What's in a Name?
I remember the first brand I was completely in love with: Sanrio -- Hello Kitty, My Melody, and my absolute favorite, Lala and Kiki of Little Twin Stars. A UNICEF ambassador since 1983, Hello Kitty has been on a renaissance of late and the beribboned feline is somewhat of a quirky fashion icon making red carpet appearances on the arms of fans from Cameron Diaz and Christina Aguilera to Paris and Nicky Hilton. Everyone love Hello Kitty and though I thought she was cute, I didn't collect Hello Kitty with the same fervor as I did My Melody and Little Twin Stars. My Melody was scarce commodity when I was in fourth grade. The white little bunny with the carnation pink hood (albeit if you log on to their website, Sanrio has changed the pink hood to the original red) occupied just one measly shelf at the Gift Gate store in SM Manila. I really had to snap up the merchandise once it was displayed. Ever kikay, my fourth grade self was totally enchanted with Lala's long pink hair (though in some illustrations it appears brown). The star wand she carried with her at all time was, to me, pure glamour. I think it had something to do with sprinkling fairy dust on everyone. The fact that Kiki was always by her side increased her allure too.
I used to save up my allowance and whatever cash I collected from birthdays, Christmas, stellar report cards and good behavior bonuses to buy Sanrio memorabilia. I amassed a good number of stickers and icons of the aforementioned characters turned up all over my room. I had too all manner of pencils, erasers, sharpeners, hankies, hair clips, and even slippers with these characters.
In my pre-teenage years, the first logo tee I begged my mom and dad to buy me was BNY Jeans. It was all the rage back then: a cotton T-shirt emblazoned with "BNY Jeans" across the breast. Everyone was wearing it, including my favorite local celebrities. It is like Bench or Penshoppe now, where the hottest celebrities are its endorser. Kim Chui and Gerald Anderson for instance. I also remember pairing my BNY jeans and shirt with my all time favorite Skechers shoes. I remember longing for these items almost as a physical ache.
And now that I'm a teenager, the brand that I'm so desperate to own (even though I can't afford the original) are it bags and designer bags such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Kate Spade, Dior, Versace, Fendi, amongst others. I also dream of having raiments made by known couturiers such as Garavani Valentino, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood and Monique Lhullier.
On hindsight, I was never really a sneaker kind of girl or even a shirt lover. But there was just something about having them that made them more than just a shirt and shoes. They became symbols of cool, to which mom's perpetual rebuttal was that they would not seem as "cool" once you owned it.
No matter how many lesson my mom gave in "brand management" I know that my folly has always been--will always be--the label.
