It’s the bombshell that ignited old rivalries and set gossip mongers typing delightedly – but it’s also one of the most innovative retail shifts in years. After 20 years partnering with Elle Macpherson on popular lingerie line Intimates, Bendon has decided to rebrand – with fellow supermodel Heidi Klum.
The move is unprecedented, and on the face of it, rather strange. Elle Macpherson Intimates hasn’t exactly been a struggling part of Bendon’s stable. On the contrary, it’s been one of their biggest runaway successes: the range’s delicate designs and luxe price point have earned it a big slice of the lingerie market. Aussies in particular love Elle.
But Bendon will be starting from scratch, down to the very name. Heidi Klum Intimates will launch in over 1800 stores worldwide in January 2015, and now we have our first look at the collection and campaign images which see Klum returning to lingerie after a 5 year hiatus…
The campaign was shot in LA by famed photographer and longtime collaborator Rakin. Klum, who is set to tour Australia and New Zealand at the end of January to officially launch the collection, said, “It was so exciting to shoot the first ever Heidi Klum Intimates campaign with Rankin,” said Klum. “I’ve always loved modeling lingerie and it was fun to get back in front of the camera wearing beautiful pieces. I can’t wait for the collection to arrive in stores in January.”
So where does this leave Elle Macpherson Intimates?
Firstly, Elle Macpherson Intimates won’t disappear in a puff of smoke. Macpherson, finding herself out in the cold, has simply sat up and got herself another retail partner. Whether she’ll still have the rights to the designs she made with Bendon remains up in the air – we might see some legal cat fights over the placing of lace.
But she’s going in aggressively to compete with her old mates Bendon, releasing new lines in the US and giving interviews to Women’s Wear Daily about her expanding visions for the brand. She’s not planning to go away quietly.
Secondly, for all the talk of Elle’s contract simply running out after 25 years, it looks like Bendon are placing their bets on a model star who’s got her own high profile and media projects, and can use that to their advantage.
The tactic was revealed in Bendon’s vaguely insensitive statements about what it is Klum brings to the table.
“She’s a hard-working mum, but she’s also very active in the media today, which is important when promoting a brand or getting a brand recognised,” said Bendon CEO Justin Davis-Rice. “She’s somebody that engages very well with consumers in the media and wants to build a business and wants to promote it actively. We were looking for somebody that gave us a much larger international reach and Heidi elevates that.”
He added, “Elle has been a great partner to Bendon, however it’s time to take the brand to even greater heights, and Heidi is perfectly positioned to do just that.”
So the real reason behind the replacement isn’t who’s prettiest, whose designs are better, or who gets the right to call themselves The Body (the two famously had a tiff about the rights to the term back in 2006). It’s about international profile — and Klum, with her Project Runway and America’s Got Talent vehicles, won out. Elle, apparently, just isn’t famous enough.
Hard luck. But it’s an interesting perspective on what brands really think matters for their public persona. It’s no longer enough to do good designs and have a famous face fronting the campaigns: you need engagement. From Marc Jacob’s #CastMeMarc Twitter campaign to DKNY’s huge multi-platform partnership with Rita Ora, fashion is trying to connect with its buyers on multiple levels.
It’s a far cry from the idea of fashion as remote and elitist, and it’s a big change even from a short time ago, when Nicole Kidman’s duties as a Chanel No 5 spokesman included a short opulent film directed by Baz Luhrmann. Nowadays she’d be expected to do the social media rounds, show up as a judge on a reality TV show, and promote the perfume via short films on Vine.
But will Bendon’s bet pay off? It’s ruthless business, and Klum seems excited about the opportunity: “I have many companies that come to me, but I wanted to be with someone who was as big as them, as established as them, as successful as them,” she gushed. But she’s associated in the public’s mind with the big, brash, statement-style lingerie of Victoria’s Secret – and consumers will know if they’re being offered VS imitations.
They’re aiming big – they want to ‘at least double’ sales with Klum at the helm – but will their audience warm to their new partnership, or will it fall flat?
Do you think Heidi Klum is really a step up from Elle Macpherson?
Image: Elle and Heidi for Intimates.