Where do you stand on brand?
The chances are that even if you don't consider yourself a Prada Princess, you are a Dyson Diva or a Kellogg's Queen. In fact many of us feel more at home with a trusted brand or label whether it's Louis Vuitton for all our luggage requirements or Heinz for all our baked bean ones. And this is what makes brand so valuable and brand image so important.
Burberry that quintessentially English brand became a victim of its own success when its ubiquitous check design was taken up by youths and yobs. Whether they wore real or fake it was hugely damaging and whilst sales soared the brand was damaged and has taken time and hard work to recover.
Designers of high end labels help the economy, last week London Fashion week bought huge revenue into the city and they push boundaries which is always a good thing.
Whilst most of us can't afford the hefty price tag of an Elie Saab evening gown or a Stella McCartney suit we can buy into their label by purchasing their fragrance ranges and in doing so buying a little bit of '
je ne se qua'. Even now I love entering a department store and taking in that intoxicating smell of perfume en-mass. Leaving a perfume counter, full of images of women I could never be, with a little bag with cord handles (the cord handles are very important)
I'm sure I walk out a little taller, a little thinner, a little bit someone else.
A highly contested market, the likes of Chanel & Dior were amongst the first Haute Couture houses to
establish themselves as a Brand. But would their products be quite so desirable if instead of Keira Knightly and Natalie Portman their products were endorsed by say Vanessa Feltz or Kerry Katona. And why are the expensive and subliminal TV and glossy magazine ad's so surreal, telling you nothing about the product? - It's because to coin a phase, '
they had us at hello'. Whilst we spray and sniff at the perfume counter, generally we've already made up our minds based purely on the product image.
My worry with labels and the 'it's designer' school of thought is that sometimes personal style suffers as a result and we hide behind the brand. Somehow wearing top to
toe anything or buying into a designer or store exclusively seems a bit of a 'cop out'. The most stylish women are those who know their style and mix designer with high street. High street with charity shop finds etc for a more personal look. Some people use the label as justification. I must look good because it's Prada, Top Shop, or whatever your label of choice is.
As a mother of teenagers (I was a child bride) I am concerned at how much emphasis is put on a label. It's a real shame that kids these days use a hoody or T shirt, emblazoned with what is basically their own personal product endorsement, as a confidence enhancement. I always say to my kids the only time you should wear a 3 inch logo across your chest is if you are being paid to.
But then the mist of time rolls back and whilst there wasn't the label pressure of today I remember spraying myself profusely with Cote's Just Musk perfume, or Just Muck as my parents called it. Apparently musk is derived from the anal gland of deer, it's something to do with them attracting a mate. I used to douse myself in it to the extent that
it is a wonder I wasn't dry humped everyday by Donna and Blitzen!
I remember my friend cutting the Fred Perry emblem off her dads old tennis shirt and sewing it onto her plain white polo. My brother first drenched himself in Brut and then quickly climbed the greasy pole of fragrance acceptability with Aramis (which is enjoying a resurgence with a whole new generation of consumer). Indeed it was a wonder that there wasn't some kind of chemical explosion in our house.
However, although I can still look back at those days and can empathise with my children, I still feel it is my parental duty to utter those words '
how much' an a way that conveys both astonishment and indignation in equal measure. It's by way of family tradition. I would, if my understanding was sufficient, convert the cost of say a pair of Vans back into 'old money' despite the irrelevance, just to underpin that tradition.
It's true to say that I don't move in those circles where the latest 'It' bag comes into play, and lets face it the waiting list for a Hermes Birkin or Kelly is as important to the brand as who is seen with one on their arm. But I do rub shoulders with women who are not wearing their black dress they are wearing their Karen Millen etc. So perhaps in that vain we haven't really changed that much from the insecure teenagers we once were.
Now, given I know why and how this whole label culture thing works am I immune? Far from it. If I had the chance I would strut around with my Louis Vuitton bag & Louboutin heels. After all as my daughter always says
'but mom it's designer.'
My Stand on Brand - buy in all you want. Just don't sell yourself short!
