Chanel is one of the most well-known brands in the world with an amazing reputation. Their products range from couture clothing to ready to wear pieces to bags, shoes, accessories, and their huge cosmetics line. Channel’s reputation all started with the founder of the brand Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel who built up her brand and reputation beginning in 1910 through her hard work and innovation – revolutionising fashion as the world knew it. Chanel has maintained its reputation for the past 100 years however, their marketing needs to change to draw in the new generations and reach out to them in order to preserve their iconic brand. Although the brand is still
Image: Chanel No5 campaign 2007
well known, this could change if the brand is unable to keep up with the younger buyers.
From the opening of the first boutique Coco
Chanel worked hard on the brands image and reputation, creating pieces which turned heads and were desirable to women everywhere. In 1910, Chanel opened their hat boutique, creating grounds for the iconic brand which the world knows now. In 1912, Chanel opens their Deauville boutique and in 1913 they began manufacturing and selling their sportswear. Chanel created their sportswear using jersey, a material once used to produce men’s underwear. Fashion and women’s perceptions of their bodies underwent radical change as a result of this strategy. A quick success followed this approach
(1920s, n.d.). In 1952, Marilyn Monroe participated in an interview for life magazine. In this interview when asked what she wears to bed she replied ‘I only wear No 5’, creating an instant link to luxury and desirability (Chanel, n.d.). This interview brought positive attention to the brand and this interview influenced the popularity of the fragrance.
Image: Marilyn Monroe
by Ed Feingersh, March 1955
Throughout the years Chanel have stuck to their branding and marketing strategies which have always worked for them since the beginning. However, over time the world has changed and how people view things have also changed. The largest generation in the world right now Generation Z. Generation Z are known to be the most accepting generation, allowing people to express themselves in the way which they choose to with less criticism from others. Chanel (whether the meant to or not) have built up a clientele of small white women and over the years these are the models they have used to represent their brand and the image they send out to their poten-
tial buyers. This has become an issue for Chanel as people are looking at the brand and only seeing one type of model. People come in different shapes and sizes and this needs to be promoted by all brands to create an inclusive clientele and to allow a community where everybody feels accepted and included. This can lose a brand many buyers as people are unable to see how the brand would look on them and how it is relatable to them. If a shop does not carry your size, why would you buy from there? Chanel creates the impression that they do not have larger sizes and this is perceived by the models used.
Image: Martine Rose
The solution which I think will best suit Chanel is to collaborate with a brand which is more diverse brand. Chanel have never created a menswear collection. They have missed a large market by steering away from menswear. This creates the idealism that men can not buy into Chanel and that they are unable to be a part of the luxurious clientele which Chanel market towards. By doing this, Chanel would hit the whole market instead of the 50% they are currently reaching and selling products to. In the current times, men do not feel as though they have to dress or act ‘manly’ meaning that the clothing they wear does not have to stray away from
Chanel’s iconic pearls and tweed. Streetwear is currently the style which is trending among Generation Z. Collaboration with a streetwear brand would allow Chanel to make their brand more casual while still maintaining their classy look and allow the brand to be more accessible to everyone. The brand which would be a good collaboration with Chanel would be Martine Rose. Martine Rose is a streetwear brand who pride themselves on their diversity and use a wide range of models to showcase their pieces.
Martine Rose is a men’s streetwear brand which prides themselves on their diversity. In 2007, Martine Rose launched her own label in London. Since then, it has changed from being a carefully curated shirting collection to becoming a well-known and highly regarded brand. Her creative creations and dedication to modernity have contributed to the creation of collections that have achieved international popularity while maintaining their underground cult status. Martine has also grown to be one of the most sought-after collaborators and consultants in the industry, and for many years she has continuously affected the direction of modern menswear. Her Jamai-
can-British heritage, as well as her keen interest in and personal involvement in the music and high/low melting pot cultures of London, provide as inspiration for Martine Rose. The company’s core values include family and community; famously, her performances have taken place in venues like the covered markets in Tottenham, a Camden culde-sac, and the arches in Vauxhall. Martine Rose’s distinctive design is influenced by an examination of proportion and silhouette, unexpected textures and fabrications, and fluid allusion to subcultural contexts. Attraction and resistance to the established standards of menswear are in constant tension.
Being a part of a brand partnership gives access to a whole new audience, which is one advantage. The two companies do not need to be in the same industry, but do need to share a comparable target market and brand lifestyle. However, joining forces with another company essentially turns the two brands into a team, which also means each brand have less autonomy and freedom of thought. Different creative concepts could result from not working with the correct brand— one with similar brand perspectives, target audience, and marketing approach. Before brands decide to co-brand, they need to be sure to carefully select their partner and that everyone is on the same page in terms of strategy and creative direction (The Pros and Cons of Brand Collaborations, 2017). Many luxury brands have collaborated with brands in a lower market than themselves and it has been a huge success and the two brands have gained exactly what they wanted from this. For example, Louis Vuitton and Supreme collaborated in 2017 for a menswear collection which included hoodies and small bags. This collaboration was a huge success and created lots of publicity for both brands leading to increased sales for both. Lots of
influential celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Travis Scott were seen out wearing the pieces from the collection leading to people running out to buy the collection which their favourite celebrities were wearing, allowing them to feel a part of the same community as them.
Image: Justin Bieber performs at Hyde Park in London on July 2, 2017.
I think this collaboration will benefit both brands as Chanel will be able to diversify their market and draw in a new clientele who are younger and will keep the reputation of the brand going for the future. Although the collaboration will be a huge risk for Chanel, I believe it is one that is worth taking. Having a collection that is accessible will allow the brand to be bought by many more people and the collaboration itself will revolutionise luxury fashion and how the different market levels can collaborate and meet in the middle to create something which fits both brands and a price point that is affordable for both of the brands target markets. I think this will benefit
Martine Rose as the brand will get more attention and could become bigger from this collaboration. The collaboration will change how luxury brands are viewed and could change the way that all luxury brands create garments and how they advertise this in the future.
After 18 months of strong growth (early 2021 to mid-2022), the fashion sector is once again dealing with difficult conditions. Declining growth rates in the second half of 2022 are already a result of hyperinflation and negatively affected consumer morale. We predict that the downturn will probably last until 2023 (McKinsey, 2022). The Covid pandemic of 2020 changed the fashion market as people were unable to go out and buy new clothing items. Also, people were unable to go out and work meaning that they were not earning the money needed to ‘treat themselves’ to any new items that were not needed. As 2023 continues, the UK have fallen into a cost of living crisis. As the population are struggling to buy food, they will not be buying new items, especially luxury as they are unable to afford this. However, Generation Z are more likely to be able to afford these items. Generation Z are people who are born between 1997 and 2010 and although they may be working, they will have less expenses of the other generations. People in this generation will be working but may be living with their parents or renting as they are only young and will not have a family who they need to provide
for. This means that they are now the market which need to be targeted as they are able to afford to spend more money on non-necessary items.
The Chanel x Martine Rose collaboration will aim to target generation Z and millennials. This is Martine Rose’s current target market and who they sell towards. Chanel’s current target market are older and the people who buy from them are upper class. Throughout the years the class system is slowly becoming obsolete and social class no longer defines who you are as a person or what you mean as a person. Going forward, fashion should be accessible for more people. People who are ‘self made’ are respected for their struggles and how they were able to get to where they are. This makes people everywhere feel like they can be in the same position if
they work hard and push their dreams. However, this has led to a vision of manifestation among generation Z where they want something and play into the vision that if they want something enough, it will come to them. This is positive and negative as hard work is required to achieve anything and people can not just sit and have everything handed to them because they want it.
The collaboration will have their main campaign on Instagram. Although it does not have the most registered accounts of all of the social medias, it is an extremely commonly used platform among generation Z. Facebook has the most registered accounts making it the most used social media of 2023. However, Facebook has been around longer meaning more people created profiles and may no longer use this platform. Facebook has nearly 3 billion people having a Facebook account which is around 37% of the world’s population holding an account. Instagram has around 2 billion users (Lua, 2022) which is less than Facebook but it is used more by the target market of
the collaboration. There has been an increase in Instagram models and influencers over the years. These are people who post to their Instagram accounts to show their followers what they are doing and what they like and persuade their followers that they should like it too. People want to buy into the products that the influencers they follow own to buy into their lifestyle and to be a part of the community which the influencers are and to relate to them more. With this comes a lot of deceit as they can show products that they are paid to promote as better quality than they actually are.
My inspiration behind the collaboration is combining the rave culture of the 90s which inspired Martine Rose and the classic look of pearls that Chanel are known to use. I have created a light hearted collection which is comfortable for everybody and has a unique humility to it. Although the collection leans towards Martine Rose’s style more, I believe that this is the best option for this collaboration and for Chanel to broaden their horizons for the future and create more laid back collections in the future which younger generations will wear and buy.
In conclusion, I believe that this collaboration will be a success and will sell well to generation Z.
I also think that this collaboration will spark conversations between the generations as the older generations who buy from Chanel and who remember where Chanel started will feel nostalgic and will share their stories and experiences with the brand to the younger generations (grandparents, parents and their children).
I think that it will create good attention for both of the brands and will perhaps change how both brands are viewed and perceived going forward. This also opens up many opportunities for both brands and may be able to change the way they
both market and what they create going forward. The collaboration will allow Chanel to reach out to younger customers and continue to see their products and stay relevant in the years to come.
References –
Lua, A. (2022, March 15). 21 Top Social Media Sites to Consider for Your Brand -. Buffer Library. https://buffer.com/library/social-media-sites/#4-instagram-2-billion-maus 1920s. (n.d.). CHANEL. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.chanel.com/gb/about-chanel/ the-history/1920/ Chanel. (n.d.). 1950s. CHANEL. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.chanel.com/gb/aboutchanel/the-history/1950/
Martine ROSE — About. (n.d.). Martine Rose. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://martine-rose. com/about
The Pros and Cons of Brand Collaborations. (2017, April 7). PR over Coffee. https://provercoffee. com/2017/04/07/pros-cons-brand-collaborations/ McKinsey. (2022, November 29). The State of Fashion 2023: Holding onto growth as global clouds gather. McKinsey; McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion