There are few symbols of classic elegance as enduring as the trench coat. Movies have played an especially important role in promoting the garment as a symbol of chic to successive generations of style-conscious movie-goers. Whether it is Ingrid Bergman bidding a poignent adieu to Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, Catherine Deneuve clinging to Nino Casternuovo on the train platform in Les parapluies de Cherbourg or Audrey Hepburn falling into the eager arms of George Peppard in the rain-soaked final scene in Breakfast at Tiffany's, the garment has come to symbolize an elegant way to brave both inhospitable weather and tragic twists of fate. The classic garment is once again having a Rennaissance moment among fashion's hip and cool crowd but this time it is neither thanks to a movie nor even to a music video (who could forget Rick Astley's 80's anthem "Never Gonna Give You Up"?). Rather, it is thanks to Scott Schuman's The Sartorialist and other street style sites.
Burberry is now capitalizing on the trend in a very modern (not to mention extremely clever) way. The brand has launched a site, Art of the Trench, that makes excellent use of both the current engouement for street style as well as the power of social media. Art of the Trench features Schuman's images of people wearing their trench coats which viewers can share, rate and comment - a sort of curated style guide illustrating how the garment can be used to create a very interesting personal "look". Because the images featured are all of real people as opposed to professionally styled models, the site has an air of genuineness or authenticity to it that is very difficult to reproduce commercially and which is likely to resonate with consumers.
The most compelling aspect of this site however (and the most clever from a soft-sell marketing approach for the brand) is that it allows members to submit images and stories about Burberry trench coats and share them with others via Facebook. The catch? To be included, the images submitted must involve an actual Burberry trench rather than its many high-street copies. Can you think of a better way of inciting potential customers to purchase a Burberry trench than the prospect of having their image plastered across the Internet in the company of Schuman's stylish subjects? I award a gold star to Burberry for their ability to capitalize so cleverly on Web 2.0. Well done.
Sincerely,
The Luxe Chronicles
P.S. While both Burberry and Aquascutum claim to have invented the first ever garment of its kind, it would seem that it was Burberry's founder Thomas Burberry who submitted a design for an army officer's raincoat to the United Kingdom War Office in 1901.
I've always loved this image. Class personified.
Posted by: John Agee Paris | Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 13:37