Chapter 4: Branding & Lifestyle - What Is It & How To Create It

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BRANDING & LIFESTYLE. 

This may be one of the most important and nuanced chapters in this entire course, apparel brands live & die by the lifestyle they develop. We’re going to be talking about these questions & key topics regarding BRANDING & LIFESTYLE, specifically:

1. How do you define it?
2. What is “lifestyle”, and how do you create it? 
3. Crafting the message & the mission.
4. How to capture the lifestyle in pictures/video. 
5. Direct & indirect content.

One of the first things we tell any new client at Industry Threadworks is that “apparel brands don’t actually sell apparel, they sell a LIFESTYLE.” Which sounds weird, but it’s absolutely true. The products are just a way for the audience to buy into the lifestyle the brand creates. 

Clothing brands live and die by lifestyle. Ultimately, it’s THE reason people choose to wear a t-shirt with a brand or logo on it instead of just a plain tee, they want to be a part of what the brand represents. 

Even most “blank” tees still have small branding on them, which ties into the reputation they’ve built around subtle comfort and quality. Minimal branding can still be intentional and powerful, look at Lululemon’s products, it’s all top tier quality with a small logo in an obscure place, very subtle. 

If it was just about needing a shirt to cover their body and it was purely for functionality and frugality, anyone can buy cheap, blank tees on Amazon or at your local department store. People choose to pay more to wear one with a brand or logo/design on it because they feel connected to what the brand MEANS to them. It’s what the lifestyle the brand represents says about THEM as the wearer. 

It’s how they want to be seen by others. The brand helps them tell their own story.

For example, if someone wants to be perceived as athletic, they might wear a Nike logo, they’re saying to the world: “I’m an athlete.” Or at least they want to be associated with that lifestyle.

If a person wants to be perceived as a surfer and laid back, they might were an RVCA or Billabong shirt, because those brands have done a good job of crafting that lifestyle image for their brand.

T-shirts deifine how a person wants to be perceived by the world, it’s like a tattoo you wear for a day. Whether it’s a pony or a lion on the shirt, the wearer is saying to the world “This is what I’m about today”.

Total guide is 8 pages long and includes a Checklist Worksheet on Page 8.