I was checking out the Women’s Wear Daily Web site http://www.wwd.com/monday today and something caught my eye. According to writer Caroline Tell’s assessmentx of the most recent rash of Fashion Weeks around the globe, “the runways from New York to Paris were as much about the handbags and other accessories as they were about the clothes.” Now, I’m not a WWD subscriber, so I can’t read the rest of the article (oh technology, must you mock me so?), but it did get me thinking.
A lot of the promotional wearables news I’ve reported on in the past year has pointed to our industry taking cues from retail in growing numbers. There’s definitely been an influx of trendier offerings, that much anyone can see. But one area that is comparatively lacking, though, is the accessories business. There are bags out there—cute bags—but it just doesn’t seem to be as big a business as the apparel side of things.
What’s up with that? No, really.
You’ve got the token scarves, emblematic jewelry and the like, but have distributors ever thought of bundling apparel and accessories promotions? Though the end-user is unlikely to wear an entirely logoed outfit (sorry guys, it’s the truth), it could be worth it to look into offering, say, an imprinted buttondown with a scarf, bag or necklace. The beauty of accessorizing is that mixing and matching is encouraged, so the odds of a promotional product making it into the rotation—more than once!—dramatically increases.
Offering oufits-as-promotions might already be happening, and if so, as a follower of fashion, I have to say it’s probably the best way to bring promotional apparel even closer to retail styling. If it’s not, then consider this my million-dollar idea. And forward 10 percent of your commissions to me.
Deal?
