Here is a question I pose for you…
You are a clothes designer, not mainstream, high end. How do you get the world to see your work for free?
Simple – let a Princess wear it. Not just any Princess, because as we know, there are princesses and princesses.
A colleague was looking at this week’s OK magazine and I was shocked at the breadth of the wardrobe needed by your average jobbing Princess for a trip to the antipodes. Ok, OK I am not being glib here – I am talking about the sublimely beautiful Duchess of Cambridge.
Now our Kate is a canny dresser and unlike previous royal clothes horses, she really mixes the designer brands with things your average gal in the street might buy.
What is shocking about the 18 day trip is that excluding the custom made clothes, the underwear and stockings, the travelling wardrobe was valued at more than £50K… The advertising… Priceless.
Not just priceless for people like Emilia Wickstead who provided the dress worn at Dunedin New Zealand or Jenny Packham who provided the bespoke gown for her dinner at Government House in Wellington. The real value is to the retailers like Zara, LK Bennett, Dune and Hobbs who’s clothes were peppered in amongst the haute couture and sublime tailoring.
Here is one of the world’s most famous women, wearing dresses that cost thousands, shoes that cost hundreds, clothes that were made especially for her alongside £85.00 shoes from Dune with a £35.00 Hobbs dress. A Zara double breasted jacket with J jeans that she loved so much she wore twice! These are things that are attainable to all and this means that these items are sure to be huge sellers this summer in the UK stores. All because a rather famous, beautiful woman wore them at Ayres Rock.
Brands spend millions promoting the look, the clothes and the style. Just once in a blue moon, a beautiful woman will be photographed wearing it and that dress is an instant global hit – not with the uber rich, who want something unique, not with the wealthy who want something expensive – but with the millions of women in the world who loved the dress.
So if you think about this rationally, if Hobbs (provider of that Ayres Rock Dress) had paid for all the wardrobe for the trip, spent another £10k on sundries (so invested £60K) they would gain more publicity for that single £35 dress than they could possibly hope by placing an advert in Tattler, Harpers, Country Life, Vogue or any publication.
So what every retailer needs, wants and desires is a good dose of celebrity endorsement and top of the list – the most famous princess in the world.
On a more celebratory note – I am impressed that Kate recycled the same shoes with many outfits. I guess that helped her and William at check in with the over-weight baggage.
Now if any retailer needs a chubby, fameless communications expert to endorse their brand and be photographed in it, I am all ears.
