Whether it’s high street fashion brands focussing on basics ranges or FMCG retailers offering free saving tips, all categories have seemed to understand that consumers are, for the most part, poorer. They’re spending less on non-essential goods and services across the board and it’s even hitting, God forbid .. luxury brands.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: surely those with the most spending power are insulated from the cost of living crisis? Well, the data says otherwise – we’re all feeling the pinch. Forbes has recently revealed that sales from brands like Gucci, Versace and Jimmy Choo dropped up to 17% at the end of last year. It’s been dubbed a ‘richcession’ and it’s hitting the luxury sector hard. So, will luxury brands open their arms and join the collective consumer hand-holding we’ve seen in other categories?
Well if Burberry’s latest re-brand is anything to go by, the answer is no. The British fashion house’s new direction departs radically from its approachable 2018 Sans Serif understated logo and opts for a more intricate design with Serif font. Delving into the archives, the brand has brought back the ‘equestrian knight in armour’ done away with in the early noughties as too old fashioned and too elitist for modern consumers. The question is, what might this move tell us about how the luxury sector will weather the storm?
Well, we think the pivot back to a heritage look and feel is very telling. The brand is now firmly back in the heritage space harking back to a time when luxury brands where, well, luxury. They were aimed at people with big spending power and were rooted in aesthetics that built a sense of pedigree and continuity. Signatures, complex emblems and brand names that felt like they were people who’d walked in from a country estate or a catwalk in Paris or Milan.
Back in the late teens we saw brands abandon this in their droves in favour of approachable Sans Serif fonts, muted neons and pastel tones. The world had changed, doors needed to be opened to a younger, more tech savvy consumer base – Gucci set a revenue target for millennials alone at 50%. Rich kids from Singapore didn’t care about Englishness or French heritage, they wanted access, clearly logoed products and clean lines. Brand after brand, including Balenciaga, Berluti and Saint Laurent, rolled out logos featuring chunky, clean typefaces.
The result? A sea of same so homogenous and dull Creative Directors Thierry Brunfaut and Tom Greenwood coined a new term to describe it – “blanding.” It’s hard to disagree.
So why might luxury brands be shifting and re-evaluating their direction? Why would they want to narrow their appeal again? The truth is, it makes business sense. Whilst the ‘blanding’ era widened the allure of these fashion houses, the fact remains the majority of luxury brand revenue is driven by a small minority of high value customers. A younger millennial base turned out to be largely aspirational one time or two time purchasers. Now they’re hedging their bets on the old guard. Sorry kids, it’s back to business as usual. If you can’t afford to buy, cool, best spend it funding an extra bar on your electric heater and lean into a TikTok micro-trend.
This shift is plain to see in Burberry Creative Director Daniel Lee’s latest collection. Gone are the nature inspired millennials- it’s gas guzzling Land Rovers and stalwart British architecture back with a vengeance.
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Now with Burberry so clearly leading the charge away from ‘blanding’ and into this heritage more maximalist space, the only question to ask is .. will the others follow suit? Watch this space.
