大LOGO時裝重出江湖
The logo is back. At Gosha Rubchinskiy’s SS17 show, Russian teens sported branded garments made in collaboration with the labels of the 1980s — Fila, Kappa and Sergio Tacchini. At Dolce & Gabbana, “fake” logo T-shirts were made a central part of the women’s SS17 collection. At Balenciaga AW17, designer Demna Gvasalia emblazoned a sweater with the logo of the luxury conglomerate group, Kering, which owns the brand.
品牌標識又回來了。在高沙盧布琴斯基(Gosha Rubchinskiy)的2017年春夏季時裝展上，俄羅斯少女模特身穿帶有品牌標識的時裝在T型臺上走秀，這些時裝都是與斐樂(Fila)、卡帕(Kappa)以及Sergio Tacchini這些始創於上世紀80年代的時尚品牌合推的款式；在杜嘉班納(Dolce & Gabbana)2017年女裝春夏發佈會上，印有“山寨”標識的T恤成爲了重頭戲；而在巴黎世家(Balenciaga)2017年秋冬季時裝發佈會上，設計總監戴姆納瓦薩利亞(Demna Gvasalia)推出了一款印有巴黎世家母公司、奢侈品巨擎開雲(Kering)品牌標識的毛衣。Alessandro Michele has been instrumental in reviving the logo at Gucci. His first look for the house on becoming creative director in January 2015 featured a belt fastened with giant interlocking Gs. The logo was first made a status symbol under Tom Ford in the early 1990s. Back then, it was a symbol of raw materialism. By contrast, Michele’s new take has been faded and antiqued to lend it a vintage appeal. For his cruise collection, Michele designed a soft-washed T-shirt with printed logo detail. Innocuous enough, until you discover it cost ￡400.
亞歷山德羅米歇爾(Alessandro Michele)對於重振古馳標識可謂居功至偉。2015年，他出任古馳(Gucci)創意總監後推出的首個作品就是一款帶有巨大G字母相扣標識的皮帶。這個顯示社會地位的標識由湯姆福特(Tom Ford)上世紀90年代擔任古馳創意總監時首推，但它當時是土豪的標誌。與此相反，米歇爾的新標識爲古舊褪色款，顯得古樸典雅。米歇爾專爲這個早春系列(cruise collection)設計了一款印有品牌標識的銀灰色T恤衫(soft-washed T-shirt)。呵呵，模樣實在是平淡無奇，但400英鎊的售價肯定會讓人咋舌。Net-a-Porter ordered 1,000 T-shirts and it sold out globally in just 10 weeks. “It was our top investment for pre-spring summer and due to its phenomenal performance we are introducing two new colourways for next season,” says Lisa Aiken, the site’s retail fashion director. She credits Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana for having kicked off the current logo trend “by reworking counterfeit tees to create ‘genuine fakes’. [The French brand] Vetements is another power player; we sold 500 pairs of their logoed sports socks (￡60) in just one week, which is incredible.”
Net-a-Porter網店上架的1000件此類古馳T恤在短短10周內就售罄（面向全球客戶）。“這是我們對早春/夏時裝的大手筆投資，鑑於銷售業績亮麗，我們打算爲下個時裝季另外推出兩款其它顏色的T恤衫。”Net-a-Porter時裝零售部負責人麗莎艾肯(Lisa Aiken)說。古馳與杜嘉班納引領了當今品牌標識之風，原因是它們“把山寨T恤改造設計後，打造出了‘貨真價實的複製品’。法國時尚品牌Vetement同樣表現亮麗，短短一週內我們就賣了500雙標識款運動襪（單價60英鎊），真是難以置信。”
London menswear designer Christopher Shannon reinterpreted iconic brand graphics as miserabilist slogans for AW17 — Calvin Klein became Constant Stress (pictured below) while Timberland became Tumbleweed. “I’ve been using logos since my MA collection in 2009,” he says. “At the time, it really irked people, everyone was so busy with slim tailoring that loud graphics seemed the opposite.”
在2017年秋冬時裝展上，倫敦男裝設計師克里斯托弗香農(Christopher Shannon)把標誌性品牌標識改造成表達悲慘主義內涵的標語——Calvin Klein的標語改成了Constant Stress，並把Timberland（天伯倫，意爲森林）標識改成了Tumbleweed（意爲風滾草）。“自2009年推出MA系列時裝以來，我一直使用標識。”他說，“當時這種做法犯了衆怒，所有人都沉醉於修身款式，因此醒目標識似乎是背道而馳。”Seven years later, Shannon says: “There isn’t so much snobbery around it. Plus it’s an effective way to make a statement and reads well online — no one seems to look past that at the moment.”
七年後，香農說：“如今世人不再藐視它，此外，它能成功造就轟動效應，而且在網上擁者如雲——如今似乎每個人都很待見它。”The death of the logo in the late 1990s was largely a feature of its own success. The logo became all too ubiquitous in the early 90s when brands used the logo to prop up licenses, especially in foreign markets, and sell diffusion lines.
上世紀90年代末，標識之風偃旗息鼓，“罪魁禍首”正是由於其“如日中天”。上世紀90年代初，帶有標識的裝束司空見慣，因爲當時各大品牌都藉助標識以推行特許經營制（尤以外國市場爲甚）與銷售副線品牌(diffusion lines)。“In the past, the logo was about duty-free kind of stock, and slapping your name on it”, says Robert Forrest, a fashion consultant who has worked with Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein, of that era’s overdependence on its initials. “Now, it’s become cool to have logos used in the main high fashion collection — like when they showed Obsession perfume logos on the Calvin Klein runway for mens’ AW14.”
“在過去，標識針對的免稅類存貨，隨意打上自家商標即可”，時尚顧問羅伯特福雷斯特(Robert Forrest)說。他曾與阿瑪尼(Giorgio Armani)以及Calvin Klein等品牌合作過，當時那個年代，時裝界過度依賴首字母縮寫的使用。“如今，高檔時尚品牌上帶有品牌標識很酷潮——比方說，2014年Calvin Klein秋冬季男裝發佈會上就展示了印有Obsession標識的香水。”The economic crash in 2008, and the minimal stealth-wealth era of fashion that coincided with those times, also spelt doom for visible branding. “After the crisis of 2008 there was a premium for very expensive products that didn’t look obviously expensive,” says Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye, president of French label Chloé. The luxury market was “all about non-conspicuous consumption”.
2008年的全球金融危機，加之當時時尚界又崇尚隱富，宣告了品牌標識招搖時代的終結。“2008年金融危機後，名貴品模樣不咋樣的大行其道。”法國時尚品牌蔻伊(Chloé)總裁傑弗洛伊德拉波多內(Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye)說。奢侈品市場“崇尚低調消費”。That market now seems to be changing, but de La Bourdonnaye sees the return of the logo as only a passing “trend”. Under his watch, Chloé has resisted the urge to brand products, even retiring logos where possible. He points to the unbranded Carlina sunglasses as an example of his strategy: “You do not need the logo to recognise they are Chloé,” he says. “It’s easier, if you have a logo or a strong brand, to slap it on stuff that you can find anywhere else. That’s not the route we are taking.”
但如今時風似乎開始轉向，但德拉波多內卻認爲品牌標識的迴歸只是稍縱即逝的潮流。在他的督控下，蔻伊成功阻止了給旗下產品印標識的“衝動”，甚至盡一切可能讓標識“退隱”。他舉了未印任何標識的Carlina太陽鏡這個例子來佐證其所採取的營銷策略：“蔻伊產品無需藉助任何標識。”他說，“品牌有了標識或者本身是個強勢品牌，那麼給旗下產品印上標識實屬輕而易舉，這種情況在時尚界比比皆是，但這不是蔻伊採取的策略。”It’s a concept championed at more established houses to entice a younger and social media-savvy crowd
這種理念深受知名老品牌青睞，旨在吸引對社交媒體駕輕就熟的年輕人。In the 1980s and 1990s, logos served as a symbol of wealth. But in today’s fashion culture its meaning is more complex. As consumers have become more aware of their ability to “curate” an online lifestyle, logos have become subtle badges of belonging. Damien Paul, head of menswear at , sees the logo’s rehabilitation as something for those in the know, rather than those aspiring to look in the know.
上世紀80、90年代，品牌標識是財富的象徵。但在當今時尚文化中，其內涵則更爲錯綜複雜。消費者在網上展現自己生活方式的能力與意識日增，於是乎標識已成爲微妙的歸屬標誌。男裝部主管達米安保羅(Damien Paul)把標識的“重出江湖”視爲服務內行、而非那些僞內行者。“Influential buzz brands like Vetements and Off-White have made their own names central to the appeal of their clothing,” he says. “And this has the effect of identifying the wearer as part of a particular designer tribe. It’s a concept that is also being championed at more established houses like Balenciaga and Balmain, particularly on entry-level products, such as caps and T-shirts, which entice a younger and social media-savvy crowd.”
“Vetements 與Off-White這類紅遍宇宙的時尚品牌的標識本身就是其流行時裝不可分割的組成部分。”他說，“而這能把穿者成功歸爲某類特寫設計師羣體的擁躉。這種理念同樣深受巴黎世家以及巴爾曼(Balmain)等知名老品牌追捧，尤其是對帽子與T恤（它們深受對社交媒體駕輕就熟的年輕人青睞）這類入門級產品更是如此。”In turn, today’s designers are using logos in a more playful, knowing way: when Maria Grazia Chiuri made her debut at Dior, she did so with bags and bra straps boldly branded with the words “J’adior”, a play on the “J’Adore Dior” slogan created by John Galliano during his tenure at the house in the late 1990s. The message received was that her Dior would be inclusive, respectful of its design past and commercially savvy.
反過來，如今的設計師以更爲玩謔與世故的方式運用標識：當瑪麗亞格拉茨亞基烏里(Maria Grazia Chiuri)推出自己到迪奧後的首個時尚系列時，她大膽地在手包與文胸肩帶打上了“J’adior”的標識字樣，這是對約翰加里亞諾(John Galliano)上世紀90年代擔任迪奧創意總監時所創標語“我喜歡迪奧”的戲謔。它傳遞這樣的信息：她掌舵的迪奧兼容幷包、尊崇往昔歷史，而且時刻關注商機。Brand consultant and sportswear expert Gary Warnett credits much of the current logo fetishism to the influence of Dapper Dan, owner of the legendary Harlem boutique in New York, which opened in 1982, and sold fake monogrammed jackets, coats and tracksuits. The shop closed in 1992 when Fendi officials spotted Mike Tyson in a Dan creation. But while Dan’s influence was once despised by the houses, his vision was eerily prescient. Today, Fendi sells ostentatious branded furry pool slides and scarves that perfectly recall Dan’s flamboyant fakes. Kim Jones, the artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, credited Dapper Dan as a reference in his AW17 notes to introduce a logo-heavy collection made in collaboration with skate brand Supreme (pictured below).
品牌顧問兼運動裝專家加里瓦內特(Gary Warnett)把當前的標識熱潮歸因於Dapper Dan的深遠影響，他是極富傳奇色彩的紐約哈萊姆門店老闆。該門店開設於1982年，專售由知名品牌改造過的夾克（繡有交織字母標識）、外套以及運動裝。門店於1992年關門，起因是芬迪公司(Fendi)高管發現拳王邁克泰森(Mike Tyson)穿了件Dan設計的服裝。但儘管各大品牌曾極度鄙視Dan的影響力，但他的怪異設計極富遠見卓識。如今，芬迪大量銷售印有花哨標識的毛皮料拖鞋(pool slides)與圍巾，讓人不由想起Dapper Dan“設計”的那些花哨誇張山寨貨。在路易威登(Louis Vuitton)男裝藝術總監金姆瓊斯(Kim Jones)推出的2017秋冬季時裝中，帶有醒目標識的系列（與主打滑板的美國街頭服飾品牌Supreme合作推出）就是借鑑了Dapper Dan的設計。
Robert Forrest, meanwhile, argues that the prominence of the logo has arisen with a more homogenised market. Why design something new when you simply can stick a label on it “You used to recognise an Ossie Clark, because you knew the cut of the dress,” argues Forrest. “Likewise with Sonia Rykiel. Most brands don’t have that any more, so they hang their name on it. The design aesthetic is less valued than it used to be.”
與此同時，羅伯特福雷斯特說：標識大行其道會使市場更趨同質化。那麼爲何只需貼上標識即可了事，卻還要不斷推陳出新呢？“過去，諸位一眼就能認出奧西克拉克(Ossie Clark)設計的時裝，因爲對其風格一清二楚。”福雷斯特說，“法國品牌索尼婭裏基爾(Sonia Rykiel)同樣如此。多數品牌如今的風格不再迥異獨特，所以它們得印上自己的標識。如今時裝的美學價值已大不如前。”It’s telling that when Raf Simons took over at Calvin Klein, a brand that has long relied on logoed products, he called on acclaimed graphic designer Peter Saville to reshape the branding. They dubbed the new logo “a return to the spirit of the original”, and replaced the lower case with a new font in capitals and with each letter closer together. A new logo, for the new, informed logomaniacs. It was the ultimate reboot.
據說拉夫西蒙斯接任Calvin Klein（長久仰仗帶標識的產品）創意總監一職時，曾要求知名美術設計師彼得薩維爾(Peter Saville)對標識再設計。他們暱稱新標識是“迴歸初衷”，並用新大寫字體替換了所有小寫字母，而且字母間距更趨緊湊。新標識代表了全新萬能的標識癡狂程度，它是對品牌根基的終極迴歸。
