Branding the man: why men are the next frontier in fashion retail

When Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with H&M in 2004, it was hailed as a marketing coup and both critics and consumers alike universally praised the collection. It was the dawn of the “designer collaboration” which by now has become nearly ubiquitous from virtually every name-brand designer.

Macy’s was late to the collaboration party but nonetheless, has churned out several in association with its Impulse department. You would have thought Macy’s would lead their efforts with Lagerfeld rather than with Matthew Williamson, who’s collection launched the Macy’s Impulse collaboration series on April 13. One had to wonder if the Macy’s customer was even remotely familiar with the designer.

At yesterday’s launch of the Karl Lagerfeld for Impulse Collection, which will be available in 235 doors, it was hard to tell if the collaboration would make as much of an impact as it did when the designer famously launched a sold-out collection at H&M.

While pieces like the crisp, white blouse were instantly identifiable as a “Chanel-like” look, other pieces — like an extremely heavy coatdress with the texture of an oven mitt — did not seem to win anyone over.

You simply had to wonder what they were thinking when, with a simple LBD, a very Lagerfeld white collar was ruthlessly tacked down to the dress itself, instantly turning it into a See’s Candies uniform.

The winners were few but they went fast: a soft chiffon dress in a burnt brown with a starched white collar; a ruched black dress with a high neck; or one of several super-soft t-shirts and tanks with a sketch of Karl on the front.

And just in case you forgot you were shopping at Macy’s: racks were merchandised with the large sizes on the outside rather than on the inside. With price-points starting at $50 and hovering at $100, this will most likely be Macy’s most successful collaboration to date.

The Karl Lagerfeld for Impulse Collection is available at select Macy’s stores and at Macys.com.  See the entire collection here.

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Never mind that AMC’s “Mad Men,” the highly acclaimed, Emmy award-winning series about the tawdry and tantalizing world of advertising in the 1960s, is not due for a new season until 2012.  Banana Republic has gone great guns for a second time in trying to capitalize on the craze for all things “Mad Men.”

But wasn’t that so last year, or the year before?

To see last night’s party at the San Francisco Banana Republic flagship (they did similar parties across the U.S.), you would have thought this was back around Season 2 when people were REALLY talking about the show.

The crowd of mostly 20-something, financial district professionals filed in searching for the bar and appeared only mildly interested in the “Mad Men” collection. The collection, a collaboration with “Mad Men” costume stylist Janie Bryant, offers a respectable take on 60’s fashion, albeit a trifle too costumey.

Display windows featured fashion images with models dressed as characters from the program, with text reading, “Are you Betty?” or “Are you Don?” I don’t know, sometimes I’m both, depends on what I’m drinking. Speaking of…

If you work in retail, you know right away what was missing at this party, and it had nothing to do with fashion: likkur.

Somehow the marketing folks at the Gap — bless them — overlooked a liquor license or something, or maybe they’re on the wagon and think you should be too. The bar served only “Mockatinis” which rather than sounding cute made you just plain… mad. People dourly sipped on their juicebox-in-a-glass “cocktail” and pretended to be excited about the photo booth in the corner.

Meanwhile, career gals lined up for a free “Mad Men Facelift” — huh? What does that have to do with the show? No matter, the line was longer than the one at the bar, as staff from San Francisco’s SenSpa used the NuSkin device to lift their fresh little faces.

Alas, we couldn’t stay to see what other exciting things were going to happen. We needed a drink.

 See the new Mad Men Collection from Banana Republic. Click here.

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When the news broke last week that Club Monaco had decided to hop on the Manwagon and create a “dynamic shopping experience for guys,” well, many of us just had to roll our eyes just a bit.

You might have caught our recent post (click here) about how San Francisco has been leading the way in terms of men’s boutiques. And of course J. Crew went whole hog on the concept of partnering with heritage brands like Filson, Globe Trotter, Red Wing, and just about anyone else they could dig up to make them seem more, you know: masculine.

It’s true, Club Monaco’s black-and-white aesthetic has worn thin and the Ralph Lauren Corp.-owned company has been a bit stubborn about change. With 35 stores in the U.S. and 24 in Canada, it was only a matter of time before they were going to join in the fray.

So they’ve enlisted the help of Michael Williams, the earnest blogger who’s A Continuous Lean has become something of a bible for those who worship at the shrine of heritage brands and Made in America. “We took inspiration from classic men’s specialty stores – ones that our fathers and grandfathers shopped in,” said Williams in WWD.

Oh, if I had a dollar for every time someone has said this in the past couple of years. I even got sick of myself saying it when I was on my book tour for Branding the Man.

It’s clear that when every last heritage brand has been trumpeted and yet another store is kitting themselves out in reclaimed wood and “old school” materials, the question will remain: what next, boys?

I believe that the awakening of men to the power of fashion – no matter how utilitarian or quietly “authentic” — will hopefully be the gateway towards a broader definition of the conventional men’s retail market as whole and in turn, the men’s retail experience. Now more than ever, men are exploring their own identities and sharpening the American definition of masculinity with potentially exciting new ways of expressing themselves.

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