How Luxury and Designer Brands Use Fashion Communication to Establish a Strategic Position and Secure a Competitive Advantage
Luxury and fashion designer brands are perhaps one of the best examples of how organizations can successfully secure a strategic position. They have a great power - fashion communication - that enables them to effectively communicate their values and aesthetics and build a dream factor.
But how exactly do haute couture and ready-to-wear brands manage to gain a competitive advantage?
But how exactly do haute couture and ready-to-wear brands manage to gain a competitive advantage?
Establishing a strategic position
Let's start with the basic principle of what a strategic position is. A strategic position consists of two components: identifying an attractive market and differentiating all activities from the competition. While luxury brands position themselves at the top end of the market, presenting haute couture collections that are distinguished by their high level of craftsmanship, artistry and detail, aspirational brands position themselves at a lower price point (compared to haute couture brands), launching ready-to-wear collections that are characterized by a high level of quality but can be worn on a daily basis. We can see that fashion brands choose and define their market segment from the outset, but they must constantly ensure that they distinguish themselves from the market. To ensure they stand out from the competition, luxury and fashion designer brands build a differentiation advantage, characterized by a unique selling proposition (USP) and a strong focus on brand recognition. This is where fashion communication comes in. Supreme and aspirational brands build their dream factor, creating a unique story that gives the organization its aesthetic, beliefs and individual appeal. The ultimate goal is to develop a remarkable brand identity to ensure brand awareness and recognition. Haute couture and ready-to-wear brands are great at telling their distinctive story by truly embodying their message in everything they do. We can see this by looking at the different collections, catwalks, campaigns and so on. It's also how they build a relationship with their customers - luxury and designer brands are emotional and inspiring.
Gaining a competitive advantage
However, to truly gain a competitive advantage, additional measures are required as organizations need to ensure fit. This fit relates to the firm itself and the business environment. In principle, a company is characterized by its resources, capabilities within the organization, structures and purpose. On the other hand, there is the business environment, which consists of competitors, customers and the economic market. The main task for organizations is to develop an effective strategy in order to achieve a fit and ultimately gain a competitive advantage. The first step in achieving this is to develop a strategic position - which we have already discussed.
Now the organization has to ensure that the fit is actually implemented in its operations. There are three different types of measures that can be considered - luxury and fashion designer brands are exemplary in incorporating all of them. The first-order fit refers to consistency. As I've suggested before, supreme and aspirational brands place great emphasis on creating a dream factor that embodies their individual message and story. This consistency is critical for high-end fashion brands, as it lays the foundation for brand awareness and identity. The second order fit - mutual reinforcement - aims to implement business operations that have a mutually positive impact on each other. Again, haute couture and ready-to-wear brands do this by using all sorts of communication tools - such as campaigns, their social media presence and store layout - to paint a picture of the message they want to convey and how they want to be seen. This is how fashion houses establish their unique appeal and fascination. Finally, the third-order fit is optimisation. Although luxury and designer brands have a very distinctive, thoughtful and timeless style, high-end labels are also capturing the zeitgeist and changing their approach to fashion. For example, they are responding to the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry by implementing advanced sustainable practices, like Stella McCartney, or they are driving change and pioneering fashion and social change, like Yves Saint Laurent.
Now the organization has to ensure that the fit is actually implemented in its operations. There are three different types of measures that can be considered - luxury and fashion designer brands are exemplary in incorporating all of them. The first-order fit refers to consistency. As I've suggested before, supreme and aspirational brands place great emphasis on creating a dream factor that embodies their individual message and story. This consistency is critical for high-end fashion brands, as it lays the foundation for brand awareness and identity. The second order fit - mutual reinforcement - aims to implement business operations that have a mutually positive impact on each other. Again, haute couture and ready-to-wear brands do this by using all sorts of communication tools - such as campaigns, their social media presence and store layout - to paint a picture of the message they want to convey and how they want to be seen. This is how fashion houses establish their unique appeal and fascination. Finally, the third-order fit is optimisation. Although luxury and designer brands have a very distinctive, thoughtful and timeless style, high-end labels are also capturing the zeitgeist and changing their approach to fashion. For example, they are responding to the environmental damage caused by the fashion industry by implementing advanced sustainable practices, like Stella McCartney, or they are driving change and pioneering fashion and social change, like Yves Saint Laurent.
Conclusion
By developing a strategic position characterized by a unique selling proposition (USP) and aligning all business operations with the organization's culture, luxury and designer brands are a prime example of how to create an inimitable brand identity and gain a competitive advantage. The big secret behind this is fashion communication, which refers to the effective communication of a strategic position - including the brand's unique story and message - to create a dream factor that ultimately gives the brand its allure.
