– Does Brand Matter? just rock it

 

Brands are everywhere. Everything you buy, drink, eat, watch or look at is, in some way, a branded item. When you buy the own brand goods from your local supermarket you might well think that you’re sticking two fingers up at that hateful consumerist, marketing machine when in actual fact you are still investing in some kind of brand, it’s just not so well recognised.
It doesn’t matter if you buy your soy milk, chi tea latte with cinnamon on top from Starbucks or your local independent coffee shop – you’re still buying into a brand, and somewhere along the line a marketing executive will have had his sticky little branding paws all over it.
However, this would suggest that all brands are exactly the same – yet nothing could be further from the truth. 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.

The Debate

I first stoked the fires of this debate a couple of years ago. Back then I considered how we associated particular brands with certain types of people; the issue of location was raised and I pushed the idea of looking past the logos and negative associations in the name of making the most of everything a brand had to offer.
This time we’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. We will 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.
With this in mind, it seems the brands the FashionBeans man might have traditionally ignored have begun to drop off the radar. For the most part, the garish branding and big logos that appalled us previously have started to disappear.
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 G-Star are taking a much more grown up approach to their collections – ditching the lurid designs plastered on the back of their jeans and clothes in favour of timeless, classic pieces.

There has been a shift from bold & brash to clean & classic at brands like Superdry (top) and G-Star (bottom) in recent seasons

Key Transformation: Marks & Spencer

We’re also seeing a huge change at some of our most well-known high street retailers. Marks & Spencer 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 David Gandy lends as the face of their menswear campaigns and you’ve got yourself a serious contender. Shaking off some of the ‘where your dad shops’ image 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 David Gandy (top) and a new, more youthful design ethos (bottom)

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 point. 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 (Top Row), Primark (Second Row), Next (Third Row) & New Look (Bottom Row) 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 menswear 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 Topman continuing to push boundaries in the search for the next big thing.