YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND!

'Fashion is a factory that manufactures desire.' Bruno Remaury, Fashion Scholar

How many of us today think of Fashion as having its own identity. An identity that creates a persona for us who are obsessed with the thought of having a tinge of it in our lives to help brighten our day. That is why when we aren't in the most gleeful of moods; we tend to consider either chocolate or Retail Therapy. We as consumers are willingly seduced by the concept of owning the newest designer scarf or bag on the rack. Fashion insiders might laugh at the thought of us going weak in the knees when entering a store, but that is the truth.

Fashion in every way has encapsulated us in a web of impulse desire that forces us to consume or experiment every section of it. But in reality who is behind making these designer labels/brands so irresistible. Is it the name tag, the designs that the designer creates, the desire to be up to date with fashion or is there an unseen force behind the rapturous delight that owning a glamorous item creates. Well yes there are various reasons that can be attributed to us falling in love with just the concept of it all, but one major reason behind it is MARKETING or BRANDING.

These thoughts occurred to me while reading a book called Fashion Brands by Mark Turngate. I would like to add that along with being an enigmatic book it was one of the major reasons that sparked my interest in the subject of this blog. The Marketing professionals can be compared to a genie holding a magic wand in their hands that create an ideal world for us. A world where everything put on a hoarding or on that magazine cover is not just about being commercial, but it is desirable. 

There is one name we cannot forget while talking about Fashion Branding and that is Tom Ford. He as a designer not only understood the concept behind it but also executed the strategies that helped improvise on his brand image. Caroline Roitfeld, the Editor of French Vogue was quoted as saying in the book; ' In the history of Fashion, there's definitely a pre-Tom Ford and a post-Tom Ford period. He was one of the first contemporary designers who really understood the power of marketing. He was not a snob about his work- he wanted to sell.'

Designers are quite aware of the nature of Branding and the magic it waves through the Fashion industry. But we wonder at the thought, that is it really all about the branding. Do fashion brands employ a technique that convinces us to part with our money for a transient thrill. Bruno Remaury quoted: 'Traditional marketing is based on need. You take a product that corresponds to an existing demand and attempt to prove that your product is the best in its category. But Fashion is based on creating a need, when in reality, there is none.'

After reading this I fell into a conflict with my mind and heart. If we think practically would this be the actual truth, that Branding is the magical force, or is it in our heart the desire to want something out of our own cravings. What is the craving created by. I'm yet to decide.

But the question I want to ask is, the wish or desire that Branding create, does it help us in any way or is it just about emptying our pockets into a world where nothing is constant, not even identities.

 Ciao

P.S. = Trying to gather my thoughts for now on this one!