Branding

At CIFF’s Nordic showcase during Milan’s menswear week, BoF moderated a panel with CDLP co-founder Andreas Palm, Celine Aagaard of Envelope 1976 and Adnym’s Frippe Persson, discussing the growing opportunity for independent brands as sentiment shifts towards more nuanced self-expression among younger consumers.

The brands that generate the most engagement from their followings do so by leaning into cultural moments and subverting norms around typical fashion content, according to the latest reading from The BoF Brand Magic Index, powered by Quilt.AI.

BoF Insights and Quilt.AI co-created The BoF Brand Magic Index to quantitatively analyse the brand-customer relationship. Using AI-driven analysis of tens of thousands of social media posts, the Index ranks fashion and luxury’s 50 most powerful brands based on the clarity of their identity and their relevance in culture between October 2023 and March 2024.

The brand, which celebrates its 65th anniversary this year, is introducing a new logo as part of a larger refresh in a bid to push the brand into the future.

Practitioners of this historically behind-the-scenes profession are building powerful followings, riding a wave of interest in how the fashion sausage is made. But even the highest-profile PRs caution that the client still has to comes first.

Join us for a BoF Professional Masterclass that explores the topic in our latest Case Study, “How to Create Cultural Moments on Any Budget.”

When done effectively, a cultural partnership can rightfully earn its own place in the zeitgeist. But it’s not so easy as just hiring a celebrity to star in an ad campaign; brands must choose a partner that makes sense, find the format that fits best and amplify that message to consumers.

BoF and Ekimetrics brought together CMOs, CBOs and leaders from the New York fashion industry to discuss the shift from performance to brand marketing. Executives from Gucci, Givenchy, Versace, Estée Lauder, Victoria Beckham Beauty, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus Group, Ganni, Artizia, Anine Bing and Vestiaire Collective shared their insights.

Both brands are leaning on high-profile advertising campaigns to refresh their image. We’ll find out this week whether that’s translating into increased sales.

What does it take to be fashion’s favourite public relations guy? The man who weaves stories for the likes of Saint Laurent and Schiaparelli has become a story himself.

In the year of both Barbiecore and quiet luxury, brands balanced leaning into social media-fuelled phenonema while refocusing on the power of their own brands.

The State of Fashion 2024 explores the potentially elevated role that brand marketing will play as competition for consumer attention and loyalty intensifies across the fashion industry.