2020.05.30
Designer Brands’ shift from “Aspiration” to “Familiar” Part 1
- Category FASHION
“Young People Don’t Use Money” Designer Brand Revolution
Luxury brands like Hermes and Louis Vuitton have always been something to long for. Items made with a careful and detailed craftsmanship based on skilled techniques and the newest designs are even fun to just see. Designer and luxury brands have been in a time of change these last two or three years. You can see that there are a lot of people wearing these designer brand clothes, particularly fashionistas that post in the style arena, but a lot of people also buy them at vintage and second-hand shops. For this reason, these clothes often do not get bought directly in boutiques. So, the problem for the past few years has been the brand disinterest that comes from young people not spending cash.
By having the techniques and sensitivities that you get from only developing bags and shoes similar to a lot of casual brands, the belief that “I don’t really need to buy expensive things” was born, and now more young people would prefer to spend $100 on two or three items rather than just one. Just by this, it seems a reasonable change that there are more fast fashion and cheap items. In order for designer brands to survive, the time has come for a revolution.
Change in Target Generation Brought About by a Shift in Designers
The first revolution implemented by designer brands wanting to include young people has been a change in designers. In the last two years, many brands have changed designers, producers, and directors. The drama of this shift is serious enough an event to change brands’ images 180 degrees. And if they’re unlucky, they will lose more than just their reputation and value. Many in the fashion industry couldn’t hide their surprise that so many risky shifts are happening. The earliest to act was Louis Vuitton, who appointed someone more in touch with the youth. Luxury brand leader Louis Vuitton changed from designer Kim Jones, who worked for them since 2011, to Virgil Abloh in 2018.
While working in architecture, Virgil gained popularity for his YouTube videos, and is a game-changer from the streets because of his unique entry into the fashion industry. With that challenger attitude, he also interned together with Kanye West at FENDI, after which they both thrived as fashion designers. The CEO of Louis Vuitton valued his awareness of current trends and his work ethic, and since they already knew each other, he reached out to him and hired him. And as Louis Vuitton had never appointed a black person to this role, and because it was an unprecedented move in the fashion industry in general, it garnered a lot of attention from the world.
