celebritiesfashion

Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton & the era of celebrities in fashion design

Marketing killed fashion – this is it. Top brands have no soul anymore. “It might seem crazy what I am ’bout to say”, Pharrell Williams is the new men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton! That is to prove that the fashion industry is just a marketing game, a matter of greed and money.

Not only do brands pay celebrities to wear clothes, putting the cost on customers. So, people who can afford luxury clothes don’t pay for them. While those who can’t, spend all their money to purchase them, and so, they support the lifestyle of their idols.
Now celebrities are paid to design collections. Well, designing means they put their names, and someone else will do the job.

Clearly, this is not fashion. Indeed, this is one of the biggest marketing operations ever.

Marketing, fashion & celebrities

We like Pharrell’s music. He is a great artist and musician, but he is not a fashion designer. It seems like Louis Vuitton is becoming a mega fast-fashion brand for people who want to spend a lot of money. And perhaps Vuitton made things clear: designers are not needed anymore! No heritage, no luxury, and no fashion. They want easy profit. Therefore, they want celebrities in order to get there quickly and sell more.

Who is the target of this marketing strategy?

In addition, to understand why fashion Maisons need this kind of marketing operation and who they are appealing to, we quote Naomi Klein from her must-read book No Logo:

“…it’s the young people living in developed and semi-developed countries who are the great global hope. More than anything or anyone else, logo-decorated middle-class teenagers, intent on pouring themselves into a media-fabricated mould, have become globalization’s most powerful symbols.”

No Logo – Naomi Klein

Now let’s observe a minute of silence for the death of the job of fashion designers. No one cares anymore about you. Truly no one cares about talent and skills. The era of fashion designers is gone. Marketing killed fashion!

The fashion industry wants celebrities. So, enjoy your new role, Mr Williams! Sorry if we don’t clap along.