Tiffany Blue And Louboutin Red: The Magic Of Exclusive Brand Colors.

When LVMH confirms that it will spend $16 billion to buy Tiffany & Co, the luxury group will also acquire a blue color.

In the minds of global consumers, the Pantone 1837 color, also known as Robin egg blue, is Tiffany blue, which is a powerful way to convey the visual identity and tradition of the famous American jewelry brand.

In nineteenth Century, Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of the Blue Book series jewelry catalogue, first used the bluebird blueprint for the first time in nineteenth Century. It is said that he was inspired by the turquoise loved by the brides of the Vitoria era. Tiffany Reed Krakoff, chief Art Officer, said in an interview with BoF that today, in Tiffany's advertising, marketing activities, packaging and products, this color is everywhere. He said: "the tradition of Tiffany has been fully displayed in Tiffany blue, and all the products we design are covered with this color. It's very unique. "

Tiffany is not the only brand that claims to have a certain color. The red soles of Christian Louboutin high heeled shoes and the Herm orange s warm orange boxes are registered trademarks. Outside the luxury market, Glossier, an American cosmetics company, is preparing to launch its own Millennium powder.

Rebecca Robins, global chief learning and cultural director of marketing consultancy Interbrand, said that color registration is one of the most elusive and "owned" elements in the brand recognition system. Then, how can a brand get its own hue? Should small brands try this?

　　 A color can also be full of strength.

For more than a century, the coordinated application of Tiffany to this particular blue has made consumers remember this color. Robinson egg blue has an intrinsic connection with the brand value of Tiffany (Interbrand assessment of $5 billion 300 million), because it allows people to think of the most distinctive logo of jewelry brand at once.

Christian Louboutin's Pens e e series hand-painted picture source: the other side provides

Herm s, a luxury brand in France, has also established a long-term relationship with a color. The company originally used the milky white paper with Phnom Penh to wrap the product, but because of the rationing system after the Second World War, it had to change to orange wrapping paper. Later, the whole brand began to adopt the warm orange tone, and officially registered this color in 1960s. Since then, orange has become synonymous with the company.

Interbrand's Robins ranks the twenty-eighth place in the world's most valuable brands in the list of Herm Herm s, which is worth $17 billion 900 million. Robins says this is a simple and powerful story of "shackled innovation". In the black dominated industry, Herm s orange is particularly unique.

The connection between Christian Louboutin and its famous red shoe was started in 1992. At that time, the finished products made by the factory seemed to be heavier than his own hand drawing, so he revised the Pens e e series of high-heeled shoes. He painted his assistant's red nail polish on his sole and transformed his high heel shoes with a satisfactory style.

"In the early 90s, many women in France wore black clothes, and they said, 'I don't like colors,'" the designer said. So I think if you don't like color, you won't wear green clothes. But if you don't like color, I think you will still like red. Because even if you wear a black coat, you can still wear red lips or red nails. That's why I decided to stick with red. I think red is very eye-catching and powerful.

Since then, the shoe shop has been using the Pantone 186C color number. In order to maintain its brand value, it has actively registered a trademark. Other brands have tried to use Louboutin's logo color at the sole. In 2012, Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Louboutin were in court, arguing over the series of monochromatic red shoes launched by YSL. After a lengthy court debate, the court decided that unless the upper shoe was also red as the sole, the high heeled shoes with Louboutin painted red would have the right to be protected. Today, Louboutin's website lists legal cases that have occurred in the "stop selling" campaign, and a search engine for consumers to check whether authorized stores are legal.

The trouble of uniqueness

In the luxury industry, trademark names, logo, patterns and shapes are common, but the exclusive right to acquire certain colors is a rare and highly sought after idea.

Cristina Duch, partner of Baker & McKenzie Intellectual Property Office, believes that only the color of choice is unique enough to enable consumers to recognize a brand in one color alone. Where to use and how to use must also be clearly defined. For example, the brand of red shoes registered by Louboutin is designated as sole of high heeled shoes, so the brand does not have the trademark rights of sneakers red shoes.

However, uniqueness usually means that a brand has been using certain colors for a long time, leaving a wide public impression, which is a challenge for young brands. It is also difficult to register trademarks in all areas. For example, Tiffany has registered its trademark in Australia, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States, but it has not registered successfully in China, so the trademark right is not protected in China.

Duch said: "I think there will be more color labels in the fashion industry." For example, he said that the demand for freshness and visual importance in the fashion industry is urgent, but there are still some problems in trademark law enforcement: "if competitors use red shoes, but slightly changed, and use some kind of deep red or black red, what do they do? Where is the boundary for judging infringement? "

Glossier, a cosmetics company founded for 6 years, has applied for pink label in the US, including pink bags and boxes. This brand is widely used in marketing, products, flash stores and goods, but it is not everywhere. The brand's best-selling men's eyebrow cream has a white shell and a metal cap.

"We are inclined to the concept of this (bright pink) modern daily necessities," explains design director Adriana Deleo, adding that this color is designed to provide a sense of practicality and balance with interest. Choosing pink is also a way to regain the connotation of casual and maiden feeling, and make people feel more cordial and tolerant.

But it's not easy to have "pink". Deleo said: "there are many other cosmetics brands that are also using pink. It is impossible to have this color completely, nor do we want to achieve this. We are extending towards the category of luster, and pink is the key part of our vitality. "

Choose colors wisely

As for other brands that are considering what color to choose, the founder and creative director of Unique Style Platform, and Jane Kellock, member of British Textile and Colour Group, said: "color has been linked to age groups and demographics, and Glossier has done a good job because they have integrated the thinking pattern of the generation of generations and millennials from all levels, and" Millennium powder "is part of it.

However, Kellock suggests that startups should not choose the popular colors because they are not durable enough. Millenium powder (also known as powder crystal, the annual fashion color of Pantone 2016) has been surpassed by peach, mint green and lavender, and has lost the status of "first" color selection. Kellock said: "many brands are obsessed with the pursuit of freshness. So, like Ganni, sticking to the color neutral neutral logo can change direction and adapt to change, and it will be easier."

The relationship with color also depends on the brand concept and the way of life it wants to express. Kellock said that he had a deeper understanding of this: "just like Deciem and The Ordinary's black and white color matching: clean, neutral, with a cool shell to establish authority, but it looks cool and real." As for high-end brands that design durable clothing, Kellock recommends neutral colors, brown gray, beige and light coloured "non coloured", such as pigeon gray or black and white coloring. For example, the CC logo of Chanel black and white colouring symbolizes classicism and luxury.

Interbrand's Robins says that all brands are trying to use auditory and sensory labels, such as odors and sounds, but vision is still the key: "in the fast fading industry where brands are competing for the visual share, it is most likely to focus on protecting a color as a brand identity."