David Blecken
Oct 28, 2016

‘Fendirumi’ symbolise traditional luxury’s desperation

Fuzzy Fendi mascots offer an interesting interpretation of 'high-end'.

‘Fendirumi’ symbolise traditional luxury’s desperation

Up until very recently, many of the world’s major fashion houses have managed to get away with selling Asian consumers an ideal of opulence that has not been updated since the 1980s. As those audiences become more discerning and opt increasingly for more understated labels, Big Luxury is left with the growing challenge of staying relevant.

What to do? One answer would be to cater to that demand and go lower key while retaining high-end positioning. Another would be to jettison the high-end positioning altogether and promote your brand by having people dance around in cheap furry costumes, as they might in a mobile-phone store.

That’s what Fendi seems to have done with its Fendirumi, ‘Bug-kun’ and Piro-chan’, who are currently making the rounds in Hong Kong (we highly recommend you follow that link for videos and comments).

The pair of—frankly quite scary—pink and blue creatures started life as bag charms and are inspired by “Japanese pop culture and kigurumi-mania”, according to Silvia Venturini Fendi.

As inventive, wild and wacky as Japan’s fluffy toys and mascots can be, high-end they definitely are not. We are not convinced that they will help offset the plunge in luxury consumption in Hong Kong (down nearly 19 percent this year according to government figures).

For anyone interested, the mink charms they evolved from retail at a decidedly high-end US$1,500.

We’re still not sure what they’re trying to say, but if Hong Kong punters decide this is the new definition of luxury, Fendi will have the last laugh.

'Bug-kun’ and 'Piro-chan' cavort along Hong Kong's harbourfront.

Source:
Campaign Asia

Follow us

Top news, insights and analysis every weekday

Sign up for Campaign Bulletins

Related Articles

Just Published

13 hours ago

The anti-trend trend: How Starbucks aspires to use ...

THE CMO'S MO: Inspired by Apple, Starbucks Asia's marketing head, Samuel Fung, is blending tradition and innovation with a back-to-basics approach to build loyalty in a competitive market.

13 hours ago

STB partners with NBA to attract fans from the region

The Singapore Tourism Board seeks to make the city state an attractive destination for sport fans, as it looks further afield to boost its ambitious goals for inbound visitors.

13 hours ago

X partners with Magnite to boost programmatic ad sales

Magnite joins Google and PubMatic as official third-party sellers of X’s ad inventory which can help fill unsold inventory and attract more advertisers.

13 hours ago

Love looks different in Asia now, and so should ...

More people in Asia are choosing singlehood; it’s time brands moved beyond dated romantic tropes to catch up with times for V-Day marketing, argues this writer.