The Eternal Jacket

Under this generic brand aesthetics heading, my intention is to reflect with you on the world of brands, as seen from the angle of their aesthetics. I use that term here, not in the philosophical sense related to beauty, but in a semiotic sense. The aesthetics of brands relate to the manner in which they approach sensitivity, the aesthetic, multisensory treatment of each of their creations.

This first note relates to men's clothing.

The most important article of the male wardrobe is now, more than ever, the jacket. A brief statistical review of the November issue of “Gentleman” shows that 48 photographs feature men wearing a jacket, against 19 who are informally dressed. It is true that the holiday season is conducive to formal wear, yet the attention and creative frenzy that the jacket is subject to is a constant surprise. Prada jackets are so short that hands can be slipped into trouser pockets without causing a crease; double-breasted suits are back in force; H & M offers tuxedos; Carlo Brandelli in London revives the original Armani unstructured jacket and christens it the "Kilgour Skeleton", while Paul Smith presents a 5-button tartan jacket, etc.

Indestructible jacket, eternally reinvented, which still remains, at the dawn of the 21st century, the most significant piece of clothing in menswear. Despite postmodern trends, iconoclastic and detrimental to any formalism, despite the advent of a leisure-oriented civilization favoring the informal look, the jacket – part of a suit, sporty, with jeans or sneakers, is the element that best defines the person wearing it.

The considerations are many and complex in the relationship established between a product and a person before actually reaching the point where a purchase is made.

"... What are the benefits that this article brings me? An impeccable cut ... The lightness and suppleness of the fabric ... the refined feel of cashmere ... the color that goes with my eyes ... cut in the Anglo-Saxon style ... it gives me confidence in myself … they will see that I'm in the loop ... It is the double-breasted suit worthy of a leader."

The discourse is even more complex when considering the identity the brand has superposed on it.  The purchase will take place because it brings the satisfaction that comes from both the intrinsic qualities of the product as well as the values that are triggered by our life in a society. Let us look at these two dimensions.

The style of the jacket is probably its primordial intrinsic quality.  The style for a brand, or a designer, is composed principally of a consistency in the aesthetic treatment of the product (cut, fabrics, colors, buttons, linings, construction, etc.). It is usually because of this that we recognize a jacket as having been created by a specific brand. An exercise even more difficult where, while it is relatively easy to be original for one season and to proclaim it with outrance on a product, it is more difficult to make apparent an aesthetic point of view over time on an item like a jacket. An Armani jacket is probably the only one we can recognize from the other side of the street.

Charles Lalo (French philosopher of the early twentieth century) said that nature without style is non-aesthetic. What then should one think of about consumer goods without style ...!

The 2nd attribute of the jacket that is relevant today is its fashion content.  It allows the manager of the brand to segment the market from the most conservative to the most trendy.

We can then place some known menswear brands on a diagram that can help in a purchase decision or help the brand manager to position himself versus the competition.

As for the social dimension, it is almost always present in a decision to purchase. The jacket can thus serve either as protective armor or as a factor expressing one's own identity.

Eric Landowski, French semiologist, provides a very useful diagram to define 4 major types of consumers, according to the importance attached, either to the need to be in symbiosis with the socially correct, or the need to express one's own individuality.

On the right side of the diagram are shown the consumers that take into account the "What would people say?" very seriously:

•  The Chameleon seeks a refuge in his jacket.  He will find composure in being well turned out, according to the social norms that bind him.
•  The Snob is always looking for novelty, one that will be in fashion tomorrow. An essentially social motivation, he wants to be the "trend setter".

On the left side, we find consumers who do not concern themselves about the opinion of others:

•  The Bear is indifferent to the opinions of others and has no desire to express his personality through a fashion statement.
• While the Dandy finds creative opportunity in his clothing.

This versatile chart applies equally to brands, magazines and products, as well as to legendary actors like Steve McQueen or Pierce Brosnan who are fundamental references where menswear is concerned. 

Playing these multiple roles, the jacket should help us traverse the current crisis under better conditions ... at least psychologically.

© Gérald Mazzalovo