WHAT DOES THESE CHANGES TRULY MEAN?

Logos began as representing brand identity, which is one of the biggest investments a company can make and one of its most valuable assets – a strong and recognisible identity means that the average consumer will more likely buy a brand and the identity it carries, rather than the product itself.

With luxury fashion, companies spent decades building up a brand that could demand thousands on a piece of clothing and successfully sell it due to their identity being synonymous with luxury and status. And that begins as soon as a consumer sees the logo and recognises it. Because not everyone is passionate enough to recognise a brand’s signature cut on a dress, but they can recognise the logo and that is good enough.

MORE THAN ANYTHING, A LOGO IS A STATUS SYMBOL.

Vintage silk bow shirt, H&M shorts, Alexander McQueen sneakers, Chanel bag

One thing that is becoming increasingly popular in the fashion industry is rebranding through changing logos. BALENCIAGA came out with a new one for Paris Fashion Week, BURBERRY revamped its logo ahead of Riccardo Tisci’s debut and so did CALVIN KLEIN, just before Raf Simons’ take-over.

In fact, if you were to analyse Calvin Klein’s logo, it has gone through a long evolution into modernism, with subtle changes, to avoid an abrupt change that would mean potentially huge drops in sales with target audiences not identifying with the brand. With imminent change within a company, a logo change is often the easiest way to signal this to consumers – it prompts brand loyalty and grabs attention.

Vintage shirt, Zara trousers, Chloe bag, Chloe sunglasses, D&G accessories

A logo change can have different meanings though. It can be due to market demands, it can limit negative society reactions and merge well with trends. Either attracting a different demographic with different interests or needing to be commercial on any browsing device in the smartphone era and with the progress of social media. Sometimes, a brand may change its logo to engage a new audience, to send the message of a higher-end product line, of an upscale shift.

Recently, Zara came out with a new logo, tossing aside the minimalistic, generous gaps in between the letters, and opting for overlapping, merged letters in a strikingly different font.

Diesel shirt, Manoush skirt, Isabel Marant boots, Chloe bag

When there is a new creative director that promises a new vision and identity, the easy way to communicate this, is through a logo. This, usually, spurs media interest and sales. Hedi Slimane is one that is known for such a move. When he took on his role at YVES SAINT LAURENT in 2012, he not only rebranded the house’s ready-to-wear collection, exerted control over runway castings, campaign photography and set design but he went as far as drop the YVES, changing the brand to SAINT LAURENT. Although generating lots of confusion, some backlash and opinionated discussions, he undoubtedly also generated attention.

When Slimane came into charge at CELINE, the logo also changed. Removing the accent on its name and slightly altering the typography and spacing, the brand claimed to chase after a simplified design that would pay homage to the original 1960s logo. No matter the true reason, it again created some more attention around the brand.