FLAGSHIP STORE VISIT (MADRID, Calle Juan)

During my Easter holidays in Madrid I had the opportunity to visit Marni’s flagship store, which was opened in 2014, and took some pictures that I would use as reference to then illustrate the concept and installation idea for the brand’s new SS19 collection. What really appealed to me was the elegance and minimalism characteristic of the boutique, its creative and futuristic display of the different products, the fluid lines and curved clothing rails, which clearly relate to art and architecture. This subtle ’surrealism’, originality and explosion of color is what makes Marni so unique as a brand.

S/S 18 Campaign, by Jamie Hawkesworth

To know more about the Marni and understand its essence, I looked in depth at many of the catwalk shows online, the different collections, look book images, advertising campaigns, etc while informing myself of its target market, brand influence, and positioning in the luxury sector. Marni’s promotional imagery and visual merchandising are innovative and ahead of trends. The advertising campaigns are imaginative, sometimes even mysterious, usually set up in a natural surrounding or in a house interior, where color and shape play the most important role and make the image interesting and enticing. What I like the most about Marni’s imagery is the static and unconventional poses of the models and locations chosen. When creating my branded images and advertising campaign, I had to try to follow Marni’s usual mood in imagery and style of photography, incorporating the new concept.

Marni’s showroom is in Milan, in Viale Umbria 42, where many of its creative events and installations are held. The most recent one was Marni La Vereda in april 2018, which celebrated Colombian culture, traditions, fabrics and colours. Mani Playland,  and Marni Ballhaus were also organised at Viale Umbria. This showroom space was important to consider when thinking about my campaign and installation idea, as it is commonly used by Marni as promotion instrument and also to reinforce its brand identity throughout the years.

Marni has organized many pop-up events and temporary market-like stores, in different cities around the world, mostly inside shopping malls or in specific locations, where limited edition products are sold, such as colourful household items, children toys, PVC woven tote bags and animals, flowers, etc. Examples would be the Marni Flower Cafe in 2016 in Japan, the Pink Pop Market and the Flower Market in 2014 in Paris and Milan during Milan Fashion Week

Marni Ballhaus 2016 -Charity Project, Salone del Mobile, during Milan Design Week.          Installation and performance event; presentation of Marni’s furniture design items and accessories line. Performance of Columbian dancers

Marni Playland 2017, during Milan Design Week. Display of home furnishings and other items of interesting designs, colourful and minimalist, made in Colombia by local craftswomen, using materials like PVC, metals etc and traditional weaving. The event encourages the public and children to interact with the different objects on display, while at the same time learning about the brand and its values. Apart from being part of Marnis many charity initiatives and involvement in art events, it is also a non traditional method of marketing, that creates a link between public and brand, shows the brands commitment to ethical production and, especially, the influence of art and design on the brand.

VOGUE 125 anniversary, in 2017. Marni collaborated by various international artists that created the design of limited-edition bags and t-shirts

Marni promotes itself through its online store, website and social media presence, diverse events and select advertising. As I could observe,Marni is a brand with a considerable international presence, due to the number of stores available worldwide in different countries and continents. However it has lower social media recognition comparing to other internationally established luxury brands or competitors in the same market area. Compared to its competitors such as MiuMiu or Chloé, the number of followers of Marni’s twitter, Instagram and other platforms is lower and there are not as many editorials with their products and collections. However, the brand is more engaged in art and events, collaborations with artists, sustainability, charity, etc.

Marnis instagram targets a younger audience which is constantly on social media; however, unlike other premium and luxury brands, the brand does not put all its attention on Millennials and young consumers, thus the most relevant part of the promotion and marketing of the brand is done through offline activities and events, mostly installations and involvement in the Salone del Mobile in Milan, catering to more mature audiences -gen Zers and Xennials- who are Marni´s target customer.