Fashion brands never go out of fashion

I haven't bought a copy GQ since I lived in London but this months cover story caught my eye so over the sunny weekend I found myself slumped in a deckchair page flicking and occasionally actually reading. Beyond the editorial my creative mind couldn't help but evaluate each advert within and more importantly the brands.

I was reminded of how simple the leading fashion brands are. One new shoe designer for example simply has his name in a standard PC font in caps. It really could have been achieved in ten seconds in Word (although I am sure it wasn't).

Those who have worked with us will know that at Logo Laureate we always encourage simplicity in brand design and look to produce brands that do not date. The fashion world is a prime example of simple brand design succeeding and doing so consistently on a global playing field for many decades. The vast majority of the brands are purely typographical and yet have become 'simply' iconic.

I am quickly going to select a few moving from the front cover inwards only a few pages..

Louis Vuitton (French luxury leather goods and fashion since 1854). Font: Futura with some range kerning adjustments (letter spacing for those non designers). The use of the logo marque of the interlocked 'L' and 'V' remains emblazoned on the products but the typographical logo seems to be its press advertising figurehead now. A creative manoeuvre thanks to the pirate market.

Chanel (French haute couture, luxury goods since 1909). Font: after considerable discussion amongst designers across the world it has been concluded it is their own font, closest match is SF New Republic.
The iconic logo marque of the inter-joining back-to-back 'C's was actually given to Coco Chanel by Chateau de Cremat, Nice.

Cartier (French luxury jeweller since 1847). Font: a custom script font, although general consensus is it's just the 'C' and 'R" that have be created specifically.

Prada (Italian fashion since 1913). Font: a custom font based on an Engravers font. Has evolved gently from a more traditional engravers font to its current more contemporary being.

The list is almost never-ending, Gucci, Dolce & Gabanna, Pink, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Paul Smith, Gant, Jaeger....

So why do these incredibly simple brands work so well for such enormous businesses? When you consider the wide tapestry of designs, cultures, colours, art and opinions involved in the industry it is fascinating that they have almost all chosen to project themselves (becoming icons along the way) in such a simple creative manner. They epitomise timeless class.

Perhaps it is so the logos can easily be reproduced on the products? Perhaps it's merely because the products speak for themselves and the logos need to do little ad lib? Perhaps it harps back to when logo marques weren't widely produced when these fashion houses started trading? Whatever the reasoning, it has become a brand design industry standard and a fine example to follow.

So get choosing your fonts.

http://www.myfonts.com/BrowseBy?idtype=foundry&id=2&itemsperpage=100&resultcount=1780

http://www.identifont.com/