Unringing the belle: Skechers return to nursing

One great way to kick-start your recovery from recession if you've got a popular brand is to go for brand extension. Just like the Californian entrepreneur back in the 1970s who saw the potential of movie classic Jaws as a marketing icon for his Jaws Sandwich Bar ("If you liked the movie, you'll love the sandwich"), today's brand owners do much the same thing -- but usually rather more subtly, and with their own brand rather than someone else's. That's what footwear firm Skechers is doing, moving from the leisure-y market to the supply of funky-but-functional apparel for the nursing profession (for more, see Businesswire here):

"The SKECHERS collection will feature a younger, more flattering fit than traditional medical apparel. Through innovative silhouettes, prints and fabrications, the line will utilize ready-to-wear trends in basics like scrubs, pants, jackets and tees. Branded designer accents will include SKECHERS logo buttons, flag labels, jacquard ribbons, and zipper pulls. The SKECHERS medical apparel line will be available in a wide range of sizes".

This is not Skechers' first flirtation with the nursing industry, Fashionista recalls. If you go back five years, the brand was involved in a bit of a damage limitation exercise after its saucy "naughty nurse" advertising campaign attracted the wrath of Nursing Advocacy. The advertisement on the right, featuring Christina Aguilera, had to be pulled after Skechers conceded that it denigrated nurses. In a subsequent letter to the company following the decision to pull the advertisement, Nursing Advocacy wrote:

"Unfortunately, just ceasing publication of this ad cannot undo the damage already done, or "unring the bell." In our view, the ad has imprinted a negative image of nursing on those who saw it, potentially including health care decision-makers and career seekers, at a time of critical shortage. Persons who associate nursing with sex are unlikely to see it as worthy of being their career or of receiving significant public or private resources. They are unlikely to realize, for instance, that many thousands of nurses with doctoral-level education in nursing work on the cutting edge of health care research. Nor are they likely to realize that nurses save or improve countless lives every day through their difficult, highly-skilled work. It is imperative for global health that we not only halt this kind of damage to the nursing image, but also start reversing the damage by helping to create a more positive image".

But five years is a very, very long time in the marketplace ...

Celebrity fashion fame: more than 15 minutes?

Earlier this week, Justin Timberlake's fashion label "William Rast" made its London debut, with a pop-up shop in Selfridges. Rumour has it that Mr Timberlake took time out of his busy schedule to personally brief employees as to how his William Rast brand is to be worn and marketed.

Never before have we seen so many celebrities branching out into fashion - whether through brand collaborations (think: Kanye West designing trainers for Louis Vuitton and the news that Mr West is working for Gap to learn the ropes as an insider before branching out on his own); or as stand alone fashion brands (think: Nelly's "Apple Bottom Jeans" or P.Diddy's "Sean John"). It seems that celebrities are not content at being known for what they do. Is this part of today's cultural need to be loved by all, or is it savvy enterprise, maximising on a ready-made brand?

JT's news came hot on the heels of the news that Jennifer Lopez's "Sweetface" brand is to be shelved. Fashionista wonders whether it is harder or easier for celebrity fashion brands to survive?

It must be easier for celebrities to break into the fashion market than for the unknown "start from scratch" designer. The celebrity will have the PR and advertising crew; the financial muscle; the (helpful or not) media attention; the ready-made brand and a fan base ready to buy into any off-shoot product of their icon.

But it must also be easier to crash and burn. Not wanting to sound cynical, Fashionista can't help but ask: what happens when the celebrity "du jour" has had his or her 15 minutes of fame? Can what may at one minute be a highly covetable brand become un-cool the next? Fashionista would like to hear what her readers think of the merits or otherwise of celebrity brands. Can the celebrities compete with the serious players in the fashion market or will they be no more than temporary pop-up shops in an industry where the long-leased premises are those that go the distance?

Donna Karan and Luxottica: renewed eye deal is ideal

Cementing its reputation as the world's leader for the design, manufacture and distribution of glasses (both specs and sun), Italian luxury optical company Luxottica Group SpA has just renewed its global eyewear licence agreement with Donna Karan to produce prescription glasses and sunglasses under the DKNY and Donna Karan brands for a further 5 years. Luxottica - designing for own brands and licensed brands - has a portfolio which reads like a who's-who of the leading luxury brands and includes Bulgari, Burberry, Chanel, D&G, Oakley, Prada, Ray Ban and Versace amongst others.

For brand owners, there are clear competitive advantages to entering into a licence with a company which has a cost effective worldwide network of factory direct distrbution, an extensive retail business and established "tried and tested" reputation and expertise. For Luxottica, the renewal of the Donna Karan licence endorses the company's reputation and position as world leader in its field.

Reading the press release in her Bulgari frames, Fashionista muses on the power of branding and the trend for fashion brands extending to eyewear. Luxottica seems to have the market covered: a single company designing for a multitude of brands. How does Luxottica keep its competing licensees happy? By creating designs which perfectly reflect each brand's individual look.

How does the consumer choose? This is the power of branding. Ultimately, frames are large or small; round, square, or rectangular; rimmed or not. The colour will differ. There may be embellishments. The differences aren't that many. So the consumer is drawn to the brand: its ethos; what it represents; the message it conveys.

And why are brands extending to eyewear? To tap into a broader market, attract new customers and forge new loyalties. For the "spectacled" fashionista who likes to add a touch of glamour to her everyday look, branded eyewear achieves this. For the "recessionista" fashionista, it is a way of buying into a brand without imparting too much cash. For the "young" fashionista, it can be an introduction to a brand. The bonus? Eyewear branding is at eye-level, so it is the "eye deal" (sorry) advertising tactic by the brand owner: minimal expenditure; maximum exposure.

A fashion house that now houses people..

The renowned Italian fashion brand Missoni - famed for its rainbow catwalk prints which translate equally well to soft furnishings - is branching out into the hospitality industry. Part of a global licensing agreement in conjunction with The Rezidor Hotel Group, the first of 30 Hotel Missoni hotels is due to open in Edinburgh in June, with a second due to open in Kuwait later this year. A great showcase for Missoni, the hotel will expose guests to the Missoni brand and ethos in a way and to an intensity that traditional advertising simply cannot do.

This concept was embraced just over a decade ago with the opening of Charlton House Hotel in Somerset, after the property was purchased by the creators of the Mulberry brand and decorated with Mulberry soft furnishings - a great advertisement for the brand's ethos and products. Assuming this advertising strategy works (as it did in Fashionista's experience), the Mulberry factory shop is just a stone's throw away so hotel guests can continue to experience the brand at home.

Fashionista asks: is this an example of thinking outside the box in times of economic downturn? will branching out into the hospitality industry attract a broader consumer group, extending to those more likely to save up for an experience rather than an object: a mini-break rather than another addition to the wardrobe? After all, when times are tough, who knows when there will next be an occasion to wear said addition?