The New Luxury Movement, Leather from Chicago, and #Menswear
How a small luxury brand out of Chicago grabbed the men’s fashion scene by the throat during the fall of 2011
I have a confession. I’m an OG blogger from the men’s style scene—aka the #menswear community you’ve been hearing about recently—and I’ve been out of the writing game for quite some time. It’s been almost two years, in fact. Last week I decided it was time to get back behind the wheel. I’ll explain why a little later, but before I do, a quick introduction.
One of the main reasons I went on hiatus was to devote time and energy to my business. I run an independent PR agency called Munford PR that helps emerging luxury brands strengthen their profiles and increase their exposure among their core consumers. When I’m not helping introduce foreign brands to the US market, I’m working with brands already here to help them solidify the foundations they already have.
In truth, the menswear blogging scene has only been around for about 6 or 7 years, just over half a decade. With the introduction of Twitter, Tumblr, and the increased popularity with blogging platforms like Wordpress, Blogspot, and TypePad, most menswear blogs started to appear between 2007 and 2009, and things only really started to explode around 2010 and 2011. The content back then was more diverse and original, and it was a time where guys were able to discuss their proclivity towards clothing amongst an active community of peers who shared their interest. Many blogs have died out as their writers started their own ventures like I did, were tapped by established men’s fashion publications, or have simply stopped writing in favor of posting much shorter content on Tumblr.
I was one of the guys who got in during that first round in 2009. Early that year I started a men’s style blog called Components of Enthusiasm (COE), doing long-form product reviews and interviews with the up-and-coming brands that I loved. Later in 2011 I launched my second blog, The COE Journal, as a more informative, in-depth take on the menswear scene from the business side. Though short in existence, it was a way for me to analyze the PR, marketing, and branding strategies from independent menswear companies that I believed were doing things extremely well. Both of these blogs are now gone, which explains the lack of links.
The Definition of Luxury is Changing…
Still with me? Great. Now that being said, the reason I’ve decided to break out the quill again is twofold:
- The concept of how we define luxury is changing, particularly in the case of luxury consumer goods.
- I’m writing an ebook about this shift that I’ll be publishing in the coming months. Still working on a title, so bear with me on that.
This change in the concept of luxury is what I call The New Luxury Movement. Essentially, the reason we’re starting to think about luxury consumer goods differently is because of emerging brands like Libero Ferrero and others. These companies are bringing premium and luxury quality products to market with better pricing, and with a level of transparency and individuality that completely overshadows that of the heavy hitters like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada.
As we progress, I’ll be explaining the principles behind The New Luxury Movement in full form here on Medium ahead of the ebook release.
The following article about Chicago leather bag company Libero Ferrero was originally a COE Journal piece that I wrote in November 2011 (and to be clear, Libero Ferrero is not, nor has ever been, a client of mine).
This particular article is one of a small number from my archive that I’ll be republishing here on Medium, edited to make them more relevant for you guys here and to loosely serve as New Luxury Movement case studies. They help to reveal a bit more about the strategies that emerging luxury brands employ, and how I believe the general principles of New Luxury brands in particular are going to define the luxury consumer goods market of the future.
It’s the fall of 2011 and Chicago-based luxury bag upstart, Libero Ferrero, has shot out of the gates like a thoroughbred at the Preakness. At the start of October, the name “Libero Ferrero” would’ve gotten you nothing but blank stares and crickets among menswear heads, but by November, two weeks of solid online exposure had seen the brand shoot to the top of many of their lists.
The momentum started with a simple style shoot on You Have Broken The Internet, a popular blog at the time. Style blogger and photographer, Ryan Plett, introduced Libero Ferrero with a product shoot, and practically overnight, Libero Ferrero became the menswear bag brand du jour on Twitter, Tumblr, among menswear bloggers, and at places like GQ, Valet, and Esquire.
At the time, the sudden explosion in name recognition kept the label at the forefront. Watching the process unfold (and not yet a PR entrepreneur), I thought it was amazing to see what two weeks of targeted exposure could do for a brand’s overall awareness and recognition among its core consumers. It was great to see and you can believe I took notes.
Now let’s take a moment to step back for a second. There are three big things I need to point out when talking about Libero Ferrero in 2011:
- First of all, that autumn they were a brand new company with no following.
- Secondly, because they were infants, they had no print exposure to speak of, and they obviously didn’t have any brand equity to lean on either. I’m talking zero name recognition, no GQ , NYT, or WSJ love to brag about, and to make things a bit more difficult, a particularly tiny marketing/PR budget.
- Lastly, towards the end of 2011, all the familiar buzzwords—“heritage, craftsmanship, small batch” etc.—had reached a saturation point in the men’s fashion community. You were starting to hear collective groans each time a new “heritage” menswear brand started trying to convince you of their earnest approach to creating whatever they were selling. It all looked the same, felt the same, and everyone was telling the same story. Though Libero echoed a similar “heritage” mantra, they designed bags that weren’t slaves to this old world aesthetic. They produced beautiful bags that respected the past with a notable contemporary appeal. In other words, they were one of only a handful of American brands that weren’t making products that looked like they belonged to a factory worker from 1910.
Indeed, Libero’s bags looked phenomenal and the product descriptions made them sound like they were worth every single pretty penny you’d be spending on one (bag prices range from $850 — $2,700).
This is where it gets interesting. Clearly we’re talking about a luxury product here. Yet the reality was that Libero may or may not have had a better product than their competition, which included both the big names—Louis Vuitton, Gucci—and the larger independent players—WANT Les Essentiels de La Vie, Filson, Mismo.
To many, this is going to sound completely backwards, but when a brand is playing on a level this high and appealing to a base that can actually afford this stuff, as a consumer you know one thing—that between brands, the quality of what you’re about to buy is almost irrelevant.
Why is that?
Because it’s all great. At this level you’re going to walk away with a top choice regardless of what you pick, so in the end it really all depends on how many boxes that brand or product ticks for you on a personal level in relation to its competition.
- Does the story reach out and grab you?
- What about the design—are the details just right and tasteful?
- Is the price, relative to other brands, a bit more reasonable?
- Does the philosophy of the founders resonate with you?
- Was the brand recommended to you by a friend?
While the level of quality is definitely important and can fluctuate slightly here and there between brands, the point here is that since the competition is relatively equal, it’s important that a brand finds a way to make their mark in other ways.
Libero addressed this problem with a strong New Luxury Movement approach, and it helped them remain ahead their competition in terms of visibility that autumn. Here’s how they did it.
A Closer Look at Libero from a New Luxury Movement Perspective
1. They Were Transparent
Libero embraced transparency to great effect. The brand proudly spread its sentimental backstory (creating bags as a tribute to their veteran grandfather), it made sure you knew about the Horween leather from Chicago it sourced, and it championed the fact that it was designed and made-by-hand in America. You knew the names of the guys behind the brand, and you got a sense of what type of people these guys were and how they thought—mainly, that these were three sentimental brothers who were creating bags that they wanted to use, and to honor their grandfather’s legacy.
2. Premium Value and Quality
Libero had a tough task in standing up to strong competition in the form of both international luxury houses and larger independent brands. I mentioned before that at this level, the quality between the brands is almost subjective since all of them are relatively equal and flying at such a high altitude. That still holds true, but in the New Luxury Movement, your branding, marketing, and PR counts for nothing if at the base level your product line isn’t up to par. That means a solid aesthetic approach, premium level materials, and construction that lets your product potentially take a beating and still hold up season after season.
Additionally, as a small independent brand that started out by selling directly to the consumer through their webstore, the product pricing wasn’t inflated with branding and marketing overhead nor marked up by a third party retailer. The pricing surely wouldn’t qualify as inexpensive, but there was a better value at play in relation to larger brands.
3. They Had a Sentimental Story to Tell
We come full circle back to the grandfather. Libero definitely had a bold story to tell, and since the founders were three guys who were also members of the market they were selling to, they had a good idea of the type of themes that would connect best with this core consumer group. When it comes to selling to the average 25 — 40 year-old single guy with surplus cash to spend—a guy who is now way more knowledgeable and selective than even just a decade ago—authenticity definitely works best.
These guys had it in spades, touching on themes like history, family, honor, respect, and the quest to build something from the ground up. It’s a story that checked a number of boxes and resonated with men in a big way. Theirs was a foolproof story formula that appeals well to the male psyche.
4. Quiet Branding
Within the New Luxury Movement, it’s not about being the loudest or displaying the largest, most recognizable logo. It’s about letting the soul of the product speak first, and allowing customers the chance to mold their purchases to their own personal style, not having a ostentatious logo define it for them. Individuality is a key theme here, and the brands that recognize that do well. By placing the Libero Ferrero insignia on the inside of the bags, Libero passed this test with flying colors.
5. They Knew Their Target Audience
This is key. Not only did they know what would work with their target audience, they also knew how to reach them best on a shoestring budget. Giving away a single bag to a popular blogger in exchange for an original product shoot/product review definitely did the trick. Visuals go a long way, and when you have a product that’s slightly different from what your competitors are doing without being totally foreign, the endorsement from a trusted community source goes a very long way.
6. Limited Production
When everyone you see is carrying the same Louis Vuitton bag at the airport, at what point does that product or brand stop being a luxury? Part of the charm in New Luxury Movement brands lies in their limited production numbers. They can only produce so much, so what you’re left with is a product you can call your own, a personal find from a brand that resonates with you on a personal level, and an item that very few people will have. That’s what makes it special, and Libero was the definition of a limited production luxury label.
What to take away from this
When starting out, a brand may or may not have a better product in relation to its competitors, but if the product is actually a premium level product and that brand adopts a New Luxury Movement approach—transparency, quiet branding, limited production, presenting a true luxury level product, and telling a distinctive story—pairing that with an intelligent, cost-effective launch strategy is a great way to begin life as a company in the luxury consumer goods market.
Better yet, if after launch you can find a way to have your message repeated over and over to your core consumer at places where they’re most likely to congregate online, then your brand is in a great position to remain remain at the forefront of your customers minds for some time. Understanding these principles is important when you’re launching a brand in this New Luxury Movement climate.
