‘The Devil wears Prada, but the people wear plimsolls’, reads a sign outside Blackman’s, an old footwear store on Cheshire Street, East London.
How can luxury brands meet the plimsolls aficionados? They go social, relax a bit and try to engage, embracing the philosophy of “Less is More”.
At the beginning, the company gave the impression that they were not interested in the social arena, while everybody else was there.
Then, suddenly, this week they declared guerre nucleaire. And, judging from the start, it seems like the guys at Prada prefer the “More is More” approach.
A few days ago, @Fashionista_com announced: ‘Prada just launched their own Facebook page and in just two days have nearly 900,000 likes...WOW’
Even celebrity fashion blogger @bryanboy seemed to be impressed, tweeting ‘Prada, like me, just launched their own official Facebook page. Go! http://www.facebook.com/prada’
Then, Sunday, the brand dropped the second atomic bomb: a show for the new collection FW2012, at Milan Fashion Week, featuring Hollywood’s finest, i.e. Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody et al. on the runway.
The cyber world went berserk.
Power and storytelling.
‘By now you've read all the tweets but man - Prada menswear was a SHOW. Gary Oldman, William Dafoe, Jamie Bell and Adrian Brody were amazing’.
‘Now that's something you don't see every show. The old "entering a party and pointing at people" walk. This Prada show is ace BTW’.
‘Fashion Quickie: Prada F/W 2012 Milan Fashion Week with Hollywood walking the runway’.
‘no one can tell a fashion story like miuccia (sic).’
The previous tweets – among a gazillion dedicated to the event – tell how the brand succeeded in two crucial tasks: they impressed the blasé virtual world, and told a story in a beautiful, cinematic way.
The New York Times reported: ‘“It’s about power. But it started with the idea of characters,” Miuccia Prada said backstage, claiming that when she called up a bunch of actors — that’s folks like Tim Roth and Jamie Bell — they all just happened to say “yes.”’
Let’s read more: ‘What the designer seemed to be saying, after her dynamic but simplistic racing car theme for her last women’s collection, was that if men like cars, they like power, with all the trappings of formal tailoring and linear coats even more.’
Le grand final: ‘“It was a parody of power,” said the enigmatic Ms. Prada, whose own power over the fashion industry will only be strengthened by this performance.’
In times of crisis and social interaction, democratisation and informal language, many luxury brands turned into friendlier entities. Prada, instead, chooses to stay true to the meaning of noblesse oblige: whoever claims to be noble must conduct himself nobly.
London Web Agency Appnova – keep following us on Twitter @appnova and “like” us on Facebook for useful news and tasteful digressions about geeky stuff.