What is luxury branding?

As featured in Apparel Magazine, May 2022

A luxury brand can be defined by these simple factors. One may ask, there are

brands that offer high quality but can be afforded by a larger section of the market,

so can they be termed as luxury brands?

The answer is - No.

Luxury brands do not seek to be affordable or to be sold to masses. Their exclusivity is what makes them desirable and not being available at all time to

everyone is what makes them thrive.

The idea of luxury, implies more towards what one would desire and not what they

would need. A luxurious fashion brand can be characterised by its sophistication,

craftsmanship, heritage, creativity and superior quality or performance. The

'Fashion Pyramid' based on the degree of exclusivity places haute couture right at the top as it involves the highest level of scarcity for its customers, followed by the

Ready To Wear (RTW) brands that have a certain standardised designs and styles

that for a broader market in the segment.

What is Luxury Branding?

Branding in a regular sense would mean defining the features of a fashion

brand, talking about its good quality and durability and making an identity for it

amongst its target audience. But luxury branding is very different from what regular

branding would look like.

Luxury branding is asking a niche target audience to make a significant

investment in something which is a desire and not a need or want. For this, branding

experts need to dig deeper and formulate strategies that will support luxurious

fashion brands to maintain their story and identity amongst their customers.

The branding strategy for a luxury brand starts with understanding its customer.

They sure must have the money to spend, but besides that they are often:

- Looking for authenticity: These customers are willing to pay to get the

real deal. They understand fashion and know the value of an original item from

the brand.

- High self esteem: These customers identify themselves with luxury fashion

brands. It gives them immense pride to be owners of the luxurious creation. These

customers ride high on this emotion and tapping into it is a strategy by itself.

- Irrationality: They have the money to spare. It may be the case that they do not

act on their needs or wants, it is their desire to own something exclusive, unique and

one of a kind that makes them an expense for luxurious fashion brands.

An effective luxury branding strategy can help tap into the psychology of

these consumers and effectively position brands with them.

"Think about it, when someone buys the Hermes Kelly or the Burberry Trench, they are buying it for what it signifies, what people think when they carry it or how it makes them feel. Therefore, it's more emotional than functional."

With this in mind, luxury fashion brands need to restrict supply, increase prices

when demand increases and keep a tightline on distribution. Luxury fashion

follows the Veblen effect - which is demand increases when price increases.

Their brand narratives are ethereal, mystical and propel a dream of this

unattainable life - which is what makes them more desirable.

And above all, to be truly luxury, they must be authentic to themselves, follow

their own philosophy and creation for the sake of their art. That is what gives them -their own unique individuality. Think the weave of Bottega, the monogram of Louis

Vuitton, the patented checks of Burberry or closer home the dedication to chikankari of Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla or the use of the Bengal Tiger logo in Sabyasachi lehengas," says Mansi Saxena, Founder, Luxury of Epiphany.

Challenges in luxury branding

The foremost challenge in a luxury fashion branding is not having the right strategy

for your brand. Besides that, most brands often make a mistake in their pricing game.

The challenge is to price their products just right - not based on competition, not

too low, not to charm. Striking that right balance becomes key.

The urge to compete amongst brands may be well acceptable, but lowering the

prices for a luxury brand does not suit its personality. Value-based pricing comes

to the rescue here where brands can give value additions at the same price, which

creates a perception of getting more at the same price.

Luxury fashion brands are aspirational. Men and women across the globe want to

own something in that symbolism. Luxury brands not leveraging this aspiration can be a loss of a whole new customer base. Introducing entry level products will invitea big audience that is suffering through the fear of missing out (FOMO), of not being

able to experience the brand.

Sharing her opinion on the pitfalls that any luxury branding strategy must avoid, Saxena says, "Price discounting to attract a larger audience. It's one thing to have discounts on last season's collection. But a general price cut to increase sales volume is sin in luxury. This can lead to alienationfrom your most loyal customers. Making your brand accessible and diluting its exclusivity."

"Not being a purpose-driven brand - In this age of information and a conscious consumer, as a luxury brand it is important to commit to a larger

world cause - sustainability in fashion is paramount, ethical sourcing, fair wages,

working conditions of artisans are crucial for a luxury brand - failing on any of these

parameters will break the dream and lead to disorientation from consumers,

especially the younger consumers."

The fashion market is full of brands. For a luxury brand to strike the right chord

with the right target audience is the key, and that's the key to the success of its

branding strategy.