Coincidence vs Recycling of Ideas - Louis Vuitton AW2012 show

Ideas are often recycled and often it is called inspiration... but sometimes it may be just a coincidence that one idea is similar to another... after all if the idea is good it is bound to happen that more than one person will think of it.. I don't know whether this idea is a coincidence or inspiration but I thought I would share it with you. Lets play a game called "spot the idea" .. note the dates:

September 2011 - a small London brand, Izmaylova presents its SS2012 collection.. the press release reads something along the lines of "welcome to Izmaylova express.."




March 2012 - Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2012/2013.. obviously on a much grander scale, done in an amazing Vuitton style with immaculate attention to detail... yet when I saw it, I immediately thought of Izmaylova.. I mean, a vintage train idea is so cool and not that unique that of course more than one person might think of it so this post is not here to say anything it's here to point out a parallel I have drawn in my mind when I saw the show.

Dolce & Gabbana Spring Summer 2012 campaign

I'm loving Dolce & Gabbana's spring summer campaign. Very Italian, very passionate but on a deeper level we are being reminded of La Famiglia - where lots of great Italian brands started and where so few are today.  As fashion world is being carefully moulded into one big cash cow by the countless private equity firms who run the show with an invisible hand, I think it is so important to remember the original values of what great Italian houses are all about - craftsmanship, quality, style, sensuality and ... la famiglia.

Lacoste - Unconventional Chic, Thoughts

I have been thinking about this campaign for a little while and I have decided that I actually don't like it. I understand what they are getting at with this but something is just not working about it. I understand that Lacoste is trying to take a different spin on glamour and chic and break out of the 'polo shirt' niche that the brand is currently in but I'm not entirely sure that such a literal interpretation is necessarily the most effective way to expand the brand perception beyond sports chic.

ID magazine cover - Thoughts

I don't know why I like this cover.. I think it might be her hair... or more specifically the hair colour. It's grey. As in the colour it turns when you age... I like the juxtaposition of her young face against the long grey hair. Something interesting in that... I guess that's because we hardly ever see grey hair on a magazine cover, it's nice for a change.. May be if we saw grey hair portrayed as cool more often we wouldnt all be so petrified of ageing. That is all. 

Tiffany & Co - new engagement ring ads - Thoughts

We all love Tiffany & Co. We not only love it because of Breakfast at Tiffany's or the statement blue box but because the jewellery is actually great. Tiffany & Co has something for everyone - if you don't have enough money to buy the gold Paloma Picasso necklace, you can get hooked by buying a keyring. Buy something cheap now so you feel like you are 'in' and then come back when you have the money - marketing genius really. 

Anyhow, this particular post is about the new ad for Tiffany engagement rings. It is perfect. So sweet. So sweet that it in fact looks too perfect and too sweet. In effect, there is nothing wrong with this ad - a perfect New Yorker couple (NB I appreciated the attempt not to pick Barbie & Ken so as to make it more 'real'), getting married in Central Park with the closest family and friends.

Firstly the concept. We all know that Tiffany is a quintessential New York brand. It has been in a hella lotta movies, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sex And The City being the obvious ones. We already know that Park Avenue, 5th Avenue and Tiffany's is the holly trinity of the Upper East Side. We have been told the same thing since 1837. It's tradition, it's values, it's solid. Don't think it's time to tell us something we don't already know??? I mean, is it just me who is not appreciating the cheesiness of this ad? I mean, the yellow cab? Since when do brides get into yellow cabs? And why are people throwing confetti at them when they are coming out from under an arch in Central Park? And why is it that all guests are male in the third picture? 

I'm pretty sure that Tiffany already has a strong following amongst the Park Avenue ladies. It seems strange that they wouldn't want to modernise it a little and tap into a slightly different market. That is all.

Selling sex in a bottle - Perfume ads for SS2011- Thoughts

It always amazes me how so many brands choose to so blatantly use sex to promote their scents. It makes me wonder why. Surely it shouldn't be too hard to sell perfume by putting a pretty face to it?! Why is it that the scent is so often linked to sexuality? It's like the ads are screaming: "use me and you will get sex, lots of it!" or is it more like: "once you use me, all you'd want to do is have sex"?

Anyway, whatever it is that drives the brands to put that spin on it, it must work because they keep doing it season after season. 

What I also find interesting is that the concept is the same but the spin is sooo different! 

Lets consider the following examples:

1. Natalie Portman for Miss Dior

"oh look at me, i'm so innocent and virginal and girlie… but I am nakeeeed" 

Tasteful, feminine and has just the tinge of sexiness so as to not make it vulgar. I like it. 

2. Scarlett Johansson for D&G The One

"I am irresistibly sexy and you couldn't say 'no' even if you really wanted to. Sorry, I guess I was just born that way…"  

Amp up the volume from our first example to end up balancing on the edge of sultry and blatant sex. Still the ad is not at all vulgar but it is very much a statement. Everything makes a not-so-subtle hint on sex - the eyes, the open mouth, the red lipstick, the bustier that she is wearing. Poor Scarlett is just sitting there waiting for someone to come sweep her of her feet, carry her to the bed and make sweet love.

3. Gucci Guilty 

A bold, sweaty statement. "Good looking people use this scent and have amazing sex - you too could be good looking and have amazing sex if you use this scent. Come what are you waiting for?!"

Yet again, take it up a notch from our Scarlett example by introducing a second variable to the equation - a good looking Italian man. Mais biensur! This is a bold, shameless, slightly voyeuristic ad which works because the brand in question is Gucci. Gucci has always been a sensual Italian brand so in this case it almost makes sense. I mean why wouldn't you if you can?

4. Megan Fox for Armani Code

Apart from my personal dislike of Megan's look, this ad is for those of who are a bit thick and don't get hints and subtleties. Just put it out there - "we just had sex and it felt sooo good" (they really should've used The Lonely Island song as a soundtrack - if you don't know what I am talking about YouTube "The Lonely Island" it really is hilarious). This ad I would definitely classify as vulgar in my books. I'm not entirely sure what makes it vulgar but I guess it's a bit of everything - the overly sexual look on Megan's face, the fringe that doesn't suit her one bit, her tattoos, the naked man in the background. I think Megan is great for selling things to men - she is a sexbomb and it's a fact. But when it comes to selling to women the previous Armani Code ad was, in my humble opinion, much more tasteful and effective.  

Blake Lively for Chanel

This particular Chanel ad I do not really have a problem with. I love Blake Lively, she is sexy and gorgeous and all that. One tiny little thing that kinda freaks me out here is her eye though. I'm talking about not the eyes that stare at you from the reflection in the mirror but the other eye. I dont know whether it's the retouching or just an accident but it looks glassy and zombie-like. It is spooky. That is all.