BRANDING ME
LAUREN ROBERTS
INTRODUCTION
This is just a little insight about me Lauren Roberts before we go into the process and developments for my final major project. I am a creative soul, enthusiastic and hard-working, I’m aspiring to be a fashion communicator while also developing skills on brand management as these are skills I have really enjoy working on within the past year at university. I would describe myself as loyal, bossy and eager to learn. I can work efficiently within a team but also as an individual. Initially I have found this trimester the hardest by far, no one really ask’s you to go into such deep detail about yourself which is the main thing I feel I struggled with. Doing this has helped me understand why I am the way I am which in the end has also opened my eyes into where my passions lay and the importance of acting on that.
CONTENTS
THE DIFFERENT MARKET LEVELS
WHERE I SIT?
ALL POSSIBLE ROLES
MY
MESSAGE
CHANEL CASE STUDY
OFF WHITE CASE STUDY
CHANEL X OFF WHITE
FURTHER RESEARCH
1-14 15-22 23-24 25-26 27-54 55-84 92-107 86-91
MY FINDING MARKET
MARKET LEVEL
LUXURY FASHION
Luxury fashion is considered to be high-end clothing, accessories and footwear that are praised apon by their outstanding materials, craftsmanship and exclusivity. Sometimes its not about the item itsself but the experience and status that comes with owning them. The key elements required for them to be luxury are quality, craftsmandship, exclusivity, brand heritage and fashion shows.
Classic luxury brands are Chanel, Louis Vuttion, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Hermes, Fendi and Burberry. The brands considered to have a more quiet luxury approach are The Row, Lora Piana, Jil Sander, Bottega Veneta, Max Mara, Celine, A.P.C and Isabel Marant.
Luxury fashion is considered to be highend clothing, accessories and footwear that are praised upon for their exclusive designs, outstanding materials, craftsmanship and exclusivity. Sometimes it’s not about the item itself but more about the experience and the status that comes with owning them. The key elements required for them to be luxury are quality, craftsmanship, exclusivity, brand heritage and conducting fashion shows. Classic luxury brands are known to be the likes of Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Hermes, Fendi, Burberry, Bottega Veneta, Max Mara and more
HAUTE COUTURE
These are known to be brands like Chanel, Schiaparelli, Masion Margiela and Dior to be in the category of haute couture fashion, members must produce made to order garments in an atelier of minimum fifteen staff as well as twenty or more technical workers. Haute couture is the creation of exclusive, custom fitted high-end fashion. Fashion collections must be presented with around fifty or more original designs for both day and night, then displayed for the public then to private clientele. Haute Couture is very personal and intimate as though it feels your receiving that exclusive experience which is why many aim to afford Haute Couture.
READY TO WEAR
Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Alexander McQueen are known as ready-to-wear fashion. Ready-to-wear means you’re able to buy them from the rack, they are mass produced in standard sizing rather than crafted and tailored to fit an exclusive clientele base. This is known to be an accessible level of luxury fashion targeting those who have some disposable income, launching seasonal collections easy and accessible to those building their bases, also very versatile. They market their products by having a strong social media presence and connecting with influencers known to the fashion industry.
Off white, Fear of God, Palm Angels and Yeezy are known to be luxury streetwear brands. Luxury Streetwear combines elements of high-end fashion with casual urban aesthetics displaying unique designs, with high quality materials, many limited editions/exclusives including cultural influences from art, music, subcultures and the ever-evolving youth. They market themselves by informing and posting on socials like Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, keeping the audience hooked with limited drops of stock and exclusive designs, collaborating with other brands or celebrities and hosting exclusive events for loyal customers which will enhance brand loyalty and engagement.
BRIDGE BRANDS
Bridge brands are brands who sit in a category between high-end luxury and more affordable. Producing mass-market clothing, accessories, footwear and some contain home wear, they use premium quality materials (not like the ultra-luxury brands but decent) without the added price tag. They aim to target a demographic that desires luxury aesthetics but may not have the budget to afford the top luxury products. The style can feature contemporary designs while also keeping up with trends and popular colour schemes.
HIGH STREET
Guess, New Look, River Island, Next and Gap are known to be high street brands, producing trendy clothing, accessories, footwear and homeware. These are targeted at mainly the younger generation mixed with the older, the demographic who does not have a high disposable income but still likes to make the effort. Many of them have what to be considered a second line with either better quality materials, staple silhouettes similar to high end brands with their colour schemes and patterns for cheaper prices although the second line running next to the main or labelled exclusive will be priced higher.
WHERE DO
I SIT???
CREATIVE DIRECTION
Creative directors shape the vision and identity of fashion brands, the role includes things like producing visuals and conceptual developments, design collections, overseeing and signing for final designs, trend forecasting, working closely with the marketing, merchandising and production departments. Also making sure you are staying on brand throughout, creating a brand identity and their message, events PR and lots more. This is something I would be interested in as a career; this is something I was able to get a feel for conducting my last project for last trimester called Brand Me allowing me to use heritage within my workspace which is where my mindset and approach changed. I was able to find where I excel within my work and more about my passions and how I’m able to demonstrate this withing my work in a professional setting and feeling confident in doing so. From that project it has certainly influenced my thinking and direction for further projects and developments
STYLIST
A fashion stylist completes roles like client consultations, wardrobe selection management, onset styling, trend forecasting, sourcing items/ materials, event co-ordinator and providing a personal shopping portfolio. Many works for personal clients to help them develop their personal style. It is known celebrities have their chosen stylists help them pick outfits for events, red carpet looks, photoshoots and even public appearances. Designers and retailers also work with stylists improve marketing campaigns, lookbooks, curate collections, creating visual displays and to even enhance the overall shopping experience. Working with brides to help them with their wedding dress, accessories and styling of the event is very popular industry for stylists. This is also something I was able to experience fully during last trimester, looking for potential materials and using them to recreate something new for my project was something I thoroughly enjoyed, also having the chance to restyle the garment in a different way was where I was able to be creative and expressive in some way of what I feel needs adapting in which I’m staying on brand with my message and brand of appreciation of the black community.
Management is a wide sector withing the fashion industry, you could be brand management, which is developing and maintaining the brands image, retail management which would involve overseeing all things within your store e.g. layout, customer service, KPI’s and the shopping experience itself. There is also, supply chain management making sure the production of the garments and accessories is efficient, cost effective and timely. I feel this would be a good role for me, I have been given the chance in past trimester projects where I have been asked to manage a group and take the lead in problem solving and further developments and have discovered this is something I enjoy, I feel naturally like I’m able to confidently keep the group on task and produce materials to high standards and pride myself on this. Being part of project management for launch night will allow me to further display my skills in this and develop if this is something I want to pursue within a future setting.
FASHION DESIGNER
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
MERCHANDISING
PUBLIC RELATIONS
TREND FORECASTER
PRODUCT DEVELOPER
ILLUSTRATOR
ART DIRECTIOR
FASHION BUYER
After researching and exploring avenues within these roles, I have concluded that in this current time I would lean more into roles like, styling as this is something I have been fortunate to experience within the past few projects as university and learning more into colour analysis, silhouettes, what it means to be apart of certain tribes and in more visual terms of flay lays and croquis are all things I have found a fond like for and could definitely find more time for. Management is something I have enjoyed withing the last project Brand me and continue to enjoy within being apart of project management in organising launch night and aiming to make it stand out to all before us, leaving a positive and successful legacy for those after us. Being a fashion communicator and continuing my brand and my message is something important to me and something that I am enjoying in finding a method that is loud but also smooth within storytelling. Further developing my digital skills withing the adobe suit is also something I’m enjoying and would consider taking up in the future and continue to work on currently.
MY MESSAGE
From the deep dive into what makes me who I am and continuing to thinking about building my brand it’s clear to me there are certain things I want to take forward which are pursuing my cultural message as this is something I am passionate about and wanted to take forward from my last project Brand me. Experiencing racism first hand this is something I take seriously, and I think if I can push that narrative and communicate my story and message within the fashion industry professionally and correctly that it will help the younger generation of the black community feel valued and continue to push the negative stereotype that’s associated with people of colour. My message is that everyone should be treated equally, paid equally and valued equally no matter the colour of their skin, instead of preaching not to be racist you should be anti-racist and not associating yourself with such small, minded people. No one but people of colour know the feelings of being racially abused which are indescribable in which I can use my platform to make a change to that and prevent those who are younger to ever experience such feelings.
CHANEL
CHANEL
CHANELS STORY
Gabrielle Chanel was born on August 19th, 1883, in France, she soon gained the nickname CoCo. She was known to be an orphan and discovery and travel helped shape her personality and help pursue her aim of pushing the fashion boundaries. She opened a hat boutique under the name Chanel Modes in 1910, they gained attracted when famous actresses wore her hats. In 1913 she expanded to selling sportwear made from jersey material while also opening more stores. In 1915 she opened her first Haute Couture house employing over 300 staff and starts curating her first Haute Couture collection. 1921 was the year the famous N5 was born and a year later the N22 perfume launches. Then came a makeup collection and skincare, in 1928 Chanel bought some land between Menton and Monaco and built a villa which she later called La Pausa. She then went to Hollywood to design some costumes for actresses featuring in movies like Tonight or Never (1931) and the greens had a word for them (1932). After the World War 2 had ended she made the decision to close one of her Haute Couture stores but later in 1954 reopens the store with a fashion show. 1955 the year she created the famous quilted bag now called the 2.55. In 1971 Chanel died on the 10th of Jan
CHANEL HAUTE COUTURE
A Haute Couture jacket is known to take over 1000 hours long to make as every step is completed by hand. The story behind the jacket started over 60 years ago when Gabrielle was on a mission to change women’s fashion which then led to creating a suit desired to be worn morning, noon and night. The process of atelier Chanel are known to take is that it starts with a sketch, then the aim is to bring the sketch to life, then incorporating pattern or embroidery and then making the cut choosing the fabrics and colours. It is known everything is produced by hand and made to measure the specific client. It is apparent only jewellery buttons are used for Haute Couture non with imprinted logos on. A dress price can range from £9000£12650 to over £100,000 depending on the garment and the time to make it and the materials used.
Chanel’s target audience is known to be someone with high disposable income, them who value luxury, exclusivity and timeless fashion. There demographic seeks a blend of classic elegance and modern style this age range can go from 18 years old to 50 years old.
Chanel’s unique selling point is that they are known for producing timeless yet comfortable, ready-to-wear fashion which is also known as Pret-a-porter which is of high quality with an aura of elegance and classic style. Also holding titles for being a member of the Haute Couture club with everything being hand made to measure your also able to achieve that exclusivity feeling.
UNIQUE SELLING POINT
Guccio Gucci founded Gucci back in 1921 in Florence Italy. Guccio worked as a bell boy at the Savoy hotel in London which is where he became infatuated with luxury luggage. When he returned to Italy, he started working for a brand called Franzi where he gained his skills on working with leather goods. He then went on to open his first store selling leather goods and luggage. After World War II there was a shortage of leather, so they resorted to experimenting with different materials, it was in this time they were importing bamboo from Japan for the iconic bamboo handled bag. It wasn’t until 1969 that the double GG logo came about and today Gucci operates over 500 stores worldwide. It is now also known as one of the leading luxury brands celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship and innovation. I consider Gucci to be a competitor of Chanel because they are both luxury brands who started just 11 years after Chanel with a similar target audience.
Guccio Gucci founded Gucci in 1921 in Florence Itsly. Guccio worked as a bellboy at the Savoy Hotel London where he became infactuated with luxury luggage. When he retunred to Italy he started working for a brand called Franzi where he gained skills on working with leather goods. He then went on to open his first store selling leather goods and luggage. After World War II there was a shortage of leather so they resorted to trying different materials, it was this time they were importing bamboo from Japan for the iconic bamnoo handled bag. It wasn’t till the 1969s that the double GG logo came about, and today operates over 500 stores worldwide. Gucci is now one of the leading luxury brands celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship and innovation. I consider Gucci to be a competitor to Chanel because they are both luxury brands, who started just 11 years after Chanel with a similar target audience.
January 21st, 1905 was the birthdate of Christan Dior.
In 1928 Christian opened an art gallery with his friend. 1935 was the year he started selling his illustrations. It was in the 1940s he got called out to serve in the army. In 1946 he opened his first couture house with the following year launching his first collection and perfumes. It was 1957 when Christian Dior dies on October 24th. Obeying his wishes which were for Yves Saint Laurent to become the new creative director of CD, which he did the following year. With his first collection launching that year and paying respects to Christian by instilling youth, simplicity and naturalness for the aesthetic, he was only there for two years before moving on. Marc Bohan became the new creative director in 1960.
Prada was founded by Mario Prada in 1913 in Milan. In 1919 the brand gained a lot of attention when being awarded the title of Official Supplier of the Italian Royal Family, this is also how they got their logo. Mario had a strong opinion about how the workplace was no place for a woman but when he wanted to pass the business down, he soon realised his son had no interest in Prada which is when he left it to his daughter Luisa Prada Muicca Prada’s mother. In 1975 Miuccia Prada joined the family business and takes the role of head of accessories design. It wasn’t until 1979 they launched their first shoe collection, 1988 was the year of their first fall/winter collection then 1993 the first ready-to-wear and footwear for men were available
The only collaborations Chanel has released was with Pharrell Williams in 2019 and the Formula 1 t-shirt collection in 2023. Whereas the others have been more on the ambassador partnership basis including people like Timothee Chalamet, Blake Lively, Margot Robbie, Willow Smith and more.
