licensing

Update: Air Tahiti's Balenciaga Uniform Controversy

Filed under: Apparel, Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Last week, I told you about Air Tahiti's new designer crew uniforms. While I was more concerned about mid-air wardrobe change logistics, and noted only in passing that the new togs didn't look so-very-Balenciaga to me, Jeffries Blackerby of The Moment was right on it. He reports that the outfits were designed by Balenciaga Uniforms, which is a division of a company that apparently has absolutely nothing to do with the design sensibility of Nicolas Ghesquière, Balenciaga's creative director. Blackerby advises Air Tahiti: "let's not get all excited", presumably about being associated with Balenciaga.

Now, let's take a step back. Blackberby is right to point out that Balenciaga Uniforms, which handled the design of Air Tahiti's new uniforms, is owned by a French company called Creation & Image. (Wheras the fashion house Balenciaga is owned by PPR, which also owns Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and many others.)

But licensing of a designer's name is what makes the fashion world go 'round -- should you need a little brush-up on how this works, here's a nice article from the New York Times (and of course The Moment is a New York Times' blog) concerning Vera Wang. I'll grant that some designers retain more control than seems to be the case at Balenciaga Uniform -- which is apparently absolutely none. (And that's despite the smoking gun that some commenters at The Moment think they've discovered when they point out that Nicolas Ghesquière apparently once worked in the uniform division -- an amusing, if meaningless, sidenote, absent any evidence that Ghesquière is keeping a loving and attentive eye on all the rungs of the ladder he's climbed.)

Still, I submit that Air Tahiti should get every bit as excited as it wants over its Balenciaga uniforms. If we're only going to allow purchasers to take credit for the designer items that they buy that are not made by license, the licensing business ceases to have all value, and really -- do we think our economy can take that? Leaving aside world economic well-being, for the more important fashion issue, I agree with a point that Danica Lo made over at The Haute List: Designers need to keep more control over their name.

Tags: airlines, balenciaga, licensing, tahiti, uniforms

How Much Is The Bob Marley Name Worth?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Dead celebrities can be big business. Forbes does a top-earning dead celebrities list each year (Elvis Presley came out on top last year). But this year's list might find Bob Marley rising in the ranks. The BBC News reports on the Bob Marley licensing efforts, quoting the reggae singer's daughter Cedella who says the family is "open to licensing just about anything" as long as it feels right. So far the list includes Bob Marley beer, luggage, headphones, shoes and moore. Some will bear his name or image while others will play on song titles such as the plan for One Love cafes offering music, beer and Jamaican food. There is already a Bob Marley resort in the Bahamas and so a resort chain is also an option. The family hopes that by taking a proactive stance they can avoid over-commercializing the Bob Marley name but also keep bootleggers from taking part in a counterfeit merchandise industry worth an estimated $600 million. The family is working with the private equity firm Hilco on the various deals. How much could Marley's name be worth? Elvis brought in over $50 million last year so it seems there could be a lot of money to be made off the name of another music legend.

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Tags: bob marley, BobMarley, celebrity deals, CelebrityDeals, licensing, reggae