🔥🚒 My list of burnt brands
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Some of the top brands are struggling to capture my attention. Why is that?
It’s more difficult to capture the attention of audiences these days. Vertical video, canny advertising tactics, and endless content spewing may be to blame. But what about creativeness? Overturn at companies? The birth of the solopreneur? Or just plain bad partnerships?
This list is compiled completely based on my opinion. I’d avoid these brands until they get their shit in order. And you’ll see why…
Balenciaga
I’m so done with them. From the failed Kanye partnership to easily one of the worst collaborations of all time (Balenciaga x Adidas), I’m tired of Balenciaga continuing to be crowned king of the fashion world when they haven’t produced any work to be proud of. And to continue charging the prices they do just because of the name… nah, I’m good.
If you look back into the history of the brand, you’ll get a sense of why the rise of Balenciaga was so prominent. Cristóbal Balenciaga, the creator, was a complete protagonist in the 1950s, producing pieces that broke the mold of styles against other designers like Christian Dior, Pierre Balmain, and Coco Chanel.
His designs were structural and were never seen in the fashion world at the time. Because he was a master at tailoring, he translated illustrations to products in near perfection. Which helped him reshape women’s clothing in the 50s.
When he retired in 1968, he closed down his business. Which was a complete shock to not only fans but also the fashion designer community. And the brand was resurrected in 1986 when it was purchased by Jacques Bogart.
Although Balenciaga has stayed relevant, it’s moved away from his vision of proportion and measurement as well as the interpretation of the female body. It’s become a perfumery while focusing on accessories, and shoes. And when you look at the collabs (like the Adidas one above) you can start to see that the brand has opted for a mainstream agenda, rather than producing artwork through fashion.
Supreme
Gimmicks were fun in the early 00s. But when you talk about innovation, Supreme doesn't have it anymore. If you’ve ever visited a barber and they have a Supreme chair cloth… you know it’s gone bad (nothing against barbers of course).
Originally, the brand was designed with skaters in mind. And at times, you still get that persona with the brand. But since the brand was created by James Jebbia in 1994, it’s grown at lightning speed. And its demise might be a product of expanding too quickly. And after the brand sold for $2 billion, it lost its roots and mission. It’s the greedy getting greedier.
And you can see that with its resale prices for its weekly Thursday drops. Items are always in stock, the aftermarket is low for items, and the Supreme product isn’t as limited as it used to be. Supreme used to be extremely scarce. And when you think about major brands, like Jordan, it took 36 years to build.
Over collabing, and using partnerships as a cheap gateway to audiences, products don’t feel fresh anymore. Neither inventive. Overall, a brand is going to suffer in focusing on investors instead of its original fans.
Anti Social Social Club
ASSC could be crowned as the godfather of graphic tees and hoodies. When the brand was created in 2015, it was co-signed by Kanye West and even Virgil Abloh. But after its recent purchase by Marquee Brands (the company that owns the Martha Stewart brand, among others) you can safely say it’s gone to die.
ASSC items used to sell out rapidly to obsessed fans but slowly became a dumpster fire after slow shipping and terrible customer service. Not only that, you can only get so far with graphic tees and hoodies. What I loved about ASSC was the middle finger to man, approaching an emotional connection with fans that was completely different than what was out there at the time.
Founded by Andrew Buenaflor, who goes by the pseudonym Neek Lurk, it was an expression of his mental health struggles, and fans resonated with his message and mission. But the luster and exclusivity are lost when you grow too fast and take on every partnership possible. Including the message.
Fashion is in quite an interesting place. With the rise of creator platforms, indie makers are starting to make a name for themselves while brands have struggled to understand what audiences want. I believe that in the next 10 years, some of these major fashion brands won’t exist 🤦♂️🤦♂️
See you next Sunday,
shaan