My answers to your specific questions:
1) Impression of the brand: decent quality basics. Impression of the designer: accidental fashion designer with a bit of an ego.
2) Marketing strategy: well done. Good models, nice production values on the campaigns. I like how they incorporate music references into the clothes, it gives the brand some street cred. They seem to focus a lot of attention on their mail-order business.
3) The stores look deliberately undesigned. Just clean, cozy looking spaces with wood flooring and simple, industrial style fixtures. The staff are not particularly friendly and they will not help you unless you ask them a question. They always look kind of bored and jaded. The music is always well chosen.
4) I think the women's collection is too masculine and it sometimes seems that the women's pieces are just the men's pieces retooled. The shoes are always pretty good, but again, sometimes borderline masculine or granny-style. I liked the plastic sunglasses they did for Fall '04 and Spring '05, but whew, they were super overpriced for the quality. If you are already stylish, ie. have a great haircut and wear good accessories, these clothes will look good walking down the street.
1) Impression of the brand: decent quality basics. Impression of the designer: accidental fashion designer with a bit of an ego.
2) Marketing strategy: well done. Good models, nice production values on the campaigns. I like how they incorporate music references into the clothes, it gives the brand some street cred. They seem to focus a lot of attention on their mail-order business.
3) The stores look deliberately undesigned. Just clean, cozy looking spaces with wood flooring and simple, industrial style fixtures. The staff are not particularly friendly and they will not help you unless you ask them a question. They always look kind of bored and jaded. The music is always well chosen.
4) I think the women's collection is too masculine and it sometimes seems that the women's pieces are just the men's pieces retooled. The shoes are always pretty good, but again, sometimes borderline masculine or granny-style. I liked the plastic sunglasses they did for Fall '04 and Spring '05, but whew, they were super overpriced for the quality. If you are already stylish, ie. have a great haircut and wear good accessories, these clothes will look good walking down the street.
