Branding By Fashion
What you wear in the public eye has as much power to create a personal brand as what you say. The way your target audience perceives you will decide if they remember you or not. The way you wear your hat, the style of your shoes or even the color of your clothing has as much to say about you as an individual as your DNA. If they remember what you were wearing, they will almost always remember you.
Fashion is a social study, so to speak. It is the stethoscope on the heartbeat of an era. What people wear gives you an idea of what time they are from. If I say pantaloons and powdered wigs for men, what time frame does that take you to? What about black clothing with pseudo-religious overtones and black makeup? What about bell-bottomed pants? You could have two time frames there, but you know what they are. Now let’s talk about famous individuals and their branding clothing.
The most prolific person to make fashion her personal brand would have to be Madonna.
In her long career she has set the pace for what young women wear. When her name is mentioned, your mind can shoot back to the numerous outfits and styles she has worn. Like when she first came out the almost tattered, multi layered look with wild hair or the conical bras or even her capris pants and halter look. You don’t even have to know what she sings to know Madonna.
There are others if I mention a name you can remember what they wear; Marilyn Manson, Andy Warhol, Boy George, P Diddy, 50 Cent, Eminem, Elton John, Stephen Tyler. These people you can see in your mind because they have made what they wear their brand, and some have even branded what they wear. If you notice as well, music and fashion walk the same road. Run-DMC made all black with white Adidas sneakers a hip hop phase in the 80’s. If you follow hip-hop music now, it is a looser fit of clothing, more relaxed and with lots of jewelery. Snoop Dogg, Nelly and Fabulous are all examples of this and have turned what they wear into their own personal brand and clothing line.
More on branding by fashion soon.
