Branded for life

The article is again one of my prior published items in the Daily Star Magazine and comments on youth craze for anything branded. It may appear a tad sour grapes to those who live (and dress) by the brand name. I for one can't say that I do not own anything with a premium brand name, I will, however, be the first to admit that is not my sole decision making criteria. An oblique take on the affects of easy, unearned money and the growing brigade of brat packs.

“Consumerism thy name is youth” – stand corrected Mr. Shakespeare. These days it’s not what you “are” but what you’re “in” that counts more. Image is the sole of youth existence. The morning ritual starts with hot scalding shower – if you don’t have to wipe the mirror with a thick towel when you’re done, it’s not hot enough! Lather with nothing less than a branded soap, separate herbal-extract brand-name shampoo and conditioner as part of the diurnal hair wash ritual, a quick roll of the choice-brand anti-perspirant under the arms, a lightning trigger spray of the choice “scent”. Finally a run of mousse through the hair and a casual (but cool) brush back and you’re set…

Set to get into designer briefs that oh so delicately oozes that “only-I-know” charm. Pull on designer casuals and tuck in the shirt – carelessly tucked but careful enough to leave the brand name exposed to all those who care to check (like you would be caught in the open with anything less!).

The cashier tills all over this city are jangling with the cold and the hard as youth makes its mark. Nothing is worth having anymore unless it carries a name that commands respect among peers. ‘CK’, ‘Ralph’, ‘Polo’, ‘Nike’ (call it like you know how it supposed to be called), ‘Reebok’, ‘Adidas’ are either first name associations or intimate friends. Local brands are not doing badly either – the Artisti Collection (the ooh la la of dress shirts manufactured locally) is followed closely by Cat’s Eye, Monsoon Rain and Westec’s own line of apparel. As more and more international brands and their fake cousins flood the market place with trendy all-glass storefronts and expensive spot lighting – the youth are drawn like moth to the flame.

If it’s priced more and carries ‘the’ name (or vice a versa, for that matter) it is bought out right. The average shelf life of a branded shirt is probably less than that of a cube of sugar in an ant colony! Suddenly the name sells more items to people than the prices deter. Priced right is simply priced high. With money to burn and expendable income in the hands of people too young to hold a job, the cost of money takes on a different value.

The innocence of youth allows for individualism in uniformity where everything they wear or spray on themselves is in line with their undeclared conformity. Like teen wolves they gather in packs indistinguishable except for brand-preferences. Packs that are ruthless to the non-believer and deferential to the ‘one-up’.

This brand preference sweeps through everything that the youth imagine or use. Although the perfumes, colognes, clothing and footwear are the obvious examples, but the brand attraction seeps into unlikely items like pens, computers (here brand is not as important as configuration, power and speed), and automobiles. Who ever first said, “size doesn’t matter” wasn’t speaking for the gallant (pretentious) youth. In this group a foreign brand is a preferred brand and the local brand has no place. Logic dictates why buy local when you can buy foreign and then extends to why buy foreign if you don’t buy brand.

The marketplace is testament to this wave as new shops come out with brand written all over them. With the youth exposed to multi-channel fashion statements (from across the border to over the oceans) at the press of a button, consumerism and brand statements are at an all time peak. In the rush for brand some lose themselves in phonetics, after all isn’t “Reid & Tailor” the same “Reid & Taylor” as worn by Bond. A classic example, if there ever was one, of the phenomenon that if you can’t bond with the best, it’s still best to bond (with the brand association).

The prudent question to ask these days is that although you can always look good in any old thing, can you carry the brand statement? The youth are united and the brand lives strong.