Chanel visual identity is not only made up with their products, but it is also made up by their physical environments such as the Chanel stores. The visual identity they portray within their stores is just as important as this is what attracts consumers into the stores. To show Chanel’s store aesthetic this I have created a brands cape board.
A key development for Chanel as a brand that made up their visual identity, was when French society started changing during world war 1 in 1914. It was no longer a time for high fashion, the war revealed an opportunity for Chanel. As women were now having to do manual labour job’s, corseted dresses couldn’t be worn and practical clothes where desperately needed. Chanel decided to start transforming jersey from men’s undergarments, into day where for women. As her speciality is transforming necessity into style. This was a huge niche within the market and was therefore hugely successful, as she had a natural talent for this style as no one else did. Chanel made trousers for women fashionable rather than just simply functional after the war.
This was where Chanel visual identity was truly born, “luxury must be comfortable otherwise it wasn’t luxury”, quote directly from Chanel herself which is what she built her visual identity on.
Chanel’s key consumers are built up by women who want to identify themselves with everything that a brand like Chanel stands for, elegance, modern simplicity and class. Being able to wear clothes that are comfortable but yet still high fashion. Chanel style has always been extremely consistence and has the same iconic pieces such as,
Known as the ‘little black dress’, originates back to 1926 when coco Chanel published a picture in vogue of a short simple black dress. The dress was designed to be long lasting, accessible and versatile. Becoming an essential piece in all women’s wardrobes and accessible to all for a hundred years. This helped Chanel to reinvent the colour black, to it increasingly being seen now as signifying high class, prestige, wealth, power and chic as supposed to being associated with mourning. Colour plays such a key role within branding, as humans we all associate colour with certain feelings and emotions, whether it is intentional or not. As black is also the colour for the Chanel logo, having the colour no longer be associated with mourning will really help to increase the brands popularity, as it wasn’t seen as colour of sadness and loss anymore.
The Chanel tweed two-piece suit introduced in 1920 and has since been sustained by Karl Lagerfeld. The suit signifies the representation of the liberated woman. The suit is a mix of Chanel’s traditional ideas to mix together both men and women’s fashion. Chanel inspiration for the suit came from menswear and sportswear, she became inspired with the idea of feminising tweed. Through using new materials textures and colours. As Chanel wanted to make fashion about comfort and have the ability to be able to move about freely. whilst still upholding the look of elegance and sophistication, without having to be dressed in a tight corset. This was seen as the first ‘wave’ of feminism during the early 20th century.
This is key for brands as it will leave a memorable impression on consumers and allowing clients to know what to expect from the brand. That they are reliable brand, and they know that the consumers will continue to like their products as they are classics piece’s with a modern twist. To represent this, I have created a Chanel brand tribe board to show Chanel’s tribe, showing the key people and elements that represents Chanel’s target market. Brands tribes are key as they work as free marketing for the brand, through people dressing in a certain way, they reflect the brand and therefore inspiring more people to be able to dress like that with the same style.
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