Luxury x premium

Abstract

Over the years, premium brands such as Adidas & Nike have donned the agenda of collaboration with icons and sports stars who bring their own brand value into the products. Such products are often celebrated amongst brand enthusiasts and fashion circles alike. It’s no surprise that experiments with all sorts of collaborations have also been tried in the past. Furthermore, people don’t purchase products from these collaborations with the idea of playing the very same icons that the products imbibe. They embrace the spirit of lifestyle and culture of the vast heritage and legacy behind the icons that comes together in the product. In our study we observe and compare Adidas’ original style coming together with the Italian Luxury fashion house Gucci alongside Nike’s Air Force One collaboration with the luxury brand of Louis Vuitton. Both brands here propagate the essence that luxury brands can do much more than previously thought feasible with the hope that such instances get recognition & remain in circulation. The Luxury brands, with such collaborations, have clearly chosen to mould to the sign of the present times where brands have don’t necessarily change but exchange voices in order to generate fresh and new brand meanings. This study looks to (1) decode such meanings by exploring the audience & consumer perceptions with respect to what draws them towards such collaborations (2) explore the hypothesis around why Premium x Luxury collaborations such as highlighted above take place (3) gauge the impact of Luxury brands breaking their archetypal performance for something that is arguably Avant Garde. All this takes place keeping in mind that the luxury brands uphold the values of being a luxury brand by dictating fine, superior quality, limited distribution, high costs and a rich cultural heritage that has stood the test of time. On the other hand, premium brands are accessible to a much wider audience. This is achieved by offering good quality products & an amazing consumer experience and most importantly a price that is dictated by the functionality and utility of the product in hand. Premium brands relative to luxury brands are much cheaper, more easily available and dictate a level of quality to justify a high price. As a result, the purchasing of premium products gives the consumer a feeling of a good deal. Given that these brands cater to segments with different target groups, our study will seek to understand the aforementioned collaborations and try to bring about potentially significant changes in the way luxury brands are marketed going forward.