Home Thoughts Is the future of Corporate Fashion, Merchandising?

Is the future of Corporate Fashion, Merchandising?

by Mansour
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Merchandise is Fashion is Merchandise…

I saw the last drop of collaboration between luxury Spanish leather house Loewe and Japanese animation studio Ghibli, centered around « Howl’s moving castle » film. And it kept me wondering: when does a collaboration becomes more than just expensive version of Boxlunch licensed merchandising?

Studio Ghibli “Howl’s moving castle” hammock bag by Loewe.
Studio Ghibli “Howl’s moving castle” bag by Boxlunch.


If we have to paint everything with a very broad brush: « corporate luxury » (LVMH, Kering, Richmond, Prada group, Only The Brave Group, etc) don’t have to sell garments to survive. The whole company is sustained by mainly selling accessories, perfumes, jersey and knits.


Therefore, fashion shows are usually a PR moment to communicate and recruit new customers into buying into their brands. Most of the garments on the fashion show won’t be mass produced. So they focus on making branded t-shirt and sweatshirts, design-wise they are almost a parody: logo or monogram slap on crewnecks and hoodies.
(The extreme example of this highly profitable business model was Pierre Cardin, the grand father of licensed logo everywhere!)

Vêtement Fall Winter 2016-17 – Look 46
Vêtement Fall Winter 2016-17 – “May the bridges I burn light the way” Hoodie

In that context, it was a streak of genius from Demna Gvasalia to be able to show a poly-cotton logo hoodie on a fashion show and then sell it for 1500€. He did openly what other designers had to do discreetly and painfully: make a logo jersey line desirable. Those jersey lines, were not usually shown during fashion shows. But following the success of the tiger sweater from Kenzo, under Opening Ceremony art direction, in 2012, iconic and viral sweatshirts, in addition to it bag, became a requirement for any creative director.

The « North Americanisation » of fashion is noticeable, especially in Europe. As we move more and more towards convenient and casual fashion, thank to the influence of streetwear and a lack of necessity for formal wear for the past 10 years.
Demna wasn’t the first to do it, of course, Ricardo Tisci at Givenchy brilliantly created really desirable and creative sweatshirts and t-shirts, but Demna was the one slapping a 1500€ tag on it and calling it high fashion both at Vêtements and Balenciaga. It is fascinating that it has been shown as « transgressive » and « new ». His lack of regards , or better, will to uphold hierarchy, was refreshing. At the time, a hoodie wouldn’t cost 1500€, but it was shown on a runway in a cellar somewhere in Paris, therefore it must be high fashion, right? There is no intrinsic craftsmanship unique to the brand imbued into it but it has a logo, and is a signifier of my tax brackets, so who cares?

From a design and cost perspective, there is no huge difference between a 90€ and 1500€ printed poly-cotton hoodie, in terms of craftsmanship, material, labor and finishings. The only difference is the profit that the brand makes when selling it. And extremely profitable, it is.
A Balenciaga hoodie is as much the expression of an historical couture house, as a t-shirt represents the full breath of a Beyoncé tour. Beyond being a balant wealth signifier, it is a « souvenir », a proof that you get it and are now part of the « Fan Club ». Like a jersey of your favorite football player. You are, virtually, part of the team when you wear it. And marketing team make sure you feel like it.

Merch vs. Fashion

My partner is a Park Fan and I became a one aswell, by proxy, I spent weekends and trips abroad in Disney Parks: I know good licensed merchandising when I see it. While in Orlando in early 2020, I purchased a shirt with Haunted Mansion pattern designed by Shag, because I love this attraction and it is a way to signal to other that I am part of that group of people who have a favorite attractions.


I have always believed that fashion is a very important non-verbal language: you can broadcast so much about yourself with your clothes and have people with the same understanding of signs and culture bond with you easily.
Which happened every time I wear that shirt, somebody who liked the Haunted Mansion or Phantom Manor complimented me on my shirt, and I feel seen and connected to my fellow humans.

Coach x Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary lunch box bag. Designed by Coach.
Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary lunch box bag. Designed by Disney.


Collaboration between intellectual property holding company like Disney, Bandai, Sanrio, Mattel and fashion houses aren’t anything new. Disney x Givenchy, Sailor Moon x Jimmy Choo, but it is usually relegated to a capsule collection, outside of the regular fashion show, with not a lot of marketing and communication around it.
It is interesting that the collaboration between Loewe x Studio Ghibli, the 3rd one I think, was everywhere! And everybody had a favourite piece. It floated on internet for almost 2 weeks.

It tells a lot of where the culture is right now: while there is still a price distinction between luxury and the rest of the market, the prevalence of geek culture has permeated every levels of the fashion world.

Price and craftsmanship, maybe…


My intuition is, if Boxlunch could sell wares at the same price point as Loewe, prestige and craftsmanship aside, they would come up with accessories and garments that would rival and be as creative and desirable as the one created by Loewe Parisian studio. Because they are more attune to what is desirable for customers / fans. It is sometimes sad to compare Givenchy x Disney collaboration to the Disneyland Park merchandising and realize that the collaboration result is mediocre and lazy.
Does IP have more prestige today than house heritage? Are fantasy stories more relevant when connecting with a brand on an emotional level than its own palpable history?
Are successful luxury houses, classism and exclusion aside, providing, seasons after seasons, just merchandising to their loyal fans?

Givenchy x Disney Collaboration: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Designed by Givenchy.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit long sleeve t-shirt.
Designed by Disney


Don’t get wrong, I ADORE Loewe, I think alongside Hermès, it is one of the few real luxury leather brand. They know their craft and have fun with it. If we discard exclusion, prestige and craftsmanship, what are we left with?
We could see, luxury house DNA just being Intellectual Property nowadays. If we really think about it, they are not really dissimilar: have main characters, a logo, brand colours, house codes, for some a recognisable characteristic, moment where all the fans come together to celebrate their favourites IP, has a bunch of hardcore fans and zealots who knows every collections and lore, trading knowledges and wares on online forums.

Fashion Week as Convention

Fashion weeks could be seen as Conventions where different fandoms meets and celebrate their favourite IP/Fashion Brands.


If luxury brand DNA are similar to IP, and luxury wares to licensed merchandise, we have to think about some customers as cosplayers. Embodiment of fictional characters, that elusive « ideal customer » that every brands has and create their whole business around.
With the development of social media, projecting an idealised self has never been easier.


For some, it became a contest of being the most believable, accurate to that romanticised character that they wish to be. Even if it not the real deal. Dupes of a Balenciaga sweatshirt can be found and purchased, on a whim, during a lunch break, with no afterthoughts but next day delivery. The image broadcasted by this dupe sweatshirt, then, is more important than the sweatshirt itself. It values lies in its immateriality and qualities -even imaginary- attributed to the owner.


However,I am a firm believer in self invention and presentation: masculinity/femininity are illusions and can be performed. So are social status, to some extent, projecting what could be perceived as wealth and success is not that complicated when you know how to perform. Need the correct attitude: emulating a model, an understanding of common references that can be spotted and recognised, in order to fool others: e.i. Anna Delvey. whiteness is a huge factor in that case also, but let’s keep on track.
For every performance, a performer and a targeted audience is required. The condition for any successful performance is to be observed, it only works if seen by others, with a common knowledge and references. Wearing a 15.000€ Bottega Venetta runway leather fringe skirt, is only is impressive if your audience knows what you are wearing, similar with cosplay. Wearing a EVA 01 suit, that you build yourself, is remarkable only if you know how difficult and impressive it is. Wearing a EVA01 suit to fashion might not yield the same expected result, though I would love to see it. Niche culture and context is important.


Fashion in one century, went from intricate made-to-measure garment for the rich and wealthy, to factory made garment, to revolution of ready to wear and youth culture, to acceleration of trends and cycles, to fast-made mindless designs for the masses, to not even being about the garment anymore but about the spirit in which they were created and the feeling of being in the know.


And what have got? This silly sweatshirt.


I consciously decided to not engage and develop with the subject of whiteness, exclusion, racism, fat phobia, ableism, slave labour, rigid gender roles related to fashion because I would like to take the time to explore those subjects thoroughly.

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