Photography and its Influence on a Fashion Brand

• Photographs provide brand awareness

Martin Wood explained how Sir Bernard Ashley’s first foray into marketing using photography saw weekly taking rise from £300 to £3000 because of brand awareness.  Displayed along the district tube line, the image was seen by hundreds of people, therefore increasing Laura Ashley’s profile.

• Photographs can be used as a memory tool

That first image also captured the synonymous look that Laura Ashley is remembered for. Photography cements an idea in someone’s brain and if images are continually produced in the same way, they will immediately be associated with that particular company, regardless of fashions. Laura Ashley appeals to a mass market because the pictures relate to the designs and what the company stand for.

Phil Meech shoots for Prada, with his photographs making up the Fantasy Look Books. He concentrates on shooting the interaction between people and uses photography to document the entire process, rather than just posed photos. Photography catches things that we as people may miss and it’s these images that create interesting fashion pictures, pictures that people can relate to and remember.

Images by Phil Meech are often displayed together in the Prada Fantasy Look Book, creating the third affect and allowing another narrative to be created, rather than the one associated with original singular photo. The images are remembered on a personal scale and again associated them with a brand.

• Photography shows how a brand grows and develops

As the rest of the exhibition showed, fashion photography is used as documentation for a brands journey. Each outfit on the catwalk is photographed, with some of the more outrageous styles attracting more attention, therefore being associated with that particular fashion brand. With the case of Laura Ashley, the images also show another side of the brand that may have forgotten which shows how brands can grow and develop over time.

• Photography can be seen anywhere instantly

The influence of technology and social media means that photographs can be uploaded immediately and there is the opportunity for them to be recognised all over the world. Phil Meech’s images for Prada were originally used in stores and have now progressed to the Fantasy Look Book on the website. Viral campaigns ensure that images can be seen by as many people as possible, gaining maximum exposure for a brand.

• “A picture is worth 1000 words”

The idea conveyed by this phrase is that an idea can be shown much easier through an image then through words. This is true with a fashion brand as images are much more visually appealing than a group of words describing the item. The image will give the consumer a sense of what the item will look like on ie: the colour and shape. As Martin Wood describes, Laura Ashley’s images convey this phrase as they bring an effect of nostalgia with their images. The images reflect what people associate Laura Ashley with.