Bankable band: is the check in the post?

It isn't to everyone's taste, but rock group King of Leon's clothing -- like its music -- attracts a loyal and enthusiastic following. According to XFM the band is collborating with French fashion designers Surface To Air to produce a collection of jackets, jeans, shirts and accessories which resonate with the group's sartorial preferences and cultural ethos. The collection is soon to be launched in Denmark and you can get more information from the Paris Texas blog if you so desire.

Not that she would ever be judgmental about anything as personal and as subjective as fashion, Fashionista can't help wondering whether this is really a cleverly-crafted bit of band promotion masquerading as a fashion launch. To put it another way, she asks two questions: (i) would King of Leon's fans buy the clothing if it were completely unconnected with the band and (ii) would those fans buy any other items of apparel and accessories that were associated with the name of the group even if they looked quite unlike those of Surface to Air? If the answers are 'yes' and 'yes' respectively, Fashionista will volunteer to help the band carry its money to the bank ...

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.

Style Insider: inside the brand

Fashionista is impressed by the initiatives that brands are taking to reach wider audiences and, ultimately, attract customers at a time when consumers are watching their spending and brand loyalty is being threatened as a result.

Fashionista has read reports that buoyant high street brands - whose primary targets are teens and young twenty some-things - are relatively unaffected by the economic downturn, but is impressed by brands that are not complacent. In particular, Fashionista loves high street favourite River Island's recently launched "Style Insider" website.

Style Insider is a community site and a blog aimed at encouraging interaction between the brand and consumers. It has a "we're friends - lets talk about fashion" feel to it, and features River Island employees who write about their personal style and what's hot in fashion. This sense of familiarity with brand "insiders" will no doubt cement the foundations for brand loyalty amongst visitors to the website.

Fashionista thinks this is a clever marketing strategy. The string of consecutive Christmas No.1 singles for the last 4 years by X Factor winners illustrates the rewards of such interactive initiatives only too clearly. Allow the audience to interact and "get to know" the people behind a product - and with a bit of luck and a measure of talent - the audience will be drawn to the product more than it might otherwise have been which, irrespective of whether or not times are tough, can only be a good thing.