DESIGN PUBLICATION - Content
- What makes a successful brand?
- Brand personalitys?
- Importance of interviews?
- Selecting the most relevant information.
Design Quotes -
Brand Quotes -
Interviews primary:
Topshop
Buyer – Interview
How do you work out your market?
As the high streets leading
fashion retailer, we need to have a strong brand identity but we also need to
move with the times and make sure we’re constantly educating & inspiring
our customer base whilst enticing new customers. This involves ensuring there’s
a constant offer for the ‘loyal’ customer as well as making sure we’re
competitive with what’s going on with the rest of the high street as new
competitors are popping up more frequently than ever.
How do you understand the consumer and who your
buying for?
We develop trends each season
that are focused around the Catwalk shows/street style/blog inspiration etc,
whilst looking at department history to build a strategy to ensure we’re identifying
opportunities to help us decipher exactly what our customer base wants across
the UK & Internationally.
Does the consumer inspire you to choose the things
you buy?
Yes they do in terms of
department history. However it is vital that being the ‘high streets leading
fashion retailer’ we continue to inspire our customer and give them the
confidence to express themselves & explore the constant, exciting new
things happening with fashion.
Do you think that the style of clothing reflects
the brand?
Yes definitely. We provide a
varied range, from festival dressing to Premium suiting & that is
reflective of the brand. We are constantly elevating ourselves and that is
shown through the product & how we represent ourselves through marketing
campaigns etc, most recently collaborating with Cara Delavigne.
What influence does a Topshop buyer have on how the
brand develops and changes?
Buyers have a huge influence.
The buying side identifying what the commercial ‘key drivers’ are and also work
very closely with design to develop the seasonal trends.
Paul Luke Topman Designer:
How do Topshop and Topman work out there market?
I don’t work with the marketing team directly they
have somebody called a market analyst and they will do lots of trend
forecasting trend interpretations looking at influences and some how filtering
that information into a what’s called a high street level. Because obviously
what we see on a Milan catwalk is couture and wouldn’t really be salable in a
London or Leeds high street so that’s where our market analyst come into play.
How do you understand the consumer and who your
designing for?
Me personally I am totally in sync with who I am
branding for and I think that is very important and the second I don’t feel in
touch with the top man and customer then I’ve got to step out of it then I
would have to move on to move on to another brand where I am walking in there
shoes I like to practice what I preach I used to work for H&M the same
thing for H&M branding, graphics visual merchandising I kind of felt that I
outlived my H&M connection so that’s why I started working with arcadia. So
I think it’s very important that you understand your consumer because that’s
the only way that you can truly know who there appealed by.
Does the consumer inspire you to design the things
you do?
Very much. it’s a tricky
one because you cant be to influenced by them because you’ve got to dictate
they go. So its kind of having respect but not being totally influenced because
the consumer is looking to us for something new. We do have a loyal customer, a
loyal brand follower and with all due respect whatever we put in the store they
will trust us that that is the trend , that is what.. to some extent should be
wearing.
Do you think that the style of clothing reflects
the brand?
Yeah, or the brand reflects the style of the
clothing yeah, they go hand in hand its like wearing the correct shoes with a
suit if your wearing doc martens with a suit is it because your trousers are a
particular length or tailored to a particular cut. They really need to
compliment each other. As I mentioned there’s so much care and attention goes
into the branding elements I have a certain font I have to use or a certain
colour palette that I am told to use. There isn’t too much creative freedom it’s
more farness then I execute that concept.
What influence does a Topman designer have on how
the brand develops and changes?
Not much you would be surprised its not as
creatively free as you might imagen I’ve worked with daddies for four and half
years and the brand guidelines were absolutely stifling to the point where if
it wasn’t 77% CYAN and 2% magenta and a future font in the exact position where
they want it, you weren’t doing your job right. Topman is a little bit freer.
But there are still very strict brand perimeters that designers have to abide
by.
How
do Topshop and Topman differ from other high street brands?
I
don’t think we differ much if I am being honest, remember this is my job and I
do look at the high street as a book and Topman is just one page in there. I
don’t think were doing anything - we try to, and people might be fooled to
think there a little bit cutting edge but you know dover street market Come des Garçons their cutting edge.
With all due respect the average shop probably wont
know these brands, so they will look at Topshop/Topman and think there a little
bit cooler and more contemporary than Primark or than H&M so it’s a bit of
a mind game. In my opinion I don’t think we differ too much from Urban
Outfitters or Zara for that matter; But our brand concept is that we are different
so I think we get away with it.
Do
you personally think that the branding for Topman as a whole makes the brand
more successful?
Yes
& No I don’t think we take to many risks we always commercially safe. Again
referring to the previous question it’s a bit of visual trick that to the high
street were seen to be quite cutting edge but to some extent it’s a filtered
version of what contemporary Avant garde designers are doing on a much more
assessable level so. I think the branding does make us successful each season
is exciting and we do come out with something visually stimulating so yes and
no. Yes because we keep on top of current trends and no because we are a
saturated version of more contemporary avant garde brands and labels.
Zara
How does Zara work out there market?
Zara has established itself as a fashion fashion high street brand that can get clothing from design to store in as little as 6 weeks. Quicker than most retailers. So I suppose their business is directed at a fashion conscious customer primarily. They don't really do market research as such and they don't do printed advertising. I guess people just know what Zara is and the customer comes to them. They're confident they provide a range of clothing from basics at cheap price points to more extreme fashion styles that attract a broad customer base. Price is key to their success. Generally people will buy if it's cheap, the customer is very price aware.
How do you understand the consumer and who you are designing for ?
Zara retails in the majority of the countries worldwide and each country will get the majority of the range. Zara has a team of commercial managers responsible for each of the countries they sell to. They will produce styles that are country specific ie fur boots for Russia as it's colder. We didn't design with a customer in mind generally. It's all about getting the trends from the catwalk into store quick and at a good price.
Who and what inspires Zara's brand as a whole?
The catwalk. It's all about the designer trends from Burberry to Prada. They do a lot of blog research and research trips to different countries.
Does the consumer inspire you to design the things you do?
Yes in some ways as we get figures every week saying which styles are selling well. Generally though it's about what's new, the stock turnaround is fast.
Do you think that the style of clothing reflects the brand?
I think Zara has created its own brand identity over the years as it has evolved. The style of clothing is very european, and it doesn't always appeal to the UK customer. People know Zara as a Spanish brand, so I think the clothing reflects the brand well.
What influence does a Zara designer have on how the brand develops and changes? ??
The designers create the ranges so in terms of developing, it doesn't happen without the designer. It's the start of the cycle. We change the development of the brand by being aware of trends and customer buying attitudes. A top selling style can sell over 100,000 pairs a season, so there is big money to be made from good designs.
How does Zara differ from other high street brands?
It's fast. Very fast. They react to trend very quickly. They get it in store as soon as possible. They have more seasonal drops into store than the other retailers. They have a very strong supply chain and make garments up in house. The shoes are made in Spain mainly before they are copied in factories such as China and India so the speed of development is quick.
Do you personally think that the branding for Zara as a whole makes the brand more successful?
I think the stores and the website look strong, which are the two main sources where the company brands itself to the customer. The website is sleek and the products looks very high end. The stores replicate high end designer stores with the finishings. The product looks expensive, but of course it is relatively cheap.
http://zarafashion2013.wix.com/zara#!brand-position/c1q1p
Interviews secondary:
Victoria Beckam
Victoria Beckam Interivew - Standard.co.uk
Victoria Beckam - Interview ,
Standard.co.uk
When we meet she is padding around barefoot across the top floor of her new Dover Street boutique, wearing a crisp white shirt and a pair of black trousers that graze her ankles. Incidentally, so am I.
“A lot of attention has gone into making things look really quite minimal because that’s my taste,” she says before pausing to look out over Dover Street and the achingly cool Dover Street Market — “one of my favourite stores in the world”, she says with a childlike sense of pride.
We’re meeting to discuss this, her very first stand-alone store, a 6000 sq ft retail outfit designed by Iranian architect Farshid Moussavi. Set over three floors, the space features cutaway glass flooring — designed to allow customers a 360-degree view — as well as mobile metal hanging chains, created in coordination with Beckham’s handbag line, and an impressive poured-concrete stairway. It strikes me as more of a fashion amphitheatre than a shop.
Set to open today without any of the pomp and ceremony one might expect from the Beckham media circus, it seems both perfectly suited to its Mayfair location but also unlike anything else in the capital. “I’m not trying to be like anyone else,” says Beckham. “I want people to come in here and feel like it’s me. I’ve only ever tried to be me.”
Creating something conceptual but also welcoming was a must for Beckham who, I sense, has poured her heart and soul into this place. “We’ve put a lot of time and effort into making sure things are perfect. I put myself in the customer’s shoes, I know what it’s like to go shopping.” It is for this reason that the fitting rooms have been created on a large scale — “when I shop I’ve always got at least one child with me, so with my fitting rooms I wanted to make sure there’s somewhere to put your shopping, somewhere to put your child,” she says.
Beckham has paid special attention to the store’s customer service offering — so much so that she has hand-picked all the sales assistants herself. “I want women to come in here for the experience. This is fashion. It should be fun.”
For Beckham, who has an acute understanding of the power of celebrity, the shop is also about allowing her fans a further insight into her world. “It’s my way of saying thank you — and not just to fashion people but to the public who have come on this journey with me,” she says.
But why here in London? While Beckham’s studio is in Battersea, she launched her label in the US and continues to occupy an important slot on the New York Fashion Week schedule. “I’m proud to be British,” says Beckham, starting a spiel I fear she has been forced to give many times before. “I was brought up here, my family is here, my friends are here, my kids go to fantastic schools here ...
“I respect anyone who works hard who has a family. There are so many of us out there, working hard for what we believe in,” she says.And is it those women she wants to dress? “From the very start, what mattered to me was that I created a brand that was believable,” says Beckham. “It has always been about the clothes I want to wear. I want to make a woman feel like the best version of herself, whoever she is.”
It is this autobiographical approach that serves as a huge draw to customers of the Beckham label, which has developed to include much more than the signature corset dresses she launched with. “I still love those dresses but I’ve evolved, I’ve moved on.”I wonder if this is because Beckham has won over the fashion naysayers who laughed in her face when she set out her stall as a designer? “I’ve definitely loosened the way I dress,” she says. “That could be because I work a lot and go out a lot less but it’s also because I’m older and more confident. I don’t have anything to prove.”
It is this quiet air of confidence that makes Beckham the fashion maven such a likeable figure. That and the fact that she has achieved what everyone said she wouldn’t.“I probably don’t stop to think about it as much as I should but I am very proud of myself,” she says. “But then I’m always looking to the next thing. I’ll always want to better myself.”
Acne Studios
http://lacontemporary.org/acnemikaelschiller/
Acne Studios was founded in 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the creative collective ACNE that focused on graphic design, film, production and advertising. The name ACNE stands for "Ambition to Create Novel Expressions". In 1997, cofounder Jonny Johansson created one hundred pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching and gave them away to friends and family. Wallpaper and Vogue Paris quickly picked up on the popularity of the jeans and Acne Studios rapidly expanded their fashion offering outside of denim. In 2006, Acne Studios became a standalone company and separated from Acne Film, Acne Advertising and Acne Digital, at the same time launching their ecommerce website acnestudios.com
Imagery -
But why here in London? While Beckham’s studio is in Battersea, she launched her label in the US and continues to occupy an important slot on the New York Fashion Week schedule. “I’m proud to be British,” says Beckham, starting a spiel I fear she has been forced to give many times before. “I was brought up here, my family is here, my friends are here, my kids go to fantastic schools here ...
“I respect anyone who works hard who has a family. There are so many of us out there, working hard for what we believe in,” she says.And is it those women she wants to dress? “From the very start, what mattered to me was that I created a brand that was believable,” says Beckham. “It has always been about the clothes I want to wear. I want to make a woman feel like the best version of herself, whoever she is.”
It is this autobiographical approach that serves as a huge draw to customers of the Beckham label, which has developed to include much more than the signature corset dresses she launched with. “I still love those dresses but I’ve evolved, I’ve moved on.”I wonder if this is because Beckham has won over the fashion naysayers who laughed in her face when she set out her stall as a designer? “I’ve definitely loosened the way I dress,” she says. “That could be because I work a lot and go out a lot less but it’s also because I’m older and more confident. I don’t have anything to prove.”
It is this quiet air of confidence that makes Beckham the fashion maven such a likeable figure. That and the fact that she has achieved what everyone said she wouldn’t.“I probably don’t stop to think about it as much as I should but I am very proud of myself,” she says. “But then I’m always looking to the next thing. I’ll always want to better myself.”
http://lacontemporary.org/acnemikaelschiller/
Acne Studios was founded in 1996 in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the creative collective ACNE that focused on graphic design, film, production and advertising. The name ACNE stands for "Ambition to Create Novel Expressions". In 1997, cofounder Jonny Johansson created one hundred pairs of raw denim jeans with red stitching and gave them away to friends and family. Wallpaper and Vogue Paris quickly picked up on the popularity of the jeans and Acne Studios rapidly expanded their fashion offering outside of denim. In 2006, Acne Studios became a standalone company and separated from Acne Film, Acne Advertising and Acne Digital, at the same time launching their ecommerce website acnestudios.com
Imagery -
TOPSHOP.
Acne Studios:
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