Luxury Labels

Looking at existing luxury menswear brands to get a feel for the kind of aestetic that is commonly found within the market. Although the brief explicity states an English style/feel is necessary, I want to also look at how european and overseas brands deliver themselves in order to attract the required audiences.

The word 'Luxury' can have many connotations, mainly expressing a level of quality and expense, but it can also depict a way of life, which is what the 35-50 year old male wants to aspire to. Clean-cut, crisp and elegant are all words found whilst looking at synonyms of the keywords provided on the brief and all can be seen in effect on most of the website/stores I've been looking at, exampled below...



SUNSPEL - UK

SUNSPEL - Established in 1980, pride themselves on their heritage and craftsmanship, and as soon as one enters their online presence it immediately rings Clean-Cut, Fresh and Quality, but above all it really does have an English feel to it. The Crest logo and the illustrated 'traditionally english' male character reinforce the English heritage.

Thinking 'English' could possibly cunduer up more traditional thoughts of red, white and blue - not at all to say that it is over used in any way amongst the English fashion industry, but colour can have a big influence on the tone of voice and overall image of a brand. Black and white with hits of natural colour work so well here, allowing focus on product and quality.



CROMBIE - UK

CROMBIE - are another UK born brand that are even more proud on the heritage side of things, something that seems to be a common occurance within luxury British brands. Established in 1805 they have a long history of making quality clothing, which resounds throughout the website. Another thing I've noticed is the use of serif typefaces within the logos of both brands above, and even more so the use of a crest.

The British are quite renound for our use of crests, with important, wealthy familes having their own crests for hundreds of years as a symbol of the aforementioned. Naturally this has stemmed into our businesses and brands in an attempt to keep the British affiliation.

I like the idea of crest logos, although the brief name itself almost contradicts the use of them; 'The Fashion Brand of the Future', sugesting that it should be resolved in a freshly thought out manor. I shalln't rule them out just yet but I won't be rushing to immitate this style with good reasoning.



PAUL SMITH - UK

PAUL SMITH - is another UK founded brand, grown from a little boutique in Nottingham over 40 years ago. Paul smith is now considerd the pre-eminent British designer, with over 14 stores here and 66 worldwide. Considered the epitome of British Fashion, it's reassuring to see more inviting and playful branding. I've always been a fan of Paul Smiths' identity with the multi-coloured stripes applied to swingtags, perfumes, packaging and so on. It is immidiately identifyable and very reassuring after looking into the two previous brands that have very little in the way of evocative and colourful identities.