Winner of the 2018 The Fashion Brand Communicator Competition in Collaboration with Teen Vogue: Visualizing Inspirational Elements for the Fashion Stylist and Visual Merchandiser

Among all luxury brands, Fendi would make the one that corresponds to the Brooklyn spirit. Innovation has always been a crucial ingredient. In the 1970s when fur coats have suddenly downgraded from high-fashion to old-fashion. Karl Lagerfeld started experimenting with different colors and shapes, most outrageous at the time, which gave fur coats their second peak in luxury fashion at the time. Bringing luxury back into streets has been re-explored recently with their Fendi Mania collection, in which they collaborated with Fila. Bringing Fila up to the high-fashion world is the most Brooklyn thing I can ever think of. Likewise, their F is For collection has featured the South Korean hip-hop artist Taeyang. The Hong Kong launch of the campaign included an online photo sharing platform as well as getting hip-hop artist from New York to Hong Kong.

I have been living in Brooklyn for five years, but you do not need more than a week to be encompassed by its original spirit. Simplest acts of daily encounters become extremely Brooklynized: The way one asks for a bagel, the way one dances in a club, or the way one asks for the second Bellini on a late Saturday brunch. The profile of Brooklyn includes mostly millennials, and they are immensely creative, against the conventional way of living or spending money. A nine-to-five steadiness is not abundant anymore. The Brooklyners are exceptionally themselves even if that means standing out from the crowd. Predominantly, the ubiquitous uniqueness envelopes and enraptures one, which is precisely how I felt when I first moved to Brooklyn. This also means that the inhabitants create an amusing yet lucrative business opportunity for a brand.

Ideally, the visual communication for Fendi includes a new pattern that would celebrate the monogram mania which is quite popular among millennials and the thrifting and DIY quality of Brooklyn. It proposes mix-and-matching second-hand and luxury. The communication with clientele is not age/climate/sexuality specific, because the idea is pure self-expression. The color story follows the millennial pastels with a focus on shades of dusty pink. The hues complement the new monogram, which is neither sleek nor architectural but shows individuality and emotions. The campaign is named Fendi Fever, which is a reference to the common Brooklyn slang in which something is sick when it is really cool. The jargon would also be discernible through the logo, which combines the classic lettering with a typical Brooklyn graffiti: Fendi Fever

The roll-out of the campaign starts with numerous Instagram teasers that are enigmatic, artistic and expressionist. The collage-like nature of the posts would stand out from the clutter of Instagram posts while expressing the idea of the new logo with an abstract entity that surrounds the old collections of Fendi. The comments for the photos would be turned off so that the enigma would be further enhanced. 

The roll-out of the campaign continues with local residents of Brooklyn to be chosen as models. After the secretive posts on Instagram, the selected models appear in Fendi Fever monogram pieces that almost look handmade. This sort of advertisement appeals to millennials/artists of Brooklyn. They express themselves while showing that they are successful enough to be in head-to-toe Fendi clothes. 

The Fendi Fever does take over with monogram printed fabric layers, similar to how Brooklyn is such an all-over entity that captures one’s life. The concept is further emphasized with the rope-like objects taking over the abstract spaces. The colors always seem to be faded yet alive, slouchy yet stylish. The local residents of Brooklyn proudly wear all Fendi prints to raise awareness among locals. 

The final phase of the visual communication proposal before the launch begins when the high-fashion magazines advertise the new spreads. These double-pages show the new Brooklyn-inspired monogram in absurd and surreal places. The models on the pages do not wear Fendi products, because, just like Brooklyn, Fendi Fever is a lifestyle, coming from a skylight in a way sunlight does typically.