Vera Wang - Hot or Has-Been?

[HotHolly]

So, I was wondering what you all thought about Vera Wang wedding gowns. Still hot? Or is this a has been designer?

Chime in, even if you will never wear a wedding gown. Im checking her brand thermostat. :o)

[toverman]

Didn't Kohl's or somebody sell some clothing under her name (or "Simply Vera" or "Wang Chung")? Not wedding gowns, of course, but once you've gone the box-retail-route, can you go back?

[dwilliams35]

You'll never see one of those things on me, I guarantee it.

[debbry531]

I don't think she's a has-been at all - maybe not quite as hot as she once was, but I'd still definitely say hot. It still seems like a ton of the celebrity brides are wearing one of her dresses. A friend that's getting married next month coveted one of her dresses but decided to stick to her budget.

[HotHolly]

Todd! You blew my cover. I wanted to see what the general peeps thought about her brand of wedding dresses after she released the economy line @ Kolhs, her mattresses, and then her deep discounting her own wedding gowns last year. I thought it was a brand massacre, but Mike disagrees with me. I wanted to check with you all to see if you still think a Vera Wang wedding gown carries as much clout as it did 5-10 years ago.

[donlfaulkner]

Who/what is Vera Wang?

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by donlfaulkner

Who/what is Vera Wang?

Ohhh, the possibilities. But, no, I won't.

[donlfaulkner]

[Ahh!]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Todd! You blew my cover. I wanted to see what the general peeps thought about her brand of wedding dresses after she released the economy line @ Kolhs, her mattresses, and then her deep discounting her own wedding gowns last year. I thought it was a brand massacre, but Mike disagrees with me. I wanted to check with you all to see if you still think a Vera Wang wedding gown carries as much clout as it did 5-10 years ago.

So, a photographer starts out shooting seniors, adds weddings and families, then adds bellys and babbies, and then family...

And you are worried about someone's brand when a top wedding dress designer sells her older designs at Kohls, then gets into matresses for after the wedding day... Sounds like she'll be soon selling kitchen gadgets, then nursery clothing, and toddler...

I dunno what the problem is either, so I guess I agree with Mike on this one...He's a cool guy who picked you, so maybe he's stumbled onto another great thing.

[debbry531]

I don't know about the deeply discounting her gowns or what her Kohl's line is, but a ton of big designers have started offering "budget" lines - look around Target and you'll see Mizrahi, Zac Posen, Rodarte, Jean Paul Gaultier. I don't think those offerings are diluting their brands. But it may be different when it comes to wedding gowns - something I admittedly know little about.

[epoh]

No, I don't think it's hurt her brand too much. The Kohl's stuff is cute, and pretty well made from what I've seen. And her high-end custom wedding gowns are still among the most amazing I've ever seen. I haven't seen her low-end wedding gowns though. I'm probably not the best person to ask, I bought my wedding dress off the $99 sale rack at David's Bridals, just because it was the one I liked best. Couldn't care less who made it or where it came from.

[ChristopherCoy]

Going 'big box retailer' isn't a bad thing. Look at Gucci, Chanel, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and all the others....

[L Stegall]

I don't think she has necessarily diluted her brand - as others have pointed out - she's certainly not alone in offering lower price sibling lines to her high end stuff. But, having seen some of her gowns in magazines, I would say I'm not wild about some of her gowns. What I loved about her gowns to begin with was their clean, simple, but elegant lines. She's got some stuff that just seems so odd to me now. And, odd in the sense that the bride will be kicking herself in 5 or 10 years, wondering what the heck she was thinking - especially to pay that kind of money. Now, I realize she was really first in the game with very simple gowns and I was desperately looking for something along those lines pre-VW, when everything was lace, beads, bows and puffy sleeves. I guess she's evolving, since everyone else was copying her style to some degree, but I just don't like as much of her stuff now as I did back then.

[HotHolly]

Thanks for your answers!

OK, lets apply this branding idea to photography. Can you shoot anything for $30K AND still pull in the bottom for $100-$200 per client under the SAME brand?

Personally, I wouldnt want to pay for the top anymore. Im sure the people on the bottom are thrilled (and slightly confused) about their ability to purchase this brand.

[L Stegall]

Well, you make a good point, although clearly, for a product like clothes or shoes you can see the difference in the materials and workmanship between the high and the low end. But, I do think that many brands did lose cache when they went to a more accessible mass market - Gucci especially - they were everywhere for a time and the brand almost went bust. And, thinking about it more, I don't think that some brands have the same image to me anymore given their mass marketing of lower end brands - I'm thinking Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Anne Klein in particular - in fact, the high end Anne Klein actually disappeared and all that was left was the lower end.

Now, how that translates to offering high and low end photography, I don't know, other than I think you would have to brand the low end work differently to avoid the situation you refer to. Why should I pay for the high end stuff when I could get close on the low end? What would be different about them?