JOANNE Watkinson
It seems I surprised a few readers by revealing how online retailer ASOS started out life back In the year 2000, when it was called “as seen on screen” and sold the items or exact replicas of clothes and accessories that celebrities had been photographed in, before changing its name - less than a year into trading – to the acronym ASOS.
Twenty one years is a long time. Enough for ASOS to reinvent itself as the go-to e-tailer for the young and trendy (I’m aware that even using the word trendy is about as current as a Ewbank).
Reinvention is the key to success. It’s how brands stand the test of time, how they bounce back from oblivion, and how they go from being fashion pariahs to being the toast of fashion week.
Sometimes when brands reinvent themselves it’s to shake off an older clientele that is no longer profitable for them. Marks & Spencer tried to do this with its clothing and it backfired spectacularly – the silver pound is what keeps the store afloat.
There are, however, some great examples of brands who have clawed their way back to popularity by appealing to a younger customer, who have no recollection of previous fashion crimes.
Italian sportswear brand and tennis player favourite Fila, struggled to make headway against other sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas, but the recent trend for 90s nostalgia gave Fila a second wind, alongside another brand that falls into the “not so good at the time” category: Champion.
Fila made its way back via Urban Outfitters, a shopping mecca for young, trend-thirsty shoppers, and got lucky because it satisfied the current appetite for logo-mania and athleisure.
Fila’s chunky, spikesoled trainer, the Disruptor II, which originally went on sale in 1996, sat on shelves patiently for 15 years before becoming a cult buy.
Another sports brand enjoying a revival is New Balance.
Once seen as for geeks only (Apple founder Steve Jobs was a fan), suddenly geek was cool and New Balance was recently heralded as having the world’s coolest trainers.
Fashion is fickle, but isn’t that what keeps it interesting?