With technological innovation shifting the majority of how users consume fashion to the internet, Instagram, and online sites, fashion brands have had to alter the way in which they present themselves. Specifically, fashion brands are following the “blanding” movement, meaning ridding their logos of any intricate art and adopting sans-serif, plaintext lettering. Additionally, this signifies that instead of differentiating themselves by graphic elements (for example, the Versace medusa or the Burberry horse), brands are relying more on the recognition of the brand’s name itself. Lastly, blanding also signifies a shift in how customers now view fashion, with a stronger emphasis on the brand’s title (as it may appear in plaintext on an Instagram handle or Facebook page name, which do not allow for graphics or art) rather than caring too much about artistic differentiations. According to research I conducted on my own sourcing the world’s top fashion brands (src: British Vogue, Business Insider), 85% display plaintext sans-serif logos. Blanding has been a sudden yet powerful movement whose effects can quickly be seen, and which begs us to consider how technological innovation is contributing to the differentiation (or lack thereof) of fashion brands.
