French Brand; French Connection and The Kooples. Whose Your Favourite Koople?

I have always had a sort of Romance with France, I mean who doesn't? Paris, after all, is one of Fashions Capitals. Their lifestyle is a major draw for me, when last in Paris we'd take ourselves off to the boulangerie in the morning for pastries and a baguette and spend part of the day wandering around the markets buying cheese and cooked meats for lunch, which we'd eat in the public gardens or on the steps of the sacre couer. In the evening we'd drink red wine in the court yard.
The elegance of Parisian Style never fails to inspire me but at the same time manages to make me feel somewhat inferior. The conscientious piecing together of quality garments is nothing less than an art form and so is their branding.
My Love for French Branding started with the French Connection Campaign in S/S 2010 (although based in London, is still essentially drawing on french fashion conceptions) where they changed direction and worked on a concept which addressed Gender; working on the notion that men and women need to be spoken to in different ways and drawing on stereotypes. The advertisement's were simple but thought provoking, comprised of an image of a woman or man and a quote written in a playful format "fluent Franglais".


A true french brand "The Kooples" is not that far removed from French Connections Concepts, still simple and thought provoking but incorporating an element of Urban street style. In my opinion they have made a real break through. THIS is what people want, when you go out shopping you are not simply buying clothes, you are creating an image and investing in a style. We no longer want to see models against a white back drop, we want to see how clothes translate into real life. We want to feel inspired.
Not only that but in this social media day and age we expect to know more. Who are these people? Clothes are a medium for expressing your personality, why not turn that on its head and have personality express the clothes? What a fantastic idea. In reality, they probably didn't just pluck that idea out of thin air, photographers such as The Sartorialist and Facehunter have been documenting fashion and style on the streets for years. You don't need much common sense or market research to realise that this format of fashion photography is inspiring thousands upon thousands of people.










Living, Breathing Kooples





Unfortunately the brand itself is too expensive for me to buy into but by heck do I want to. The Kooples is indeed one successful piece of marketing.
So, whose your favourite "Koople" ?
Heres Mine :)

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