After Brat Summer, Fashion Week

This September, we’re bidding farewell to what has undoubtedly been dubbed "Brat Summer" – full of high-energy, summer vibes – and welcoming the eagerly-awaited crisp air, rainy days, and a return to our routine. But with this new season comes one of the most anticipated moments of the year for all fashion lovers (like us at Kobalt!): Fashion Week. 

September is a critical month in the fashion world, as it marks the arrival of what are known as the Big Four (not to be confused with Eurovision’s Big Five), the four most important Fashion Weeks in the world. These events take place in the iconic cities of New York, London, Milan, and Paris, where renowned designers from around the globe, as well as emerging talent, showcase their new collections for the Spring/Summer 2025 season:

• New York: Kicking off the Fashion Week season, this city is the epitome of fashion in the United States and where the true trendsetters of the American fashion scene are, with names such as Brandon Maxwell, Carolina Herrera, and Michael Kors. 
• London: Known for its more youthful and experimental spirit, with a strong presence of emerging designers. This year’s shows will feature the likes of Burberry, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, and, for the first time, Harris Reed, who is famous for dressing none other than my teenage crush, the ever-stylish Harry Styles. 
• Milan: Home to the most iconic Italian fashion houses, including Prada, Max Mara, Fendi, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bottega Veneta, who are always playing with their distinctive blend of tradition and avant-garde. 
• Paris: Without a doubt the most anticipated Fashion Week of them all, and the pinnacle of high fashion. Designers like Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton will take to the runway here, among many others. 

While there are increasingly prominent Fashion Weeks around the world – such as the MBFWM (Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid), Tokyo Fashion Week, and Bridal Fashion Week – these four cities remain the powerhouses that set the global fashion world alight every year with their iconic shows. 

A "Glocal" Market: Neither One Thing nor the Other – But a Bit of Both 

Following the fashion market through the eyes of our clients and our in-house trendsetters has helped us identify a significant shift in global trends, which we have seamlessly incorporated into our translation and localisation projects. In recent years, a clear pattern has emerged: despite each runway showcasing entirely different styles, as explained earlier in this post, thanks to globalisation, easy access to content, and the influence of social media, new trends are inevitably becoming global phenomena that permeate our own cultures. 

Global Marketing Campaigns: Universal or Localised Messages? 

UGG Fall Winter 2024 / 2025 Campaign

 

This trend is transforming marketing strategies themselves, many of which are inspired by and follow the latest viral fashion anecdote. Marketing, Content, and Ecommerce Directors now are facing crucial business decisions on whether to opt for more neutral, universal campaigns, or to adapt them to their target markets. This decision will directly impact how well the brand connects with their audience, affecting relevance, engagement, brand leadership, and ultimately, its business results.

As we navigate this transformation in global marketing campaigns, when should we use a more universal tone and messaging, and when should we make cultural adaptations for the target market? Let’s have a closer look.

 

Localising a Global Campaign: 4 Tips for Making the Right Call

Our answer is clear: it’s always advisable to adapt the message to the audience’s language. But, using fashion as an example, that doesn’t mean we should spend our whole lives dressed in traditional regional wear, no matter how beautiful our outfits are. That said, using local expressions helps foster closeness, builds emotional connections, and ultimately strengthens bonds. So, whenever possible, we recommend localising the campaign. Here’s how to do it without losing your brand’s authenticity. 

Localising a campaign isn’t easy. There’s a lot to consider: from dialectal variation of seemingly shared languages to cultural references and connotations that can change from market to market. 

Here’s what you need to keep in mind when deciding on the right strategy: 

 

• Know your target markets well: It’s important to understand which markets you want to reach. Is your audience primarily English-speaking? Are you targeting the Asian market? Defining your specific target is key as there are many variables to consider. For example, if you’re localising a campaign into European Portuguese, that same translation won’t work for Brazil due to the vast differences in language, culture, and society. A well-localised campaign should always feel as if it was never translated in the first place.

 

• Understand key concepts and differentiate between what can be adapted and what can’t: To help industry professionals do their best work, it’s crucial to first understand the core message: what absolutely must be conveyed? Once that’s established, we can play with the overall context and adapt it for each market.

 

• Set a clear budget: This will be your starting point and will help determine how many languages you want to localise the campaign into. While we’d love to reach every single market, we know this isn’t always possible. Of course, the larger the budget, the farther your content can go. It’s especially important to factor in markets with significant linguistic variations, like Switzerland, China, and even Latin America.

 

• Leverage local cultural references: Localisation campaigns often involve wordplay, idioms, or elements that work beautifully in the original text but require a complete reworking for other markets. Each market needs a unique adaptation in order to resonate with its audience. It’s perfectly fine if the final result isn’t a literal translation!

 

These are some of the foundational elements to consider when deciding how to create a successful global campaign.

 

Fashion: An Increasingly Universal Language 

We all know that the world of fashion is unique, with its own constantly-evolving language, as new trends and terms become part of global culture overnight. Who would’ve thought that "Red Velvet" would become a term not just for a delicious cake but for use in the market? 

At Kobalt, we work to ensure that messages are delivered exactly as intended in each region and culture. We may not be designers, models, or fashion reporters straight out of The Devil Wears Prada, but are we fashionistas? Absolutely. Which is why we eagerly await Fashion Week every year. 

It’s no secret that we love fashion at Kobalt, but even more we love the challenge that comes with making sure every season’s translations reflect the cultural nuances of each language, while maintaining the essence of this fascinating and fast-paced world. Capturing what makes a brand special is key, but knowing how to shape it so the message resonates across cultures is essential for ensuring the brand’s campaign is a success. 

So, this Fashion Week season, we’ll be on the edge of our seats, keeping an eye on the exciting news that will undoubtedly come with the SS25 collections. We can’t wait to see how, thanks to our small contribution, the world will hear all about it!