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On Brands and Labels

By Sasha Manuel

21 July 2008 199 views 12 Comments

There’s a reason why individuals are drawn to certain things in life. In the area of fashion, you’ll notice how we’ve put importance on what sort of clothes you wear rather on how you wear them. Most have the notion that wearing designer labels or branded items will automatically earn them a ticket to becoming the a recognised fashionista. But we all know that it’s not true, right?

I’ve noticed that Manila has become the next destination of well-known brands, ones you had only seen in them Western magazines. I’m hearing more and more Filipinos paying ridiculous amounts of money to wear them labels.

What is in a brand anyway? Do we truly recognise the value behind each brand that enter our market?

It’s funny how some put so much weight on a certain brand but when you go to the place where it originated, you’ll find out that this particular brand isn’t valued in the same way. You’ll realised that you bought into how it was marketed in our market, somehow justifying its price. Take for example a Volvo sedan, it’s considered a luxury car here in our country but in the US, it’s just a family car. Did I make sense?

Gap or Banana Republic is valued differently in the US. But here in Manila, I’ve noticed that it weighs more if you’re wearing a BR over something that’s just made by a local indie designer. Or we can’t seem to bring ourselves to buy a dress designed by an unknown local fashion designer that’s priced at Php 5,000.00 seemingly thinking that it’s not worth the money. Whereas we can actually buy something from Zara just because it’s Zara.

I’m not claiming that brands are evil. Hell, I wouldn’t mind owning Manolo Blahniks, Balenciagas and such myself. But I also value the items I’ve bought from flea markets or tiangges, or the ones I buy from local designers the same way. I mean, I wouldn’t mind spending an X amount of money on something that’s well-made and suitable to my personal style. I reckon it’s worth thinking over, right?

Any of you share the same sentiments? Do you consider brands or labels important? Does it really matter?

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12 Comments »

  • Kaye Olfindo said:

    Amen to that, Sasha! I’ve had a few people tell me that my prices are about the same range as Zara’s, etc., implying that they’ll just buy from Zara, which is a famous brand here in Manila, rather than buy from a local and newbie designer like me. Ouch!

    # 21 July 2008 at 11:14 am
  • nikita said:

    I’ve noticed that on my recent trip to the Philippines, the more expensive brand names are available in Manila than they were on my last trip to PI (18 years ago).

    When you mentioned how Banana Republic/Gap are viewed here in the US. It’s true that they are just regular brands for us here. But the Volvo comparison,…no. Volvo isn’t considered “just” a family sedan. It’s an expensive family sedan (if you get that model). What is considered “common” would be a minivan.

    When it comes to shopping, I’m not always thinking about brands half the time. For instance, Lesportsac is an expensive brand. (For me, any purse over $100, I consider expensive…not luxury tho!). But I will not throw my money away on an authentic one as the material is just nylon, no matter how good it is. If I want a Lesportsac, I’ll just get a fake. Who cares if it’s fake. I’d rather spend $100+ on bag made of leather, which I think I get better quality over brand name.

    I’ve shopped at Zara here in the US and while they have a lot of nice things, I know where I can get it for cheaper and of the same quality. If I were in the Philippines, I would choose a local designer over western brand name. For one, there is the idea of originality and the fact that it’s a local designer, i would love to support Philippine fashion! So long as they use good quality material, that’s what counts in my book.

    # 21 July 2008 at 11:17 am
  • Alex M said:

    that’s true. I think brand is less significant.
    Style is more important. Aside from that, we should support local brands or designs than foreign brands. How can we uplift Philippine fashion if we support foreign brands and designs?

    5 stars for that opinion.. ^_^ v

    # 22 July 2008 at 8:21 pm
  • Sasha Manuel said:

    Kaye: It’s kind of sad when you really think about it. It’s like this person is passing up on the chance to be truly individual. Sometimes, people just bank on the brand to lift up their personal style’s status without considering its real value. But what can we do, right?

    Nikita: I’m placing emphasis on Volvo being a symbol of wealth here in Manila, which is quite different as to how it is seen in the US. It’s never marketed as a family car here, expensive or otherwise. It’s got somewhat of a “Bentley” status in this country. Anyway, you’ve got steady principles in terms of fashion. It’s good that you believe that value in fashion can be had at minimal cost; without the hefty price tag.

    Alex: Yea, the local fashion designers do need a boost. I sure wish they would love the locals as much the locals would love them. Some need to be a bit more open to the idea that they need to reach out and accommodate, instead of adopting an elitist attitude. Again, what can we do?

    —

    But I’m sure glad that there are quite a number of options available to us right now. Local indie fashion designers rock! :D

    # 23 July 2008 at 8:04 am
  • Jason said:

    Great entry!

    I don’t mind if I wear branded or “unbranded” clothes; what matters to me is the quality. In most cases, I do find that branded products have better quality than generic ones, although I have to say that most Filipino mainstream brands don’t live up to my personal “quality control.” (I’m particularly referring to shoes here.)

    As for local couture, I’m a guy and haven’t bought one, so I’ve no idea of their quality. But from the looks of it, indie local designers are rocking the scene.

    # 23 July 2008 at 9:58 am
  • kriz said:

    Brands are brands but what is more important is the quality of the product of that brand.I can say that the quality of our local brands like bench and human can be rated from almost the same to better compare to Gap,that’s the reason why most of the time i ignore the big sale of Gap in this place..
    I’m leaving here in kuwait where European brands dominated..Zara,Topshop,Promod,Mango and H&M are just examples of common brands here, and we can get more than 10 items in a single visit during sale,but whenever i’m going for vacation in the Philippines,i couldn’t get even one.Considering the economic status and location of the country probably the reason why they can’t drop down the sale to the lowest price..Here,for example,a promod top that cost 12kd (2000 pesos) can be dropped as low as 2kd (334 pesos) and they will not sale anything that is already out from the trend and the sale happens for almost every other month,so majority of the customers will definitely wait for it..During my 2006 vacation in the phils.,i visited a Mango sale at ATC,customers were so engrossed with the sale but when i checked the price,i couldn’t consider it as sale..During my last year’s vacation,i’m so glad to pack in my luggage back here in kuwait the number of best quality items from freeway,flower collections,lhasa,etc that i know wouldn’t be left behind if to be lined-up with those international brands..

    # 28 July 2008 at 1:28 am
  • Alex M said:

    In my opinion…^_^ v

    I think for designers, they should create styles that are very filipino. They should research on native designs then mix it with modern designs. Just think out of the box..

    For elitists, they should support our local designers and local brands. Even though you wear expensive foreign items, it won’t change your ethnicity. What i mean is, supporting local brands can still make you look rich…

    # 28 July 2008 at 5:57 pm
  • Dianne said:

    Branded clothes are usually expensive because companies add their advertising costs on each of their items. Basically, people pay for the commercials of clothing lines and all that, just so they can associate the brand’s name to theirs. That’s a fact.

    Personally, as long as the product’s quality (not the name) justifies the amount attached to it, it’s fine to purchase it.

    # 20 November 2008 at 12:37 pm
  • Tessa said:

    It’s funny how a lot of girls out there try so hard to show their friends that they’re such fashionistas just because they shop branded stuff. I actually saw this photo posted on a blog recently and this girl said she bought her dress at so and so but it looked horrendous on her! Poor girl.

    # 22 November 2008 at 12:14 am
  • january said:

    i wish i have the money to splurge on branded labels, who doesn’t di ba? but i don’t really mind wearing unbranded ones, for as long as i got the comfort and style –i’m pretty okay with all that :)

    # 26 November 2008 at 1:05 pm
  • virlyn said:

    as always it is how the person carry your dress not dress carry the person ;) and whether it is branded or not as long as the person carry it well then that’s it!

    # 27 November 2008 at 4:12 pm
  • ana said:

    Sometimes I consider buying branded especially if I’m gonna use it everytime.because the other locally made are very easy to break or tear.

    # 28 November 2008 at 9:41 pm

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