Vivienne Westwood Brand Report

Vivienne Westwood

Brand Report Katie Harget 100437662

The Start

Born as a ‘war baby’ on the 8th April 1941 in the town of Tintwistle, Vivienne was the oldest of 3 children to her parents Gordon and Dora Swire.

Vivienne did not like to be out of the spot light and after the arrival of her sister and later,

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her brother, she ‘decided she wanted to be grown up as soon as possible”.

Growing up in “spine of hills which divides the North of England” where the “woollen mill industry was established” and where the “cotton industry flourished”

Vivienne was able to form a relationship with the “qualities of traditional English textiles”. The appreciation of handmade fabrics such as “starched cottons, worsted pinstripes, fine

gauge knits, satin smooth gabardines and hairy tweeds” later became Vivienne’s signature uses.

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Meeting Malcolm

Growing up in the late 1960s, the hippie movement was still dominating the fashion trend of London; however, this form of expressionism did not inspire Vivienne Westwood and during this time, she met Malcolm McLaren. They seemed to be more interested in rebellion of the 1950s clothing, music and political agendas and in 1958, Malcom thrived upon the

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influence of the mod’s tailoring era and attended evening classes at St Martin’s College of Arts followed by the Harrow Art School where he met Vivienne’s brother Gordon.

and would often sell these on a weekend at Portobello market in order to help contribute to her funds whilst studying.

lead to helping her distinguish herself as a designer.

She then started creating ‘Teddy Boy Clothes’ and in 1971 they opened Let it This was her Rock at 430 first collabBecoming Kings Road oration as a affiliated with which in later designer with Malcom, years rebranded Malcom which Vivienne s then started an 4 times. tarted to create array of her own style of designs which costume jewllery

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The Heritage of The Punk Subculture

Although punks are frequently categorised as having left-wing, revolutionary and progressive views, the punk political ideology covers the entire political spectrum.

Punk related ideologies are mostly concerned with individual freedom and anti-establishment views.

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Common punk viewpoints include individual liberty, non-conformity, anti-collectivism and anti-govern ment with direct action.

‘Seditionaires’, transforming the straps and zips of obscure sexual fetishism into fashion and inspiring a D.I.Y. aesthetic. The media called it ‘Punk Rock’.

In 1976 the The absorption Sex Pistol’s of Punk into the God Save mainstream left the Queen, Westwood managed by disenchanted McLaren, went and in 1980 the to number one shop was and was refitted and refused air renamed time by the ‘Worlds End’ the BBC. Westwood name still in and use today.

Mclaren’s shop reopened as

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Vivienne

Westwood was one of the main spokespeople for the punk fashion movement saying “I was passionate about punk, seeing if one could put a spoke in the system in some way”.

September 2005, Westwood joined forces with the British civil rights group Liberty and launched exclusive limited design t-shirts and baby wear

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bearing the slogan ‘I AM NOT A TERRORIST, please don’t arrest me’. She said she was supporting the campaign and defending a law of unlawful detention.

Dame Vivienne stated on television in 2007 that she had transferred her longstaning support for the Labour Party to the Conservative Party, over the issues of

civil liberties and human rights, still showing her passion for civil rights and freedom of speech.

In April 1989 Westwood appeared on

the cover of Tatler dressed as then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in a suit originally ordered for Thatcher. The cover included the caption

“This woman was once a punk”, and was included in The Guardian’s list of the best ever UK magazine covers.

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Products on Offer

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Although Vivienne is know for her use of political statements within her designs, she is still able to offer a range of exciting new products.

Varying from clothing,

Army’ and accessories, includes jewellery ranges of camo’s footwear and even baby grows, and green on Vivienne is able beige checks, to meet almost taking place of her iconic red any consumers tartan. See her needs. promotion video Her current on VW Youtube. collection, ‘#Don’tGetKilled’ com sports recruits to the ‘Westwood

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Stores

With only ten stores in the UK and the use of concession stores to help achieve the direct to consumer mission, Vivienne Westwood shows just how much a of a niche brand she is.

With the shops only being situated in city centres, she shows that she is an easily accessible brand if you were to

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wish to visit her.

Nottingham is a prime example of this; tucked away inside “Flying Horse

Walk�.

This was a intimate shopping centre with only niche style shops.

This could mean that

stores of her brand. These are normally department stores selling the product on behalf of Westwood to attract a wider audience.

These are seen to be stores such as Selfridges, Whilst having her Debenhems, own stores, House of Vivienne also Fraser who has concessions are all able to a consumerwould have to perhaps use a map to be able to locate the store, again proving just how much of a niche brand she is, where consumers have to know exactly where her shops are instead of stumbling across them.

gain access to older products and are usually sold at a discounted price, making sure that no product is being sat in the warehouse unsold.

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Brand Identity

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One of Westwood’s first immersion into the fashion world began during the punk era, where she dabbled in both men’s and women’s design, specifically in uniforms which combined her forties dressmaking with touches of Saville Row. Westwood was the designer who often let her clothes speak for themselves, as independent designs and as her own statements of culture.

The idea that she uses her clothing as a statement of her own opinion is consistent throughout her time as a designer.

Although this is also a factor as to why she was ridiculed as a designer, it still kept a strong reminder of why she chose to keep a

consistent theme throughout her collections. All of this contributed to Vivienne Westwood’s brand identity.

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The Consume

er

Consumers of Vivienne Westwood are not specific to age, but their sense of style and also morals in which they stand for.

She caters for both male and female consumers as well as children, showcasing a very niche and unique ambience to her collections. If the consumer chooses to

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purchase from Vivienne Westwood as a brand with values, they are standing up for their social, political and also environmental awareness, instead of choosing to be fashion conscious.

Choosing this way of styling and dressing, the consumer is able to make a statement about themselves before having

to explain their beliefs and as a result of this way of thinking, consumers are able to feel a connection with Vivienne as a person due to their shared beliefs.

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Brand Positioning

Due to the chosen price points of her items, Westwood falls into the luxury brand category, often providing ‘collections’ rather than ranges of products in an attempt to create a capsule wardrobe for the consumer.

This often includes a twenty-piece collection shown at prime fashion shows such as

Paris and London.

Although she is Although she is very unique as very unique as a designer and a designer and artist, artist, standing as standing as herself for her herself for her brand, there are brand, there other brand are which operate other brand very which operate similarly to her very in the luxury similarly to her brand market. in the luxury brand market.

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lot harder for a consumer to source than Westwood is.

Relying solely on his use of social communications, Kane offers a membership which flashes up as soon as you enter the website in order for the However, with consumer to only one store in the whole of receive any updates on the the UK and operating on an brand. appointment basis, Kane is a Also holding multiple social media accounts with not much content, Kane Christopher Kane is also known for his use of tailoring and pushing boundaries through his outlandish designs. With price point, he is very much on par with Vivienne Westwood.

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shows uncertainty on where his brand stands, unlike Westwood who only holds one of each different application.

originality.

Here she is able to provide a more relaxed product to what she is used to, therefore having a little bit more fun McCartney only with her offers three UK designs and who she may stores, all in target.

London city centre. Stella is known for her Choosing to operate three use of collaborations separate Instagram often with accounts for Adidas in order to reach a her women’s, men’s and wider audience who children’s wear may not be clothing, Stella aware of her is able to reach brand Stella McCartney is also a big competitor of Vivienne Westwood.

Known for her effortlessly chique style.

all of her target audiences separately with a direct solution to what their needs would be without integrating items which would not be of interest to the consumer.

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Moschino is also another main competitor to Vivienne Westwood.

Unlike Westwood, Moschino offers three franchises to the brand, Moschino, Love Moschino and also Boutique Moschino, all offering different items with different price points, being able to cater to a wider audience. Due to this

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Moschino uses a lot of concession shops to offer their products to anyone who wishes instead of just sticking to a more niche styling of shopping.

However, a lot like Vivienne Westwood, Moschino is known for its use of bold and bright colours acquiring for a more unique taste and look.

Finally, Maison Margiela is another large competitor to Westwood.

Although Margiela has a handful of stores in the UK, they rely heavily on pop up stores in countries such as Tokyo as a way of gaining interest in new potential consumers who may not have originally had access to their brand.

advantage often using a lot of graphics within their posts, Maison Margiela is able to connect with consumers, compensating for their lack of stores and concessions.

Their posts tend to catch the reader’s attention due to the slight displacement of the photos, showing a Using Social media to more edgy style and their full

catering to a slightly younger audience.

This is something which Westwood lacks, possibly due to the age of the brand and the consumer of it, however by taking hints from brands like Margiela, Vivienne Westwood could attract a different clientele.

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The Communicati Mix

ion

Vivienne connects with her consumers in many ways. When searching for her brand on the internet the first thing to come up is her website which showcases her most recent collections, new arrivals of stock and also ‘Vivienne’s world’; a section where she can connect with consumers on a more personal level.

Within this section she

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discusses her ‘story so far’ where she explains all of her most popular collections in depth.

She also addresses ‘Inside Vivienne Westwood’ where a blog is situated, written by Vivienne addressing anything she wishes, ranging from the death of Lemmy from rock band Mötorhead to insights as to

why she created some of the iconic pieces we know today.

Also available on the website is the option to set up and manage a Vivienne Westwood account where you can browse and order any of her available online products and also track all of your previous orders.

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The next form of communication is her use of shops. With only ten stores in the UK and the use of concession stores to help achieve the direct to consumer mission, Vivienne Westwood shows just how much a of a niche brand she is.

With the shops only being situated in city centres, she shows that she is an easily accessible brand if you were to wish to visit her.

Her Nottingham store is a prime example of this; tucked away inside ‘Flying Horse Walk’ it is situated in an intimate

shopping centre with only niche style shops.

This could mean that a consumer would have to perhaps use a map to be able to locate the store, again proving just how much of a niche brand she is.

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Finally, Westwood tends to be fairly active on most social media accounts. She has multiple social media accounts all of which are platforms in which she wishes to connect with her consumer with a more informal feel. She is able to share new releases with her fans instantly or even tease any new items which may be coming soon through a trailer.

She is also able to share which celebrities are enjoying her items, often using paparazzi images to promote herself.

Vivienne uses Instagram the most to connect with her followers, often posting twice a day. She has actually posted the same trailer video numerous times, suggesting a new collection release or maybe something for Christmas, instantly gaining the interest of followers.

including a supermarket trolley as a chair and flash, bright coloured slogans all over an image. She also showcases her own achievements such as anniversaries of stores or new places where her products have been displayed.

This all creates a more personalised feel when looking at the account and almost like the brand is a friend rather Graphics and than something ironic ways of you do not have photographing access to. her designs are displayed through Instagram and through photoshoots

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After which may put analysing off some Vivienne consumers, Westwood as especially a brand, there where her could be some chosen slogans measurements are used. She taken on her could, perhaps, behalf in release a order to keep supporting the brand brand, like relevant in a Moschino has day and age of Boutique and thousands of Love designer brands. Moschino, where she I have noticed could sell that a lot of more products her products on catered to a offer are quite younger adventurous to audience fit a more niche style of branding.

Although this a good way of separating herself from any other brand, this may be seen as too

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who may not be aware of the political debates, she often bases her designs on. This means that she will not lose herself as a brand but enhance it instead.

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Brands such as Off White and Supreme tend to excel highly when collaborating with other brands which they may not usually design for. Stella McCartney is a prime example of this, collaborating with Adidas, as it is able to gain her more recognition with a wider audience which may not have known who she was otherwise.

Vivienne could collaborate with Off White as this brand thrives on creating products which may be quite

controversial, thriving exactly how business that is Vivienne used fashion. to base her designs from.

This would be a perfect collaboration bringing a relatively heritage type of brand and a new brand together in order to access a wider audience and also keep up with the

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Vivienne’s logo has also tended to stay relatively circular throughout the years. Using this more unique shape, Vivienne could change up her packaging to only using circles in her boxes, carrier bags etc‌ as a way of distinguishing herself as a brand.

shops to a circle as well as fixtures and stands inside the shop being displayed as a circle could be seen as the next biggest thing.

Keeping up the consistency of everything becoming circular to in keep with her logo, more consumers who would not have This could also originally been extend outside interested may of her become packaging and enticed with into her shops her brand and layouts almost of her website. seeing Changing her collecting her door and boxes or bags windows of her and visiting stores as a collector’s

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outlook as you do not get these types of branding everywhere.

Finally, Vivienne should take full advantage of her communication channels to consumers. Vivienne touches on this slightly with her use of social media accounts but this is something she could invest more time into.

She does not have a snapchat account which some brands such as Burberry has since created, connecting with consumers on a more personal level, using the fact that the image is deleted after 24 hours to their full advantage. This is something Vivienne could introduce as a way of gaining

interest for new products on offer as a way of cheekily suggesting a product but by also sharing her own opinions as to why she chooses to create the designs she does. We all know Vivienne as a political activist which is where snapchat could help with a friendlier feel and approach to the informality of the app.

Buzz marketing on her social medias could be ground breaking for

the brand where they can endorse a celebrity to be seen in Vivienne Westwood designs over the course of a few months.

Once pictures get out of celebrities wearing certain designers, their fan base will become interested in what the clothing brand is and why their favourite celebrity chooses to wear it, s ubsequently creating a wider audience for Westwood to emerge into.

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