Key to Success! Understanding Strategies of Fashion Branding
Fashion is the right industry for those who long to explore their creativity and thrive in a dynamic environment. The Southeast Asia region, including Indonesia, will grow to become the next center for quality fashion. It is due to the public’s interest in fashion as a form of self-expression and the increased purchasing power. Young designers who want to use these opportunities to enter the market should learn fashion branding. It will determine the success of their businesses.
How to Create Branding for a Fashion Company?
Fashion branding refers to all elements that form a fashion brand’s image in the public eye. These elements include visual style (such as logo, brand colors, and signature design), brand mission statement, origin story, and copywriting tone.
Here are strategies to establish sound branding for your fashion company:
- Describe the Brand Simply
Try to define your brand in three words or less. People have a limited attention span, and therefore, a lengthy brand description will fly over their heads. Simplifying your brand in only a few adjectives is a challenging task, though. Brainstorm a list of adjectives with your team, and keep shortening your list until you are left with the best ones.
Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo comes with the “Made for all” slogan. It may look simple, but the slogan perfectly describes the brand’s commitment to diversity. Many of Uniqlo’s clothing are unisex, allowing people from all genders to wear them comfortably.
- Focus on Storytelling
As mentioned, fashion is an external expression of one’s internal state and core values. People will sympathize with fashion brands that reflect their values and personality. In fashion branding, the brand should package its values and missions into a sound story that attracts the audience and resonates with them emotionally.
Chanel is one of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world. Its long-standing heritage is supported by good storytelling. The brand incorporates its founder, Coco Chanel, into its story. Coco is well-known for tailoring elegant and wearable garments for women. It inspires women to become more active yet maintain their femininity.
- Present the Brand on Social Media
Today, most of the population (especially the younger ones) are active on social media. This makes it imperative for fashion brands to make themselves present on the platform. There is an advantage of using this branding tactic: it is inexpensive. Social media also allows you to reach the target demographics quickly.
There are various examples of successful social media marketing done by fashion brands. In 2020, fashion house DKNY launched the State of Mind campaign. This fall/winter campaign promoted the brand’s three hoodie models. Coming out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand aimed to amplify the voices of professionals living under mobility restrictions.
- Engage with Influencers
To reach your target market effectively, engaging with influencers is key. Influencers will humanize your brand, provide credibility, improve engagement, and enrich your content strategy. A brand does not have to engage with super-famous influencers. At times, micro-influencers work better because their small communities are more tight-knit.
Calvin Klein is a brand that regularly enlists influencers in its fashion branding efforts. The brand features numerous individuals from diverse backgrounds, such as the #MyCalvins campaign 2016. This campaign highlighted the wearability of Calvin Klein’s undergarments regardless of the wearers’ characteristics.
Key Points in Branding Efforts
Understanding the target audience is important when entering the competitive fashion market. This understanding will help fashion brands tailor products and plan marketing campaigns that suit their target consumers. Profile your potential market based on critical data like gender, age, purchasing power, ideology, and even level of education.
You are selling a tangible product, which is clothes. The branding efforts support your products instead of the other way around. Ensure that you offer the best quality clothes possible by performing quality control regularly.
A good fashion brand also offers something unique to the audience. Find your brand’s key message and showcase it through your product. Check your competitors, too, to prevent producing similar-looking garments.
Becoming a competent fashion designer who understands tailoring and appropriate fashion branding strategies is a process that takes time. BINUS University is ready to engage aspiring designers through its world-class Fashion Design Program. This program aims to prepare students to become entrepreneurs in the fashion industry.
The program offers students opportunities to explore their skills at various facilities, including garment production workrooms and photographic studios. Additionally, students can enter the double-degree program thanks to BINUS University’s collaboration with Northumbria University, Newcastle.
