Packaging and the Art of

Stripping Down
Analysis

Packaging is the first thing the consumer sees when they’re browsing
for products and it’s where the act of “stripping down” is most
obvious.

To strip something down is to reduce something to its most essential

features - essentialism. When something is stripped down, value is
not removed from it - rather, it is easier for the audience to see why
the item is of value in one glance since there is nothing to distract.

This report highlights the different ways a brand can strip down, from
how they package their products to how they design and
communicate their brand as a whole.
Intentionality In order to make well-thought out brand decisions,
brands need to be aware of the shifting global trends.
Consumers are beginning to seek out brands
that are thoughtful and deliberate when it
comes to their designs. The focus has shifted
from what looks good, to what looks good and
useful - even salad delivery services are
redesigning their takeout bowls to be edible.

Swedish luxury brand, Acne Studios, is a good example

of intentional design. When they first launched, they
used the now iconic pink plastic shopping bag in order
to create buzz. Now, they’ve patented a pink pantone
color to set it apart from other luxury brands, and
converted plastic into paper in an effort to join the efforts
to preserve the environment, without compromising
quality and the recognizability of the design.
Essential is key. American makeup and skincare brand
Glossier received harsh criticism from its during their launch of
sub-brand, Glossier Play. Each product came encased in
plastic, which most customers found unnecessary and
excessive, and more importantly harmful to the environment.

In contrast, packaging with a lack of packaging has become

the more favored trend among brands.
Literal
As transparency becomes a more sought after trait,
brands are turning “literal” when it comes to their
packaging and design.

From food to beauty, packaging has started to “state

the obvious” for its customers, listing down the
ingredients and labelling them with common, easy to
understand names. This builds more instantaneous
trust than a label from the Food and Drug Authority.
 American clothing brand Reformation has adopted this
approach when marketing their sustainable clothing.
From listing down the materials they use to captions
that describe the clothes as they are.

With the Internet, people are constantly being

bombarded with new information. Thus, even if the
option to Google and do more research is available. “Half a shirt is enough for summer.”
To combat this, brands have begun to market in a
“@discodaydream saving 900 gallons
more straightforward manner to make it easier for the
of water just by wearing the Karlie
consumer to absorb their message.
Dress and leaning against a wall. We
made it that easy for you guys.”
Luxury and the Bare Minimum
As the antithesis to stripping down, luxury brands
have started to rely on name recognition alone when
it comes to their branding. Rebrands only scratch the
surface, changing logos without tying it back to their
heritage story.

In fact, it’s becoming all about the logo - the more it

appears on the design, the better. Craftsmanship and
wearability, which used to be the priority when labels
were family-owned, are no longer the top qualifiers for
a good luxury product. But as fashion conglomerates
snap up more names, they start to rely on logomania
alone. Which is no longer enough.
 Some of the big fashion houses are taking cues from the way of the
artisanal brand. A recent addition to the LVMH conglomerate of luxury
brands is Rihanna’s eponymous brand, Fenty. The clothes are
contemporary and wearable to the modern consumer, with excellent
craftsmanship that is apparent even in photos. Use of logo is minimal.
The luxury of the clothes speak for themselves. The story here is a
woman - a strong successful woman who actually tests all her own
products herself - designing clothes for other women.

Bombarded with messages that don’t really mean anything, consumers

crave stories. Stripping down is not just about minimizing colors or a total
absence of details. It’s about crafting well-made pieces whose message
resonates. Parisian brand, Polène, prides itself in sourcing and assembling
the best materials for their bags, from 100% twill cotton from Germany to
fashioning their bags in Ubrique, a Spanish city that specializes in
leather-goods. Each piece carries its soul.
The hunger for true luxury clothing is apparent among the followers of
Phoebe Philo, the former Creative Director of Céline - or Old Céline, as
brands refer to the era of the fashion brand before the logo was reimagined
without the accented e.

Calling themselves “Phoebephiles,” their love for Philo’s old collection is in its
wearability. The clothes were more simple than trend, favoring silhouettes that
were made for the modern woman and what they would wear off the runway.

Building Up to Strip Down
The success of luxury brands are deeply connected to paying
homage to its roots - authenticity. When luxury rebrands
abandon their roots, or even when fast fashion brands lose
their identity in trends, it polarizes the market.
First Dior collection (left) and the latest Dior collection (right)
A good example of how to strip down and add value is Japan. Before it
became the techno-cultural hub it is today, it remained closed to the rest of
the world for several centuries. This changed during the Meiji Restoration,
where Japan abolished the Samurai warrior class and adapted more
Westernized ideas. Japan effectively rebranded.
The key to their rebrand, however, was that it retained their DNA. They
incorporated modern inventions into their cities but they still celebrated
traditional Japanese traditions like kimonos and summer festivals, and Shinto
beliefs like the animism the Marie Kondo method of tidying up is based on.
Rather than rebuilding their culture, they added and then adapted.
5 Best Practices

1. Phase out single-use packaging, but have a transitional element, similar to

Acne’s pantone pink.

2. Packaging with a lack of packaging - enough said.

3. When explaining the ethics of a practice, don’t be too heavy handed. Retain

your unique voice, a la Reformation.

4. Don’t rely on name value alone. The fixation on logos - Logomania - is not

timeless design and will soon fade from relevance.

5. Find your heritage story and adapt it.