An Examination of Contemporary Celebrity Endorsement in Fashion

This paper examines the contemporary relationship between fashion brands and celebrities. Noting the historic role of celebrities in fashion and their current prevalence in the industry, the paper moves beyond discussion of the motives and effectiveness of celebrity endorsement, and instead explores its nature and practice in the fashion sector. The paper proposes a new definition of celebrity endorsement in fashion, offers a classification of celebrities involved in fashion brand endorsement, and presents a typology examining the contemporary means by which a fashion brand may collaborate with celebrities. The typology is defined in context of the nature, length and cost to the brand of the relationship between it and the celebrity. The methodology uses secondary sources and qualitative primary research in an exploratory agenda in order to propose conclusions and suggest ideas for further research

The Anatomy of an International Fashion Retailer – The Giorgio Armani Group

Of all the international retailers, luxury fashion retailers are typically the most prolific as measured by the number and diversity of foreign markets in which they operate. Furthermore, for most, the contribution of foreign sales to total sales is equal to, if not greater than, that achieved by the most active international retailers (Moore & Fernie 2004). Yet, while the significance of the luxury fashion retailers’ foreign activities is now acknowledged in the international retailing literature, there have been calls for more in-depth, company specific appraisals of the strategies adopted by such firms (Doherty 2000; Moore, Birtwistle & Burt 2004). Doherty (2000) has argued in particular that further case study research in the area of fashion retailer internationalisation would provide much needed insights into the apparatus that supports their international success

Exhibition Review: Le Fil Rouge, Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris 6th Feb-3rd May 2015

In the foyer of Espace Louis Vuitton in Paris an introduction offers visitors insight to Le Fil Rouge (‘The Red Thread’), curated by Michoko Kono. It reflects on the role of thread in Louis Vuitton’s (LV) historic and contemporary products; the thread is integral to the product’s construction, binding its components, defining its boundaries and representing LV’s historic commitment to craftsmanship, establishing the integrity of the product (LVMH 2014). However in being so literal, the introduction understates the significance of the exhibition and its more abstract relationship with the LV brand. The exhibition is located on the top floor of the Champs Elysees Maison, LV’s flagship store and arguably the epicentre of contemporary French luxury fashion. Hence the exhibition serves some role in the promotion and therefore practice of this most international of luxury fashion brands; this review of Le Fil Rouge contextualizes the exhibition in respect of LV’s branding activities

Fashioning the Brand: a creative & commercial interpretation of the role of the brand in fashion

Within the fashion industry, the brand is regarded as critically important irrespective of the identity of the practitioner; creative practitioners (designers) and commercial practitioners (marketers, retailers) both regarded the brand as an inspiration point and an anchor in shifting tides of trend and consumer demand. Designers regard the brand as a key reference in developing new products and maintaining a lineage and relationship between seasonal ranges and collections; while marketers regard the brand and its promotion as a crucial means of motivating consumer purchase and maintaining loyalty. Notwithstanding the evident significance of the brand in fashion, definitions of it within the industry are vague and occasionally contradictory, and the specific applications and roles of the brand are poorly quantified. This paper seeks to explore the concept of the brand in fashion by considering the attitudes of fashion practitioners (both creative and commercial) toward it, and their experiences of it. Focusing on the mid- to upper-levels of the UK fashion market, the role of the brand in informing creative and commercial decisions will be explored in order to provide insight to the scope and specific nature of the brand’s influence in fashion. Understanding of the brand concept among creative and commercial fashion practitioners will be assessed with a view to establishing a definitive interpretation of the brand as it applies within the fashion industry. Finally, a conceptual interpretation of the brand and the functions it performs in context of the fashion market will be provided. Cumulatively, these objectives will provide a clearer understanding of the brand in fashion, its role in the industry, and its ability to contribute to creative and commercial development in the sector. The paper is informed by primary research collected from a variety of sources including interviews with senior creative and commercial practitioners working with brands representing a broad cross-section of the industry. It is anticipated that the paper will enhance academic understanding of the nature and practice of branding within fashion, while offering insight to practitioners (creative or commercial) seeking to harness the power of the brand in pursuing their industry objectives

Core Competence & Diversification in Apparel Retailing �- the case of Next Plc

The UK apparel retail market is characterised by transient intra-seasonal style trends and unpredictable and demanding consumers. From a commercial perspective, the market has also been marked by increasing concentration, offer homogenization, price deflation, corporate merger and acquisition activity and by the aggressive entry of foreign competitors. As a consequence, UK apparel retailers have historically faced a dual challenge: Firstly, how to create product development, marketing and distribution strategies aligning their products and brands with dynamic consumer preferences and perceptions; and secondly how to synchronize corporate assets and competence to create infrastructures for the execution of those strategies in pursuit of commercial growth. Against this background, this paper identifies the core competences required of participants within the apparel retail market and illustrates the diversification opportunities accrued by their acquisition. These are explored using the example of Next PLC, a historically successful participant within the UK apparel market. Applying historic commercial data since 1982 and contemporary media commentary to the core competence and diversification literature, this paper will show how apparel retailers may diversify by focusing on competences in branding, product development, retail channel and format, internationalisation and business support. Alongside the key findings, a model representing the diversification opportunities of an apparel retailer will be presented

Kate Loves Topshop: Celebrity Endorsements and the Lovemarks Concept in a Fashion Retail Context

Fashion designers and retailers often employ celebrities as endorsers due to celebrities’ power to influence consumer attitudes, drive sales and command loyalty. This power may be predicated on the transfer of a celebrity’s perceived personality to the promoted brand, thus enhancing consumer attitudes toward it. Celebrity endorsement is regarded as one component of contemporary brand management, the practice of which has two consequences: first, consumers increasingly expect ‘good’ brand performance from ALL brands; second, brands correspondingly find it difficult to continually distinguish themselves. One response has been the Lovemarks concept (Roberts 2005). A Lovemark is distinguished from conventional brands by inspiring deep, long-lasting relationships based on emotional responses invoked by the characteristics and personality it represents. While the Lovemark model is considered useful to practitioners (Bain 2004; Cooper & Pawle 2006), its academic study is limited, especially in its application to established marketing concepts. Here, a qualitative case-study explores the Lovemark concept in context of celebrity endorsement by examining the congruency between emotions felt for UK fashion retailer Topshop, and its associated celebrity, Kate Moss. Findings suggest that emotional responses to a celebrity have resonance on attitudes toward a brand; these and implications for practice and theory will be presented

Dietary Supplementation with Soluble Plantain Non-Starch Polysaccharides Inhibits Intestinal Invasion of Salmonella Typhimurium in the Chicken

Soluble fibres (non-starch polysaccharides, NSP) from edible plants but particularly plantain banana (Musa spp.), have been shown in vitro and ex vivo to prevent various enteric pathogens from adhering to, or translocating across, the human intestinal epithelium, a property that we have termed contrabiotic. Here we report that dietary plantain fibre prevents invasion of the chicken intestinal mucosa by Salmonella. In vivo experiments were performed with chicks fed from hatch on a pellet diet containing soluble plantain NSP (0 to 200 mg/d) and orally infected with S.Typhimurium 4/74 at 8 d of age. Birds were sacrificed 3, 6 and 10 d post-infection. Bacteria were enumerated from liver, spleen and caecal contents. In vitro studies were performed using chicken caecal crypts and porcine intestinal epithelial cells infected with Salmonella enterica serovars following pre-treatment separately with soluble plantain NSP and acidic or neutral polysaccharide fractions of plantain NSP, each compared with saline vehicle. Bacterial adherence and invasion were assessed by gentamicin protection assay. In vivo dietary supplementation with plantain NSP 50 mg/d reduced invasion by S.Typhimurium, as reflected by viable bacterial counts from splenic tissue, by 98.9% (95% CI, 98.1–99.7; P<0.0001). In vitro studies confirmed that plantain NSP (5–10 mg/ml) inhibited adhesion of S.Typhimurium 4/74 to a porcine epithelial cell-line (73% mean inhibition (95% CI, 64–81); P<0.001) and to primary chick caecal crypts (82% mean inhibition (95% CI, 75–90); P<0.001). Adherence inhibition was shown to be mediated via an effect on the epithelial cells and Ussing chamber experiments with ex-vivo human ileal mucosa showed that this effect was associated with increased short circuit current but no change in electrical resistance. The inhibitory activity of plantain NSP lay mainly within the acidic/pectic (homogalacturonan-rich) component. Supplementation of chick feed with plantain NSP was well tolerated and shows promise as a simple approach for reducing invasive salmonellosis