The Ever Evolving Fashion Industry and the Hidden Message Behind the Versace for H&M Commercial
High-end fashion designers adore thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing their brands, which is tremendously reflected on their runway shows, fashion ads and websites. Sometimes they create jobs which make sense to everyone, and sometimes they go totally bananas and leave many questions in people’s minds. However, they all do this to stand out in the crowded fashion market, gain their signature and eventually create a great buzz. In this post, I will share my thoughts on the ever evolving fashion industry, how big brands stay on top of their games during difficult economic times, and the hidden message behind the Versace for H&M Commercial.
Designer Collaboration Is the New Black!
High-end designer collaborations with mass retailers are very popular and have become the new black in the fast evolving fashion industry. A capsule collection is a great example for these fashion collaborations, where retailers offer high fashion designs at lower prices to their customers.
From Missoni for Target to Versace for H&M, iconic fashion houses have been altering their business models by designing capsule collections, to boost their public profile by capturing younger and less wealthy demographics.
For mass retailers, this partnership means free publicity and advertising for their brands. For example, when Target collaborated with the Italian designer Missoni, Target did not only benefit from increased sales but also benefited in overall media impressions.
My House, My Rules, My Pleasure
Versace’s capsule collection hit H&M stores all around the world in mid November 2011. The collection created more than enough buzz with its runway show introduction and Versace for H&M Commercial that it left the stores’ shelves empty only moments after the doors had opened.
The commercial itself has become one of the most talked about fashion videos, shared on fashion blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. But why is that?
Let’s take a look at the video:
Directed by Johan Renck, Versace for H&M Commercial is embellished with many symbolisms from factory labor and mass production to how the customers have become the puppets of the manipulative fashion industry.
It’s no doubt that one of the messages that this commercial communicates is that although the Versace collection is created for H&M, Donatella, who is portrayed as the mind-controlling “factory” operator in the commercial, still runs the show. She’s the creative director of Versace and it’s her fashion house. Thus, it’s her rules!
However, in my opinion, there’s another very important message about this commercial which has not been mentioned anywhere so far.
And this hidden message is represented by Thonet’s Chair No. 14.
Yes, you’ve heard me. It’s the Thonet’s Chair No. 14 which represents the CHANGE in Donatella’s ever evolving fashion perspective by collaborating with young and hip and more affordable fashion brand H&M to reach out to crowded younger market.
Thonet’s Chair No. 14
Thonet’s first bentwood chair, Chair No. 1., was released in 1850. It was a great breakthrough from the traditional furniture making methods because back in the days, furniture was made of heavy materials with carved designs of the past.
With Thonet’s Bentwood chairs, the world was introduced to the brand new concepts in fashion and mass production such as: simple yet sophisticated, modern, elegant, lightweight, economical/affordable, practical, and durable.
Nine years after the first bentwood chair design, Michael Thonet designed The Chair No. 14, which is now called The Chair No. 214.
If you stop the Versace for H&M Commercial on 0:53 second, you will see that one of the models is acting totally different than the others who walk in a certain direction. She is trying to nudge them with Thonet’s Chair No. 14. to change their usual “direction,” perhaps to change the “circle of life,” or in this case the “circle of the fashion industry.”
As Donatella once said, “Fashion stands for new, glamorous, daring and sophisticated.” Donatella’s vision on the future of the fashion industry has led her to design a Versace collection for H&M, which immediately boosted her brand profile.
Can This “Change” Also Be About A Social Message?
Well, I think the first thing that comes to people’s mind after watching this commercial is that with all the symbolism that are being used in this video, there could be a social message on cheap labor and mass productions.
Here is a brief history on how the textile manufacturers have been dealing with the unfair labor practices:
When the textile quotas were removed in January 2005, the fear of China and a few other surrounding countries potentially monopolizing the global textile market created a tremendous threat for the countries whose economies dependent on textile. Unfortunately, this threat meant large scale of unemployment and bankruptcies for countries such as India, Turkey and Italy who were historically the dominant manufacturers of textile products.
To prevent Chinese dominance in the textile trade and compete with its low cost productions (due to unfair labor practices), more kinds of apparels started to be produced and the number of fashion “seasons” expanded to six and eight and sometimes to twelve so that more factories all around the world could be hired for productions.
So the answer is perhaps a “Yes?”
In Conclusion
It’s a fact that Versace-H&M marketing campaign was a great success and had generated a great buzz (online and offline) for both brands thanks to the fashionably edgy Versace for H&M commercial.
Some people called it “freaky,” some found it “bizarre,” some just loved it, and some labeled it as “great non-sense.”
The question is: How would you describe it?
Designer Collaboration Is the New Black!
High-end designer collaborations with mass retailers are very popular and have become the new black in the fast evolving fashion industry. A capsule collection is a great example for these fashion collaborations, where retailers offer high fashion designs at lower prices to their customers.
From Missoni for Target to Versace for H&M, iconic fashion houses have been altering their business models by designing capsule collections, to boost their public profile by capturing younger and less wealthy demographics.
For mass retailers, this partnership means free publicity and advertising for their brands. For example, when Target collaborated with the Italian designer Missoni, Target did not only benefit from increased sales but also benefited in overall media impressions.
My House, My Rules, My Pleasure
Versace’s capsule collection hit H&M stores all around the world in mid November 2011. The collection created more than enough buzz with its runway show introduction and Versace for H&M Commercial that it left the stores’ shelves empty only moments after the doors had opened.
The commercial itself has become one of the most talked about fashion videos, shared on fashion blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. But why is that?
Let’s take a look at the video:
Directed by Johan Renck, Versace for H&M Commercial is embellished with many symbolisms from factory labor and mass production to how the customers have become the puppets of the manipulative fashion industry.
It’s no doubt that one of the messages that this commercial communicates is that although the Versace collection is created for H&M, Donatella, who is portrayed as the mind-controlling “factory” operator in the commercial, still runs the show. She’s the creative director of Versace and it’s her fashion house. Thus, it’s her rules!
However, in my opinion, there’s another very important message about this commercial which has not been mentioned anywhere so far.
And this hidden message is represented by Thonet’s Chair No. 14.
(Thonet’s Chair No. 14)
Yes, you’ve heard me. It’s the Thonet’s Chair No. 14 which represents the CHANGE in Donatella’s ever evolving fashion perspective by collaborating with young and hip and more affordable fashion brand H&M to reach out to crowded younger market.
Thonet’s Chair No. 14
Thonet’s first bentwood chair, Chair No. 1., was released in 1850. It was a great breakthrough from the traditional furniture making methods because back in the days, furniture was made of heavy materials with carved designs of the past.
With Thonet’s Bentwood chairs, the world was introduced to the brand new concepts in fashion and mass production such as: simple yet sophisticated, modern, elegant, lightweight, economical/affordable, practical, and durable.
Nine years after the first bentwood chair design, Michael Thonet designed The Chair No. 14, which is now called The Chair No. 214.
If you stop the Versace for H&M Commercial on 0:53 second, you will see that one of the models is acting totally different than the others who walk in a certain direction. She is trying to nudge them with Thonet’s Chair No. 14. to change their usual “direction,” perhaps to change the “circle of life,” or in this case the “circle of the fashion industry.”
As Donatella once said, “Fashion stands for new, glamorous, daring and sophisticated.” Donatella’s vision on the future of the fashion industry has led her to design a Versace collection for H&M, which immediately boosted her brand profile.
Can This “Change” Also Be About A Social Message?
Well, I think the first thing that comes to people’s mind after watching this commercial is that with all the symbolism that are being used in this video, there could be a social message on cheap labor and mass productions.
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...Extra...Extra...Extra...
When the textile quotas were removed in January 2005, the fear of China and a few other surrounding countries potentially monopolizing the global textile market created a tremendous threat for the countries whose economies dependent on textile. Unfortunately, this threat meant large scale of unemployment and bankruptcies for countries such as India, Turkey and Italy who were historically the dominant manufacturers of textile products.
To prevent Chinese dominance in the textile trade and compete with its low cost productions (due to unfair labor practices), more kinds of apparels started to be produced and the number of fashion “seasons” expanded to six and eight and sometimes to twelve so that more factories all around the world could be hired for productions.
…Extra…Extra…Extra…
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Capsule collections are unique opportunities for shoppers to access to high-end fashion designs at lower prices. This commercial is just an interesting and creative video but the real life with all the unfair labor practices is pretty though and ugly. Therefore, one should always remember that whether you are a retailer, designer and/or customer, you must always be socially responsible, and the change starts from within you. So the answer is perhaps a “Yes?”
In Conclusion
It’s a fact that Versace-H&M marketing campaign was a great success and had generated a great buzz (online and offline) for both brands thanks to the fashionably edgy Versace for H&M commercial.
Some people called it “freaky,” some found it “bizarre,” some just loved it, and some labeled it as “great non-sense.”
The question is: How would you describe it?
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