Brand overviewWith an aesthetic subscribing to a Helmut Lang quote in a 1993 issue of i-D, where ‘fashion is about attitude, not hemlines’ Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida are the faces behind East London based womenswear label Marques’Almeida.

In 2009 following graduation they showed for 2 seasons with Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East before being picked up by NEWGEN, showing their A/W 12 collection on the LFW schedule in the portico showrooms. Their work is already featured in major fashion magazines, while raising considerable interest in the international fashion market.

Predominantly working with denim, Marques ‘Almeida refl ects the cool and deconstructed design aesthetic which has been present since theirgraduate collection. Taking key references from re-worked street-wear, the nineties and the early noughties, the pair say their signatures for design are ‘raw, young, effortless and lived in.’

ethos

Real girls and their everyday lives are the source of inspiration for collections, which constantly search for a sense of reality. With foundations lying in the generation they grew up in, the pair work for the weirdly attractive non-fashion, normal girl, considering her attitude and mood as their basis for design. Not in-spired by current trends, they work with basic items found in old 90’s magazines and are inspired by a youth code of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket or shoes. By reworking this aesthetic and thinking about their girl in mind’s attitude, their designs are created somewhere between wearable, but cool and creative . ‘We are inspired by personalities; it’s the basic idea of designing based on a mood. ‘We like to think, ‘We’ve got this really moody girl, what would she wear, what is she doing.’

ethos

Real girls and their everyday lives are the source of inspiration for collections, which constantly search for a sense of reality. With foundations lying in the generation they grew up in, the pair work for the weirdly attractive non-fashion, normal girl, considering her attitude and mood as their basis for design. Not in-spired by current trends, they work with basic items found in old 90’s magazines and are inspired by a youth code of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket or shoes. By reworking this aesthetic and thinking about their girl in mind’s attitude, their designs are created somewhere between wearable, but cool and creative . ‘We are inspired by personalities; it’s the basic idea of designing based on a mood. ‘We like to think, ‘We’ve got this really moody girl, what would she wear, what is she doing.’

EthosReal girls and their everyday lives are the source of inspiration for collections, which constantly search for a sense of reality. With foundations lying in the generation they grew up in, the pair work for the weirdly attractive non-fashion, normal girl, considering her attitude and mood as their basis for design. Not inspired by current trends, they work with basic items found in old 90’s magazines and are inspired by a youth code of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket or shoes.

By reworking this aesthetic and thinking about their girl in mind’s attitude, their designs are created somewhere between wearable, but cool and creative . ‘We are inspired by personalities; it’s the basic idea of designing based on a mood. ‘We like to think, ‘We’ve got this really moody girl, what would she wear, what is she doing.’

SWOT Analysis-the brand has fi nancial backing in the form of funding in terms of newgen, a distinct aesthetic helps distinguish an emerging brand from the already saturated market

-a relatively small target market can be a major weakness for an emerging designer brand, having a particular aesthetic approach to design can limit a brands sales potential, especially as a new designer brand must gain as much revenue as possible to continue to be able to afford: studio space, fabrics etc

-emerging designer brands can be appealing to larger companies/ brands as a potential collaborative opportunity, often seen as new, young and cutting edge, larger ‘less cool’ more commercially viable brands like to associate themselves with emerging design talent in the hope that the brand takes on some elements of the emerging designers aesthetic

-in the landscape of emerging designers, the ability to be outshone and ‘pushed out’ by the constant stream of graduates and new establishing brands is much more of a threat than other established designer brands

Branding The brands position as one of London’s strongest emerging designer brands is represented through it’s showing on the LFW schedule, positioning it on the same platform as larger more established de-signers and brands. Marques’Almeida’s established unique selling point is the duo’s innovative use of denim, as recognised by ELLE UK who quoted them as “the go to brand for distressed denim”. The brand also identifi es almost as an ‘anti-fashion’ brand, trying not to convey the same ideologies as other emerging brands in their fi eld, by using ‘non-model looking’ girls in their promotional material, ‘We do not attempt to put any sort of rules behind it’- Paulo Almeida on not following the emerging designer norms. Although this could be seen as detrimental in terms of branding the identifi cation with their target outweighs these ideas.

Branding The brands position as one of London’s strongest emerging designer brands is represented through it’s showing on the LFW schedule, positioning it on the same platform as larger more established de-signers and brands. Marques’Almeida’s established unique selling point is the duo’s innovative use of denim, as recognised by ELLE UK who quoted them as “the go to brand for distressed denim”. The brand also identifi es almost as an ‘anti-fashion’ brand, trying not to convey the same ideologies as other emerging brands in their fi eld, by using ‘non-model looking’ girls in their promotional material, ‘We do not attempt to put any sort of rules behind it’- Paulo Almeida on not following the emerging designer norms. Although this could be seen as detrimental in terms of branding the identifi cation with their target outweighs these ideas.

Branding The brands position as one of London’s strongest emerging designer brands is represented through it’s showing on the LFW schedule, positioning it on the same platform as larger more established designers and brands. Marques’Almeida’s established unique selling point is the duo’s innovative use of denim, as recognised by ELLE UK who quoted them as “the go to brand for distressed denim”.

The brand also identifi es almost as an ‘anti-fashion’ brand, trying not to convey the same ideologies as other emerging brands in their fi eld, by using ‘non-model looking’ girls in their promotional material, ‘We do not attempt to put any sort of rules behind it’- Paulo Almeida on not following the emerging designer norms. Although this could be seen as detrimental in terms of branding the identifi cation with their target outweighs these ideas.

Target CustomerThe brands target customer is: a non fashion girl, she possibly doesn’t follow direct trends from the catwalk, or even follow fashion. She’s quite street, alternative, ‘grungy’ in style. When asked about the muse for their A/W12 this is the answer the duo gave.

“She is the classic teenager: moody, grumpy, secretive and fun. She is completely unrelated to fashion so everything she does with us is very very authentic which is amazing she is a breath of fresh air! Our brand is all about this real side of things: the girl, the mood, the attitude Sofi a (Marta’s teenage sister) is the perfect representation of this realness and authenticity.”

PRDuring Fashion Week the brand is represented by AI PR, who are contactable for information, ticket requests and all press enquiries.(FASHION MONTIOR 2012) Out of the fashion week schedule, the brand is not represented by a PR agency, much like London based emerging knitwear brands SIBLING and Sister by SIBLING. This is not a conventional method adopted by many designer brands.

It does however have it’s pros and cons. A pro being that the designers themselves have total control over which media outlets, stylists and celebrities have access to their garments meaning that the places where the pieces are featured are focussed to the designers vision as who see and where and their clothes are seen. This could help the brand’s ability to target their customer specifically and also creates a more connected relationship between the designer and the person wearing their clothes. The cons of this could be very detrimental to Marques’Almeida’s development and growth, by restricting the amount press exposure they receive means that growing knowledge of the brand within industry and consumers is limited.

Also if all press affairs are conducted by the designers themselves it leaves less time to work on the collection. PR’s also contact appropriate and relevant industry connections outwardly, yet when a brand PR’s itself it only receives inward attention, meaning that interaction between designers/ press and buyers is dramatically stunted. The brand however do have some PR backing from massive and influential contact bases of NEWGEN and Opening Ceremony.

Product-the catwalk collection is very wearable and has a strong footing of sales potential, especially in terms of the brands target market, pieces sold in store are often looks directly from the catwalk, or minutely altered garments produced for sale

-due to the minimal design features focus is on execution, fabric quality etc

-heavy emphasis on denim with some, tulle, knit and jersey pieces

-niche stylised product relvent to now and past few seasons

-trademark piece: oversized distressed denim t-shirt with heavily frayed edges

Sales -currently stocked in stores JAPAN: Tokyo DESPERADO, CHINA: Hong Kong JOYCE Beijing Hangzou Water Stone, Hong-US stockists include Opening Ceremony-UK stockists Not Just a Label-they do sell online- through OC and other outlets-focussed stockists due to the distinct aesthetic of the clothes sold in store where the particular target market would shop/ buy/ browse -showed in London, Paris and Milan showrooms post show in London

Louise Gray has a large number of international stockists, including thecorner.com based in the UK. As well as catering to the French and Irish market, Louise Gray stocks in Isetan, Japan, I.T, Hong Kong, Susan and The Grocery Store, Calafornia, and Ceilo USA. By reviewing where Marques’Almeida see themselves in the international market and their current stores in the same countries, this list of stockists could be a potentially be expanded resulting in an increase in growth in areas which are already proving to be a success.

Hong Kong has recently proved itself as an important emerging market for retail brands, ‘Hong Kong is very open to retailers from abroad and there are several signifi cant foreign owned operations here. The stable political climate, low corporate tax, strategic location and East meets West culture that makes consumers more receptive to new concepts and brands. However, one factor that has limited the development of different sorts of retail, as well as retailers from outside the region, is the high level of rental prices in Hong Kong. In such a small market, landlords have been able to push rents up and up and this has put off many potential entrants from abroad as well as squeezing out some smaller operators.’-(Mintel 2012 Asia-Pacifi c Retail Handbook June). Marques’Almeida are already stocking at Joyce in Hong Kong, which has proved their success on the international scene as they have secured one of the concessions at a highly sought after store. Clearly the products are in demand, which demonstrates their capability to remain constant in a competitive market.

‘Despite long-term economic woes, Japan is still the world’s third largest economy and home to some of Asia’s most affl uent consumers.’ (Mintel 2012 Asia-Pacifi c Retail Handbook - June) As Marques’Almeida are currently stocked in Desperado, Tokyo it is necessary to analyse whether the country needs another store. Whilst the current economic climate has stagnated in recent years, and like many other Eastern countries, the market is heavily saturated with new designers and luxury brands, the Japanese economy is recovering with consumption increasing at a moderate pace. According to Mintel, online shopping in Japan is becoming increasingly popular, providing luxury retailers a channel to exploit their products. This could be benefi cial for Marques’Almeida to look into, as it would expand their sales at a lower profi t than store rental prices.

CompetitorsDue to the sheer number of emerging, London based designer brands, it is diffi cult to identify a select few competitors that Marques’Almeida face. J.W. Anderson, a very successful new designer is a good example however; due to the similar preliminary progression both namesake brands have undergone.

Following graduation from CSM and backing from Fashion East and NEWGEN, as Marques’Almeida have, J.W. Anderson has progressed to a collaboration with highstreet fashion giant TOPSHOP and more recently (November 2012) a capsule collection with Versace’s VERSUS line and winning best New Designer at the BFA’s 2012. The progression to VERSUS is one echoed by J.W. Anderson in the footsteps of Christopher Kane, who’s brand has grown exponentially coming from roots similar to the afore mentioned brands.

Competition the brand faces further is also relevant in the form of where they are stocked. Emerg-ing designer brand JW Anderson is stocked in Opening Ceremony, as is Marques’Almeida and many other emerging London based Central Saint Martins Fashion design graduates. This shows the inter-national demand for innovative new designer brands.

MarketingWebsiteMarques Almeida’s website is simplistic and clear to navigate, with links to their other social media websites it is easy to follow their online presence and the website cleverly promotes this without being overbearing. The website has a minimal feel to it which appeals to the target audience and customer profile of the brand, does not distract from the aesthetics of the clothes and allows the viewer to access the information they are seeking.

The menu features previous collections and concept shoots, a range of important press clippings which are most important to the brand, a biography of the two designers including a brief history of their background and rise to success, contacts which deals with important members of the company and press links, and stockists. The layout of each page flows well and the home page is informative, and sets the context of the brand well for viewers. Being simplistic, this removes the chance of the page seeming as an overbearing splash page of multimedia, and increases the chance of the page loading fast. The website is consistent, and easy to understand. The font is easy to read, the line lengths are acceptable and to the point, whilst the site is easy to scan. The graphics, visual communication and multimedia has been optimised for easy web viewing and the photographs use a high jpeg resolution.

Whilst Marques Almeida’s website is suitable for their target customer and successfully portrays the brand, it could be beneficial for the website to add different types of multimedia to allow the viewer to understand the brand’s personality and spend more time on the website. Such suggestions include videos, a successful example of adding this media to a website without it detracting from the overall experience and slowing down the loading time is Piers Atkinson’s videos found on the archive tab of his website.

This is linked up to Vimeo, allowing the viewer to switch between the websites and favourite the video, promoting it to other visitor’s of the site. It also further contextualises the website and because the competition of other emerging brands are accessing this type of marketing, it would be beneficial for Marques Almeida to consider a similar option.

TumblrMarques Almeida’s tumblr showcases their previous collections, backstage footage of catwalks, their models, concept shoots and features fans of the brand wearing pieces of the collection. The layout is clear and simplistic and allows viewers to understand the navigation, whilst the unstrategised order of photos keeps the blog looking interesting. There is a potential for expansion of imagery, using posts of inspiration, process of production and events. Marques Almeida take advantage of the ‘ask’ button on this website, allowing viewers to ask questions and comment, whilst gaining a reply from the brand is good for interaction.

Topshop’s tumblr allows viewers to navigate clearly between pages and shows a ‘tumblroll’ of websites which are favourites of the brand and help to promote other pages which also identify with the website, this would be beneficial for an emerging brand like Marques Almeida who are currently still establishing their place on the market. There is also an option to buy directly from the provided link, which would increase sales and revenue. If Marques Almeida provided links to their stockists or online sales platforms, this could be beneficial to their profits.

FacebookMarques Almeida joined facebook in 2012, since then they have used it as a platform for showcasing their collections and press in the media. The aesthetic of the website compliments the other online platforms and fits in well with the style of the brand, the introduction states ‘Fashion is an attitude, not about hemlines,’ and describes the ethos for facebook viewers who may not necessarily aware of the brand’s identity. Marques Almeida have been succesful in representing themselves and have used the site to increase awareness of their activity on the market.

Generally the website is used to show features on leading websites and blogs which represent the market Marques Almeida see themselves in, such as style.com, and Opening Ceremony. A regular update after every catwalk would be beneficial for the brand, as it would allow fans to access catwalk information and feel included in the progress of the designer’s work, and would also boost press coverage and sales. Since many designer’s who feature on facebook use the site to host their most recent work, it would be a good idea for Marques Almeida to do the same.

As the brand state they look for different ways to promote themselves than the typical ways used by other designers, not all marketing techniques can be applied to the promotional tactics of the brand. But when considering Marques Almeida’s online presence on facebook already, it only makes sense that the brand has recognised the benefits of social media marketing.

Therefore they should be open to the suggestion of an update for their website to compete with leading designers that successfully use online promotional tactics to increase their campaign, and communicate their message to a demographic target market which is comfortable with and utilises such platforms.

TwitterWith 323 followers, Marques Almeida statistically have accumulated less interest with their twitter account than other ss13 NEWGEN sponsored designers such as J.W Anderson, with 8916 followers and Michael van der Ham’s 3306. Possible lack of followers could be due to a lower amount of tweets than the others, or less press coverage. The style of the page fi ts in well with the other media platforms held by the brand, but lacks as much of a brand personality compared to other brands which successfully portray an online ‘identity’ by style of writing, captions and other tools. The website however, has a list of favourite tweets which shows reviews, compliments on collections, news and press by users such as Lulu Kennedy, and Opening Ceremony. Therefore this ties them with important connections in the fashion world, and allows viewers of the page to access tweets mentioning the brand which they see as most important.

J.W Anderson’s twitter is successful due to its high number of tweets in short spaces of time, signature writing style which includes a lot of love hearts, and visual communication. Using i-D as a background brings authority, by including a popular fashion magazine to it’s list of fans, and adding the caption ‘Let’s get lost’ brings personality and a narrative to the brand, which can apply to any visitor of the page. With many tweets to the brands instagram site, the page also promotes other forms of social media which is something that Marques Almeida could consider utilising, as free promotion to interlinking sites is easy to do and a fast way to access different platforms of communication.

Playlist In conjunction with a recurring ‘Opening Ceremony’ theme at Clash Music, an independent media group with established platforms in both print and digital media, Paulo and Marta were asked to make a mixtape in 2012. The mixtape was featured on ClashMusic.com, and launched on to Clash Music’s spotify for viewers to listen and subscribe to. Though Clash Music has a strong positioning within the leading UK titles involved with music, fashion and fi lm, the spotify playlist gained just 2 subscribers.

Clash Music are known for featuring new and emerging bands alongsibe established and popular acts across their multiple media platforms, so the collaboration with a cool, emerging brand such as Marques Almeida should have gained more subscribers than it did. However, establishing a link with a music platform is good publicity for the brand and the amount of subscribers to the playlist could not be an accurate way of measuring the success of the marketing project.

Funding‘‘One of the good things about Fashion East is that we got an opportunity to do the sales in the showroom at the right time, and the Opening Ceremony buyers saw the collection there and loved it. We’ve never been to New York, but our friend went and the sales assistant said that our pieces are selling like hot cakes. During the fashion week they sold out lots of them and had to re-oder for Spring-Summer. That’s the best thing which could happen!’’ (http://1granary.com/central-saint-martins-fashion/graduates/marques-almeida/). This shows how the funding and opportunities available to an emerging brand after being picked up by Fashion East are a massive benefi t, in terms of establishing the brand’s credibility and gaining attention from buyers, editors, press and other industry professionals.

Lulu Kennedy’s eye for innovative, creative and talented new designers creating new ideas and aesthetics that are in tune with the zeitgeist and have strong commercial potential along with the international recognition Fashion East has helps strengthen the brands position on the global fashion scene.

Collaborations-sunglasses for A/W12 show-footwear for shows-hair and makeup people-photographer- sophie aert

For SS13, professional hair brand ‘Fudge’ worked with many of the NEWGEN designers, including Marques’Almeida and Meadham Kirchhoff. Since SS12, John Colver is the stylist in charge with creating the catwalk looks for each collection. With a client list including minimalist mid-market greats COS and emerging London based designer Michael Van Der Ham as well as being featured in magazines such as Arena Homme+, Clash,Dazed & Confused, Dazed Japan, Novembre and Qvest; John Colver is a fashion stylist and consultant working between London with experience in working in niche areas of the fashion industry. Working with both menswear and womenswear, he knows how to create looks that compliment the raw, cool and adrogynous friendly aesthetic of the brand.

Sophia Aerts is one photographer linked with the brand, frequently shooting the duo’s look books, behind scene and catwalk footage and location shoots, she also shoots for online stockist Not Just a Label. Her credits can be seen on a number of websites and have been frequently blogged on social media Tumblr. These links can help establish the profi le of the photographer and inform the relationship between photographer and brand. With these references, the photographer seems suitable to the brand, and when analysing the photographs the visual referencing in the artist’s work fi ts in well with the style of the collections.

For their SS12 catwalk show, they collaborated with Macha jewellery for a line loosely inspired by the mid 90’s documentary fi lm ‘Wildwood’ a beach resort in New Jersey. Photographed by Sophia Aerts, the line is stylistically resemblant of past shoots from the brand, and the collaboration with a line that has a similar ethos complimented the already identifi able style. ‘...Macha is about a quiet rebellion, not necessarily‘beautiful’, The collection was published on TS New York, Not Just a Label, Pressroom, Macha, and Jewelry Pointers.

Tomo Jidai was in charge of the fi nal look created for the catwalk of Marques’Almeida and all other FASHION EAST shows.

ProgressionWhen asked about their plans for the future and any interesting events they would like to engage with the brand claimed that their main concern is to strengthen the label by collections that totally identify the brand., grow their follower base and be consistent in style; making their signaturelook as clear as possible. The duo feel this is essential to expanding the brands stockists and increasing sales season by season. (blend.nl/marquesalmedia).

Future Brand Strategy Based on the previous success of many other emerging British designer brands, it appears that collaboration with established brands such as TOPSHOP, Debenhams or Pretty Polly benefi t a labels progression in the industry. Consider for example designers such as J.W. Anderson, Louise Gray, James Long and Ashish for TOPSHOP/ TOPMAN.This collaborative effort provides a great deal of fi nancial backing from a brand which is comparatively massive to a fl edgling fashion label, not only increasing brand awareness and identity with a audience inconceivably large for an emerging brand to attempt to attain, but it also stabilises a brands credibility within the industry.

It would therefore make sense for Marques’Almeida to also collaborate with a more established fashion brand. One possibility could be the japanese denim brand EVISU who Marques’Almeida’s inventive denim and asian following already identifi es with. Heavily established in the emerging eastern retail scene a collaboration between both brands credentials; EVISU quality denim, Marques’Almeida alternative denim design approach would be both fi tting and provides a good profi t, both fi nancially and in terms of brand recognition. A joining of brands, brings both potential markets into one larger pool of consumers in both established and developing retail landscapes. EVISU could provide a much larger manufacturing facility allowing Marques’Almeida to produce their popular and current design aesthetic on a much larger scale, whilst benefi tting EVISU with association with a contemporary, new brand.