Classic Italian fashion brand Gucci is once again top of the fashion pile after it was named the fashion world’s coolest brand. However, the news was less good for the likes of Prada and Giorgio Armani whose fashion cachet was reported to be, quelle surprise, “cooling fast”.
That’s the results of a new survey by investment banking firm Exane BNP Paribas who examined 38 luxury brands to assess their “brand temperature” (ie “hot” being cool and “cool” being a bit daggy).
Basically, the survey looked at how much brands spent in advertising in the planet’s top fashion magazines versus how much editorial coverage they actually got on top of their ad spends. Brands were ranked as “hot” if magazines gave them more editorial space than their advertising spend should warrant. However, if brands advertised but got little editorial coverage then their appeal was reported as “cooling”.
According to the study, Gucci came out on top as the world’s coolest luxury brand and its cachet was up more than 15 per cent on last year. However, it should be noted that Gucci was also one of the top spenders in print which probably meant editors were obliged to give the brand more page space.
In second spot on the cool rankings was Louis Vuitton and Chanel came in a close third. Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren and Dolce & Gabbana also fared well, but again it was noted these brands were big spenders in print.
Meanwhile, Prada and Giorgio Armani both saw a decline in editorial print coverage by double digits and were plummeting down to the daggy cellar. Hugo Boss, DKNY and Ferragamo were also rated as “cold”.
Burberry, Valentino and Saint Laurent were “hot but getting colder”; but as the website The Business Of Fashion.com noted these brands had significantly reduced their print spend and have moved it to digital.
