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The Fashion Brand
Branding Boot Camp- New York November 13th 2004
VOL 1/03.04
THOUGHT SERIES

ROSE
The concept of brand building and brand management would seem to offer a robust approach for companies in the fashion sector to differentiate themselves from their competitors and establish themselves in consumers’ minds. One observes however that the notion of a brand is often misinterpreted and the concepts of brands and labels are deliberately used interchangeably. What is sometimes called a brand turns out, upon closer inspection, to be merely a label. A brand initially provides the customer with an orientation. It carries a unique promise that supercedes the actual product benefits and formulates a genuine, emotional bond with customers.

A label is little more than a tag attached to an anonymous article to suggest a content, which potentially does not actually exist. Labels are exchangeable and replaceable in the hearts and minds of customers.

The challenge of fashion branding is taking a designer’s vision, their inspiration, and transforming it into a brand positioning. Branding fashion is fundamentally branding creativity. To build a successful brand, a designer must focus and take steps to firstly define their brand, and then to ensure that the brand stays true, in every way, to that definition.

There are four basic steps in the branding process. First defining the brand, and developing a unique, compelling and relevant positioning. Second, articulating the brand so that it can be effectively communicated to others. Third, bringing the brand to life so that it consistently expresses the positioning in the collection, the pricing, distribution strategies and all communications. And last, preserving and promoting the brand image over time.

DEFINING THE BRAND

There are many roads to a unique, compelling and relevant brand positioning. The ROSE philosophy is that authenticity is the most compelling way to differentiate fashion brands.
This means that the designer’s inspiration and pure creativity are what define the vision of the brand, making it unique by definition. Designers need to ask the following questions to fully explore their vision:

WHAT are you creating and for whom?
HOW do you choose the key elements that support this idea?
(fabric, silhouette, colour, etc.)
WHY does it work?

Once this is defined, a ‘stake can be put in the ground’. An important consideration during this part of the process is that a genuine position will always polarize opinion. So do not make universal acceptance your measure. In order to embrace certain creative territory and Clearly defined target group, you must exclude others!

ARTICULATING THE BRAND
Expressing the defined vision is critical. This creates a context for others to understand, evaluate and appreciate what the vision is. Several tools can be used to express the vision: words, images, music, film and any cultural, historic or iconic references that embody the spirit of the designs.
This exercise is similar to when a mood board is developed to express the concept for an upcoming season. The difference is that a mood board for a specific season illustrates the brand as it is expressed in a collection at a given moment in time. A mood board of the entire brand should transcend all seasons and articulate the authenticity – what makes it what it is – regardless of the season or medium.

MANIFESTING THE BRAND

Once the vision is defined and articulated, there is a starting point from which to direct the expression of the brand in the market. Every touchpoint must reinforce the brand positioning:

COLLECTION
PRICING
DISTRIBUTION
COMMUNICATIONS
COMPANY CULTURE AND PROCESSES

Then you listen. Digest feedback from industry and consumers and respond within the parameters of the brand without compromising its core values. This ensures that what is truly authentic about the vision is preserved while refinements can be made to increase the appeal to the audience. To try to respond to market forces without a clear position from which to interpret them can only result in random and erratic decisions.

NURTURING THE BRAND

The process of branding is organic. In order to build a successful and sustainable brand over time, the positioning and the consistency of its expression must be addressed on an ongoing basis to ensure that it is as compelling and relevant as it was originally. In addition, systems and processes must be in place to check both the thinking and the execution of all brand-related activities. Proactive steps must be taken to preserve and promote the brand image. There is no such thing as a neutral action – you are either building brand equity or eroding it.
LAST WORD
Branding fashion requires focus. To take raw vision, inspiration and talent and transform that into an authentic, compelling and relevant brand positioning. To ultimately make an inanimate satin tag a symbol of quality, value, image and lifestyle that transcends the product itself and becomes a part of the social fabric of your audience.

BRANDING BOOTCAMP
Saturday November 13th, 2004
Studio 243
243 Flatbush Ave extension.