3. INTRODUCTION
During this presentation, we will be
looking in depth at the fashion label
Alexander Wang. The purpose of this
presentation is to gain a better
understanding of the brand by
discussing:
Who created the brand and how was
the brand established
The past and present status of the
brand in the fashion industry
The customer profile and target
audience of the brand
The marketing strategies the brand uses
4. PAST & PRESENT
Alexander Wang is an American fashion designer who was born and raised in San
Francisco. At the age of 18, he moved to New York City where he attended the
prestigious Parsons Design School for two years before deciding to pursue the
launch of his own his own eponymous label.
5. By 2005, Alex began designing his first collection, which was predominately made up of
knitwear. In 2007 he launched his full women’s ready-to-wear collection inspired by 80's
Hip Hop; selling internationally to over 200 boutiques and retail stores.
6. Following the success of this first RTW
collection, Alex received top honours as
the recipient of the Vogue/CFDA
Fashion Fund and launched a full
accessories collection in 2009.This
collection was worn by icons such as
Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Anna Del
Russo (Vogue Japans fashion editor)
This earned Wang recognition by his
peers when he was announced the
winner of the Swarovski Womenswear
Designer of the Year award, followed by
the Swiss Textiles Award.
7. In 2009 after international success, 'T by Alexander Wang' (a collection of mostly
jersey and basic wear) and a Footwear collection was launched; This was followed
by a Men’s T by Alexander Wang and ready-to-wear collection launched in 2011.
These collections earned Alex the GQ magazines 'Best Menswear Designer of the
Year' award and the CFDA for Best Accessory Designer that same year.
8. The brand Alexander Wang has now evolved into a fashion house of it's own right. The
Alexander Wang flagship store opened in SoHo, New York in 2011 and as of
December 2012, Alexander Wang was named to succeed Nicolas Ghesquière at
French fashion house Balenciaga; which sparks the question will the brand have guest
designers whilst Wang is working as creative director of Balenciaga?
Although the brand Alexander Wang has been successful, the brand has also faced
recent setbacks. The latest being a $450 million lawsuit which claimed Alexander
Wang's factory in New Yorks Chinatown district was a "sweatshop” and that workers
were treated unfairly. The case received widespread negative media attention however
after just under a year, the case was dismissed following an undisclosed settlement
between both sides.
9. FINANCIAL
Alexander Wang is an independent brand
(meaning it is wholly family owned) and is
currently said to be worth around £15
million.
LVMH (short for Louis Vuitton and Moët
Hennessy) a French multinational group
which owns 60 brands; including Louis
Vuitton and Christian Dior, various lucrative
champagnes and Bulgari (an upmarket
jeweller) are rumoured to be in talks to buy
stakes within Alexander Wang.
The firm boasts that its sales have risen by
13% in the first half of this year (to €10.3
billion/$14.4 billion.) By buying Alexander
Wang, it will ultimately increase the brands
financial position within the industry and it's
overall net worth. This will be achieved by
giving the brand more financial backing and
accessibility in countries with a higher
number of “extreme net-worth individuals”
(people with so much money that a £4,000
handbag seems a bargain) such as Asia.
10. POSITION IN THE MARKET
Alexander Wangs position in the market is within the High Price and Fashion area of
the 'Fashion Matrix'. The brands target market is fashion conscious, successful
individuals usually between the ages of 25 - 40.
The brand is known for having high quality garments which are innovative in design.
Garments look clean and chic. The brand is made in the USA and stresses it believes
in fair trade garments and respect for it's employees. The brands personality is edgy,
cool, artistic, fresh, young and independent. People will often buy Alexander Wang,
believing that by owning the brand they are adopting the brands imagine and attitude.
11. The brand has a relatively underground
edgy image and due to it being an
independent label, it gives the brand the
asset of exclusivity. This gives the buyer
recognition purely for being aware of the
brand. Now that the brand has evolved
globally, it has been worn by a handful of
celebrities who considered fashion icons.
Wang is a designer who appreciates the
value of celebrity; he has always has the
most famous, hip models for his shows.
This has given the brand a 'cult'/'IT'
status.
This year, Alexander Wang will be
entering into their first collaboration with
SAMSUNG mobile phones to create a
bag. By creating a collaboration with a
brand that has a higher and well known
position in the market, it will build
awareness and worth of Alexander
Wang but take away the exclusivity
asset that the brand had previously.
13. CONSUMER PROFILE
Olivia is a 28 year old female. She lives on her own, in a spacious one bedroom
apartment, in the Northern Quarter district of Manchester's City Centre. Olivia is a
university graduate and currently earns £25,000 per annum as a Pattern Cutter for a
company. One day Olivia wants to work as a Senior Creative Gerber Pattern Cutter
which will increase her salary by £20,000 per annum. This makes Olivia a class 15 on
the Acorn Classification (An affluent urban professional) and a NRS social grade B.
Olivia enjoys shopping, travelling and reading fashion magazines. Olivia's style is a mix
of smart and relaxed with edgy details. She enjoys wearing clean tailored shapes, high
quality fabrics and accessories considered to be cult high fashion items. Olivia shops
collections such as T by Alexander Wang for comfortable t shirts and dresses but also
the accessories collections for bags and shoes.
Olivia could be considered a Label Seeker and Social consumer. She enjoys keeping
up to date with the latest trends and must have items each season. She follows
celebrities styles such as Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen and Leandra Medine of the blog
'The Manrepeller'.
As Olivia is a peacock, she is single and enjoys travelling and going out as often as she
can for meals and trips with friends. She hopes that a promotion and salary increase
will allow her to wear more high fashion brands; as well as moving into a bigger
apartment and city.
14. ONLINE STRATAGY
Alexander Wang has a good online
presence. The brands own website includes
a store (with catwalk images included), a
blog with updates on the brand and a look
book. The collections can be bought straight
from the brands website and also on
advanced online high fashion retailers such
as NET-A-PORTER, Harvey Nichols and
Coggles.
15. The brand also takes advantage of the use of social media
platforms such as;
Facebook - This platform is used to share articles,
advertisements and general news on the brand as well as
showing photographs of style icons and celebs wearing the brand.
This platform allows the reader/audience to see the highlights of
the brand.
Youtube - Used to stream videos of catwalk shows, collection
advertisements and behind the scenes videos. These videos
allow the buyers to feel as though they are getting to know the
brand on a more up close and personal level.
Twitter - This platform, much like Facebook is to share articles
on the brand and photographs of celebrities and fashion icons
sporting the brand.
16. CONCLUSION
SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT DURING THIS PRESENTATION?
Whilst putting together this presentation, I have learnt about different marketing techniques
which are used to increase a brands position in the market. These include the use of social
networking and collaborations. I believe that this year Alexander Wang will become a more
known brand due to it's collaboration with SAMSUNG and talks of being bought by a large
firm this year. I do however feel though that it will decrease it's once underground and
exclusive image. This expansion will also probably result in his collections being used for
inspiration for high street shops in the future.
17. REFERENCES Past & Present Biography
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2013.
NY MAG. (2007). Label Overview. Available: http://nymag.com/thecut/fashion/designers/alexander-wang/. Last
accessed 22th March 2013.
Style. (2008). Alexander Wang Fall 2008 RTW Collection. Available:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/F2008RTW-AWANG. Last accessed 26th of March 2013.
Tang, A. (2012). Alexander Wang 2007 - 2013. Available: http://www.theversastyle.com/2012/09/alexander-
wang-2007-2013.html. Last accessed 26th of March 2013.
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www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/designers/alexander-wang/. Last accessed 26th of March 2013.
Jay. (2011). Alexander Wang: If Clothes Could Talk.. Available:
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accessed 26th of March 2013.
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alexander-wang-cat-eye-sunglasses/. Last accessed 26th of March 2013.
Legal Issues
Misener, J. (2012). Alexander Wang Hit With $50 Million Labor Lawsuit Alleging Unsafe Working Conditions.
Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/06/alexander-wang-lawsuit_n_1323852.html. Last accessed
24th March 2013.
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utm_medium=rss&utm_content=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20Manhattan. Last accessed 26th of
March 2013.
Sowray, B. (2012). 'Sweatshop' lawsuit against Alexander Wang dismissed. Available:
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG9476820/Sweatshop-lawsuit-against-Alexander-Wang-
dismissed.html. Last accessed 24th March 2013.
Financial
MASIDLOVER, N . (2012). Balenciaga Hires Alexander Wang. Available:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324355904578157460350150052.html. Last accessed 26th of
March 2013.
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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/30/alexander-wang-samsung-collaboration_n_2581633.html. Last
accessed 26th of March 2013.
Unknown. (2011). The glossy posse: Catwalks in the West, action in the East. Available:
http://www.economist.com/node/21530989. Last accessed 26th of March 2013.
