As the US is dealing with a social economical crisis tied in with Pride month, fashion brands have been turning their marketing efforts to the East. In the past week, I have been bombarded by the latest handbag releases from Dior, Louis Vuitton and YSL, all from the asian few fashion influencers that I follow. At first, I was drawn by their simplicity — something Louis Vuitton is not known for, but as the instagram posts flooded my feed, I started to notice an uncanny similarity between these bags.
The first is the Louis Vuitton LVPONT 9. A simple medium size flap bag that comes in smooth calf leather and a logo buckle. While its size is comparatively larger than the other two, it does not differ too much in style.
The second is the Dior Bobby, which flooded my feed the day it was released. Dior (as per usual) used the same marketing tactic as they did when the revival of the iconic Dior Saddle was released worldwide — social media influencers flooded instagram all at the same time on the same day. While this isn’t too far off from Dior’s last bag creation — the 30 Montaigne, it possesses the cute use of curve from the Dior Saddle, combined with the functionality of the 30 Montaigne.
The third is from YSL. The bag has yet to be announced and no names have yet been given, but it looks shockingly similar to the Dior Bobby. While I assume the price difference between Dior and YSL will be relatively steep — if we take each brand’s position into consideration. We will later discover if the success of YSL will overtake Dior purely on price or will Dior brand equity reign supreme?
Apart from the simplicity, bag shape, and the logo on front buckle, there is not much to differentiate between the bags. With the emerging need for fashion to slow down and re-think its merchandising strategy, it poses a very important question to fashion brands — has the need for growth overthrown the importance of creativity? Didn’t we as consumers choose fashion for the uniqueness of a creative director? To make us as wearers of these accessories to express ourselves and stand out as individuals? How did the fashion industry become like FMCG, producing multiple options of the same product, where premiumization and brand power becomes the only differentiating factor?
