What Your Fashion Brand Can Learn from the VMA Nominees

Strong.  Bold.  Connected.

Those are three adjectives MTV's 2010 VMA nominee's have in common.

  • Lady Gaga received 13 Nominations -- the most ever by a single artist in one year;
  • Emimen received 8; and
  • Ke$ha received 3.

Videos are ways for artist to express themselves visually and to connect with their fans.  Remember, videos changed the way we engaged with music.  Sorta like way social media has changed fashion -- the traditional gatekeepers are gone, brands can make a direct connection with their customers and style is being developed and purchased in real time.

If your fashion company was recording artist, would it be nominated for a VMA?

 

Fashion War of 2010: Ke$ha vs. Lady Gaga

Remember in the eighties when Madonna and Cyndi Lauper seemed to compete for everything?  Whether it was to be at the top of the charts or dress in the most outrageous fashions, they were both vying for that top spot.

Well, If Lady Gaga is today's Madonna, I think Ke$ha is her Cyndi Lauper

For the second week in a row, Ke$ha had the number one song in the country, Tik Tok [Video], beating out Bad Romance [Video] by Lady Gaga, according to Ryan Seacrest's America's Top 40.  (notice how both videos start out in bathtubs??)

And she is showing up at New York Fashion Week dressed to the nines (undressed would be more appropriate.)

What do you think?

Photo Credit: Maddona Revelations, MyItThings and The StyleList

Alexander McQueen: We Will Miss You.

I woke up this morning to a stream of tweets and emails, first from Europe then from here in the Untied States mourning the apparent suicide of brilliant designer, Alexander McQueen

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, summed up McQueen's Influence as follows:

"His brilliant imagination knew no bounds as he conjured up collection after collection of extraordinary designs. At one level he was a master of the fantastic, creating astounding fashions shows that mixed design, technology and performance and on another he was a modern day genius whose gothic aesthetic was adopted by women the world over. His death is the hugest loss to anyone who knew him and for very many who didn't."

Coincidentally, Lady Gaga, another McQueen fan and a fashion icon in her own right, was on CNN's American Morning today prior to the news of his death.  Lady Gaga shared her admiration of McQueen, stating:

"He is so, he is on his own planet, he doesn't need to respond to trends, or what anyone else is doing.  He is so pure and from within and I, he just generally inspires me ... and I love when I can wear his clothes and sort of synthesize for my fans what it means to me, because I want them escape through his clothes the way that I do."

As you know, I am a big fan of McQueen, especially of his shoes.  As one of his twitter followers, I was saddened to learn his mother, Joyce,  passed away on February 2, 2010 when McQueen tweeted: “RIP mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,” followed by “But life must go on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

One must wonder whether he had a tortured soul or grief drove him over the edge.  Either way, his passing is a terrible loss to the fashion community.   To his friends and family at this sad time, our thoughts and prayers are with you. 

Alexander McQueen. we will miss you.

photo credit: The Cut and the guardian.co.uk

Reasons to Love Lady Gaga

You have heard me say it before: I think Lady Gaga is amazing.  Most people I know do too -- from the trainers who use her music in their classes, to the salesreps who use her as inspiration during market week, even to the tech geeks at the Computer Electronics Show.  I predict she will have the same impact on fashion, film and music as Madonna did in the eighties

Last week, the WSJ chimed in on Lady Gaga's brilliance.  In his article "The Lessons of Gaga," John Jurgensen writes:

With a digital dominance, business savvy, a niche-busting sound and 1,001 wardrobe changes, [Lady Gaga] is a new model for success.

I couldn't agree more.  Lady Gaga harnessed the power of social media including YouTube, MySpace and iTunes, to build a solid and loyal fan base.  Her attention-graping outfits, including those worn to meet the Queen of England and on Oprah, have raised her national profile.  Now she has deals with major companies like Polaroid and MAC.

In sum fashion designers:  while the clothing you produce is the foundation of your success, in today's world you need to incorporate social media, multimedia and a little bit of outrageousness to make your customers go "Gaga" over your brand.

photo credit: mtv.com

ps -- it case you missed it last night, Lady Gaga opened the Grammys [YouTube clip], which included an amazing duet with Sir Elton John and took home two awards).