Now, don’t get me wrong,I don’t believe one needs to spend a crucial amount of money to obtain something nice. But, with our economy and our times, people seem to want the bang for their buck. Meaning that purchasing a cheaper priced item should entitle them to having something of certain style and quality.
Hence, if a product is excellent, why push it to consumers and force them to believe that this is a winner above any competition?
The answer is simple; in a world where marketing and social media seems to dominate people’s purchase selections, we really have no choice to listen to those arguments and advertisements and see for ourselves.
Let’s take Michael Kors…this new Billionaire made most of his fortune by copying existing designs from reputable designers; and we aren’t just talking about close designs to the Gucci or Louis Vuitton logo; we are talking about the shape of the bag,the trims used on boots etc.
So what is the secret to this formula? In today’s society, we all want to look fancy and great while feeling like a million bucks,but without spending a million bucks. Thus, MK being so accessible and coming across as “chic” to consumers it has hit its target market.
But what happens when we don’t want cheapsy solutions, when we want our luxuries? We then turn to the other spectrum of the matter and see that before social media and advertising blow ups, we had more concrete and reliable sources. For the car world,we had more input from mechanics, test drivers…all those whom are genuinely passionate about cars. Their engines, their performance, their design.
The car enthusiasts are the ones that sort of lay the pavement down for those who may not be as familiar. Why this car? Why this engine? Does this car suit my personality or needs? People ought to throw themselves at an expensive brand but may not know deep down why they like it so much. And that’s ok, a car is a piece of art, it is beauty from within that makes the love we have for them unexplainable.
Shown above: 1932 Bugatti Type 50T
It is important for so many people to keep fashion alive as a form of art. The times of Coco Chanel, Dior or even Scaasi, fashion involved time and savoir faire as it involved many meticulous steps from the creative process to the execution to the presentation of the product. It was all about taking the time to make that one piece of couture that would stun on the runway. Nowdays, with our mass marketing it is more about doing something fast and cheap. The car industry is affected in the same way. If we compare older make cars, they seem to have had more detailing and time to build; this is arguable as we didn’t have the technology we have today to build high tech performance accessories and engines. But, you can still spot some areas that have suffered compromises in the build and attention to detail.
Shown above: Gabrielle Chanel at her Rue Cambron atelier in
Paris.
Higher end companies set the bar for a style or model and lower budget companies copy them or if you want to say it nicely, get inspired by those designs and make it their own with a (way) cheaper price tag.
Fashion and the Automotive Industry have that same point in common.
I would say Hyundai’s front stripe LED headlights are quite similar to those of an Audi.
Strikingly close as MK’s Tote in comparison with a Louis Vuitton Neverfull.
Shown above: MK vs LV totes//Hyundai vs Audi headlights
A perfect example is the Inditex Group; Zara has such a methodical way of taking runway trends and making them accessible to the mass market. I will spare you of all the details and post more on my future blog entries.
Why don’t we look into making each Clothing company or Car company unique, no matter what the price tag is? After all, design is design and it is a form of art, therefore giving everyone a chance to express their individuality and be unique. So why not stop looking at the big guys for inspiration and start creating our own?
I will conclude by saying this applies perfectly;
Imitation is a form of flattery!
