“Can you please spell ‘Gabbana’?”
Andy Sachs, The Devil Wears Prada, 2006 (film)
Seriously, fashion is a part of our lives. We’re all (I hope) wearing something even right now, while reading the article.
Whether it is the simplest white T-shirt with baggy jeans, some woolly jumper with a skirt, a dress, a suit, a glamorous jacket, whatever. We all have closets, even if they are very small and contain a few items, we all know about shops like Zara, H&M, Uniqlo, because we see them in molls, in advertisements, most of us heard about Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, (Gabrielle Bonheur) “Coco” Chanel, and many others.
We know them and buy their products, because we all need something to wear, hands down. And also, we are living in a society, where it is impossible nowadays to be away from the fashion world.
But sometimes fashion goes beyond just providing the population with something to be covered with. Sometimes there are works of art presented by famous designers, so you buy not just a piece of fabric, but a way of living, someone’s thoughtful philosophy that has been formed over the decades.
How does it happen? I think I can answer this question using the fashion brands hierarchy.
What is Fashion Brands Hierarchy?
As a matter of fact, it’s a pyramid, which can help to see how “powerful” different brands are. It has a lot in common with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Photo from RETAILBOSS website
Basically, the pyramid has brands which address basic people’s needs in terms of clothes (just to be covered, as it was said) at the bottom, and, ascending the pyramid, at the top of it there are brands corresponding to deeper aspirations, including showing one’s welfare, seeking public approval, or just possessing the items of the best quality in the world.
Usually, the pyramid is divided into five parts according to five brand categories. Starting from the top, there are:
1. Haute Couture/ Supreme Luxury
Brands of this section are literally the best. The items are hand sewn (no more than 30% of stitching can be done using a sewing machine), and made for a specific person according to individual measurements, using only high-end materials.
It means they don’t do standard sizes, the designer creates each piece of clothes from scratch. Also, buying these clothes you can be sure it was made exclusively for you, and there will be no one at a party dressed the same way.
Moreover, the term “haute couture” can only be used by designers, fashion houses, and companies that have been approved by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris as members of their organization. For example, a brand like Michael Kors, which is not a member, cannot produce “haute couture” items.
Here are several examples of Haute Couture brands you probably heard about: Chanel, Schiaparelli, Versace, Dior, Loro Piana, Hermès.
2. Ready-to-Wear (Prêt-à-Porter)/ Aspirational Luxury
These brands are quite less chic than the group above, but they are still expensive and of the best quality, and they also reflect the designers creativity, unique vision and ideas.
In the RTW section brands produce exclusive collections following standardized sizes, however, it will be limited edition.
It means, you’ll probably meet someone in clothes like yours, but the probability is small.
In addition, such items are different from the sections below thanks to high-quality tailoring. By the way, the designer’s name and influence are translated through the piece of clothing in this category.
Examples of RTW clothes present such brands as Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Loewe, Burberry, Max Mara, Jaquemus.
3. Diffusion/ Accessible Luxury
The Diffusion items are cheaper, however, the designers working for the segment get inspiration from RTW one often. When we talk about Diffusion brands, they are often an affordable section of high-end fashion houses. They do them to reach a wider audience. As a rule, it helps to attract younger people.
So, brands of the section can be divided in two large groups: those making Accessible Luxury items as their main stuff, and those producing cheaper pieces of clothes and accessories in addition to their main products to earn more money.
Clothes from such brands are usually made of less expensive materials, but they still show the status of the owner.
The examples include such brands as Dsquared2, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney, Miu Miu by Prada, Just Cavalli by Roberto Cavalli, CK by Calvin Klein.
4. Bridge/ Premium
The name of the section speaks for itself, obviously. The section includes brands that stand like a “bridge” between the high-fashion world and mass market.
These clothes are for those who can afford to spend a little bit more money on basic stuff. The items are not unique, but one of their key characteristics is durability in comparison to lower-price pieces.
Here are some examples of Premium brands: Guess, Diesel, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Coach.
5. Mass Market/ Mastige
The last section is Mass Market where one can find accessible items based on standardized sizes. These brands started expanding due to development of factory production. Then it became available to produce a lot of garments at once without any handmade, which fastened clothes production greatly.
Now Mass Market brands are often criticized because they can release up to 20 collections per year (which means one collection in approximately two-three weeks). That means fast fashion, which doesn’t align with the sustainable development approach. They create a lot of stuff, people buy the things, but then in three weeks they buy new ones, and the circle sometimes doesn’t end.
World famous brands from this segment are Uniqulo, Zara, H&M, Bershka, American Eagle, and Mango.
So, before starting a new brand an entrepreneur usually decides which section their brand will belong to. The positioning influences almost all parts of ruling over a brand. To be exact:
- Prices
Here it’s simple – the higher your brand is in the hierarchy, the higher are the prices. But also it will affect, for example, sales, special offers and so on. Everything connected with income.
- Marketing strategy
Positioning will influence which advertisements will be chosen for the target audience, how it will be better to show the product, and so on. Here we talk about everything connected with how people perceive the brand, what they see.
- Distribution
Whether, like in the RTW segment, we will sell in flagship stores or selected boutiques, or, like Mass Market, we’ll mostly choose online platforms or different shops to reach more people.
- Number of collections
Haute Couture brands release 2 collections per year, meanwhile the Mass Market section, as it was mentioned, can make up to twenty collections.
- Philosophy
We started here. Haute Couture and the RTW sections sell not only goods, but some idea or vision, giving you an opportunity to literally buy and wear a work of art. They’ve formulated their identity for many years, while fast-fashion brands don’t usually emphasize the cultural significance of their items.
So, I hope this article helped you to find something interesting and new. I really want to work for a fashion magazine somedaу, therefore, such articles are really my first steps towards this field.
Thank you for reading.