Editor’s Note: Yup, that’s right…this is Omiru’s First Ever advertisement.  To mark this occasion, we wanted to let you into our conversation about how we think about advertising. 

We strongly believe that advertising can be helpful.  We know people who buy the Sunday newspaper just for the ads!  And don’t tell us that you’ve never clicked on a Yahoo or Google text ad because it seemed like the best answer to your search!  With that belief in mind, our goal is to make our ads as useful as possible.  Hence the design of this post like a "Ready Made Outfit."

Lifestyle brands envelop the consumer in a fantasy world, a world that reinforces the brand not only though the models’ wearing of that label head to toe, but also, as the name suggests, though the lifestyle the company espouses.  Ralph Lauren is the epitome of the fashion lifestyle brand.  He created the "World of Ralph Lauren," a fantastically fictional WASPy world of Hamptons mansions, yachts, and upper crust American leisure.  And while Ralph Lauren was building his empire, this lifestyle branding made a lot of sense.  It not only allowed him to diversify into a wide variety of product lines, but it also reinforced the "one outfit, one designer" aesthetic of the day. 

It’s quite an understatement to say that the world has since changed.  Dressing head to toe in one designer gave way to the pluralism seen in today’s outfit choices.  Nowadays, mixing and matching garments between different designers is a given—and it is more stylish than personifying a single designer’s vision.

In this atmosphere of fashion pluralism, the role of a lifestyle brand has also shifted.  As direct translations of a designer’s vision, these lifestyle brands are no longer to be taken literally—instead, they exist to inspire us, to give us something to aspire to, to give us a taste of another life.  Here, one can draw a parallel, comparing meticulously fictionalized lifestyle brands to elaborately staged runway shows.  Much is being said about how runway shows are growing more irrelevant over time.  Some deride them as money losing propositions staged for ephemeral brand value.  Others question the wearability of the outfits that are presented. 

But while these factors do alter the role of the runway show, they do not necessarily make that role immaterial.  We would argue against runway’s irrelevance–and that of lifestyle brands.  For as long as they continue to inspire, to encourage innovation in design, to wake the creative spirits in the consumer public, they will hold value—measurable or not.

Question 1: What will fashion advertising look like?
Fashion advertising, as discussed in Part One of this post, will likely be a combination of branding and direct response advertising—and more heavily weighted toward direct response than it is now.  As for what it’s going to look like, we’ll throw our hat in the ring and offer up a few ideas:

Branding isn’t going to go away.  The “slick expensive ad campaigns shot by expensive photographers with exotic models” described by Julie aren’t going to end.  However, the measurability of direct response is likely going to affect the way branding campaigns are run. 

We predict that these branding campaigns (the ones with the beautifully blasé looking models) will be held to a higher standard, one that involves metrics in some shape or form.  The fashion industry is waking up to the potential of the Internet, and though the industry will inevitably face a rocky road on its quest to embrace these online opportunities, they’ll get there.

Direct response fashion advertisements aren’t going to look like your standard Google text ad.  For one, they’ll have to include images—even a lengthy description of that perfect oversized teal sweater is far less compelling than a thumbnail image of the garment. 

Question 2: Where will fashion advertising come from?
Right now, fashion advertising is dominated by Big Companies with Deep Pockets.  Completely natural, given that they’re the ones that have the dollars to shell out on these expensive branding campaigns.  Take a look at the latest Vogue (or other fashion magazine of your choice).  Who do you see advertising?  Luxury brands, big name designers—most, if not all, with financial backing.  After all, that Versace ad with Halle Berry can’t have been cheap to produce.

I don’t pretend to know the answer to this question, but I’ll share with you my humble prediction.  The forces that make branding so enticing today will continue to exert influence in the years to come.  But the allure of direct response’s measurability will also have an impact on how fashion advertising budgets are spent.  There’s something to be said for a quantifiable ROI.  Already, some fashion companies are listing their products on direct response-type sites like Shopping.com and Shopzilla.com.  A quick glance at women’s apparel on Shopping.com showed items from Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales, J. Crew, and Kenneth Cole.  I predict that we’ll see a significant increase in this direct response advertising, but we won’t see that jump until we see more specialized fashion shopping search sites.  That is, it’s not going to be a Shopping.com or a Shopzilla.com that’s going to see this gain (unless they radically improve the way their sites work for the apparel category).  Instead, I think it’s going to be a specialized fashion search vertical.

As it stands, the fashion ecosystem, like those found in nature, is the result of a careful balance of forces.  Designers staging runway shows wield great influence.  These designers influence the buyers that stock store shelves, the designers at mass market fashion brands lower down the food chain, as well as the consumers who ultimately buy the clothes. Some consumers go straight to the source and buy clothes from the designer.  But those of us who don’t have money to burn need not worry.  The trends these designers espouse find themselves interpreted by mass market fashion brands, repackaged and resold at more affordable price points.  But these designers don’t design in a vacuum.  They, in turn, are influenced by anything and everything—street style, art, music, movies, and the work of other designers.

Back in fashion school, I was taught about the Fashion Trend Life Cycle.  It was a very nice, simple diagram.  You first have your fashion innovators creating the trends.  Next up are the early adopters who popularize the trends.  After the early adopters comes the mass market, after which are the late adopters…and then the trend is over.  This is the way fashion has always been.  Each trend starts somewhere, it gains popularity, it goes mass market, it starts to go Out of style, and then it’s gone. 

But back to the question—what happens when the fashion media is Two Clicks Ahead?  To answer this question, one first should look at the time it takes to go through one cycle.  Back in the Olden Days, it used to take several years for a style to come in and go out of fashion.  Then it took one or two years.  Now, it can be a matter of months.  As the fashion media moves towards being Two Clicks Ahead, the time it will take for a style to rise to prominence will become shorter and shorter.

Confusion: As fast as fashion moves now, it’s hard enough to choose what’s right for you.  It’s going to become more and more important to choose your trends wisely, based on your personal style, body type, etc.  My sad prediction is that we’re going to see a lot more fashion victims who choose their trends willy nilly.

Backlash:  As trends come and go in what seems like the blink of an eye, smart fashionistas are going to rely more on their own concept of personal style in order to dress stylishly without having to run to the mall every couple of days.  We’re going to see a lot of interesting fashion bubbling up from the streets, and it’s not going to be all about what you’re wearing.  It’s also going to be about how you wear it.  Well, that’s my pie-in-the-sky hope, at least.

In their own words…

Dino: I am a freelance, storytelling writer with a specialty in style and entertainment.  As a pop culture junkie, I am always exploring fashion- what’s hot, what’s not and what should be banned from retail stores everywhere. From haute couture to ready-to-wear, I have this viewpoint of style that is slanted, yet professional.  I am a family-taught amateur designer that is constantly curious with the industry. Whether or not I am the best amateur designer, I thoroughly enjoy writing about fashion - from the obscure to the big time; I aggressively explore everything to stay on top of the fashion game.

Melody: While most kids my age were watching Saturday morning cartoons in the third grade, I opted for Fashion File with Tim Blanks. Although I have no formal fashion education, I have a naturally keen eye for style and can spot fakers (translation: those who try to be trendy but either overdo it or don’t even get close) from miles away. When I wear funky outfits (which is more often than not), I’ve been told, “Only you would be able to pull that off.”

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