A Fashionable Identity

“What brand represents you?” is a question I often ask when conducting mock interviews with students. One day when I conducted 4 interviews back to back and 3/4 students answered Nike as the brand representing them. As a matter of fact, I would say I get Nike as the answer over 50% of the time when I ask this question. Other answers have included Adidas, Apple, other fashion retailers and occasionally an F&B brand.

I recently finished reading The Psychology of Fashion by Carolyn Mair, which discussed, among other things, the idea of clothes acting as both a physical and psychological layer of our identity. Nike is a brand that represents us is ideally because it is both functional and aspirational. At their roots, Nike is a shoemaker and shoes are practical products. We all like viewing ourselves as having purpose like each of Nike’s products do. However, we also view ourselves as aspirational and different from the norm, which is exactly how Nike positions itself. This explains why Nike is an easy choice but why are clothing brands such a common choice? I believe this lies in another idea discussed in the book that centers around our desire to be different enough that we feel unique but similar enough that we feel part of the tribe. These opposing forces are easily stitched together in the clothes we wear (pun intended), which might be why clothes come to mind first when thinking about brands that represent us.