When fashion companies transform into communicationcompanies: the cases of Benetton, Net-a-Porter and Loewe
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Abstract
The digital context has caused the transformation of fashion brands into something more than producers and distributors of fashion products. In a context of disintermediation, through their online webpages or social media, brands are broadcasters and direct communication channels for audiences. This transformation implies profound changes for fashion companies. It also poses new challenges for the communication strategies of brands. Using the case method, this work approaches three renowned brands that are significant for their relationship
between fashion and communication: Benetton, Net-a-Porter and Loewe. The analysis reveals, on the one hand, the evolution suffered by fashion brands in recent decades and
their role as communicators. On the other hand, it delves into the role of communication in the fashion sector, in a context where merely commercial communication gives way to new formats and experiences. The example of fashion films is paradigmatic.
The conclusions thus show a strategic change for fashion communication. The connection with the product, the tone and the type of messages emitted are changing. And a mutation of brands is observed as
they are also constituted as communication companies, where it is essential to understand the consumer as an informed audience.
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