Research File: Flipped Research

RESEARCH FILE: FLIPPED RESEARCH

Lauren Barnes Fashion Brand Management AD6606 1819758

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

DAPPER DAN The racist belief that black people devalue luxury brands is gradually changing. The rapper Nicki Minaj launched a capsule line with Fendi last year; and after years of ignoring him, Gucci employed the rapper Gucci Mane to front a campaign. But fashion’s problem with race remains, as recent scandals can show. In 2018, a display of tchotchkes in the windows of a New York Prada boutique included one that looked like a Golliwog. When Gucci was forced to withdraw a balaclava polo neck jumper from its shops in 2019, after it was said to resemble blackface, Day summoned the company’s president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri, for a meeting in Harlem to hold the brand accountable. Luxury labels, he says, want fast access to black culture, often without truly trying to understand the meaning or history behind it (Adegoke, 2021).

Dapper Dan’s pieces weren’t knockoffs, they were unique pieces in their own right leading to the coining of the term “knockups” to describe the quality and originality of his designs. Their influence was also drawn from far beyond hip-hop and logo-mania (Gestalten, 2018).

Dapper Dan is the “original trickle-down concept” took Gucci and put it in a cheaper format and made it affordable, so it was more readily available for his clients. Dapper Dan took Louis and Gucci to a new group of people.

VIRTUAL FASHION WEEKHELSINKI FASHION WEEK “Fashion wants tradition, but brands must appeal to a new consumer” While the technology is still nascent, the formats were a chance for designers and technologists to demonstrate the potential appeal of digital and virtual formats. “The fashion industry, for as creative as it is, is a creature of habit. These brands were caught very off guard even though everyone was saying the fashion shows were no longer working,” says Robert Burke, founder and CEO of retail and fashion consultancy Robert Burke Associates, whose clients include Marc Jacobs, Chloe and Nordstrom. Still, he says that brands are eager to learn from creatives who have the agility and tech know-how to take more risks.

Digital concepts, while they may feel foreign now, serve new customers, Hernandez says, and tech’s tradition of incremental updates allows ideas to advance faster. She encourages fashion to adopt that approach (Vogue Business , 2020).

BBC- IS VINTAGE THE NEW LUXURY MARKET? “For Gen Z, upcycled, reclaimed fashion is opening up a new sense of individuality and self-expression, while helping to save the planet” (Jacobs, 2020).

Vintage is making a resurgence, and is now a lifestyle rather than just a trend “If you're Gen Z and consuming fashion, you're probably at the youngest 12, at the oldest 23. There's an issue there with access to cash or credit or finance. A lot of these rental systems are set up on a rolling card payment,” Raymond says. Young people are increasingly interested in customising, upcycling and reconstructing clothes amid Covid-19, as shown by a spike in upcycling, resale and increased consumption of DIY clothing supplies. “Young people want that freshness. You can buy things, make them unique, then sell them on again without the impact on the environment; without throwing it away in the way fast fashion brands promote.”

DIY fashion isn’t out of brands’ hands — they can inspire product launches that appeal to young people. Brands like Dickies and Caterpillar are working with young creatives to customise newly launched products. This can reach new audiences on platforms like Depop and make items more appealing to young shoppers who want unique and customisable clothes. (Maguire, 2020).

IMAGE REFERENCES All images created by me

REFERENCES Adegoke, Y. (2021, January 14). The Guardian . Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/14/i-came-up-a-blackstaircase-how-dapper-dan-went-from-fashion-industry-pariah-to-gucci-god Jacobs, B. (2020, November 17). BBC. Retrieved from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201113-why-gen-z-and-millennials-go-wild-for-vintage-clothes MCDOWELL, M. (2020, August 4). Vogue Business . Retrieved from Vogue Business : https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/heres-what-an-inspiring-digital-fashion-week-looks-like