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This week, check out the strategies of fashion companies including Coach and Vogue who are signing up Lil Nas X for key roles.
On Monday, Lil Nas X walked the Coach Spring 2023 runway with a new marketing focus focused on winning over Gen Z.
Before him, like Selena Gomez and Michael B. Jordan, Lil Nas X serves as the face of the brand. If history is any indication, that includes appearing in marketing campaigns and collaborating on products. Brand executives declined to share the consumer-facing portion of the partnership before release.
Lil Nas X is a stark contrast to the coach’s latest face, Jennifer Lopez, 53, who is dating the “Innocent Girl” beauty. The move is to drive home Coach’s new “transparent luxury” positioning and approachable luxury, the brand. Lopez has been Coach’s brand ambassador.
Ahead of the fashion show, Coach CEO Todd Khan pointed to Lil Nas X’s history of working beyond traditional labels and norms. “He’s breaking all the rules in terms of how masculinity is defined and the genres of music are defined; he’s being creative – and Coach is always creative.”
Coach’s pioneering of the accessible luxury category, now filled with brands like Michael Michael Kors and Kate Spade, is one example of that innovation, for better or worse.
“True luxury for today’s young customer is not about impressing. [people]But it’s about self-expression and individuality,” Khan said.
“And so [their idea of] Self-expression is not about an actual self, however [rather] multiple selves; It’s fluid,” adds Sandeep Seth, Coach’s global marketing officer. “in order to [we’re asking]’How can we, as a fashion brand, be a channel that encourages everyone to express themselves in whatever way they want?’
Coach isn’t the only brand backed by Lil Nas X’s popularity and boldness to connect with the individualistic Gen Z. For one, Vogue asked him to present on the first-of-its-kind Vogue World runway show. Monday too. In August, he was appointed as YSL’s beauty ambassador. And on the red carpet he’s represented brands including Versace and Harris Reed — in a hot pink cowboy outfit and a hoop-skirt-and-headdress combo, respectively. Lil Nas X’s own Instagram accounts for the high media impact value of these partnerships, according to Launchmetrics. The post announcing the coaching deal generated $417,000 in two days in MIV.
And other fashion brands are getting into bed with stars who defy gender norms, including Gucci with Harry Styles.
Khan, a 14-year veteran of the brand, was appointed CEO in mid-2021, after serving as interim CEO for about a year. Seth soon joined after more than 20 years at P&G, most recently as CEO of beauty brand SK-II. Starting in 2020, under parent company Tapestry’s “Acceleration Program”, the coach aims to track the business in the right direction, which focuses on value proposition and includes promotion of values and value-driven messaging. Connecting with a wider audience by partnering with a celebrity “constellation” was the company’s strategy shortly after fashion-darling Stuart Vevers was appointed creative director in 2013. Currently, the brand – sold in more than 50 countries – has more. More than 40 famous ambassadors.
According to Seth, the story of the coach started as a dream of immigrants in 1941 and their drawing with the company. And facilitating the same kind of relationship between the coach and the customers and ambassadors is critical to the brand’s success, he said. Ambassadors are selected based on the specific value they share with the brand, ensuring authenticity and ongoing relationships, especially since coach ambassadors do not expire after one season. With Lil Nas X, that value was “the courage to be real,” Seth said.
To invest in Coach’s new “icon” Rogue and TB bags, for example, young customers need to click on the name in addition. “[People] Not only ‘C’ [logo] She said to ‘C’. “Rather, it’s about the values he espouses and his relationship to them.”
It’s worth noting that both Coach and Little Nas X have recently received criticism for their perceived values. in In October, TikTokers called out Coach for destroying unsold handbags. Also last year, conservatives shamed Lil Nas X with his “Holy” video and production collaboration.
Coach’s runway show served as a fitting advertisement for the brand’s new direction. Similar ready-to-wear styles are seen in several colorful lines and styled with various accessories. It conveys a message of “make it your own”.
On a similar note, he reminded me before the show that Coach offers custom bags, allowing shoppers to choose every element of their purchase, from the drapes to the hardware. The company plans to relaunch the offering in future transactions.
While Lil Nas X did not perform at Coach’s show, let alone walk the runway, it’s a safe bet that Coach will embrace the opportunity based on the buzz surrounding his Vogue World performance. Other fashion brands haven’t hesitated to go there with their musical partners. For example, in In 2021, to drive fans around the Paxun pair collaboration, ASAP Rocky performed an unreleased song in one of the stores.
But the coach upped the ante by hosting 600 people at NYC’s Park Avenue Armory for his Lil Nas X collaboration debut. He made 36 appearances last season at Little Pier. And offering “experience moments,” including in Coach stores, is a priority for the brand moving forward, Seth said.
Already, Coach is hosting pop-ups around the world and new concepts are being considered for store fleets, Seth said. Through Sunday, he’s hosting a pop-up featuring his collaborations with graffiti artists Mint and Surf in NYC’s Nolita. The company plans to accelerate the rollout of pop-ups in the U.S. soon, with 90 percent of the brand’s sales going directly to consumers.
“We need it [Coach experiences] to build a community, [engage] All five senses, and wonder and joy,” Khan said. If someone comes to our store after three months this month, they should see something new and exciting.
“A brand should be as present in real life as it is in the virtual world,” Seth added. Instead of a social channel, Coach teased Lil Nas X’s collaboration on a billboard in Times Square this past weekend.
Coach has made good progress in expanding its customer base, attracting 4 million new consumers in North America by fiscal year 2022, according to Tapestry’s latest earnings report. And now, it’s setting its sights on becoming a $5.7 billion brand by 2025. Remaining laser-focused on trendsetting Gen Z, leveraging expert support is key to that strategy.
“Partners can bring you to new places,” Khan said. For example, he referenced the wardrobe he put together for Lil Nas X’s “Long Live Montero” tour, which kicked off last week. “Our teams and the teams [came together to] Create six attractive visuals that still represent the coach’s name, but in an unexpected and non-traditional way. A horse with a coach logo is being used as a stage prop, and the look includes a golden gladiator outfit.
“In fashion, when you can take the normal and make it interesting, or combine different ideas together, that’s what becomes new and creative,” Khan said.
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