BRAND MAN

IFES

TOBRAND M

ANIFESTO

Introducing Philippe V and its founders.

Our lives have been filled with memorable experiences. We loved to surf so much that we owned surf-shops. We loved designing so much that we opened our own work-shops. We loved music so intensely that we played in bands and created nightclubs. We explored over 40 cities around the world, lived in Bali, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, LA, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, London,Bi-arritz, Paris. We had the highs of Mount Fuji and the lows of Củ Chi. We worked hard, played hard, and sometimes failed, but we survived, we learned, we got back up. And we did it in the company of friends.

Then at some point, the responsibilities and pressures of life, society and the world got in the way. Career. Family. Society. Globalization. Success meant conformity, so we accepted the familiar, the easy and widely available: shopping at the same stores, eating at the same restaurants, vacation-ing on the same beaches, wearing the same brands as everyone else. In other words, we became dangerously bored … and close to boring! So we left it all to reinvent ourselves.

While we have no regrets, we never want that for you, which is the reason we started Philippe V: to help you live the life you’re meant to live. You want it to be different, you want it to be memo-rable, you want to make your mark. We create eyewear, jewelry, leather goods, accessories, and personal wearables that help you do just that.

Brand Philosophy

The soul that sees beauty shall not walk alone.

Goethe said, “The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.” We believe in the next step: “The soul that sees beauty shall not walk alone.”

When you bring Philippe V into your life, you embrace the idea that there are people who be-lieve as you do – who see and understand and follow the ideals of life on a deep emotional level. Philippe V is simply a small signal to others, and a reminder to yourself, that you do not walk alone in this world.

Brand Manifesto

The road less traveled doesn’t mean traveled alone.

Hear that? That running, racing, shuffling, slogging sound?

That’s the sound of the herd. People running to catch up, racing to get ahead, shuffling without life, slogging without purpose – trying to keep pace with corporate demands.

What’s forgotten in the din is that everyone’s story ends the same.

But there are some who know that – and who relish it and make their journey a parade with a few like-minded people. That’s all you need, really. Just a few people with the same attitude headed in the same direction.

Kindred spirits, brothers, sisters, mates – call them what you like, because they don’t put labels on themselves. They simply walk strong, and live with purpose, making their own decisions along the way and not afraid to live with them.

Right to the end.

Brand Story

Philippe V – the creation of Philippe Vergez – was born out of the observed need of people to express their individualism in a world where they are surrounded by globalized conformity – even as they have to exist in that world.

Along with co-founders Thierry Halbroth and Jo Black – world travelers and stylists in their own right – the three creative minds have created a brand that will be truly “a brand for me.”

That brand embraces authentic Anarchist values and is a direct reflection of what is buried deep inside many people: a refusal to be tamed, a desire to live an unconformed life – or if living a con-formed life is necessary, to do it with a twist, with a chameleon-like grace that keeps your spirit alive.

“Anarchy is pure Individualism. The true Anarchist decries all influences save those of love and reason. Ideas are his only arms.” Philippe V, then, is a tribe that unites people from all over the world who share the same mindset, the same ideals about fashion, travel and lifestyle.

Philippe V values individuality and encourages it through stylish rock’n’roll and rebellious icons – designed for the 21st century. Similar to a members-only club, the brand aims to unite like-mind-ed individuals by giving them a sense of belonging and letting them express their nonconform-ing identity through historical iconography – like the skull or the Fleur de Lys.

BRAND

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The Fleur de Lys

Described by the Greeks as the flower of all flowers, the white lily is the emblem of universal creativity that can be traced back as far as Mesopotamia. It is to the Western world what the lotus is to the Orient.

With its three petals, the fleur-de-lys was also used to represent the Holy Trinity, and the Kingdom of France adopted it to signal to the world it was under the protection of higher authorities. But more importantly, legend has it that there is a real force behind it, a force designed to spread through civilizations, a force aspiring to the promotion of brotherhoods and unity between na-tions.

This is why the fleur-de-lys is also the symbol for idealism. No flower expresses better the nobility and generosity of the heart and soul that is fundamental to the foundation of our national attrib-utes – leading life through opening our hearts and minds to others.

The Skull

The most common symbolic use of the skull is as a representation of death, mortality and evil. Widely used through centuries, the skull has consistently been a magnet for attention, attracting all sorts of fasci-nation and idolization.

But according to some ancient societies, it is believed to have had the opposite association, where objects such as crystal skulls repre sent “life”, thus the honoring of humanity in the flesh (collective) and the embodiment of consciousness (individual).

This is of great significance to us at Philippe V, as the skull allows us to think about forgotten obsessions or people (in an inner manner) that we’ve lost. It is a reminder that says we haven’t forgotten, that we remember what we were and who we truly are.

Brand Style

• Modern rebel reinvented• Stylish ‘rock’ edge• Gothic religious with a twist• Tribal• Men + Women

Men

Women

Target Customer

Those who believe in being different but blending in, who haven’t forgotten their inner selves, who might be like sleeping agents ¬– chameleons living among us. Some have tattoos, some have attitude, some have signs of distinction, but all are marked in some way and want to belong to that brotherhood - expressing and distinguishing themselves through their choices, purchases and affiliations.

Where typical brands define their targets by age, we refuse to do so because our audience is defined (and united) by a sense of belonging .... They could be as young as 13, as old as 99 or more. Once you enter the club, everyone looks after each other and treats everyone with respect, irrespective of age or sex.

So we’d rather focus on building a conceptual customer and link the brand to famous people based on who they are as a person or fictional characters. The following is a curated (long) list of people we believe fit our ideal customer:

Personalities:

James DeanJim Morrison Alexander McQueenJohn GallianoLachlan MurdochRussell CroweKeanu ReevesChristopher WalkenAlvin LeungConroy ChanJohnny DeepSixto RodriguezAmy WinehouseJennifer LawrenceAmber HeardRose McGowanMiley CyrusDebbie HarryJosie Ho

Characters:

Hank Moody (Californication)Eddie Morra (Limitless)Jon Snow (Game of Thrones)Tyler Durden (Fight Club)Han Solo (Star Wars)Natasha Romanoff (The Avengers)Beatrice ‘Tris’ Prior (Divergent)Trinity (The Matrix)Lisbeth Salander (Millennium Trilogy)Bridget Gregory (The Last Seduction)

Brand Differentiation

• Pride and quality: each item comes with the name or number of the article, telling its story, high-lighting each components that went into the manufacturing and its point of origin, along with a worldwide warranty.• Craftsmanship: each item carries the worker’s name so people know who made the piece.• International but proud to be Asian. Although citizens of the world, we draw on our long exper-tise of living and working in Asia. While others hide behind manufacturing blinds, we are proud to highlight the origin of our products. • Heritage enhanced by technology: respect for traditions and origins enhanced by technology.• Noble and discreet: pieces that are always classy and not loud – understatements worthy of being talked about. • Hidden details: from labels to packaging to stamps, each piece will have unique detailing that sets it apart.• Blessed pieces: like lucky charms, each of our designs can be presented before their respective altar or temple to be blessed by the higher authorities.• Brand with a cause: helping kids worldwide expand their creativity through a fixed percentage of each of the pieces sold contributed to Room 13.

Brand Campaign

In a world of globalization, how does one maintain a sense of individualism and at the same time feel a sense of belonging? No one wants to be left ‘alone’ and there is an innate sense to belong to a tribe that gives the freedom to express oneself.

Brand Identifiers

• Ambassadors of the brand – “Etre plutôt que paraitre” – Essence rather than appearance. They come from all walks of life but are united by their belief of being true to themselves. They define the brand because of who they are, not what they appear to be. • Muses – inspirations from the dead, and from fictional characters in underground and urban culture.• Collaborations – to include curated photographers, artists, TV and film, music, targeted at cre-ating contents for targeted social media entities.

Brand Mark

• Trademarked Skull and Lily design• Black Diamond • Unique crests and symbols• The color black• Noble materials• Craftsmanship• Personalization• Patented designs

Brand Signature The Lily – The (Philippe V) Dimensional Skull

Brand Marketing Execution

Build ALL social and digital platforms.PR lead at first by a specialized firm appointed to nurture the message and build credibility on an underground level.Identification of brand ambassadors ¬– cultivate relationshipsIdentification of key influential digital entities Nowness Hypebeast HighsnobietyInsideHookCreative collaborations.Targeted events presence.Heavy editorial targeting.Create, share, shout, repeat.

Brand Launch

Physical: Hong Kong–New York–TokyoVirtual: Worldwide

Price Positioning

Positioned as an affordable premium brand, Philippe V is committed to delivering products that combine the best craftsmanship, the latest technology and a flair for creative disruption at a val-ue-for-money price point.

Each category will feature a classic price point design. As a team, we will define each product.Eyewear: 150-250$Jewelry 100$-1000$+ (Silver, Gold Platinum, gel stones)Fashion Jewelry40$-400$ (Leather, plated, semi gem stones, Swarowski or Zirconia)Leather goods 80$-300$T-shirts 85$-100$Silk Scarves 120$Collectors and limited editions 200$ - 1000$+Art Pieces 200-1000$+

Target Retailers

Our strategy will evolve within a few steps and will avoid local distributors. To insure adequate prices to our consumers and the best margin for the company the mark up from manufacturing to retail will be limited to x8 or x9. Targeted retail network:

• Company online store, backed up by a taylor made social media strategy. • Key image retail locations in key cities around the world, such as Colette and No Youth Control in Paris, 10 Corso Como in Milan, The Goodhood in London, LNFA in Berlin, Simple in Prague, Fashion Clinic in Lisbon, Podium Moscow, La Garçonne New York, The Pool Aoyama in Tokyo.• IT, Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols, Central Childom, Mitzokushi, Sacks, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus• Duty Free stores.• Absolte Black flagshipstores and franchise network.

Competition

All of these brands have strong stories and beliefs. Some are deeply rooted in their craft as we would be. They are not all necessarily direct competitors but play on the same level in what in-spires us, or positioned against a target audience looking for authenticity, values and individual-ism. (We will need to refine these and explain more.)

• Night RiderExcellent reference and brand concept, but suffers from bad branding and imagery that’s very ge neric and uninspiring and often clichéd.

• Chrome HeartsA good brand story and good diversification model, but has an extremely pricey strategy that leaves most people wondering why they should pay luxury prices to access something rebellious yet designed for everyday use. Became too elitist.

• Deep AngerGood brand story and products but distribution is extremely limited. Most items custom-made or in limited quantities. Suffers from lack of branding and online presence. Does not specifically look to grow the brand and remains underground.

• LifersThis brand has just started but the idea is there and the attitude of their target audience is per-fectly focused. This is an art project that meets fashion and should take off thanks to a partnership with Cadillac.

• Others• Underground• Neil Barrett• James Perse• John Richmond• RVCA• Saturdays• Shinola

Implementation Plan

Management and Sales Resources aligned with Absolute BlackDesign, product development and Logistics resources provided by BBasePartnership with Mike Affatato, for Jewelry and metal product development and handcrafting.Marketing Resources required

• PR Agency – (A Vibe in Hong Kong)• Social and Digital marketing platforms• On-line Marketplace• Social and Digital maintenance• Marketing Events – as per plan• Travel Inspiration – as per plan

Based in Hong Kong, spread Worldwide