Brand Kate
Kate Moss and the launch of her new clothing line via Top Shop has caused a flurry of media coverage worldwide - not to mention thousands of eager females queuing for a slice of her infamous look.
It’s also sparked some fascinating debates about the power of brands and the influence that celebrity has over our society.
One strand to the debate has been about the Kate Moss brand and how she’s managed to build interest, intrigue and demand for what ever she touches, for so many years.
As a brand she’s been very careful about not having a voice - she doesn’t often speak out, answer her critics or try to push her views and as such her views are aren’t banded around or sought after in comparison to some of her peers in the fashion world.
This only adds to her brand appeal - she’s ruthlessly maintained a fabulous air of mystery around her persona and this has helped her become this blank canvass for brands to project onto her what ever they want to.
Whether she’s selling phones, fashion or perfume, Kate is probably one of the world’s most expensive and effective blank canvasses - carefully building and presenting different pictures to the public in line with the various brand values and personalities she represents. (a concept that can traced back to the likes of Marilyn Monroe)
Whether the canvass will show me the playful and cute Kate next, or the sassy, edgy rebel, or even the highly sophisticated, well heeled lady, who knows.. One thing is for sure, “brand Kate” is helping the tills of Top Shop ring loud and clear…
She does brush up nicely though - which helps. But Kate had absolulety nothing to do with the design of the clothes, as a lady from Topshop admitted on TV - “they are just inspired by Kate”, and yet still it sells like crazy. Someone is a genius! Even my girlfriend queued at 7.30! There’s no hope.
She is a personal brand (Tom Peters : ReImagine!). The top shop deal allows her to begin the evolution toward a cult brand (Craig Atkins: the culting of brands).
She will eventually aspire to dream, purpose, and even possibly frontier brand status.
It is after that when the sky is no longer the limit.
Every brand has to go through this process. Just like fuzzy worms.
Is ‘infamous’ (ill-famed: having an exceedingly bad reputation) really the word they’re looking for to describe Kate’s look? There are probably many that are more appropriate. Or perhaps being a ‘bad’ person is an acceptable brand these days - not surprisingly that’s an easy way to go.
It may have caused imense hysteria but pop into any lowly out of town store and you’ll see rails of the so-called limited edition pieces. Limited edition should mean just that. Kate clones should be thinking ‘how will I get my hands on the one shoulder white dress?’. Look at how Stella and Viktor & Rolf worked H&M, build hype, sell out, bow out at the top. We all like to think we got one of a few, that our purchase is special, unfortunately in this case it’s not. I have bought from the first collection but am now put off by the mass production. The idea was great, lots of small limited edition collections throughout the year, copies of designer and vintage pieces that we’ve all admired her in. So much for the Kate brand of intrigue and mystery.
I just really don’t get the whole idea of following someone like kate moss and having them as idols and ispiring to be like her and wear all the clothes she so called designed.. I’m pretty sure that the clothes she models and says she designed was/has been on sale anyway without her bigging it all up but I suppose she makes money.. pretty sad in my opinion
Im sorry about my last comment my little brother typed it when I went to the bathroom. Anyways every one of my friends say that I look like her and when I go out on this website and look on these pictures I do! Anyways I’m so not going to do drugs like she did. And I will surely not be on drugs. But I love some of the clothes she wears and the places that she has been to! So yea I would consider her my role model!