CONTENTS Page.08. HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Page.12. WHO ARE STELLA McC CONSUMERS?
Page.13. HO Page.11. WHO IS STELLA McCARTNEY?
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Page.17. STELLA
CARTNEY’S
OW HAVE STELLA McCARTNEY POSITIONED THEMSLEVES IN THE MARKET?
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EXECUTIVE SUMMERY
Stella McCartney is not just a designer. She is an activist, a woman who is determined to make change in the world. She is known to firmly stand for the ethical treatment for animals when it comes to fashion and food. She uses fair trade cotton and also make sure the factories that they use do not have a big impact on the environment around them. [STELLA McCARTNEY.COM] This is all portrayed through her clothes. Never does she use
leather or fur. Her values are also shown through her social media, window’s in her London shop and her company ethos – ‘NO LEATHERS FEATHERS OR FUR’. [STELLA McCARTNEY. COM] When entering the Stella McCartney shop, the consumer knows exactly what they are walking into. My findings in this report show that the people who are walking into Stella’s stores tend to
be older, business like, women. Disposable income is a MUST when shopping in one of Stella’s stores. Though Stella McCartney may not be considered as one of the highest end, expensive designers; the average item ranges to anything from £50 - £3000. If you want to start shopping in one of Stella’s boutiques you better start earning some money!
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ORIGIN AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Stella McCartney was developed in London, Stella started her brand in 2001 and now has 17 stand alone stores in locations such as London, Milan, Paris, LA, New York, Barcelona, Miami and Houston.
“For me, it’s about the basic principles: Sustainability is important, as is recycling. Everyone can do simple things to make a difference, and every little bit really does count.” [STELLAMcCARTNEY.COM]
In 2001 it was confirmed that Stella had teamed up with the Gucci Group (now PPR Luxury Group) to help her develop her own label as her very own luxury brand. [BIO]
Being environmentally conscious is now very common in brands. Although, back in 2001 when Stella first created her brand with the Gucci Group (now PPR Luxury) it wasn’t common knowledge that we, as a human race, have been harming our planet. Differing Stella’s brand from others at the time. As well with the current economic crisis, it is more desirable to have items of clothing that last for a long period of time, that are sustainable. If you are spending luxury amounts of money on a coat, you expect a long, luxurious wear out of it.
“In Gucci Group, I have found a partner with the skills necessary to make this business a success. I have always wanted to start my own label and I feel ready for the challenge,” [VOGUE] McCartney launched her first collection at Paris Fashion week in 2001. She was previously positioned as creative director for fashion power house CHLOE. This caused controversy amongst the fashion world as individuals believed she was not qualified enough. However, she quickly proved them wrong with her immediate success. Perhaps suggesting why her own fashion house is now such an accomplishment. The brand is committed to being ethical and believes the company is responsible for the resources it uses and its impact on the environment. Therefore, the brand is frequently looking at ways to become more sustainable. Our philosophy is that it is better to do something than nothing.
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WHO IS STELLA McCARTNEY?
The Stella McCartney brand strives itself on being a eco brand. They were the first luxury fashion label to become anti leather and fur, and the first to design fashion which was both chic and environmentally friendly. Prior to the launch of the brand the only other ethical and environmentally friendly clothing designer was not as astatically pleasing or as luxurious. Stella campaigns for animal rights, woman’s rights and environmental changes for personal reasons. The brand is ethically concious because of Stella McCartney’s Vegan lifestyle. However it also can be seen as a conscious effort to attract consumers who are also conscious of issues that affect the world as a whole. It has become increasingly popular in modern society to care about the environment.
Stella doesn’t stop being environmentally conscious when designing her clothes. All of her offices, stores and studios are powered by wind turbines, and abroad are powered by other renewable energy resources. 45% of her offices and stores are run on 100% renewable energy resources. [FASHION GLOBE] The image that the company are aiming to portray is a green one. Companies who have ethical values attract a wider range of consumers. This
is clever of Stella McCartney as it makes them different from their competition. Although many designers are becoming more environmentally valued. This may become a problem for the Stella McCartney brand as their unique selling point is becoming ever more popular with her competiton. Clothing brands such as Edun, Chinti & Parker, Amour Vert, Kowtow and countless more have now also promoted their brand to be eco friendly and ethically valued.
Stella’s consumers are typically those of a higher income. As her items are of a higher price her customers would need a large amount of disposable income in order to afford the brand on a regular basis, and remain loyal (which is key in the world of luxury designers as there is not a wide range of consumers to choose from.)
As well as being dynamically stylish and fashion conscious whilst also being environmentally aware the consumer of Stella McCartney has to be one who loves self expression through clothing, in order to wear her sometimes wacky designs. Stella appeals to this type of customer as she designs clothes that are out of the ordinary. Although, on the flip side, she forms clothes that are ready to wear for the everyday well - to – do business professional. Her designs can walk straight off the catwalk into the streets of London, Milan, NewYork and Paris. Her consumers tend to stay loyal due to her persistence to stay ‘Green’ when making her clothing. Once capturing the consumers on this side of the market it is easy to obtain them as still, not many designers have managed to become as environmentally friendly as them. However, a lot of the brands consumers tend to be impulse buyers, those who buy whatever they like the look of within their budget. This may be a reason why Stella also design one-off coture clothing, to comply to those who look for clothing that is one of a kind piece.
WHO ARE STELLA McCARTNEY’S CONSUMERS?
HOW HAVE STELLA MCCARTNEY POISITIONED
THEMSELVES IN THE MARKET? Stella McCartney have positioned themselves to be within the luxury end of the fashion spectrum. This means that the designer label will use methods of premium pricing, setting clothing at a higher price in order to automatically appear luxurious and unique amongst competitors in the market. This could be perceived as one of the brands unique selling points. However, as previously mentioned, Stella was one of the first brands to become so environmentally aware. Nonetheless, as society has become more conscious of this issue, other brands have followed in pursuit. Clothing brands such as Edun, Chinti & Parker, Amour Vert, Kowtow and countless more. The aspect that allows Stella McCartney to stand out from the rest is that she, as a person, is also a major activist. It is clear that ethical rights do not just stop at the brand’s ethos. Stella campaigns heavily herself for animal rights, promoting it on her social media as well as part of her window dressing in
her London store. This may be seen as the emotional selling point as it allow the brands consumers to connect with the company more personally as they share common interests with her. In terms of branching out in different areas of the market Stella McCartney has done this in a number of areas. She has produced perfumes, a shoe line, children’s clothing, sportswear and most recently the brand have announced their menswear line (November 2016). [VOGUE] All of these are in an attempt to widen Stella McCartney’s target market. This is in an attempt to gain a larger share within their market [BUSINESS OF FASHION]
Stella McCartney, like any other designer brand, have a huge social media following. Therefore, a large amount of their advertising occurs on websites such as Instagram and Twitter. This is a free form of advertising. Aside from the obvious costs of the photo shoot: hair, make-up, location, photographer etc., uploading the photograph or video to social media is free of charge. There are, however, opportunities where brands pay to promote their photos on Instagram so that they reach target consumers who do not yet follow the brand on social media. This will broaden Stella McCartney’s followers and increase the general interest in the brand. Although, it can be argued that doing this may not benefit Stella, as much as perhaps high street brands, because Stella McCartney’s target market is much, much smaller.
STELLA
The primary way which the brand advertises their new collections is through fashion weeks such as Paris, London, New York and Milan. By inviting press, bloggers and celebrities, Stella McCartney’s collection will be broadcasted to the public in real time. Bloggers, press and celebrities provide free advertising for the company, good or bad. The only negative to this is that Stella do not have control over what is being said about their products. For example, the message of each collection and may become unclear through magazine tabloids and blog reviews. This will affect the image that the brand is trying to portray therefore they could not rely on this form of promoting the brand on its own. Stella McCartney do however advertise products, such as their perfume, in a more conventional way. The McCartney brand released a television advert in 2016 which was televised internationally, to people all over the world. [PITCHFORK]
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Another way in which this designer, along with most others, advertise is through high fashion, luxury magazines. These include Vogue, Harpars Bazzar and ELLE. Creating imaginative images for ad campaigns sets the way in which the brand wants to portray that particular collection. A popular new way of promoting your products, whether your brand is just starting off or one of the most successful names in fashion, is celebrity gifting. Society is becoming increasingly influenced by celebrity culture - if the Kardashians start cutting holes in their t-shirt’s, then you can guarantee that all the bloggers will be doing the same the following day. The Stella McCartney brand are particularly at advantage because of Stella’s already established celebrity status. She has been seen numerous of times with her
friends, both sporting her brand. For example, Amal Clooney wore a bespoke McCartney outfit during her closely followed wedding celebrations in Venice last year. [FASHION REVIEW] Whilst Cara Delevinge wore a sparkled busted jumpsuit at the Met Gala a few months after. [DAILY MAIL] The brand gifts their products differently to most others. It could be said that it is done in a subtler way. As others send gift packages and hampers, Stella simply asks her friends to wear her new collection on their next red carpet debut. This also helps add to Stella McCartney’s uniqueness as she is a rare deisgner who simply gifts to fortunate people who are her friends and not only celebrities that are hot topic at the time.
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STELLA
Stella McCartney’s stores are luxurious. When entering the store in London the decorations were minimal, clothing rails spread evenly, with the familiar pink wooden floor spread throughout. The clothes are handled with care. When purchasing an item, it is carefully wrapped in pink tissue paper, sealed with a logo printed sticker and delicately placed in a paper - eco friendly- bag. This adds the extravagant feeling to the customer’s experience, letting them leave the shops with a sense of pride when thinking of their new purchase. Before leaving the shop, however, the shop assistant will ask
for your email address to be added to the Stella McCartney mailing list. This allows the customer to stay up to date with new collections, news of the business and its movements towards pressing issues (animal rights, global warming etc.). It also allows consumers the opportunity to become loyal to the brand, therefore earning special privileges such as having first picks in the sale and being amongst the first to know about an upcoming collection to be released. Stella McCartney’s ethos is committed to being a
As a designer it’s important to get your message across when promoting your new collection. When Stella McCartney debuted the uniforms that the England Olympic Team would wear for Rio 2016 she got none other than the Olympic team themselves to model her designs. Her use of ‘real people’ was also explored when debuting her collaboration with Adidas, using synchronized swimmers submerged in glass tanks to showcase her new swimming costumes. This was different from her other collections, and other designer’s collections, as she used real women, with different body types to those that normal high fashion models usually have. [DAILY MAIL] As Adidas/Stella McCartney has a slightly more affordable price tag than Stella’s normal collections it is apparent why using different body types appealed to consumers of this collection – because the target market is much wider.
A Stella McCartney store, unfortunately, isn’t accessible to everyone. This past Summer (Summer 2016) the brand opened a pop up store in the luxurious Spanish island of Ibizia for the second year in a row. [VOGUE PARIS] Brands open pop up stores for many reasons: affordability, testing if a store would survive in that particular area, to generate a buzz around the brand, encourage spontaneous purchases, to mention a few. Stella McCartney would of opened this particular, eco-friendly, store to create a buzz amongst the famously rich and luxurious vacationers who visit Ibizia every year.
responsible, honest and modern company [STELLA McCARTNEY.COM] and through my research it is clear that they are achieving that and more. The brand is personal to each and everyone of its consumers through relating to them through common interests and staying in constant contact.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY Jess Cartner- Morely, 2014, The Many Faces of Stella McCartney https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/mar/06/-sp-stella-mccartney-interview Alessandra Lolli, 2015, Stella McCartney: Fashion and Sustainability http://www.thefashionglobe.com/stella-mccartney-sustainable Ella Catliff, 2013, 5 More Minutes with Stella McCartney http://www.ella-lapetiteanglaise.com/5-more-minutes-with-stella-mccartney/ Biography.com Editors, 2013, Stella McCartney Biography http://www.biography.com/people/stella-mccartney-20680899 Maggie Lake and Phoebe Parke, 2014, Stella McCartney: ‘My Parents Opened Doors and Closed Minds http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/26/business/stella-mccartney-parents-opened-doors/ World of Biography, 2004, Stella McCartney Biography http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/McCartney-Stella.html Bibby Sowray, 2010, Gucci Backed Stella McCartney http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/gucci-backed-stella-mccartney Alison Boshoff, 2015, How DOES Stella McCartney Get her Celeb Chums to Pose in her Oh-So Pricey Clothing? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3139541/How-DOES-Stella-McCartney-Amal-Clooney-Rihanna-wearclothes.html VOGUE, 2016, Stella McCartney Spring/ Summer 2017 Ready to Wear Collection http://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/spring-summer-2017-ready-to-wear/stella-mccartney/collection/ Scarlett Conlon, 2016, Stella Confirms Menswear Label http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/stella-mccartney-menswear-launch-november Imran Amed, 2015, Stella McCartney: Change Agent https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/people/stella-mccartney-change-agent Noah Yoo, 2016, Grimes Stars in Stella McCartney’s First TV Ad for New Fragrance http://pitchfork.com/news/66710-grimes-stars-in-stella-mccartneys-first-tv-ad-for-new-fragrance-watch/ Fashion Review, unknown, Stella McCartney Fashion Label http://www.fashionreview.co.uk/stella-mccartney-fashion/ People Tree, 2008, Fair Trade in Action: The Fashion Business Mike Easey, 2001, Fashion Marketing Courtney Richardson, 2013, Fashion Forward
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