I love athleisure and I love Beyoncé. Ivy Park still misses the mark.
Opinion on the latest Ivy Park marketing campaign.
I am a Beyoncé stan. Her music, her beauty, and her business savvy make her someone worth stanning. She’s 100% one of my favorite artists of all time and there’s not a single soul on earth like her. To top it all off, her fashion sense is unmatched. She’s surrounded by the best of the best when it comes to styling.
When Ivy Park launched in 2016, I was impressed even though I didn’t buy anything. Beyoncé doesn’t need to sell clothes. That’s my opinion, of course, since I don’t know her personal life but I feel like the bag has been secured since way before B’day dropped. Yet she expanded her brand and her reach by tapping into a new market. And it’s good stuff!
My problem, however, is with marketing.
We all know Beyoncé is woke. She flexes her political muscles through her music. She snaps back when disrespected (also through her music) and she looks amazing doing it. But all of these political messages and rebellious, unapologetic blackness, are attached to her sales. I mean, look at this brand photoshoot for the latest Ivy Park x Addidas collection:
What’s the message here? We know darn well Beyoncé doesn’t wash her clothes at a laundromat and I’m sure she wears wigs specifically crafted for her. So why is she posing in a laundromat and a creepy hair supply store? I don’t understand this vibe. Is it meant to be relatable? People who actually need to go to the laundromat will probably buy items from the new collection. She may be targeting an audience that isn’t as financially literate as her, even though prices for the Ivy Park x Addidas collection will “range from $25 for accessories to $250 for outerwear.” Meanwhile, her rich and famous colleagues get the entire collection for free.
Videos like these are fun to watch but they also make the new collection seem out of reach. They are also a far cry from the “beauty supply store from hell.” To be fair, I do think the prices are relatively reasonable and something I can afford. Not too far from the athletic section at Target. I just don’t feel like this brand speaks to me because of the way it’s being marketed. It tried to seem down to earth and within reach, but it turned into a bunch of celebrities reminding me of my insignificance. Anyway, there’s a place for hatin’ haters like me so I’ll go there and save my money. ✌️
