What is an eponymous brand?
When something is eponymous, it takes its own name as its title. This is very common in the fashion industry. Many fashion designers use their own name to create their eponymous fashion brand.
Examples of eponymous labels:
Ralph Lauren
Alexander McQueen
Vera Wang
Christian Dior
Michael Kors
Calvin Klein
Kenneth Cole
Donna Karan
Is it ego that drives designers to use their own name, or is it clever marketing?
The definition of eponymous is something or someone that gives its name to something else. An eponym is a person, a place, or thing for whom or for which something is named, or believed to be named. For example, Elizabeth I of England is the eponym of the Elizabethan era. Many genericized trademarks such as aspirin are based on their original brand eponyms.
Fashion designers are often creating eponymous labels or eponymous brands.
It is important to note that some fashion designers create multiple brands. Some of which may use their full name and others may use variations of the name or brand.
View our famous fashion designer list to see which have created their own eponymous brand and which have not.
When clothing companies consider fashion marketing it is important to determine a good brand name. Making a proper decision when deciding on a brand label is critical for success. Using the designers name for the brand, can provide benefits, but it also can provide a negative outcome. For example, if a designer does something stupid to tarnish their own name it also has a significant negative impact on the brand. For example, do you remember, on 25 February 2011, Dior announced that it had suspended John Galliano following his arrest over an alleged anti-Semitic tirade in a Paris bar. The same day, Paris-based citizen journalism site Citizenside received video of Galliano on a similar rant in the same bar the previous December. This incident tarnished the name of John Galliano, and Dior. However, it will most likely effect the name of John Galliano longer then Dior.