
Rohit Bal, Manish Arora etc when they are no more…can the brand outlive them?

FASHION PROMOTION

GOALS and STRATEGIES…

The goal of fashion promotion is to ensure that in the highly competitive fashion market the consumer
is reached out to in as many ways as possible, not leaving the onus entirely on traditional advertising.
While advertising will account for a chunk of the promotional expenditure it is not the only avenue that
fashion designers and retailers take to reach their market. Depending on the size of the organization,
and the advertising and promotional budget, decisions can be made as to what would be the best
promotional strategy to adopt. The options include

1.Fashion Shows; 2. Appearances by designers and celebrities; 3. Demonstrations; 4. In-house

video programming; 5. Special campaigns and celebrations; 6. Institutional events such as
charity shows; 7. Holiday Parades; 8. Sampling
THE FASHION SHOW

In many ways, fashion shows accomplish for the fashion industry what traditional advertising does for
others. The fashion shows are in fact almost like ‘live advertisements’.

-Not an art but an element of marketing. The show must illustrate the brand and aid brand recall.

-Expensive/extravagant-but with the potential to be highly effective. The challenge is to be creative and
at the same time not allow special effects to take away from the product.

-Captive target audience

-Must be ‘positioned’ right

-Important reminder medium for the brand’s actual advertising. Because of the growing importance of
accessories ramp shows often recall the brand’s advertising for the same. For eg at Chanel’s
spring/summer 2005 show, Nicole Kidman re-enacted live the expensive tv spot for Chanel No 5.

Also ,the Louis Vuitton show, same season featured clashing metallic colours in keeping with the look in
the commercial for LV sun glasses.

-The product has to be right…however if everything around it is right you can make a good product look
fabulous…Imp to create the right mood…every detail is vital.

- Haute Couture works as a great marketing ploy. Works like Corporate Advertising. Fantastic tool to
demonstrate the prestige of the house, push limits of creativity and so creates an impact on all other
lines of the same fashion house. The sublime creations that John Galliano produces for Dior,
transforming women into Egyptian goddesses are worth their weight in sunglasses and handbags

For the amount invested in a show, you can generate 10-100 times the cost in free advertising in terms
of photographs in magazines, newspapers, TV…in fact if a shoe does well, designers don’t need to buy
ad space for a year

-Fashion retailers who might be a little apprehensive of the huge costs involved in a fashion show, might
resolve to Runway Parades where the staging area may be a dept store that has been cleared and
refitted with a ramp and audience chairs. Easy to stage and more cost effective they are ideal for specific
collections. Here the celebrity professional models can be replaced with amateurs. Informal Modelling
where models dressed specifically, walk casually around the store displaying the clothes to people in the
store.

Designer/ Celebrity Appearances Creates a buzz and bring in the crowds

Demonstrations The presence of ‘artists ‘ who can create a makeover look for consumers visiting a
fashion retail outlet. Besides the goodwill, also demonstrates the effectiveness of the product.

In-House Video Programming - Often used by leading fashion designers to display their clothes in a
variety of styles and situations. Very effective.
Special Campaigns and Celebrations A great example is the what Harrod’s does to kick off their annual
storewide sales. Celebrities from all over the world arrive in a parade of horse drawn carriages… creates
huge public interest. Also, retailers often use themes to dress up their stores and create a buzz.

Institutional Events- This is done by some retailers to draw attention to themselves by featuring events
that are not specifically merchandise oriented but are intended to bring people to their stores where
they will be motivated to buy. The annual Macy’s New York flower show that heralds the arrival of
spring, transforms the main hall of the flagship store into an overflowing botanical garden…always has a
huge impact on sales.

Holiday Parades- Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York coproduced with NBC is the ultimate
example of what a promotion of this kind can do for a brand.

Sampling- Intended to introduce the product and then persuade the consumer to buy later. Started by
Estee Lauder, this is a very effective method of fashion promotion.