The Dior Narrative

When looking into the narrative and the dream behind Diorissimo, there are many connotations which jump out of the product, and for me there is a very strong story which unveils. Dior is an incredibly sophisticated and well developed brand, which enables a strong sense of control within the brand; however for me, the dior fragrances are more than just smells, they work together in synergy to create a family like feel. J’adore, Miss Dior and Les Creations de Monsieur Dior are three sisters, and when you unravel the product identify within each fragrance you gain an understanding of the audience, smell, bottle aesthetics, and the feel of the perfume. These factors enable the consumer to learn more about where the product fits within the Dior Fragrance ‘family’. 

J’adore is a very sleek, sexual perfume, which is incredibly feminine and independent. The woman behind the fragrance is heavily beautiful and someone how has confidence within herself, she knows what she wants and how she is going to get it. This very confident and forward figure which appears in the family of Dior is an older sister, and is a well loved, appreciated yet strong smell, and is well developed to the perfect amount.

Next you have Miss Dior, who is the youngest of the three, sisters within the Dior fragrance family; she is cheeky, flirty and incredibly girls; the smell is flowery and pink which is displayed strongly within the packaging colour and bow on the lid. Miss Dior is the youngest and although she is confident in herself she has changes to make to herself, and is giggly. If she were to be drawn, she would too be very beautiful, but younger, and she is fun; which is the most important element which can be taken from the fragrance.

Finally you have the strong family of Les Creations de Monsieur Dior, which are almost the cousins of the Dior family, as they themselves make up 6 of the Dior fragrances, meaning there is a strong bond and collection within the brand. Diorissimo, Diorella, Dioressence and Diorling are almost quadruplets, the smells and the looks which carry the Dior fragrance forward are so similar, the bottle shapes are all identical and the look and feel which can be captured from the fragrance are identical. 

I personally see Diorissimo as an interesting family member within the fragrance market. The bottle itself is very bland, there is very little shape and outstanding factor of the bottle, however this inputs an element of mystery within the product, implying that Dior may have put all their efforts into the smell and left the packaging and bottle plain to allow a sense of the unknown into the product. The sell is so floral and fruity, almost a younger smell, however it was one of the first created which leaves the element of surprise when the scent is smelt as you see the movement behind the smell throughout the years. The Diorissimo woman is incredibly elegant yet simplistic, it leaves a lot to the imagination and allows a true mystical element to her; she too would be incredibly beautiful, old fashioned in her beliefs yet her rebranding makes her young in age. In my opinion, Diorissimo is the most interesting of the Dior Fragrance Collection, and although she isn’t the most famous, this adds the element of surprise to her, which is her unique selling point within the market. 

SWOT of Dior

STRENGTHS: Dior itself has so many strengths, but those which have drawn the company out the ground is the individuality and strong sense of narrative and the creation of ‘the dream’. Over the years Dior has created such a passion for the brand, and the need for it, which is why, 60 years on the company is still ever moving with the fast paced industry. 

WEAKNESSES: Although the company is very well developed, it has only a few downfalls, due to the change of designers over the years, at points there has been very little stability within the business, and the change of the personalities being injected into the brand has meant that in some cases there has been a large change in style and designs of certain pieces. 

OPPORTUNITIES: Dior is very aware as a company, and keeps up to date with all events. The Dior Harrods event in 2013, promoted the brand once again and allowed a whole range of audiences to view the garments and styles. The experiences which Dior choose to exploit are perfect opportunities for sales, and for the audiences. 

THREATS: Along with threats comes strong competition within the industry, and in this case, the threats lie with Chanel, and the fact that there is such a strong connection between the two brands. However, threats also lie with the designers, as in the short stay of the designer Bill Gaytten in 2011 for Dior, this can cause threats as it can have a lasting effect on the brand essence. 

THE COMPETITOR

The biggest competition of the Haute Couture world, Chanel, has just released their new Chanel No.5 advert; created by Award Winning Director Baz Luhrmann including the beautiful Gisele Bundchen, it is such an interestingly passionate new promotional element to the brand. Let alone it is set in the beautiful, dreamy land of New York’s Queensboro Bridge, the whole setting, theme and narrative of the advert is beauty, as well as the luxury in living somewhere so beautiful. Adverts such as these cause such a threat to Dior as it has pushed the opposing brand into the publics eye, which is exactly the opposite of what Dior would have wished for, however this is so common within the industry.

‘In the end, it’s about romance and passion – and I want to spend weeks in the Chanel archives!’

Luhrmann wanted to create something desirable, something that all women wanted; a successful career, a luxury house, a beautiful daughter and the lifestyle which was portrayed, meaning that women will buy into the dream to have their own journey that Bundchen is displaying, they want success, and having the perfume will bring this. 

Now, we simply need to wait to see how Dior reacts, as J’adore and Chanel No.5 will now be the two main adverts to watch this Christmas, as the final push for promotional aspects of the perfume industry begin.

DIOR vs CHANEL

When looking at the competitive market of the fashion industry, there are two names in the couture world which have battled it about for years and years: Chanel and Dior. These two are the giants of the couture world, and have such a targeted market, however, product placement and store placement are vital for this competitive market, having the best position within the market. This can be set up through the companies themselves, they choose exactly where they’d like a new store to be built, or is can be done by organisations such as John Lewis, Boots and Selfridges. 

When you walk into the fragrance section at Selfridges, first on your left you’ll find Dior, right at the door, and about 6 meters away you’ll see Chanel. This close placing of the leading brands is no coincidence. As I am interested in Dior, this was such an incredibly experience to be able to talk to the experts about the fragrances, and a chance to smell, touch, hold and get to grips with Diorissimo, which is such a magical smell. The two companies often find an overlap with the customers visiting, as they go to one first, then visit the other. Both are very sophisticated in look, and the colours are very monochrome to allow the products to speak for themselves. This is a perfect technique, as both brands are so well known, they can keep their publicity to a minimum and allow the products to speak the dream and the story behind the brand. 

Selfridges is the perfect place to find both Chanel and Dior, and both are such in-depth brands, but Dior, in my opinion, in this store has prime placement as you have to walk past the stand to get to Chanel; perfect for the competitive market.

Unique Selling Point of Dior

• Dior offers complete package of luxury, it contains the whole product package.

• Giacopelli: “Dior is a luxury brand. Christian Dior wanted a woman to feel elegant from head to toe.”

• Dior has constantly found what is missing from the market.

• Dior has created a dream, an essence, and a strong narrative within the company.

Autumn/Winter 2014-15

This year, Dior looked very deeply into the traditional focus of Autumn/Winter; looking into colours, materials, and elements of the holiday which all of the audience can relate to; which lead to fur, white outfits and a lot of long, draped materials. This season Dior used bold colours to represent the silhouettes of city workers, as he wanted the women to be seen completely equal with men – each form was echoed in traditional masculine fabrics. Peak lapels, double breasting and horn buttons take the place of more traditional elements of the feminine tailor. This is one of my favourite collections of the Autumn/Winter Dior range, and has been praised by all, the incredible and beautifully created garments are just stunning; Raf Simons has yet again made an unforgettable collection.

“I wanted to approach the idea of the city as an abstraction, it is how I perceive the world of the city in this collection,” says Raf Simons. “It is an idea of the romantic and the real, a world of possibilities. At the same time I wanted to present women with freedom and possibilities in the way they dress too.”

http://www.dior.com/diortv/en_gb/videos/fashion-shows/haute-couture-autumn-winter-2014-15-fashion-show

Christmas at Dior

These Christmas exclusives for Dior are so winery in colour, focusing on the true colours of Christmas, and the shade of eyeshadow are warm and wintery. The lipsticks are in two halves, and the packaging alone shows the individuality and the unique style is looking at. The nail varnish is a small, almost chubby bottle of luxury nail varnish, which I have been promised stays on for a minimum of 2 weeks. The products are currently not on sale, yet the first ones which have been sent from Paris can be found in the Covent Garden boutique, which is where I was fortunate to see the products for myself. 

Something that Dior is really looking into is individuality with products, and I personally believe that this Christmas they’ve achieved this; just like the Christian Louboutin nail varnish, with such a fast pace market, each fashion house is looking for a new unique selling point within products; which I believe Dior has created, but have still looked at their traditional work.

The FINAL clustering

Within the UK, there is only 1 remaining piece of Art Nouveau Sculpture, which is the middle of Piccadilly Circus – Eros, the statue of love. Carnaby street which is a short walk away in the 1960’s used to a very unique little boutique street, however it has now become very much the same as other shopping streets within London. However, Newburgh Street was the first street to be the Alternative London Fashion Week, here you can find so many interesting and one off shops which is why it has made its name on the map over the years – which is were Mac, Liberty and many other shops live. 

However, the final part of the trip leads me to Covent Garden, home of so many luxury shops and fashion clusters; but most importantly it is one of the areas where you will find Chanel and Dior right next to each other. This placement did not happy by accident, right opposite the main square, it is a prime location for the two Haute Couture giants. Though this is where you will also find Apple, one of the biggest in London, which is very important to note as there is not a large push between technology and fashion – which is what has been promoted and publicised on this years Apprentice. The Dior shop was so incredible to visit, and the staff where incredibly informative, telling us about the life of Dior, and how the company works. Dior in Covent Garden in a beauty boutique, and the first in London when the company expanded from Paris; which is why this store in particular is vital to the understanding of Dior.

Throughout this walk, I learnt so much about the store placements, why and how the stores are categorised and very strategically placed to help the consumer become tempted by more than they set out to look at. This is a vital part of the fashion industry, and clustering takes a very long time to perfect, as this is so key to the way the brand is viewed, and by who. This walk was incredibly useful for my knowledge, and taught me an awful lot about London, as well as the Designer Clusters.

Store Placements

Next I headed to the home of Madame De Pompadour’s home, the mistress of Louis XIV; now home to the Wallace Collection which is a house which burst of Paris, from the huge staircase to the ‘Gold Room’, it not only developed my understanding of Vivienne Westwood’s inspirations for a lot of her designs, but it made me incredibly excited for Paris; which was exactly one month on Sunday! Around the Wallace exhibition is home to a lot of wealthy Londoners, which suits the exhibition perfectly. 

Walking back along Oxford Street, we now walked the entire street of Bond Street; both old and new. This was one of the main sections of the whole day which really stood out to be, and made an impact on my understanding of the placement within the fashion clustering. Old Bond Street is full of luxury fashion houses, such as Tiffany, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Like Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton has tried to create a unique experience for the customers, and another unique selling point to the brand. This store has been redesigned to feel like you, as the consumer, are inside a jewellery box! This strange idea, is actually incredibly effective, as the tall ceilings and the sectioned store allows the store to have something extra in comparison. However, there is one more important factor which I noticed about Bond Street, There is a large Chanel store opposite to Vuitton, however, there is now a Dior being built right next door to Chanel; this push of competitiveness is key to keeping up to date with what the other is planning, and will help both to develop and continue to cluster together to re-enforce their position amongst rivals.

Mayfair to Regent Street

 

Mayfair is now the new fashion area in London, especially down Mount Street, where Balenciaga can now be found, along side Marc Jacobs and Celine. After many articles about Balenciaga in particular, I though it only right to have a little visit inside; not only is the brand very passionate about Luxury, but it has created a very unique changing room – the hexagonal shape was covered in mirrors, with cushions and a very simplistic yet large changing space – which for some reason reminded me of a space ship shape! This unique selling point for the brand increases the awareness as the store has something extra for the customers; which is keys within the competitive market. 

Just off from Mount Street, you can find South Audley St – which is the next sub section of London to be colonised by fashion itself. A shop which I have been to visit on many occasions is Thomas Goode, where you will find the most beautiful and exotic flowers in all of London. The whole shop is split into many different sections, ceramics, books and 2 large elephants in the window, which are now insured for £1 million each! This alone tells you a lot about the price tags of products within Thomas Goode, though each product is so personal and created to the highest standard. Along from here, and heading towards Grosvenor Square you can find Browns – which was who put John Galliano a place within the fashion industry, pushing Dior forward. As well as Issey Miyake and the Mrs Bernstein boutique.

Next, I headed to the home of British Vogue – Hanover Square, which is where the Conde Nast newsagent and Vogue house itself can be found; which is in fact where you can find all of the global titles ever published by Conde Nast. This was one of the main attractions of ‘Vogue’s Night Out’, and is somewhere that I can remember visiting time after time.