Fashion’s Lost Soul: the Crime of Logo Idolatry
Words by Tricia Merone
Edited by Rachel Hambly and Bailey Tolentino
A Telling Status of Wealth? – The White Prada Tank
Prada's $995 White Tank Top Is the Ultimate Status Symbol - Business Insider
A walk down the street is nothing short of a designer display these days. From the widely recognizable Goyard pattern to the Balenciaga ‘Le City’ bag, it seems as though everyone owns designer; and those who don’t want to splurge on a bag find themselves teetering towards ordering the (much cheaper) lookalikes. As long as it looks like it says ‘Miu Miu,’ then it’s designer, right? In this day and age, when creativity flourishes and an endless amount of craft goes into clothing, why are we so captivated by that shiny designer logo? If all designer items were stripped of their logos, would we even want them anymore? The modern-day obsession with designer logos and the display of wealth is ruining the art of fashion and the craft behind creativity.
Exclusivity Turned Mainstream: The Luxury Market’s Identity Crisis
In a culture dominated by social media, it’s nearly impossible to avoid complying with every trend and micro-trend that emerges. Unconsciously, trends seep into every corner of media consumption, influencing every purchase until, somehow, everyone on the street is dressed the same. It’s an epidemic, and it’s ruining the soul of fashion. Designer brands, once known for their dominating houses of power and unique craft, have morphed into a surface display of wealth. Many designer brands have a strong history that roots them in their identity – from stories of an evolution from leather shop to luxury powerhouse, to stories of post-war fashion and femininity, designer brands have grown from a true art, full of soul and purpose. Now, they’re rarely appreciated for their craftsmanship and spirit, but rather for their performative logos and the impression they make on consumers who wear them. It’s pretty telling that the most popular designer items are the ones that shout, ‘designer!’ upon first look, such as the Goyard Saint Louis Bag or the Chanel Classic Flap Bag. There’s no doubt about the expense and luxury of those bags when they’re seen in the most casual moments, elevating those who wear them in the eyes of the public. The idea of ‘quiet luxury’ is one that is scarcely embraced even by the most iconic fashion houses nowadays. Even a white tank from Prada has the logo strewn across the front – because what, truly, would be the point of spending £720 on a white tank top if you can’t display the designer name?
The Transformation of Iconic Logos
The Evolution of Fashion Logos: From Discreet to Iconic - nss magazine
When a logo falls off a designer bag, the bag is quickly discarded to the back of the closet, no longer worth incorporating into the wardrobe. It begs the question – wasn’t the original intention of buying from designer brands that you were purchasing a piece of art crafted by an artisan, rather than the mass-produced fast-fashion items society has become so entranced by? Why is it that society is so concerned with outward appearances and the external portrayal of wealth that genuine appreciation for designer brands has been forgotten? The glorious House of Gucci has become soured by the perception of the logo as ‘cheugy’, a Prada bag faces the bin once the logo falls off… It’s a true tragedy of the commons. As designer brands began catering to the masses, their once-exclusive products became tied to specific aesthetics and cultural movements. When trends inevitably moved on, many brands saw their chic and timeless identities erode. Gucci’s Double-G Marmont belt, iconic throughout the 2010s, became perhaps too emblematic of that era – its overexposure transformed it from a symbol of luxury into one of excess, leaving Gucci to wrestle with an image of tackiness it has struggled to shake off.
The commercialisation of designer items, devolving from exclusive to widely accessible, has created this inorganic sense within designer brands. Although consumers now sport logos as a means of displaying wealth, this is offset by the fact that designers are more accessible than ever. It’s not really a display of wealth if the amount a person spent on a piece is a splurge, rather than a purchase genuinely afforded by their income. As these brands have fallen from their pedestals, they should have lost their significance as symbols of power and wealth; however, with Coco Chanel and Guccio Gucci still household names, their iconic brands may never lose their hold over society. These brands’ powerful histories have given designer fashion an enduring, almost sacred status, even as mass appeal and commercialisation have drawn them away from what they once stood for.
Perhaps fashion’s next evolution isn’t about louder logos, but rediscovering the quiet art that made these brands iconic in the first place.