Published September 9, 2015
Fashion in Music – Runway ® – Celebrity Fashion Magazine
by Christine Albano
When the hottest musicians and fashion designers collaborate, the result is nothing short of a marriage made in advertising heaven. The latest example of this creative marketing strategy is the appearance of today’s biggest music icons in spring-summer 2015 fashion campaigns for some of the world’s most couture fashion designers.
“Music and fashion are so closely intertwined,” said Tess Taylor, president of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals. “I think pairing fashion with music is a win-win — if you have the right chemistry.”
“If their style is such an important factor of how they are branded, it’s easy to tie them into the fashion and have the celebrity as the brand ambassador, because they both correlate,” Walker added.
Taylor said the collaboration of music and fashion can exist in a variety of ways – everything from partnering a great fashion brand with an independent artist or pairing an established artist with a new fashion line. It can also involve music icons like Madonna lending her name to a small, fledgling fashion designer to boost the line’s image, or partnering blockbusters like Calvin Klein with Justin Bieber.
“Ten to 15 years ago, a lot of artists wouldn’t touch a commercial with a 10-foot pole – a lot of them thought it was considered selling out to place their music in an ad,” Taylor explained. “Today, they can’t get into the ad agencies fast enough because they see how much money the brand campaigns can make and how pairing music with a product can enhance their careers, put them in front of more people, and gain new fans.”
Taylor recalled Led Zeppelin as one of the first to capitalize on product branding when the trend picked up speed in recent years. The legendary British heavy metal band’s song “Rock and Roll” made advertising history in 2002 when it was heard as the theme song behind the “Breakthrough” ad campaign for Cadillac. The luxury car company’s sales soared because of it, and Led Zeppelin was introduced to a new generation,” she explained. Ross agreed that celebrities and musicians have jumped on the product branding bandwagon in recent years as the trend has become more popular.
“The fashion brands realize that a lot of their target base is plugged into the music industry and artists, so it’s a strong collaboration for both,” Ross said. All that branding can mean a big payday for both parties, she noted. “The brand carefully researches who they’re target audience is, and the artist also researches the brand, so it’s a good fit for them and they are comfortable being a spokesman for the brand,” Ross said. “It’s very much a strong marketing campaign and I see it increasing in the future,” she added.
When the hottest musicians and fashion designers collaborate, the result is nothing short of a marriage made in advertising heaven. The latest example of this creative marketing strategy is the appearance of today’s biggest music icons in spring-summer 2015 fashion campaigns for some of the world’s most couture fashion designers.
“Music and fashion are so closely intertwined,” said Tess Taylor, president of the National Association of Record Industry Professionals. “I think pairing fashion with music is a win-win — if you have the right chemistry.”
