Do brands matter?

Brands are everywhere. Everything we buy, drink, eat, watch or look at is, in some way, a branded item. Brands are far from equal in almost every sense and there can be stratospheric differences between one brand and the next. From size to quality, intensity to purpose, brands are about as different from one another as we are from giraffes.

Clothes, of course, are all about the brand. Marketing strategies are what make a company successful and when it comes to looking good and dressing well; it’s ALL about the image.

In this post I’ll be looking at how brands have developed, along with how this may have changed our perception of these particular brands and the way we consume them and/or dress with them. I’ll also reiterate the idea that we shouldn’t totally discount brands due to a tiny proportion of their clothing, the associations of the people that wear them or their history.

How Have Brands Developed?

In the last couple of years there has been a huge shift in the way brands are marketed and the way they create their image. Styles and tastes have also changed and a shop’s focus must change with it. As the consumer moves on to something new the brand must follow.

The brash signature pieces from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Jack Wills are seen less and less, whilst other youth-targeted brands like Superdry, Diesel and Armani are taking a much more grown up approach to their collections- ditching the lurid designs plastered on their t-shirts and jumpers in favour of classic, stylish pieces.

Key Transformation: Marks & Spencer

I've also seen a huge change at some of our most well-known high street retailers. Marks & Spencer seem to have turned themselves right around in the past couple of seasons and are now releasing collections that rival some of the most established and respected clothing brands on the market.

Combine this new, more youthful approach to design with the kudos Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who lends as the face of their new womenswear campaigns and you’ve got yourself a serious contender. Shaking off some of the ‘where your mum shops’ images has been crucial to their new found appeal and the development of their product range.

Marks & Spencer have turned around their reputation thanks to the help of Rosie huntington-whiteley And a new, more youthful design ethos.

Forgotten & Budget Brands

At the same time, many forgotten brands have returned to mainstream fashion’s consciousness and regained their position at the forefront of the industry- the likes of Ben Sherman and Dr. Martens immediately spring to mind.

Budget retailers are also on the up, with Next, New Look, Matalan and Primark all pushing strong collections and offering some excellent pieces at a much lower price for consumers on a budget. No longer are we confined to a limited number of stores, there is now a wealth of brands and retailers to shop at, and it looks like things will only get better.
 

 Budget retailers such as Matalan, Primark, Next and New Look have become genuine contenders for our attention.

However, more worryingly is the loss of good brands and changes wrought in previously respected companies, which are now fighting for survival. In the case of Aubin & Wills (which ceased trading at the end of 2012) the issue was a parent company wishing to promote another side of the business.

Yet with other brands there has been a marked reduction in quality, quantity and design; perhaps a symptom of a poor economy and an example of the shift in styles and attitudes towards womenswear that we have seen in the last couple of years.

The brand game has definitely changed. There is a push towards a more mature, classic style across the board, whilst still retaining an appreciation of alternative looks and fashion forward thinking. Think Urban Outfitters advocating streetwear and Topshop continuing to push boundaries in the search for the next big thing.

To use an often overused moniker, the shape of the ‘Topshop Mannequin’ has developed into something completely new- but how does this affect the way we dress?

The Effect On Us

So if brands have changed and styles have changed, then the way we think about, consume and buy into these things must have changed as well.

Trainers are an excellent case in point and show a notable shift in consumer attitude toward brands. I mean, at what point did trainers specifically designed for running become the must-have footwear style for high level fashionistas and well-dressed women over the world?

Where once we might have turned our noses up at the idea of wearing a pair of New Balance 574s, Nike Air Max or Gourmet NFNs, now almost everyone owns them.

Air Max in particular have undergone some kind of wild metamorphosis that has seen people completely ignore the fact that they are wearing the same trainers as everyone else, including some rather unfavourable sub-cultures, whilst the sheer number of colour ways and special editions being released shows just how much brands like Nike are altering their product to suit the current market- at the expense of pushing some iconic designs as far away as possible from their roots.


Recent iterations of Nike’s iconic Air Max 1 silhouette HAS left it almost unidentifiable


With the mainstream fashionable image continually evolving, brands will inevitably fall in and out of vogue. Places like Urban Outfitters, previously populated by hipsters and those looking for alternative items, are now being frequented by people more usually associated with Topman and River Island. AllSaints seems to be dropping off the radar, snap backs are in and the sports trainer is big.

As some stick to the high street, others will begin to look elsewhere for new and emerging brands that they can call their own. There has also been a huge shift towards quality and an emphasis on fit and finish- people want to spend more on their clothes to look good.

Looking Past The Brand

I would like to highlight the importance of not discarding a brand just because you don’t like it or it doesn’t fit your unique style. Every brand has its purpose and its intended market and I think we are often guilty of believing every single brand should cater specifically to our own personal needs.

Furthermore, your opinion on a particular brand shouldn’t be influenced by the people that wear it or the occasional mistakes they make. For example, consider the stigma attached to Burberry during the early to mid 2000s after the media linked a small minority of football yobs with the brand’s signature check pattern.

Fast-forward to today and Burberry are considered by the entire industry as one of Britain’s finest fashion exports. They are always one of the most anticipated shows at global fashion weeks, models/celebrities clamour to be part of their ad campaigns and the signature Burberry check is now considered a status symbol, rather than a mark of the unfashionable. What’s worse is that in terms of quality, nothing has changed. The brand simply clamped down on the replica/knock-off market, repositioned itself and altered public perception with the help of the genius that is Christopher Bailey.

With all this in mind, how you wear your clothes is much more important than what you wear. Companies will have a signature style that epitomises their desired image far more than their branding, so we should all try to look past the logos and stereotypes and open ourselves up to the possibility of trying labels we may have previously dismissed instantly.

Final Word

Brands are an unavoidable part of our lives; they are everywhere and in everything. Many household names have undergone huge changes in the past couple of years and transformed themselves into real contenders for our attention.

But now it’s time for you to weigh in on the debate:

·         How do you think our high street brands have developed in the past couple of years?

·         Do you think all the changes have been good?

·         How do you think they have affected the way we shop and dress?

·         Do you purposely avoid any brands?

Leave your comments below!