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One of 2023’s Defining Trends is Logomania

Gucci and Balenciaga “hacked” one other’s collections this year to encourage brand cooperation. Alessandro Michele and Demna’s many ways of incorporating each brand’s DNA showed the hacking. Logos were most important. Consider Balenciaga “Hourglass” bags with Gucci monogram prints and a bedazzled blazer-and-skirt set with the companies’ insignia (pictured left).

The Gucci x Balenciaga collaboration, along with other runway and store collaborations, marked the start of logomania 2.0. Welcome to the era of double logos, double excess, where brands merge their names on clothes and accessories rather than just their looks.

In January 2021, Gucci and The North Face collaborated. The puffer jackets, backpacks, and quilted skirts had monogrammed designs and logos. Fendi x Skims, which was likely not on your 2021 bingo card, employed logo mashups to create a distinctive pattern on bodysuits and underwear in November.

Before Skims, Fendi promoted logomania 2.0. Fendace, a collaboration with Versace, debuted on the runway during Fashion Month. Kim Jones and Donatella Versace’s experimental design cross-pollination was mixed with logo-swapping. See the belts with the Fendi double-F and Versace gold lettering, or the reinvented Versace ‘80s emblem with double Fs instead of Greek mythology.

Logomania has permeated fashion in various ways. In the 1980s, Gucci and Fendi sued Dapper Dan, who produced fancy monograms. By the 2010s, Vetements and Moschino began using non-fashion trademarks to comment on consumer culture. Vetements DHL T-shirts and Moschino’s McDonald’s-inspired M-logo accessories were there. Dapper Dan’s streetwear inspired luxury fashion. LV and Supreme collaborated on a 2017 collection. Gucci’s cruise collection that year included a garment inspired by Olympian Diane Dixon’s Dapper Dan costume. Gucci teamed with Dapper Dan to reopen his New York shop and develop a fashion partnership after being criticized online for not honoring the Harlem designer.

Logomania, a product of 80s and 90s extravagant fashion, was discarded early in the epidemic for its excessive display of luxury and money. Logomania’s current version appears to be successful. Telfar and Ugg announced their 2020 collaboration. After the collection dropped in July 2021, Lyst reported a 200% increase in Telfar and Ugg sales.

Gucci and Balenciaga’s runway “hack” attracted over 5,000 Lyst searches each day in the two months after its debut. Bad Bunny and Adidas collaborated on a three-model drop with the brand’s “Forum” style and the Bad Bunny eye-logo and Adidas striped mark. The reggaeton artist’s “Yonaguni” video boosted Lyst searches by 125%.

Logomania should thrive during the pandemic. After vaccines, 2021’s fashion story has brought back flamboyant, exaggerated, and entertaining trends from the 1980s and early 2000s, including micro-mini skirts, low-rise trousers, and reimagined power suits. The resale boom and TikTok’s thrifting focus have revived demand in luxury monogrammed vintage goods. The RealReal and Tradesy have been trending Fendi’s “Baguette,” Gucci’s “Jackie,” and Louis Vuitton’s “Pochette” since 2020.

Logomania 2.0 is evoking brighter, wealthier periods through fashion. Look like it.

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