Johannesburg - It’s a brand that has enjoyed a cult following by fashion-forward urbanites in the US and Europe, but more than being a premium denim label, G-Star RAW is a lesson in how to market a product in today’s complex, technologically convergent world.
Check out its YouTube adverts and you’ll gain insight into a product that has seamlessly fused fashion with art, social media, film and global consciousness, turning a simple fabric into rock star cool, all over the planet.
The cutting edge marketing style of G-Star was immediately evident following the recent staging of Joburg’s first “RAW night event”, at Arts on Main at the fashionably late time of 9pm. Twitter and Instagram were instantly abuzz with everything G-Star, thanks to the rash of sharing by the celebrities, journalists and bloggers who attended, many of them in a pair of G-Star jeans.
The event wasn’t a fashion show as you might expect, but an eclectic mix of celebrity party, art exhibition and live music show, starring cult performer Okmalumkoolkat alongside installations of Faith47 and G-Star RAW’s Amsterdam showcase of exclusive denim art objects, most notably its iconic skeleton of a greyhound dressed in a denim jacket that shows off G-Star’s craftsmanship and styling innovations.
And like its predecessor event in Cape Town in January (joining Tokyo, London, New York and Los Angeles, where G-Star has staged RAW Nights), the city’s trendiest people were there – DJ Euphonik, ChianoSky, Tamara Dey, Isaac Klawansky, Eda Rose, Chad Saaiman, Masego Maponyane, Bonang Matheba, Nakhane Toure, Thapelo Mokoena, Boitumelo Thulo. It went on until 2am.
In other words, it was a good example of how this brand, born in Amsterdam in 1989, gains “traction” in its market, which in South Africa is young, highly fashion conscious and aspirant.
The brain behind G-Star’s out-of-the-ordinary branding activations is Shubhankar Ray, its global brand director who was in Johannesburg for the event.
“The idea behind our RAW nights is to stage an experiential event mixing different elements in unexpected combinations,” he says. “It’s a platform for local artists, and a way for us to get across G-Star’s global brand DNA, within a modern, local context. It’s about having a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s how you get local flavour in the marketing of the brand.”
G-Star pioneered the introduction of the first sculpted, 3D constructed denim with its Elwood collection in 1996, and today G-Star Elwood are the world’s second-best-selling jeans after Levi’s 501.
G-Star clothing is recognisable in boutiques because the items are not presented “2D” style on hangers but allowed to hang freely, as though someone just stepped out of them. “We moulded the clothes on models, so it’s like a tailored garment. It’s a characteristic point of difference, and an example of the fact that high innovation is the driver of this brand,” says Ray.
Innovation means G-Star RAW may be better known for cool denim clothing, but the brand has been cross-pollinating with everything from modernist furniture to camera brands.
At New York Fashion Week in 2010, Dennis Hopper made a surprise appearance at G-Star RAW’s presentation. In 2011 the G-Star Prouvé RAW Collection was launched in Switzerland, a reinterpretation – by G-Star and Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra – of classic furniture by the late French designer Jean Prouve.
Last year, Leica Camera introduced its new RAW edition Leica D-Lux 6, with G-Star as the designer behind its new body finish, leather case and “exclusive” carrying strap.
Most recently, G-Star RAW hooked up with singer Pharrell Williams, who also happens to be creative director of Bionic Yarn, a company that makes yarn and fabrics out of recycled plastic bottles. The two companies have launched a line of denim they call “RAW for the Oceans”, which will make its entry into South Africa at the end of the year. “These are non-obvious collaborations, but it’s this kind of creativity and finding new ways to communicate that sets us apart. Sustainability is also at the heart of this brand. It’s not about ‘lifestyle’, but ‘mindstyle’,” says Ray.
Interestingly, Ray, born in India but raised in the UK, started out studying chemistry, with a plan to become a research scientist. But he became disillusioned and “accidentally” ended up in the fashion business. “When I was at university I was working in a nightclub and was exposed to a lot of fashion, music, design and film at a time when culture was underground.”
After stints at Levi’s and Caterpillar, Ray joined G-Star in 2006 as its global brand director, to reinvent and “reboot” the label.
Apart from G-Star’s ad campaigns, Ray is intricately involved in TV spots, short films, magazine inserts, gallery installations, music and shop systems for the brand.
At the heart of his creativity is his photography. “I always take photographs and keep a notebook, and I watch the streets for inspiration.” Ray’s films have been shown in galleries and museums, including the Design Museum and the Victoria Miro Gallery in London (2005) and Centre for Contemporary Culture and Museo De Mar in Barcelona (2002), and he lectures widely on branding and visual communications.
Industrial design is the core character of G-Star RAW, he says, with ideas taken from vintage military or service clothing and reinterpreted with excellent craftsmanship to luxury standard. Celebrities are, of course, key to making the product accessible, and in the case of G-Star, the choice of models has also been unusual. Actress Liv Tyler was the face of its 2010 Spring collection, and 22-year-old Norwegian chess master Magnus Carlsen this year appears in a video ad battling it out with model Lily Cole in a surreal chess game of concrete and steel. Catch it on YouTube.
“Magnus is wearing the Type C, inspired by the way servicemen in the 1940s used to wear their trousers – a little bit loose at the top and tapered at the bottom,” says Ray.
This look defines the must-have pair of G-Star RAW jeans, with low crotch and tapered bottoms. The hoodies and chunky jerseys, meanwhile, are versatile, with artwork and designs that are bold and ever-evolving.
In the fashion world, G-Star is revered as a trailblazer, and the industry here is catching on fast.
Says Lawrence Manyapelo, multimedia designer and founder of online fashion magazine Previdar: “The whole ‘new age’ thinking is about open-mindedness, integrating other elements from the art-world, whether digital or analogue. This method of fashion branding is starting to show its mark in South Africa. It’s about ‘360 degree branding’, for example the Woolworths Style by Night fashion event.
“Shubhankar Ray has such amazing and unorthodox ideas, and the effort behind the works is clearly evident in the choice of spaces, artists and art elements. In a country like ours where the fashion industry is so small, we need this way of fashion branding, because it expands not only the fashion industry but other related industries as well.”
* G-Star has a retail presence in 68 countries, with 113 showrooms around the world, and last August it opened offices in South Africa. Retailers here include 18 Markham outlets and the Foschini group. A pair of G-Star RAW jeans once cost up to R8 000, in South Africa but now sell from R1 600. To see the range, visit www.g-star.com - The Star