Anyway, AIGA has an interesting--albeit poorly titled--web article ("Naming Names for Fun and Profit," October 27, 2009) about apparel labels and their move from inside the garment to a more public place.
Excerpt:
In 1927 a French tennis-star-turned-sports-shirt-manufacturer had an embroidered version of a green alligator, his personal signature icon, attached to the pocket. One might have expected consumers to be offended, but they were not. Men wanted the guy's alligator on their chests whether they played tennis or not, if only to establish how much they had paid for the shirts. Lacoste's company history boasts, "To the best of our knowledge, this was the first time that a brand name appeared on the outside of an article of clothing--an idea which has since become extremely successful."
Well, if that is truly the best of Lacoste's knowledge, their corporate researchers didn't look very hard. In the 1920s Jantzen, a manufacturer of swimwear, used a diving girl as a trademark and affixed it irremovably to every suit they made. And much earlier Levi's had stitched its name on a trademarked leather square or a red-tag logo to be seen on the back pocket of everyone who worked for a living or pretended to, or just wanted to look western.
Although I had a period of wanting brand names on certain items--oh, how I saved for my Pornstar keychain, Harvard sweatshirt, and Kipling backpack--I outgrew that by the time I graduated from college. I now find brand advertising on clothing tacky and ignorant (least favorites: Louis Vuitton bags, Bebe crystal t-shirts, Juicy Couture velour pants), but I understand that some people want to publicly display their affection for and loyalty to a company... maybe they don't understand the function behind the form.
It's nice that such loyalty makes companies thrive for generations (I still marvel every time I open a Grolsch beer, knowing that it's been brewed for nearly 400 years!), as long as the makers continue to craft high-quality merchandise that sets a bar of excellence and don't solely use their following as an opportunity to make a quick buck... with quick burnout. Look at Hilfiger red-white-and-blue merchandise, which now serves as clothing fodder at stores like Costco and Ross.
