Monograms of the world’s most coveted labels have long been a part of their products. For instance, a Louis Vuitton or a Gucci bag has the interlocking ‘LV’ or ‘GG’ all over it. Fashionistas not only live with it, but they love it, in fact. But when actor Alia Bhatt recently showed up at an awards function in a red dress, with ‘Dior’ printed prominently on her white bra straps, did it cross the line between tasteful branding and in-your-face crassness? Designer Amit GT thought so.
He posted on social media: “French houses have gone so low on their design aesthetics that they now resort to showing monogrammed straps. Show some good designs. Not happy with this trend.”
Commenting on the post, designer Rina Dhaka tells us, “I don’t find anything distasteful about the elastic strap. Only sometime back, there was a trend of flashing underwear strap. And people want to wear logos. If they’ve spent money on something, they’d want to flaunt it, and these brands go by that philosophy.”
Fashion blogger Anchal Sukhija would choose design aesthetics over loud branding. She says, “It’s the name that sells. These brands are so prized because owning them is supposed to be a status symbol. But I’ve never, ever been in favour of loud branding — I always go for clothes and accessories that are high on fashion, not on the name.”
Adding to the debate, designer Gaurav Khanijo says, “Since fashion is moving so fast, these brands have to come up with something new that does the talking for them. It’s just being loud about your brand. It’s the name of these brands that sell in the market, therefore, they try to make it as showy as possible. I think it’s cool to do so.”
Designer Nikhil Mehra, who owns a label with brother Shantanu, has never made clothes with branding, but he understands that this may be necessary. “I’ve never been a fan of loud branding, personally. But the name is what sells in the market. And the louder, the better,” he says.
In a marketplace crowded with big-ticket logos, it seems labels have to do more — and do it loudly — to stand out. “[The logo] was a common trend in bags earlier, and people used to buy those products only because they had a ‘GG’ or ‘LV’ written on it. Now, since all the international brands have brought this into their clothes, I guess it’s only a matter of time before this fades away. But as long as it’s a trend, people will wear logos. I, personally, wouldn’t opt for loud labels just because it’s on trend,” says blogger Shaurya Mohan.
