Louis Vuitton’s “cult of the logo” (TFL, 2019) is the brand’s main point of identity amongst its tribes. The unique monogram is a symbol of Louis Vuitton’s quality craftmanship, exclusivity and art that their community identifies with.
In Madiha Noman’s report on Louis Vuitton, she defines the brand’s consumer market as wealthy elites ranging from the ages of 16-80 years old (Noman, 2021). However, I believe that this is a surface-level statement of Louis Vuitton’s consumers. It would be more accurate to break-down their market into three fashion tribes. These various tribes of Louis Vuitton emphasise their characteristic of innovation as a brand.
Firstly, it is important to note that Louis Vuitton specialises in leather goods, more specifically, luggage. With one of the brand’s core motivations being “the art of travel” (Noman, 2021), Louis Vuitton targeted their products at influential people of old Hollywood. The fashion house captured the hearts of prestigious travellers including the names of Audrey Hepburn and Coco Chanel (Crisell, 2020). The influence of glamourous Hollywood created one of Louis Vuitton’s tribes – old money. The old money tribe consists of the social elites that have good taste and are fond of travelling according to Noman’s report (Noman, 2021). If we think of the tribe in today’s context, we can define them as elitists ranging from the ages of 50-80. This community is associated with the finer things in life. They are classy, timeless and enjoy luxury leisure.
OLD-MONEY-HOLLYWOOD CONSUMER TRIBE BOARD:
Furthermore, Louis Vuitton has transitioned into the world of pop culture, appealing to millennial generations through means of social media. They create “instagrammable” moments that connect this tribe (Sudjono, 2020) since Millennials grew up with the main streaming of technology. This fashion tribe resonates with the “instagrammable” Girlboss aesthetic. The Girlboss tribe defines themselves as on-the-go and independent women (Samantha, 2017). One could say they strive to portray the perfect life while wearing the perfect brand. Some signature pieces in their wardrobe would include chic-blazers and Louis Vuitton’s Neverfull bag. Stein from Gen Medium blog refers to it as an “icon of millennial hustle” (Stein, 2020). They can often be seen photographing their morning lattes and avocado toast. Louis Vuitton appeals to this tribe by using Karlie Kloss as their brand ambassador (Adegeest, 2019). This tactic is influential as Kloss provides a connection from tribes to the brand and acts as a muse for consumers (Fashionary, 2019, pp.115). In essence, the Girlboss tribe is a community of supportive and refined businesswomen, appealing to Louis Vuitton’s venturous mindset.
GIRLBOSS CONSUMER TRIBE BOARD:
Lastly, the final fashion tribe that Louis Vuitton targets is the k-fashion tribe. Due to the economic growth in Asian countries such as South Korea, a new market has been displayed showing a demand for luxuries (TFL, 2021). In most recent years, K-pop has gained popularity within Generation Z and the obsession with K-celebrities, has created a “hyper-influential” market (TFL, 2021). The fashion house has chosen the pop group BTS as their global ambassadors since younger demographics are known to be beneficially impacted by celebrities (Lea-Greenwood, 2013, pp.76). The k-fashion tribe is associated with innovative clothing, animated designs and energy (TFL, 2021). They are normally seen wearing bold colours and modern silhouettes falling under the category of contemporary streetstyle while revitalising traditional Korean clothing such as Hanbok (Pauly, 2021). In the generation of globalization there is a common desire to be original which explains this modern aesthetic of k-fashion (Mishan, 2020). Present day South Korea can be compared to 90s Japan, reiterating k-fashion’s trendiness (Stoyanova, 2020). Therefore, it is obvious as to why Louis Vuitton would target this fashion-tribe, since it associates with the brand’s contemporary fashion-forward characteristics.
K-FASHION CONSUMER TRIBE BOARD:
Louis Vuitton’s multi-tribe is connected by one commonality – the monogram. Thus, perfectly describing the essence of tribes – “individuals who choose to become one [tribe]” (Mishan, 2020).
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