What Does Fashion Mean In The Post-Virus World?

Coco Chanel once quipped: ‘fashion changes: style remains’. That may be true but there’s no denying that the Covid-19 virus will change fashion; just as it has everything else. For one thing, the pandemic has brought home that fashion is not a necessity. Those in the industry (myself included) were slightly taken aback that, when forced to stay home, the average person preferred pajamas and sweatpants. Meanwhile, those 50 pairs of designer shoes in the walk-in closet gathered dust. In early 2020, during the height of the pandemic the fashion industry had a much needed reality check, as consumers stopped spending on non-essentials and fashion brands became bankruptcy casualties. 

According to an online article by the BBC, clothing sales plummeted by 34%.  Admittedly, some of the fashion brands who shuttered their doors had been suffering for years, from either a lack of cultural relevance, fierce competition, increasing business costs or falling margins. As a result, the virus and its associated global lockdown hastened these brand’s demise.   By June 2020, Cath Kidson, Debenhams (a UK Department store), Victoria Secret UK, Antler (a UK luggage brand established in 1914), Oasis & Warehouse Group, Laura Ashley, LK Bennett (a premium shoe brand) went into administration. In the US, JCPenney, J. Crew and Neiman Marcus have all sought bankruptcy or administration protection.  

As the weeks passed and people adjusted to the new normal, interesting trends started to emerge. Fashion brands reported an increase in sales for comfortable stay-at-home clothes, activewear and self-care products like cosmetics and skin care. Browns, a luxury niche department store on London’s Bond Street, reported a 78% increase in loungewear. Which was expected. Less predictably, fine jewellery sales also peaked as people adjusted to life indoors - assumedly by wanting to look their best for online meetings. Accessorizing became about the neck up and Fashionista.com reported that online luxury e-tailer Modaoperandi.com had a 35% year-on-year increase in sales of fine jewellery. On the same website the search for ‘sweats’ and ‘sweatpants’ increased by 50 and 85%. 

Clothing: As Old As Humanity

Consumer behaviour is usually fairly predictable. Thus, consumers buying casual clothes and bling was confusing to say the least. For the first time in my career in fashion, spanning over 15 years, I was at a loss to explain those figures' relevance. A discussion with a student interested in psychology reminded me of a class I used to teach on the social psychology of fashion. What does fashion actually mean and why do we wear clothes at all; and how this might explain behaviour in the context of the pandemic?  As we all know clothing is as old as humanity. Mankind has worn clothes for protection from the physical environment - either cotton kaftans to keep cool or wool, leather and fur to stay warm. The oldest item of clothing known is the Tarkhan Dress, made of linen. The dress was found in Egypt and is said to be a staggering 5,000 years old. Can you imagine an item made today lasting that long?

Clothing For Physical & Psychological Protection 

Some cultures use fashion for psychological protection by wearing adornments to guard against bad spirits or to bring good luck. Gems and natural stones are supposedly imbued with properties that give their wearer luck or protection. And even in our digitally advanced world, people use crystals, amulets and symbols for their special powers. Our relationship with clothes is inextricably linked with our world view and culture. 

Clothing & Conformity

Cultural dress can express belonging to a nation, region, or tribe. Western dress dominates the world which reflects Western cultural dominance. Have you ever considered why some countries keep a fierce hold of what we now term ‘traditional’ dress and most abandon any sartorial expressions of their cultural identity, except for during festivals and other special occasions? Colonial systems have over time made western dress from Europe (Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Germany) the standard of professional dress. European colonial structures as the dominant political and economic power set those standards which we still adhere to today. To conform and to be progressive or ‘modern,’ most countries abandoned their national costume in favour of Western suits and dresses. Although  some would argue Western dress is more practical than ornate or complex traditional garments. Whichever view you subscribe to, it is clear our behaviour and tastes are subtly influenced by the soft power wielded by colonialism and colonial structures. 

Clothing For Self Expression & Segregation

Clothing also meets our social cultural needs. How we dress helps us communicate our individuality, therefore fashion can be a tool of self-expression.  It is also a powerful signal that we are part of a specific subculture or ‘in crowd’. In the late 90s the Harajuku girl was a much copied and conspicuous part of Tokyo street culture, today we see a decline in fashion subcultures but the Hype-bae girls, Sneakerheads, Goths, Mat Rock, Skaters and Afro Punk subcultures are still evidence of a connection between dress and belonging. 

We learn the importance of hierarchy and clothing at a young age. Primary and Secondary education often segregates the general student body from leaders, via different colour uniforms or special “badges of honour”. The latter can be a tie or pin, and double as a means to reward good behaviour. These are revered and fiercely protected within that school community but have no meaning to the rest of the world. Once you graduate and are physically removed from the group the symbolic power dissipates. Some adults are still affected by the colour they were forced to wear at school, avoiding specific colours connected to their school uniform as an adult - since the colour is now connected to a symbol of sartorial oppression. 

Clothing for Communication

Whether we avoid brands to show our lack of  interest in fashion, or we make bold fashion choices to reflect our character, clothing is communication. To understand the power of clothing to communicate, try wearing an opposing team's colours at a football match or political rally and you will experience the very tangible power behind what we wear. Clothing is a powerful but subtle way to communicate belonging; not just for teenagers seeking to express themselves, or schools looking to motivate students. Dress can also signal ethnic and or religious affiliation.  To reflect their ethnicity, Singaporeans choose to wear a sari, kebaya, baju kurung or cheongsam signaling which group they belong to.  Clothing is also the most efficient way to signal hierarchy, think of how policemen or guards and servicemen are easily identified by their uniforms.

Clothing Status & Power

Clothing is also used to communicate status and power - how we dress has only become democratic relatively recently. The products we buy are inextricably linked to our income, therefore the rich afford items the masses cannot. Ancient sumptuary laws prevented certain strata of society from wearing a particular colour or type of clothing. Emperor Nero apparently had a woman flogged and her lands confiscated for daring to wear the colour purple at a public event. Tyrian purple was an incredibly expensive cloth worn only by royalty and emperors. The high cost was due to purple dye being in short supply because purple could only be made from a mollusk found in one place - Tyre in modern day Lebanon. 

Another rare colour was coccinelle red, made from beetles found in central America. The dye used to make scarlet cloth was costly because thousands of beetles were required to create a small amount of dye. Once chemical dyes were discovered by accident in the 19th century, colour became more democratic and our modern day fashion industry could take shape. 

Today the elite still differentiate themselves by their purchasing power. A veblen good is a theory that identifies products that exist, for which demand increases as price increases, due to the exclusivity or signal of status.  A good example of this is the French luxury brand Hermes, who’s iconic handbags are carried by Hollywood celebrities and the rich and powerful. Iconic items such as their Kelly bag, named after Princess Grace Kelly, an early patron, cannot be bought by just anyone. Other styles must be purchased in order to be deemed worthy of the house’s signature products.  Customers must establish themselves as loyal by buying other products before being offered a Kelly. As a result a Kelly bag is a badge of honour for the wealthy. 

The Rich & The Super Rich

The wealthy also fall into different groups; Old Money, New Rich and Aspirers. Patricians who have inherited wealth are likely to shy away from conspicuous consumption and choose products that subtly signal belonging to an elite group (since only insiders know the codes and the discrete brands connected with them).  Patricians or ‘old money’ choose these ‘stealth wealth’ brands specifically to separate themselves from the New Rich. Whereas the New Rich and Aspirers may be more obvious with their choices: they want the world to know they can afford to wear a luxury watch or brand. 

The 21st Century Rich

New groups have emerged who have wealth but choose brands that are different from the previous generations. The creative elite (think architects, designers) and technocrats (start up community and tech-preneurs), avoid the old symbols and trappings of wealth and status to create their own group codes. A trend since the early 2000s, which has been coined ‘norm core’, is a style of clothing synonymous with the urban elite who wish to express a change in lifestyle and interests from the old vanguard. Norm core garments are simple, unpretentious of the best quality and can be worn season after season. 

Prices may be exorbitant but only an insider will recognize the subtle differences between a high street garment and a luxury basic. Some successful ‘Millennial’ brands have tapped into this change in culture, creating codes which are recognized and sought after by a new generation of consumers with spending power. From sneakers replacing heels, to genderless clothing - to sustainability and timeless colours, like black, white and grey (the latter much-loved by norm core fans) - this shift in taste cannot be ignored by brands. The new elite and the brands they support prefer casual over the formal, are concerned with emotional and physical well being, are tech-savvy and have a desire for transparency and dialogue between brand and consumer. 

Fashion and The Beauty Ideal 

Connected to the issue of elite power is representation. The fashion system creates artefacts that become part of popular culture. As such, fashion brands have a unique power to become the arbiter of taste, via the images they communicate in fashion photography, storefronts and marketing campaigns. The industry is notorious for favouring able-bodied, thin, Caucasian models. In Asia, brands use models of Western or Eurasian descent to communicate quality and international cache. However, the global trend for more diversity has seen the industry bow to pressure from Millennials. Who expect inclusion, be it for disability, race or gender.  Furthermore, they are questioning traditional beauty ideals, delving into the complexity of race and gender in the Asian context. 

Clothing & Commerce 

While clothing is undeniably an expression of culture, often with deep symbolic meaning, critics argue that fashion these days is primarily about profit. Indeed, fashion is the 4th biggest industry in the world and is thus vital to the economic interests of entire nations; providing jobs and Foreign Direct Investment opportunities (FDI).  The dominant Western system of commercialization has led to the industrialization and marketing of fashion products through a powerful media system. Fashion masquerading as culture is propagated by elites who own corporations. And those same corporations control fashion brands and the media companies who together promote constantly changing trends. 

Fashion, Economic Systems and Class

The current fashion system rejects durability over constant novelty. Since fashion is a way to belong and stand out, that novelty-chasing system leads to consumerism and status anxiety as consumers are desperate to keep up.  Class differentiation theory sees fashion as a tool of capitalism. The fashion industry is a continuum:  haute couture and luxury brands for the elite at one end, mass market brands for the masses at the other. However, it is the elites - via a complex system of brands and media - who set the trends, which then trickle down to influence the masses. 

This continuous replenishment cycle at the very bottom of the scale has led to the fast fashion model replicating the styles set by international luxury brands for those on lower incomes. With devastating impact on the environment, contributing to waste and other issues for which society bears the burden. Fashion and trends are so inextricably linked, Marxist feminist's critique of the industry, propose that the current system affects mostly females with low incomes, who are forever trapped in a cycle attempting to keep up with trends that will constantly change. 

Clothing & Celebrity

Ordinary people aspiring to be like their celebrity heroes is not new. Hollywood actors in the 1920s promoted products just as they do today. Fashion history also reveals that fashion trends were set by European Royal Courts as far back as the 15th century. By the 18th century, France was at the centre of fashion. Fashion dolls copying the latest trends at the French court were sent around the world as the first means of communicating what was considered fashionable. Today technology has led to micro-influencers becoming the new celebrities. While access to cheap wi-fi and affordable smartphones propagates the Western ideal of beauty around the world.

The most popular influencers with more followers than entire countries are once again mainly rich, white, able-bodied with the resources to keep up with the fashion cycle. This access to new products is based on their ability to influence others to purchase industrialized fashion products creating a never ending loop. Some argue technology has allowed influencers from different income groups, ethnic backgrounds and niche tastes  access to media. By using social media more democratic and diverse voices are given a chance to influence the fashion discourse. 

Fashion's Symbolic meaning

Even if you  ignore the importance of fashion, the fact remains we are what we buy. If you purchase certain fashion garments you are participating in a system that perpetuates status anxiety and excludes the poor. Whether at a supply chain level, where fast fashion brands pay workers below minimum wage to support the low price; or a luxury brand that is out of reach of the masses. It is no surprise that luxury brands have avoided the African continent and only relatively recently opened their doors in Asia. Criticism of the current fashion system highlights the connection between fashion and media’s influence, creating cultural imperialism and perpetuating western beauty ideals.

Mindful Consumption

The traditional system of fashion is being questioned not just for its function and role that fashion plays, but also how it impacts society. If we are to understand the complex layers that comprise the fashion industry, we first need to understand our relationship with the brands we buy. A consumer can choose a brand without peeking behind the veil recently torn down by global connectivity, fueled by social media. Once consumers become informed there has been an increased trend towards the selection of brands that are sustainable, local or supporting a worthy cause or with an inspirational founder.

Brand’s leveraging Millennials' interest in sustainability, diversity and transparency has led to new startups inspired by mindful consumption over mindless shopping. Anti-consumerism in the USA and Europe has resulted in middle-class urbanites rejecting the mass market for handmade artisanal, small-batch or slow-produced food, fashion, skin care and other lifestyle products. These brands are more accessible and offer a peak into their operations, often relying on a  media-savvy founder giving more glimpses of the inside workings of the company. 

This backlash to mass consumption created international conglomerates, started before the virus; mainly in urban creative and technology hubs. When consumers, driven by the 2008 financial crash started reconsidering their relationship with things they owned. And indeed with consumption itself. The virus has amplified the voices of those calling for change within the fashion industry. Questioning consumerist culture is not new, but the lens is truly in focus since lock down. Post virus, many brand’s fate will be hanging in the balance. Their likelihood to succeed or fail depends on consumers' support: not just by liking their Instagram page, but by purchasing their product or service. Choosing which brands get your money can be the most mindful thing you do today. So choose wisely. 

Get in touch anisa@anisajohnny.com

Areas of expertise: Fashion Educator I Sustainability I Branding I Social Entrepreneurship

Podcast: Fashion Hub

Connect: Linkedin

Starting a Social Enterprise: the 4 key steps

Before we dive into the 4 steps covering How To Start Up A Social Enterprise, allow me to provide some background. A Social Enterprise is a business with an objective to create social impact - which means to contribute to society in a positive way. The idea that a business should exist not just to make profit, but to also consider people and the planet, is not a new one. In the UK, before the welfare state existed, many schools and hospitals were set up as nonprofits to provide education or healthcare for the poor. Today, governments have officially recognized organizations that are neither charities or commercial businesses Thus allowing entities to exist that straddle both domains; usually in areas where low profit margins fail to attract commercial companies, or in physically hard to reach or dangerous locations. 

A Social Enterprises can exist ‘for profit’ or ‘not for profit’. What both share in common is the aim to solve a specific problem for society. A ‘for profit’ Social Enterprise seeks to make a profit, but ploughs it back into the company, whereas a ‘not for profit’ exists for the sole purpose of meeting a specific social goal to improve society. Using the latter model, since profit is not the main goal, success is measured by the impact on beneficiaries or tackling those specific social issues. 

I’m sure you’re probably eager to hear about those 4 steps  I promised. So let’s dive in...

1 Identify the Social Problem  

2 Research & Position Your Social Enterprise 

3 Create Your Brand 

4 Market your social enterprise

1. Identify the Social Problem  

Before you start your Social Enterprise you need to identify the problem you want to solve, This must take into account the impact you hope to make, and which group(s) of people your Social Enterprise will assist. 

A good tip is to write down your social objective, either through a Mission & Vision Statement or a Memorandum of Association. While this may sound a bit formal it, really does help, because you’ll have a written document that explains to all stakeholders how the Social Enterprise is different from other businesses - and the beneficiaries the company sets out to help. Additionally, you should clarify whether the organization is for profit or not for profit. 

I’ve seen for myself the importance of specifying an organization's social objective.  Shortly after founding a social enterprise, it became obvious that demand for our services outstripped supply. Thankfully we already had a clear social objective: to support single mothers, with children living at home under 18. 

Having a well-defined mission also ensures your impact is easily measurable. How many people you help should be tracked and shared with stakeholders. Therefore clarifying who your beneficiaries are, and what makes them eligible, is vital.  Moreover, it will also help you get support from governments and foundations.  For example, some foundations only work with women or within education. Some government grant schemes are only for the elderly or those with disabilities, whereas some governments will not entertain religious organizations.

2 Research & Position your social enterprise

Whether you are a non-profit or for profit, your Social Enterprise needs to be self-sustaining. Therefore, just like any business, you need to do some research before launch. For instance, you have to find out if there are other charities, foundations and Social Enterprises already meeting the social issue you plan to tackle. If this is the case, then you might be wise to focus your attention on other areas, or on different types of beneficiaries not already covered. You may even want to consider a partnership with similar entities. 

If research data is hard to find, check government statistics or organizations working in that area. When researching our Social Enterprise we used a report by the Lien Foundation for Social Innovation to identify the number of single households headed by women with low incomes. 

Next, prepare a Feasibility Analysis on the long-term success prospects of your enterprise. This should address the organizational capacity and internal skills required to make the enterprise prosper. In addition, it will help you identify important trends in the category, from demand, to promotion and distribution methods required. The outcome is to prove the business model is practicable given the market variables.  

Ensuring there is a demand for the service or product you aim to supply is especially important if you are launching a ‘for profit’ social enterprise. Just like any business, you’ll need clear evidence of ongoing demand and revenue to sustain the enterprise in the long run. And do bear in mind that even though Social Enterprises may have access to government grants or other financial support from charitable foundations, they are usually heavily reliant on members of the public - either through donations or purchasing goods.  

If you plan to rely on donations, your social enterprise needs to compete with other entities (charities and social enterprises) for the public’s attention. If you sell a product or service, you compete with other commercial businesses for the same customers. Therefore, your social enterprise needs to be clearly positioned in your target customer’s mind. 

A good example of a social enterprise that understands the needs of its consumer is The Nail Social in Singapore - a nail bar with a difference. Their purpose is to provide an income for Single women. It’s a mass-market service because they offer affordable manicure and pedicure packages, which most lower to upper middle-class women in Singapore can afford. 

However, the Nail Social also seeks to delight their customers, offering pampering sessions with wine and a personal entertainment monitor (the kind you expect to see inflight) in a clean, modern well-designed environment. The Nail Social’s offer is significantly different from competitors, so much so that it can attract customers looking for a more affordable luxury experience to pay more for their manicure or become loyal to the brand.

Your market research should also cover the external environmental impact. This is known as a PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological). For example, consider the “E”. When the economy is doing badly, potential donors are less likely to support your cause if you are exclusively focused on soliciting donations. However, if you offer them products or services below market rate during a downturn you may well get more interest. 

3. Create your Brand 

I’d need a separate article to cover all aspects of branding, but this overview will help you get started. You need to create a brand with a unique identity that is distinct from competitors. Crucially, your brand identity should be rooted in a single brand message that can be easily communicated to your stakeholders and target customers. 

Avoid the temptation to rush off and find the nearest designer to create your logo. Because logos and other visual elements of your brand should only be developed after you have clearly articulated your company’s unique story.  

Here’s how we went about developing our brand. From initial research, we discovered that most of our potential customers only had a vague idea what a social enterprise was and most certainly had no idea what a ‘marginalized’ woman was. As a result we simplified our brand message to ‘A Social Enterprise Helping Single Mums’ and created a tagline: ‘Feel Good Jewellery’ which is self-explanatory. We tested that brand message and found many women wanted to understand the impact of what we did. Therefore we adapted our brand message again to “40% of your purchase helps Single Mums look after their children.” 

Only after we had established our brand message did we brief a graphic designer to create a logo. In addition to the brand message, we also shared our objectives, brand values and differentiation from other organizations. All of this information helped the designer create our logo, select the right fonts, develop a colour palette and consolidate all these design elements into the right “look and feel” for our social enterprise. 

To give you another example of social enterprise branding, consider Tom’s shoes, created to donate a shoe to a child for every shoe purchased.  The logo is easily recognizable blue and white with ‘Toms’ written in the middle - which is short for ‘Tomorrow's Shoes’. This logo is  inspired by the Argentinian flag which reflects the story behind the founding of the brand by Blake Mycoskie. Whilst travelling in Argentina in 2006, he saw first hand the hardship many children faced without shoes. Inspiring him to create a for-profit social enterprise to supply shoes to children. The innovative idea has led to 100million pairs of shoes being donated. 

4 Market your Social Enterprise

It’s vital that you market your social enterprise via the most appropriate media channels, so that you can reach your stakeholders in a cost-effective way. 

For example creating a word-of-mouth campaign on social media can be a low-cost alternative to spending on advertising. Toms Shoes did just that; spurring customers to go one day without shoes and using the hashtag #withoutshoes. The last annual #withoutshoes in 2016 was so successful that over 27,000 shoes were donated in one day.

Of course there’s no guarantee that a word-of-mouth campaign will go viral, therefore you should also use Social Media to deliver a mixture of free content of value, as well as paid-for branded content. Facebook, Instagram and even LinkedIn can be used this way.

Don’t limit yourself to Social Media though. Think of all the media your potential target market reads, places they visit or online platforms they interact with on a daily basis and plan an advertising strategy based on how far your budget will stretch.

PR has a role to play too. You should aim to get free editorial coverage if you have something that is PR-worthy. But do cultivate relationships with the publications first. Or if you have a product, develop a giveaway competition - online editions of magazines can often be receptive to such collaborations. 

Promotions that encourage a call to action or will move consumers towards taking a step to find out more about your social enterprise - such as  visiting a store or website or making a purchase - are important and should be given priority.  Your promotional strategy should fit your brand positioning and brand message. For example, consumers may become suspicious of a social enterprise that is always pushing discounts. That’s because people often support social brands for altruistic purposes, thus ‘hard sell’ discounts may jar with them. Instead, expertly-timed discounts linked with special events or festivals would be more appropriate.

Now that you understand the 4 key steps, I hope you’ll find them useful when you take the plunge and launch your Social Enterprise. If you need any advice or tips I’ll be happy to advise. Good luck!

Get in touch anisa@anisajohnny.com

Areas of expertise: Fashion Educator I Sustainability I Branding I Social Entrepreneurship

Podcast: Fashion Hub

Connect: Linkedin

Improving Your Marketing Communications

The first mistake fashion brands make is they don’t have a single brand message - or what a marketer would describe as a reason why a consumer should buy their product over another brand. Unfortunately consumers are fickle and they are busy going about their daily lives. If you want them to take notice of your brand tell them what you offer and keep it simple. If you keep things simple, creative or intelligent and inspiring they may reward you with their attention. 

If you solve a customer’s problem they will be even more likely to take notice. The first step of marketing communications is to have a single brand message that enough customers care about.  Your brand message can be implicit (understood through strong visuals) or explicit (with a slogan that spells things out). Only after you have clarified your brand message, can you start thinking about marketing communication. 

These days to cut through the noise your brand message has to be communicated 360 degrees at every consumer touch point.  In the case of a brand like Nike, who’ve spent billions of dollars communicating their brand message - they have the budget to use print, store environment, TV, product placement, brand ambassadors, event sponsorship and more recently a plethora of online platforms. Whether like Nike you have a million dollar budget or you have a modest budget, before developing marketing communications first think about what you want your consumer to understand about your brand. Then choose the correct media to target your niche market and put your advertising dollars behind those identified platforms. 

If customers are digitally savvy and spend time on social media deliver them a mixture of free content of value and branded paid for content. If they read fashion magazines and blogs, try to research the most cost effective way of advertising using these platforms. Whether it is free editorial coverage if you have something that is PR worthy and a friendly journalist is willing to cover your story or collaborate on a giveaway / competition. Magazines,  especially the online editions may be open to such collaborations. Think of all the media your potential target market consumes, places they visit or platforms they interact with on a daily basis and plan an advertising strategy based on how far your budget will stretch.

Promotion encourages what is known as a ‘call to action’.  These are tools to move your target market to take the first step towards either finding out more about the brand, visiting a store or website or making a purchase. Call to actions are often forgotten but are critical to success so that they should be given time and consideration.

Your promotional strategy should fit your brand positioning and brand message. For example, your customers may expect lots of discounts from an online store selling affordable fashion. Those same customers may become suspicious of a Social Enterprise that is always pushing discounts.

Why? Some people support social brands for altruistic purposes, they want to feel good by giving back, so hard sell discounts may not go down well with these customers. Instead, expertly timed discounts or promotions such as free shipping or gift with purchase, linked with special events or festivals would be more appropriate. Promotions that encourage customers to tell their friends, buy more than one product or try your product for the first time are also critical to your strategy’s success when you launch. 

Branded Experiences Are Critical to Success….

Branded experiences are critical to a brand’s success, even in the era of digital marketing. These are real world events that can bring your brand to life by demonstrating your brand message in a tangible way. Giving customers a chance to interact with your company, not just from a product perspective but offering a chance to immerse themselves in your brand story in the physical world, can be a great opportunity for customers to experience and test merchandise and understand your brand values.

Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s Experience Economy model is a framework that explains the different ways you can create memorable events for your customers that adds value to your brand. The dimensions include creating events that Educate, Entertain, or events that are Aesthetic or Escapist. Workshops, seminars, talks with experts, meet and greet sessions with brand ambassadors are all branded experiences that can help you connect with your customers. Of course these experiences should all leverage customers love of posting on Instagram so make sure 

If you would like to know about creating an integrated marketing strategy for your brand get in touch! Our monthly workshops are budget friendly and suitable for new businesses testing the waters or one-to-one advice sessions can be arranged with a complimentary 20 minute online call.

Get in touch anisa@anisajohnny.com

Areas of expertise: Fashion Educator I Sustainability I Branding I Social Entrepreneurship

Podcast: Fashion Hub

Connect: Linkedin

How To Create An Authentic Fashion Brand

Published 02 January 2020

If you type ‘branding’ in any search engine, a plethora of sites pop up promising to help you understand branding. Although the branding process is easy to describe, in reality it’s hard to execute. From my 15+ years experience in the fashion industry here’s my 101 to starting a fashion brand. 

The first step to developing a successful brand is to create an authentic brand story. Authenticity in branding is when a business has a tangible story that’s not only based on the truth, but resonates with enough customers who are prepared to part with their hard earned cash and reward the founder for all their effort. In an over saturated market new entrepreneurs have to give a customer a good reason to patronize their brand rather than existing companies.

Branding success is about understanding your customer and their needs and wants, whilst positioning your offer in a unique way and differentiated from your competitors.  Preferably your product should have a distinct benefit. Understanding what consumers require can either be gathered from years of working in an industry, a problem you and your friends have personally encountered or via market research. 

Once you find the ‘big idea’ - a product/service which has a clear benefit that resonates with a sizeable enough group of customers that are willing to pay you, only then should you set about creating your brand based on its positioning (price, quality, style, fashion market level) and any unique attributes.

Describing your brand in terms of it’s target customer, unique attributes, market positioning and values will help you to create a design brief to aid your graphic designer to develop the right brand identity for your company (logos, symbols, colours and other marketing collaterals).

Once your brand visuals have been developed, you can set about communicating your unique offer by summarizing it into a single brand message, and then communicate it consistently across all customer touch points (website, social channels, packaging, store environment). To find out more read my post on improving your marketing communications here.

Confused about branding and want a step by step guide to creating your own brand that customers value? Attend my next 3 Steps To Branding Group Workshop and leave with a blueprint to brief your Graphic Designer. Or get in touch to find out more about one-to-one advice and receive a complimentary 20 minute online discussion.

Get in touch anisa@anisajohnny.com

Areas of expertise: Fashion Educator I Sustainability I Branding I Social Entrepreneurship

Podcast: Fashion Hub

Connect: Linkedin