From FCUK to Unison: The evolution of French Connection

Summary

Style-ish Podcast Episode Summary

Title: From FCUK to Unison: The Evolution of French Connection
Host/Author: Shameless Media
Release Date: November 19, 2024

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1. Introduction

In this episode of Style-ish, host Madison Sullivan Thorpe, along with co-hosts Joanna Fleming and Rhiannon Joyce, delve deep into the transformative journey of the iconic fashion brand French Connection. The discussion navigates through the brand's controversial FCUK campaign, its subsequent decline, and the recent rebranding to Unison in the Australian market.

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2. The Decline of Sydney Fashion Week

Early in the episode, the hosts express concern over IMG's withdrawal from Sydney Fashion Week, highlighting its potential impact on the Australian fashion landscape.

• Madison (02:00): "IMG have been investing since 2005, so this is massive news because really, the whole event's future is in jeopardy."

• Rhiannon (02:19): "Sydney Fashion Week feels like it's very much for the industry. And a lot of international buyers haven't been attending, which is a shame for Australian brands trying to go global."

The hosts compare Sydney Fashion Week to Melbourne's more experiential approach, emphasizing the loss of a key platform for emerging Australian designers.

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3. Swap Segment: Unsexy Swaps

Before diving into the main topic, the hosts share their recent product swaps, showcasing their personal style choices and favorite brands.

• Joanna (05:39): Shares her experience with Gem deodorant from a goodie bag, highlighting its unique fragrances and effectiveness.

• Madison (07:57): Discusses her obsession with the New Zealand brand Harris Tapper, praising its quality and versatility.

• Rhiannon (09:33): Highlights her favorite Scanlan Theodore cotton shirt, emphasizing its durability and styling versatility.

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4. French Connection's Journey from FCUK to Unison

a. Origins and Early Success

The episode traces French Connection's roots back to its founder, Stephen Marks, in the early 1970s. Initially focused on women's wear, the brand expanded into menswear by 1976, achieving significant success and earning Marks a spot on Britain's rich list.

• Madison (16:52): "Stephen Marks was crowned the Hot Pants King after his shorts sold out in a day at Miss Selfridge."

b. The FCUK Campaign: A Bold Move

In 1997, French Connection launched the FCUK campaign under the strategic guidance of advertising executive Trevor Beatty. The campaign, known for its provocative slogans, aimed to rejuvenate the brand's image and appeal to a younger demographic.

• Joanna (14:59): "Am I saying FCUK or fuck? Fuck on the beach."

Despite facing backlash from conservative groups and resulting in lawsuits, the campaign was a commercial triumph.

• Madison (32:06): "By 1999, French Connections saw an 84% increase in profits, with customers purchasing over 120,000 FCUK T-shirts in Britain alone."

c. Overexposure and Decline

The initial success of the FCUK campaign led to brand overexposure. Continuous use of provocative slogans without sufficient brand evolution alienated the original customer base.

• Madison (36:16): "French Connection really faded into shopping centre obscurity. They became what everybody didn't want to wear."

By 2003, the brand's valuation plummeted from $500 million to $32 million, leading consumers to shift their spending to competitors like Ted Baker and Zara.

d. Rebranding to Unison

In response to declining relevance, French Connection Australia rebranded to Unison in mid-2023. The new brand aims to cater to a more contemporary Australian audience, emphasizing sophistication and inclusivity.

• Madison (40:55): "Unison is billed as targeting middle Australia, customers aged 25 to 40 who desire style and sophisticated casual wear."

The rebrand involved a complete overhaul of marketing strategies, including collaborations with local talents like Amy Shark and significant investments in out-of-home media advertising.

• Madison (43:35): "Their rebrand debuted in August last year with a campaign featuring Amy Shark, aiming to establish Unison as a distinctly Australian brand."

e. Reception and Future Outlook

The rebranding has received mixed reactions. While some applaud the fresh approach and localized focus, others view it as a risky move that may not resonate universally.

• Rhiannon (47:26): "Michelle Horgan described the rebrand as disingenuous, but I think it's smart to have creative control and appeal to the Australian market."

Overall, Unison has begun to carve out its niche, with the hosts noting increased visibility and positive consumer feedback.

• Joanna (49:32): "Unison is still relatively new in the market, and there's a lot more to see from them moving forward."

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5. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with the hosts reflecting on the tumultuous journey of French Connection and its ambitious rebranding as Unison. They commend Brand Bank Group for steering the brand towards a more sustainable and locally resonant future, expressing optimism about Unison's potential in the Australian fashion scene.

• Madison (49:18): "Bravo, Brand Bank Group. I think you've done a great job with the rebrand."

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Notable Quotes

• Madison (02:00): "IMG have been investing since 2005, so this is massive news because really, the whole event's future is in jeopardy."

• Rhiannon (02:19): "Sydney Fashion Week feels like it's very much for the industry. And a lot of international buyers haven't been attending, which is a shame for Australian brands trying to go global."

• Madison (16:52): "Stephen Marks was crowned the Hot Pants King after his shorts sold out in a day at Miss Selfridge."

• Joanna (14:59): "Am I saying FCUK or fuck? Fuck on the beach."

• Madison (32:06): "By 1999, French Connections saw an 84% increase in profits, with customers purchasing over 120,000 FCUK T-shirts in Britain alone."

• Madison (36:16): "French Connection really faded into shopping centre obscurity. They became what everybody didn't want to wear."

• Madison (43:35): "Their rebrand debuted in August last year with a campaign featuring Amy Shark, aiming to establish Unison as a distinctly Australian brand."

• Madison (49:18): "Bravo, Brand Bank Group. I think you've done a great job with the rebrand."

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This episode offers a comprehensive look into the life cycle of a major fashion brand, illustrating the challenges of maintaining relevance in a dynamic market and the importance of strategic rebranding.

Transcript

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Foreign.

[Lucy Hunt]

This episode of Stylish is brought to you by Nude by Nature. Clean Beauty the Australian way.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

This is Stylish, the podcast for all things fashion, brand, business, and beauty. My name is Madison Sullivan Thorpe. My co hosts for today are Joanna Fleming. And back again is Shameless, head of business development, Rhiannon Joyce.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yay.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Bit of a ro.

[Joanna Fleming]

Rotating chair.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

It's a rotating chair. Joe's back. Annika's away. Bree's back. I'm here.

[Joanna Fleming]

We're all here.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

How are we?

[Joanna Fleming]

We're good. How are you?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

How was your trip?

[Joanna Fleming]

It was really good. Yeah, it was a nice little family holiday. Lots of sunscreen, lots of hats.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I would expect nothing less from you.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Joanna Fleming]

Thank you.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I also love the video you did showing all the outfits you wore through the week. So cute.

[Joanna Fleming]

Oh, thanks.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, yeah.

[Joanna Fleming]

I had the tripod permanently set up. I really felt like a content creator.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That's goals.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I also loved the personalized T shirts that you made for your dad.

[Joanna Fleming]

Ye. They were elite. He was very surprised by that. There is a whole reel on my Instagram of that if you want to see the personalized T shirts. Have you guys always gotten those ads? Always talk.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I feel like you would have one of George, your dog.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

No, I don't, but the amount of times I've had to stop myself from.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Clicking checkout, that's a great little, like, KK present.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. Maybe I'll get you one with Bex, and you can get me one with George and we can wear them together.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

My dog Mads and I both have golden retrievers, and we're somewhat obsessed, but I'm not as obsessed as you, I would say.

[Joanna Fleming]

I feel like I've never even heard that you have a dog.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Oh, there we go.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

It's giving Black cat. Did you guys see this week? I wanted to touch on it before we started that IMG have pulled out of Sydney Fashion Week.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I did say this. I feel like this is devastating for the Australian fashion landscape.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I think it's devastating because Sydney Fashion Week has always been the jewel in Australian Fashion Week crown in the sense that it's the namesake fashion week, but we've also kind of had these moments in Melbourne that I don't think it's controversial to say. I've never really lived up to Sydney's hype just based on the brands that showcase the level of investment. But IMG have been investing since 2005, so this is massive news because really, the whole event's future is at jeopardy.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Here, look. I think the comparison to Melbourne's an interesting one because I would say Melbourne is very much for the people and it's very experiential. Some of the activations they do at the Melbourne Fashion Festival are unbelievable. But Sydney Fashion Week feels like it's very much for the industry. And I think where they've really struggled over the last few years is that a lot of the international buyers actually haven't really attended the Sydney Fashion Show. So there isn't as much appetite from overseas retailers, particularly online retailers, to be discovering Australian brands. But it's such a shame because so many amazing Australian brands have had their break internationally because of Sydney Fashion Week.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Oh my goodness. I was even thinking about this. It felt like a trip down memory lane. It's like Christopher Esber, Beckhambridge, Anna Kwan, Josh Goot, old school labels. I mean, I know Josh Goot's not around anymore, but you know, we've got wardrobe NYC now, but I think there's so many incredible Australian labels that really had their moment or got to showcase incredible collections as part of this. I was really sad to hear this news.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

So it hasn't officially been announced that Sydney Fashion Week is no longer IMG have pulled out their sponsorship. So can someone else step up? Like another brand?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Absolutely they can. I think the question is who has the funding to come to the party and save it and what be surprised.

[Joanna Fleming]

If it's a completely random brand. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if it's someone that has a lot of cash. I'm thinking a brand that is trying to break into Australia. Not even in fashion. Like first brand that pops into my head is that BYD car brand. Yeah, Build your dreams.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Honestly, Googling it right now because I have no idea.

[Joanna Fleming]

I think it might be a Chinese car brand.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Do you know what? An auto wouldn't surprise me. Historically we have had Mercedes Benz affiliated with Fashion Week so an auto would be a nice synergy. I did also attend an activation at the recent Melbourne Fashion Week with Volvo. I don't know if you guys saw this, but they had the actual cars on.

[Joanna Fleming]

That was really cool.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

It was really cool. It was a really solid brand integration. So I feel like it could be a great opportunity for an auto brand to align with.

[Joanna Fleming]

Maybe that's why that popped into. That was subconsciously going on in the background. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if automotive kind of came into it a little bit or just something completely random and not related to fashion jumped in. You know, it could be like an airline or something. I True.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I mean we used to Have Virgin for Melbourne Fashion Festival as well. So who knows?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. I feel like over the coming weeks we'll start to see a bit more and this is definitely a working conversation, so I feel like we'll be in a position to revisit this and have more information in a few weeks time, hopefully. But I really hope that someone comes in and does save the day because it would be really devastating for the Australian fashion landscape and young designers to not have a platform in a place where they can showcase their creativity.

[Joanna Fleming]

I don't think it's dead yet.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No.

[Joanna Fleming]

I've got faith. Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

No, it's definitely just at Jeopardy. And I think reading that last week and then I got an EDM overnight that was like, you know, goodbye for now from Dion Lee for their online store. I was like, this just feels like a heavy, sad week for. Does feel heavy Australian fashion. Anyway, some food for thought there.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No, I think it was good to touch on.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

All right, let's get into it. Today we are tracing the rise of French Connection in Australia and their rebrand to Unison. But we're going to get into that a little later. First, we're swapping in some wrecks. As you know, we absolutely love these. So, Jo, you're back from holidays. Why don't you kick us off?

[Joanna Fleming]

I am. I've got a bit of an unsexy one today because it's something that I got in a goodie bag a couple of weeks ago.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

To be fair, the unsexy swap is, I feel like some of our best work.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, I agree.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

All good with the unsexy.

[Joanna Fleming]

Well, I got it in a goodie bag a few weeks ago and it came at a perfect time because I just ran out of my own deodorant and I'd been using Adrienne's and I opened up this goodie bag and I was like, oh, perfect. There was a gem deodorant in there and you might already know Gem from their, like, dental care products. They did, like, whitening pens and things like that. Maybe toothpaste.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

They have a breath spray that I use all the time and it's really good.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, yeah, Great.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

If you're not one who wants to chew a mint, I love them in, but it's also great on a night out when you don't want.

[Joanna Fleming]

That's actually. Actually a really good tip. I might look into that. But they also do deodorants and I think they have come out more recently. And I got the Fragrance. What we call it a fragrance. A flavor smell.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, I think it's a scent.

[Joanna Fleming]

Whatever.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Joanna Fleming]

I have the vanilla macadamia one. It comes in a few other fragrances as well. And I love it. I love the smell of it. It doesn't smell like a typical deodorant. It kind of smells like a body spray, but it is an antiperspirant. I wouldn't say that. It's for your extra sweaty girls.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Right.

[Joanna Fleming]

I'm very paranoid about smelling and I think I can generate a little bit of bo, so I'm like hyper paranoid about deodorants and I'm usually like, clinical protection level. So this is good for me now. Don't know how I'll go in the summer.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Joanna Fleming]

But for now, loving it.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Great wreck. And also, you're not the first person to talk about the deodorant. Eilish in the Shameless Media office has also spoken about this. I think she recommended it on our weekly picks.

[Joanna Fleming]

Did she?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

She recommended the one. I can't remember what one it is exactly, but apparently it's like a dupe for Santa.

[Joanna Fleming]

There's a Sant one. Yes, there is.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

So Eilish recommended that and she's loving it.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah. It's 10 bucks at Woolies. I think Woolies is the only major retailer.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I think they're also stocked at Priceline, but I know in terms of accessibility, Woolworths is probably the easiest and I'm.

[Joanna Fleming]

Sure it would go on sale there as well. So it's 10 bucks full price, but I'm sure you'd be able to find it discounted.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I need to try this. I feel like I've been seeing a lot around. It's on my list.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah. So that's my Unsexy swap, Mads.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I love an Unsexy swap. Mine is actually a brand. We spoke about it. I think the other week we were talking about tops and just sort of going out little things we were loving. But I am obsessed with this New Zealand brand, Harris Tapper.

[Joanna Fleming]

Oh, yeah. Annika spoke about that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I have bought three pieces from them now, all tops. You know, like that whole. I'm wearing a cute top and jeans. I feel like this brand was built for that. I don't know. We spoke a lot recently about brands all looking the same. They just feel like they have a point of difference. I feel like I can really spot their pieces. It is a little on the xia side, but what I do love is I can really dress it up or down. I've worn it to Birthday parties and then to dinners and lunches in between. Between, like, pop it with denim, pop it with a nice pant or skirt. But the quality is beautiful. And I'm honestly obsessed. And I really think this is like, they're on the upward curve and I can't wait to see what they do next.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, you actually inspired me to shop from this brand. I bought a top recently, but keep your eye out on the iconic because they often do like a 20 or 30% off. And I guess when you're shopping for something that is a little bit more expensive, you can always just hold out for a little bit longer.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I actually don't think I've purchased Harris Tapper at full price. I think the best deal I got was 30% off one of their top, but they usually will do like a little 20 or 25% off, which, I mean, when something's like 4 or $500, I am very happy to be claiming that 30% off discount.

[Joanna Fleming]

I was going to ask, I was going to say, when you say it's xia, what are we talking?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I think the tops that I've bought, I think probably the most affordable at retail price was 350, and the most expensive was maybe 5 or 550.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

But you're getting a lot of wear out of these tops.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

You've seen me in them a lot.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And that's the main thing. And if you're investing good quality piece and you're getting it at a discount price, I support you.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Thank you.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Go mad.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

All right, lucky last. What are you swapping for?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Okay, so I'm also swapping in a product. It is a Scanlon Theodore cotton shirt. So I actually wore this shirt on Friday last week to a shoot. And to be honest, this product had been sitting in my wardrobe for ages. And guys, it's just a gentle reminder to shop your wardrobe. I forgot I had this shirt. I popped it on and I was like, why did I stop wearing this? I've had it for like five to six years. And I'm not kidding when I say the quality still holds up. It is such a great, reliable shirt. It retails for about $220, so it is on the more expensive side. But as I said, I've had it for like five or six years. And what's great about it as well, you can also style it as like an oversized shirt. But it also has the ability. It's hard for me to explain the wraparound. Yes, it's got the wraparound, so I can tie it at the back and it just gives me a bit more structure. So on Friday, I styled it with shorts, and it just kind of wrapped around and was a little bit more defined. Maybe I'll have to include an image in the video or I'll link it in the show notes so you guys can see the styling. But it's a great way to get two wears out of one shirt.

[Joanna Fleming]

Is this the shirt that you wore over that dress that you wore to Fashion Week?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No, that's another one.

[Joanna Fleming]

Okay.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

But that, for those who are listening, I love an oversized shirt. Is not off the mark there. It's not, but it's a similar sort of look and feel. It's actually blue and white pinstripe. I know at the moment they don't have the one that I have in stock, but I have found a few on ebay for sale. So if you are looking for, you know, a similar sort of style, you can either shop the similar style that's available on Scanlan Theatre, or there are a couple on ebay that you can shop secondhand.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And I think what I love about Scanlon is they always kind of recut things that they've done previously in different colorways or different styles. So if you fall in love with something, you can almost always guarantee if it's a staple face, they'll redo it in another format as well. Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

You're buying a lane to, like, two.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Or three great sales a year. So keep an eye out when you.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Get that text message. I'm always ready.

[Joanna Fleming]

Well, I think it's time for Traced. And as you said before, ri, we are tracing Unison today. Well, French Connection, but became Unison. We'll kind of get into that later. Mads, you're leading us in today, so let's get into it.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And for full transparency, Stylish has worked with Unison on a previous campaign, but the editorial is no way associated or shaped by the partnership. We get to pick what we want to talk about and we want to talk about this. So French Connection, it's the shopping center staple that triggered arguments between millennial teens and their parents all around the world. We're of course, talking about the very controversial FCUK or For Cook T shirt.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Is that the official, like, for Cook.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

For Cook. I'm going.

[Joanna Fleming]

I've always said for Cock. For Cook.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

For Cock. For Cook. What are we working with?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Let's go with FC uk.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

FC uk.

[Joanna Fleming]

Oh, okay.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Watch me. Try and make sure that I don't say that the wrong way.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

If anyone's going to say the wrong way, around, it's going to be you.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Perfect. It hit the market in 1997 and really did make French Connection a household name. So today we thought we would trace French Connection. Their shock marketing tactics as well as the brand's legacy and how ultimately they're declining sales resulted in French Connection Australia breaking away from their UK counterparts to rebrand as Unison, the brand we know today. I want to start though. Did anyone actually have the FCUK T shirt?

[Joanna Fleming]

Yes. I literally found it in the bottom of my drawers today because I was preparing for this episode. I was like, do I still have that?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Stop the way.

[Joanna Fleming]

Maybe I should wear it.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Do you actually have it?

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, I actually have it. Should I have brought it in?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yes. Oh, damn the way. You would have been the last person I would have guessed to have had an FCUK T shirt.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Really?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

That's so Jo is like the lady of the table. The lady.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That's so lady.

[Joanna Fleming]

I'm really not, but I appreciate you thinking.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I feel like my parents would have never.

[Joanna Fleming]

Oh, this was like. I would have bought this in like 2007. I would have been in like year nine or ten, maybe.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Bit of like you were using your part time.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, I was using my Target money to buy it. Yeah, for sure.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Love that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I had a no Simpsons mum. So it was an absolute no way. You know, that is the best analogy. A no Simpsons. Like fully a no Simpsons month. Bray, did you have one?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No, I. I didn't. But one thing I want to flag with you guys and I don't know if you remember this, but do you remember that huge billboard in Melbourne? And for our listeners who aren't in Melbourne, I'm just going to give you some context about where this billboard was. But it was going over the Balti Bridge and it was on the side of like a massive factory.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I'm.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Guys, I'm not kidding. It was the entire side of this factory wall and it just had this enormous fcuk.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, it was right near the little overpass thing with the lights in it.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yes.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

The main bridge. Is the main bridge or one of the main bridges taking you the airport.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So from hard one to miss.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Hard one to miss. And I feel like that was up there for ages. I feel like it would have received a few complaints.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

But somehow it withstood them, stood the test of time. So that is my recollection and my core memory about this brand.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So yours was the billboard and yours was the T shirt that still lives in your drawer.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That checks out for the girl who worked in out of home advertising.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

All right, well, let's say a little game because I've got a little list of FCUK slogans that were printed on T shirts throughout the 90s and early 2000s, and I want us to take turns reading them out and then vote for our favorites.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I am gagged at some of these.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

All right, Jo, kick us off.

[Joanna Fleming]

Am I saying FCUK or fuck? Fuck on the beach.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Fakuck for peace.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Shut the fuck up.

[Joanna Fleming]

Fasty is Fakuck cool as fakaak.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Fakuck moi.

[Joanna Fleming]

Too busy to fuck.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Born to fuck.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

What do we think of those? What are our favorites?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

They are suggestive. I'll say that.

[Joanna Fleming]

Spawn to fuck. For me personally, yeah, I do love feisties.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

For cuck. I love alliteration.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with you there. Feisty is for cuck. It's hard to go past Shut the f Ck up though as well. Try saying that 10 times over. Although these slogans are included in the campaign, the brand's most popular design was pretty simple. It was the black T shirt that had the FC UK slog. Really simple in white letters across the front of the tee.

[Joanna Fleming]

It's quite a nice cut. T shirt is.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I will say I'm sorry, I'm bring this in next week.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, or maybe I'll try it on when I get home and then I'll take photo in it. Yeah, and then we can post that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, I definitely want it. But before we go too deep on the logo tee that Jo loves and adores, let's take a look at its founder origins. It was first founded by Stephen Marks in the early 1970s, and Stephen was born in 1946 in north London. And after showing early promise as a tennis player, he took a job working for a local coat manufacturer. Now, I know this might be really hard to believe, but there was a time that tennis wasn't a viable career path, and so Stephen took a job to support himself. I mean, I'm not sure that I think tennis, think coat making, but go Stephen. He later joined French fashion designer and artist Louis ferraud to launch Ms. A Line for women that focused on stylish mod dresses and tailored suits.

[Joanna Fleming]

Should I know what mod dresses are?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, I don't know what a dress is, do you?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Look, I'm not going to pretend I'm a wealth of wisdom here. I did Google it, but mod dresses is described as like Brigitte Bardot era Twiggy style. So a line, minis, high neck. Yes. Simple, clean line cuts, but a Lot of the time did use a lot of color or patterning. So that kind of like 60s era.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yes, 60s. It's giving mad Men.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. Yeah. Ray loves Madman.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I know.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I'm watching at the moment, playing along at home.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I think I've mentioned this like three times.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

The way that she will drop a Mad Men reference is the way that I will talk about George and you will talk about color and I. We've found your thing. When Ms. Ferro took off, Louis reportedly offered Stephen a directorship at the brand. An article published by The Guardian in 2001 quoted Stephen as saying, I asked if that meant I got a share of the company and they said, no, you just get to be called a director. That made me very depressed because I wanted to get on in life. I didn't care what I was called. Good little life lesson there.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That is a great life lesson to.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Not get caught up in the title.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

After this, a friend who was willing to provide financial backing suggested that Steven actually start his own fashion venture. Stephen insisted that there wasn't an original concept for French Connection. I just needed to make a living. I love these quotes.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

They're quite blunt.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So blunt. So straight to the point. This is a man of my own heart.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

He's very direct. I quite like that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Very direct. In the late 1960s, while visiting Paris, Stephen, Mark spotted a woman wearing a pair of hot pants. Wasn't Kylie Minogue. She wasn't quite around then, but we love it. He got back to London and had his own mock up made and then he showed them to a buyer at Miss Selfridge. The buyer took on 36 pairs and they sold out in a day.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That's impressive.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So impressive. And then when she returned to Stephen, she ordered 2,000 more units of the shorts and he was crowned the Hot Pants King.

[Joanna Fleming]

Quite the title.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Quite the title indeed.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

After the Hot Pants, Stephen began making coats and suits under his own name. And after three years in business, he was racking up a reported £700,000 in sales.

[Joanna Fleming]

That would have been massive back then.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Totally 60s. Exactly. I want to time check that because I think we hear £700,000 that would even be impressive by today's standards.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Talking the 60s, this is super impressive. So we get to 1972 and Stevens acquired a large shipment of cheesecloth shirts through a French business contact. And the shirts came from India and could be sold in the UK for a really large marker. And I guess really good context here is this kind of thing wasn't happening then. So we took China and India as Two ginormous industries now for manufacturing. This wasn't kind of in vogue or heard of at the time. So the markup substantial look. This doesn't necessarily mean that things worked out because Steven, when he requested half long sleeves, hot short sleeves, when the 1,000 shirts arrived, they were exactly that. Shirts that had one long sleeve and one short sleeve. So little lost in translation there. He ended up adjusting the shirts himself and was able to go on to sell 1,000 of them. Sure. That was quite a pain.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, that was unstitching the long sleeve on the other one, putting it on a different shirt.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

This experience and the person who facilitated it is actually what inspired the name for his new business, French Connection.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Right.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So a film of the same name had also been released a year prior, which gave it a little extra cultural relevance at the time as well.

[Joanna Fleming]

I was gonna say it makes no sense coming from the UK to then call it French Connection. I thought it was French.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, just a small connection to France.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And that's what they're leading with.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, a one sided shirt with a long sleeve and one with a short sleeve. So the brand began with women's we and expanded into Menswear in 1976. And at this point Stephen enlisted the help of a designer called Nicole Farhee, who he later dated and had a daughter with. So I guess I was going to say successful hire, but you know, don't take notes. HR by the early 80s, French connection was a raging success. Stephen Marks reportedly came in at number 15 on Britain's rich list. And Madonna became a close personal French.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That's when you know you've made a.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

When you're on the rich list and you've got Madonna on speed dial. Yeah. It all changed when Stephen partially listed the company in 1983. And the change in ownership resulted with the business bringing in management structure of which Stephen told the Telegraph. Stupidly I listened to them. Big mistake. It didn't work out too well. So we got rid of them, sorted it out and got going again.

[Joanna Fleming]

I love this guy.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I know he's quite a straight shooter. This is quite common in fashion where someone who has a very clear creative vision and direction brings in management and it messes, messes with the flow and it messes with the dynamic. We've definitely seen this before. I'm really curious to see how he like turns the ship around.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, I think you're right. It is really common that a creative doesn't necessarily know how to scale though, so they can get it somewhere. And I think that's often where they look to bringing in that sort of structural management. So, let's recap. French Connection was founded by Stephen marks in the 70s and initially offered only women's wear. They later expanded into menswear, became a roaring success, and decided to go partially public. The change in management that came with a public listing didn't jibe well with Stephen Marks, and By the late 80s, the brand was in trouble. Stephen regained directorial control in 1991.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, I mean, that's a pretty solid stint to be going through quite a tumultuous time, especially with management. Curious to see how this plays out.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

In the early 90s. French connection was doing better than the preceding years, but it wasn't doing great. Steven's position on Britain's rich list had slipped well below number 15 at this point, and he's really looking for a way to revamp the brand and bring it back to its glory days. Enter Trevor Beatty. But before we get into what Trevor did for the brand, let's hear a word from today's sponsor.

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[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So Trevor was an advertising executive who was best known for a campaign he created for wonderbrush.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Do you guys remember this?

[Joanna Fleming]

Yes, I know what the Wonder Bra is.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Do you remember the campaigns or any of the advertising?

[Joanna Fleming]

I can only imagine what a man would have done for a bra campaign.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Look, it's not great. I feel like this just would not fly in today's age.

[Joanna Fleming]

A lot of things wouldn't.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, seriously, I've worked in advertising for 10 years now, and I think Trevor Beatty has become a bit of a prolific figure in the advertising industry. And this campaign he was quite well known for. Do we want to get up the images?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, I think we need to. And look, for anyone who doesn't know what the Wonder Bra is, it's actually the OG push up bra.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So look, let's get these images up.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I need a first time reaction from Jo looking at these images.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Hit us, Joe, what do you think?

[Joanna Fleming]

It's exactly what I thought it would be. Yeah. Yeah. There's a woman in the Wonder Bra with a very sexy expression on her face and the caption is, mind if I bring a couple of friends?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

It's definitely serving the male Gaze.

[Joanna Fleming]

Oh, 100%. Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Even though the product is for a woman.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yes, yes. Yeah. Which is an interesting tactic.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yes. But unfortunately, I think it did pay off for the brand.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, it did. And look, it's pretty low brow, but the story goes that men were so excited by this ad that it actually caused a number of car accidents, actually. Yeah. And it also translated to pretty impressive sales for Wonder Bra. But let's get back to fcuk, keeping in mind who Trevor is. So Stephen Marks hires Trevor Beatty to assist with French Connection's advertising strategy. And apparently the company had internally referred to their new headquarters as fchk, French Connection, Hong Kong and FC uk. No one had even considered that the abbreviation could be a little scandalous until, of course, Trevor Beatty saw a fax between the two offices and came up with the initial slogan fcuk.

[Joanna Fleming]

Everything now makes sense.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Look, one thing I do want to add is that some of the best advertising is simple.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And I will say, just getting a fresh face and someone cutting through and seeing that for what it is, I've got to give credit where credit's due. I think it's pretty amazing. Like it has become an iconic slogan. Even though it is super suggestive and deeply inappropriate. I'm just gonna honor the fact that it is. Is quite iconic.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And I mean, a lot of campaigns that are iconic are polarizing. Yes. It's as simple as that.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Even brand Especially from this time, I feel like they were definitely getting away with a lot more than what we would get away with now.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And so Stephen bought back French Connection and used the FC UK campaign as a way to really reinvigorate their public perception. So prior to FC uk, French Connection was a run of the mill budget label, kind of really indistinguishable from all of its competitors. But with FCUK or fakac, they turned their attention to a much younger customer and the FCUK campaign debuted in 1997, which was a year before French Connection reached Australian shores. Let's hit pause on French Connection UK for a moment and focus on French Connection. AU When French Connection made it over to Australia, it wasn't Steven Marks and his team at the helm. It was actually Brand Bank Group. They're a local retail company and you may or may not know this, but they secured the Australian distribution license. And that's really not uncommon for a fashion brand to do that. And at the time of recording today, Brand bank own and or operate Seed, Heritage, Common, Reed, all kinds, Kiki K and Fine Day as well as now Unison. But we'll get into the Unison part a little bit later. But in 1998, Brand bank launched French Connection into Australia and they initially shipped all of the inventory from the uk, but eventually migrated to a local design and manufacturing model. So as I mentioned, licensing isn't a foreign concept for fashion brands looking to expand into new market. But by partnering with established licensees in different regions, I guess they get to gain access to local distribution networks and customer bases.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

So the accessibility to the consumer becomes a bit easier.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Much easier.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Right.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And the investment is far less than if they were to go and set up everything themselves here. And so there isn't a lot available online about French Connection's initial reception in Australia, but considering they did arrive with the Fakuk T shirts as their hero product, they certainly did ruffle feathers. As the FCUK campaign rolled out worldwide, customers had some very strong opinions about it. I've got a few stories of how people tried to shut it down. Some of these are really, really good, so I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. But in the uk, a man named Dennis Woodman took French Connection to court, claiming that branding the slogan on watches and jewelry was contrary to generally accepted principles of morality.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Why was it just watches and jewelry?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I don't know. He felt they were clearly more offensive.

[Joanna Fleming]

Didn't have an issue with the T shirt.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, right. I feel like the T shirt's more overt than the jewelry and the watches. But Dennis was mad enough to take them to court about it. Unfortunately for him, French Connection did win the case, with their lawyers citing the trademark for a brand called Dick and Fanny, which was deemed acceptable.

[Joanna Fleming]

I didn't see that one coming.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, I thought for cock was going to be the worst thing I said today. And yet here we are.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I want to know if Dick and Fanny are still running same. I'm looking at it.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Do you want to Google it?

[Joanna Fleming]

And what were they? What did they sell? I don't know if you should Google that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Oh, my God.

[Joanna Fleming]

I didn't even think about that.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I didn't. It's actually not coming up to be fair.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Okay, well, what's important is Dick and Fanny save the day for French Connection. Oh, my God.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I'm going to get in trouble by our it. Yeah, why were you searching Dick and Fanny?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Okay, sorry.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Sorry about. Keep going.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

No, you know what? Fine. Really glad that you're gonna have that conversation with your IT team tomorrow. Dennis wasn't the only one who was angry. In fact, in the US The American Family association in Missouri called on members to send more than 120,000 emails to stores asking them to remove the cuck. Other religious and conservative groups joined them in campaigning against the brand. I mean, knowing the usa, I'm not at all surprised that these are the kind of groups that were up in arms. But as a result, FCUK was actually plucked from the shelves of Macy's and some other department stores. Bloomingdale's did keep the product, but they removed most of the marketing material from stores. So it's pretty wild that this much outrage did actually elicit response like that. A judge in Wales actually also dismissed a jury member who came to court wearing a fakuk shirt. I mean, to be fair, an interesting.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Court wearing a shirt like that. Was he the person that was on trial? And I'm assuming it's a man not on trial.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

He was just a jury member. But Australia actually told the man. The misspelling of a basic Anglo Saxon word on a garment hardly dignifies the court proceedings. It is beyond me why anyone can think they should wear anything like that in public, particularly in court.

[Joanna Fleming]

I want to say the judge probably didn't know that it was a brand. They probably just thought that it was a random bit of a DIY job with a misspelling on it.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

You should be self vetting that before you're going in. Like there are other shirts you can.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Wear time and place, especially if you're a jury member, maybe a little button up wouldn't have hurt it.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Aren't jury members supposed to be like model citizens as well? Like, they send you a letter saying.

[Joanna Fleming]

That I'm so waiting for jury duty. I cannot tell you how much I want jury duty. When people say they're trying to get out of it, I'm like, why? Why would you.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I got the jury duty call up one month after I turned 18 and I couldn't do it because I was studying law at the time. Oh, no, wait, no, my math isn't mathing. Maybe it was one month after I finished high school or had started my degree, whatever it was. Anyway, I'm rambling now.

[Joanna Fleming]

I cancel anything in my life to do jury duty. So whoever organises that, I'm telling you.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Now, I'm available, I will nominate you if I'm ever.

[Joanna Fleming]

Thank you so much.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So French Connection became FCUK in 1997. Despite the many critics, the campaign was an overwhelming success. And as you said, Ray, credit to Trevor where it's due. By 1999, French Connections saw 84% increase in its profits, with customers reportedly purchasing over 120,000 T shirts bearing the slogan in Britain alone. It's almost one for every email that the US Missouri group sends. The campaign also did actually win advertising campaign of the year in 1999.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I feel like when I was in university and we were studying Best in Class, examples of ads, this one came up so often alongside McDonald's, Nike, you know, household name games. It was constantly used as like, simple is best.

[Joanna Fleming]

Snaps for Trevor.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, snaps for Trevor.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Not for the Wonderbad Trev, but SC UK snaps to that.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Did you guys know this is a random tangent, but did you know that he's been to space, Trevor?

[Joanna Fleming]

Really?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, he was.

[Joanna Fleming]

How did you know that?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I did a Google. No, I was really curious because his name definitely stuck out to me when we were obviously preparing for this episode and I was like, I know who this guy is. And then I was just doing some research and so he actually worked on the marketing campaign for Virgin Galactic, which is Richard Branson's space shuttle thing.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And he went to space.

[Joanna Fleming]

Wow.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah. Random.

[Joanna Fleming]

Very random fact about Trevor, but great fact.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

From wonderful to the moon. But after the initial shock, Fakuck's appeal began to sour. French Connection continued to pump out crazy slogans long after the novelty had begun to wore off.

[Joanna Fleming]

I feel like it stopped giving a Fakaq.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

No cucks to give.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Oh, my God. Yeah, it definitely would have tired over time. Like, how do you innovate.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, you can't reinvent that.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Hey, stylish listeners, it's Maddie here. And look, if you haven't already compiled a list, it's easy to find yourself stuck for Christmas gift ideas. Yes, I know it falls during the same time each year, yet somehow when we get here, we just draw a blank. But today's sponsor might just inspire you. Earlier this year, Michael Hill announced Miranda Kerr as their new ambassador. And now the global icon has unveiled her Christmas gift Edit, a curated collection of jewelry gifts to make this Christmas a meaningful one. So what's in the edit? Miranda's hand picked selection of her favorite fine jewelry from Michael Hill. This includes the newly launched Pendant bar collection, offering a range of sentimental pendants to create a truly personalized gift. Plus her favorite contemporary pieces featuring, of course, my personal favorite, lab grown diamond. This Christmas at Michael Hill, discover pieces that are more than just gifts. They're the beginning of a story crafted to be cherished now and for years to come. You might even be able to scoop up a Black Friday offer on some of the pieces from the edit. To shop Miranda's Christmas gift edit, visit Michael Hill in store or online and make this Christmas one to remember. Thank you so much to Michael Hill for making this episode of Stylish possible. And in bringing in a new customer through French Connection doors, the brand began to really alienate those who'd shopped with them in the first place. And essentially the French Connection customer was a totally different customer to the for customer. French Connection also didn't really have a follow up to the virality of the T shirts and there was nowhere for the campaign to go.

[Joanna Fleming]

What are you doing, Trev?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Other than retain on the Balti Bridge billboard?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah, seriously.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

When asked about their overexposure in the early 2000s, Stephen told the Telegraph, instead of being something everyone wanted to wear, we became what everybody didn't want to wear. It took a long time to sort out.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I do think this was quite common in the early 2000s. There are so many brands that I can think of that had a similar sort of experience or a similar moment where they just started to alienate their customers.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Ed Hardy.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yes.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Do you guys remember Ed Hardy? Lest we forget, I do think some of these brands are having a bit of a resurgence. So.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Fonda.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Fonda.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, I was just about to say that.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Can you guys think of any others during this time?

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I think Victoria's Secret is one that did have a big moment that kind of did endure for a really Long time. And I mean, we've just seen them come back.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

But I think it's easy to not think of that show as a marketing moment, but that is ultimately their superpower as a marketing machine.

[Joanna Fleming]

Well, the Pink Sub brand, I feel was a really popular brand at that particular time too. And then it just kind of became a bit uncool.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

It's interesting because I feel like at that time I obviously grew up in this period and all I think of it like, like the Simple Life, Low Rise Jeans, Juicy Couture, like Tracksuits Von.

[Joanna Fleming]

Dutch, Ed Hardy, Paul Frank.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Paul Frank. All of these brands feel like they went through a similar sort of experience to what French Connection did.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. Another one that comes to mind for me is Abercrombie and Fitch, who obviously had the shirtless men out the front of the stores. I feel like you think Abercrombie and Fitch and think that. And I mean, so much has happened since then. You kind of think of the era of them and a Victoria's Secret in kind of that early 2000s.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I think, yeah, we've definitely transitioned away from the overtly sexy and I think.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Good reason, I think glorifying a certain image and I mean, so much has come undone from that. I mean, there's quite serious allegations of Abercrombie and Fitch at the moment. And I think we obviously saw as well Victoria's Secret go away for quite a period and come back really indicating they wanted a new look and feel with inclusivity and, and remodeling, I guess, body expectations and standards in the market as well.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Absolutely.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And I think it's interesting as well, because brands generally do suffer when they're not in the zeitgeist. And I think as the brand began to suffer from overexposure, their financials started to tank as well. And we're at 2003 now. And French Connection had allegedly gone from a $500 million valuation to a valuation of just 32 million.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

That is a steep decline.

[Joanna Fleming]

Ouch.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

That's not getting you in the top 15 rich list. I don't know. Madonna's answering the calls.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I was about to say.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, and Steven still owns the brand at this point.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. Just six years after French Connection arrived here in Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reported the 18 to 30 year olds, which are the company's target market and were once proud to sport the fakuck like a bunny and for Cuck for England on their chest, are now taking their spending power elsewhere to premium price rivals like Ted Baker and cheaper Alternatives such as Zara. So French Connection really faded into shopping centre obscurity for a while. They didn't disappear entirely, but they did become noticeably less visible and dare I say, a little bit irrelevant. Yeah, they did try and revive FCUK or for Cuck. God, there's so many. The amount.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

We should do a count, alternate between the two.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

They tried to do it on two occasions, first in 2016 and then again in 2019 with a collab with Urban Outfitters.

[Joanna Fleming]

I don't recall either of those.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I do not remember. No.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

You didn't rush back to get a second.

[Joanna Fleming]

No, I didn't. That sat at the bottom of the draw and still there.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And I guess despite the initial novelty appeal, it didn't really seem that either of attempt was met with the same enthusiasm or outrage as the slogans first go around. Which brings us to the latest development in French Connection story, or should we say the beginning of the uni Unison story. Mid last year it was announced that French Connection would rebrand to Unison. And the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the name was chosen as a nod to its open minded approach to gendered clothing. Unison is billed as targeting middle Australia and That's customers aged 25 to 40 who have a desire for style and want their casual wear to be sophisticated and up to date. And so. So the French Connection parent company was sold to new owners in 2021. And so when the distribution contract was up for renewal, Brand bank decided to go their own way. And Brand bank had concerns that the new owners of French Connection may have made it harder to best serve the Australian consumer.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Look, I just want to say this is an interesting time because I feel like the Australian consumer had really carved out their own need and desire. When you think about a lot of these brands that have tried to infiltrate the Australian market from overse thinking Topshop.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And how much of a failure that was. This doesn't seem like a bad move to me. Yeah, I think if you're able to have creative control and appeal to your consumer in a localized setting, that is definitely the right decision in my opinion. Bit messy though.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Bit messy. And I think also so reminiscent of the time that they're making this decision because when I think back to the early 2000s versus 2021, we've got Henny, we've got Dish, there's a lot of new players to the game and I just think, think a French connection struggling 10 years prior to that to a French connection struggling in 2021, when all of these brands are heavily investing and flying It's a good brand competition.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

As I mentioned, Brand bank had concerns that the new owners of French Connection may have made it harder to best serve the Australian consumer. And Peter Hellkett, Brand Bank's newly appointed CEO, told the Sydney Morning Herald their ideas may have made it more restrictive.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah. As I said, I feel like that doesn't surprise me. And I feel like that was the right decision to make because that was something that a lot of businesses did experience. I referenced Topshop before. They really struggled in the Australian market to cut through and I think big time. Like, I don't know many people our age at that time that were shopping at Topshop. So, yes, clunky move, but I feel like the right one.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And there's a really interesting point about this. Because French Connection was sold in Australia under a distribution deal, as I mentioned earlier, it can actually continue to be sold.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Right.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So should another company buy the rights? French Connection 1.0 became unison. But there's no reason a French Connection 2.0.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Right.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Can't appear.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I wonder if they would.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Well, I think speaking to girlfriends, not a lot of them knew about this rebrand.

[Joanna Fleming]

I only knew about it from you, Ray.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Thank you.

[Joanna Fleming]

You told me this probably like earlier in this year because I'd asked you where a pair of pants from. You were like, unison, it's the new French Connection. I was like, oh, my God. Okay.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Ye.

[Joanna Fleming]

I don't feel like it's been that advertised by them.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And I mean, really, the only thing that maintained the same was the resources that they'd previously allocated to French Connection Australia, which was the designers, the website, storefronts and leasing and supply chain. Right.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

So it's very. Operations heavy.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, absolutely. And so the rebrand debuted in August last year. And so they've just celebrated one year and a bit. And they had a really interesting campaign when they first launched launched, Amy Shark was within it. I mean, the only reason I knew about them rebounding from French Connection was because I saw advertising, street posters everywhere.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And felt like suddenly they were all over my feeds. And I was like, what is this brand? Where has it come from? And how they got all this money.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And out of home media. Whenever we talk about that, we're talking straight posters, billboards, bus stops, all of those things that you see. And I was like, these are really expensive ambassadors that they included in the campaign. And I was seeing a lot of media, which costs a lot.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah. I think around any major brand launch, traditionally brands will opt for traditional media. So TV out of Home. It's about that cut through that big awareness play to spark interest. And I think a brand name like Unison is also quite unusual and I think does spark that, but then also pairing that with really solid ambassadors. Interesting. They also went with a local talent.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

They were really trying to lean into this localization and establish themselves as an Australian brand.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And I think that was smart.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joanna Fleming]

It's still menswear and women's wear, too.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

It is, yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Should we get the website? Because I'd love to get your thoughts and try and come into this like you have fresh eyes to the brand, because I know you've both shopped.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I'm so biased. I just have to acknowledge that. I'll try, but I am quite biased.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

But give me, like, your first impressions of just the website or the collection as it looks at the moment.

[Joanna Fleming]

I really like some of the pieces that are out at the moment, but I do have to say I've also been gifted some pieces from them, but without taking that into account, I genuinely do feel like they're really high quality items. The fabrics, I feel are really good quality. They wash well, and I just feel like they're really stylish and classic designs.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I completely agree. I also have to nod to their accessories. I find I get a lot of wear out of their accessories.

[Joanna Fleming]

I haven't even looked at their accessories range.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Now I'm going to go to way that if I had a dollar for every time I said to read, where are those bracelets from? Reason, like, they're the same Unison ones you've asked about six times. I'm like, yep, okay, gonna have to get those.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I have the gold and the silver cuffs. I've got this silver chain necklace. I've got a belt. I am all about the accessories. I also have some pieces for my wardrobe, but I feel like I'm constantly gravitating. Relatively decent price point. Also often on sale on the Iconic and then also on their own D2C, which is direct to consumer. So their website site. Look, as I said, this is my subjective view, but I do really like where Unison is sitting in the current landscape. I do think they nailed that mid range. I am the demographic. It's 30 to 45, I think, which skews a little bit.

[Joanna Fleming]

25 to 40. And I thought it would be 30 to 45. I also had that thought.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Okay, so I'm like, bang, smack in the middle of that demo.

[Joanna Fleming]

You and I both. Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

And I feel like it does speak to me.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Interesting to see that within the same group they have Seed Heritage.

[Joanna Fleming]

Agreed. I would say so Seed in Vibes and Price Point.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Vibes and Price Point. But feels more monochrome, feels a little bit more minimalistic. Whereas I would say Seed leans more into patterns, more into the seasonal changes that as much with Unisense. That's why I feel like it works really well within my work wardrobe.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Agree. I think they're really good pieces that kind of do that weekend to weekday seamless transition really nicely. I love what you said about Seed because if you said to me pick one brand that you feel like this is most like, I would probably pick them just from a positioning. I do think it's interesting because I think if we spoke to Brand bank they'd probably tell us that they're going after the same customer age groups. But I do find Seed a little bit older and this brand a little bit more contemporary.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yes.

[Joanna Fleming]

I did hear in the rumor mill that the designer that created a few waves at Target went to Seed and I feel like their latest collection have been much more of the same ilk.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Okay.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I love that inside of room.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah, that's just rumor.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

The designers move around a bit.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

I love a tidbit. I love a tidbit. But the rebrand was actually met with pretty mixed reception. Some saw it as a really welcome change while others thought it was a wrong move at the wrong time. And brand strategist Michelle Horgan wrote for Smart Company. Disingenuous feels like a fitting descriptor for what they're doing in their own words. This is not re anything. It's opting out of a long standing distribution deal and using the stores and website etc for a new label so they can have more control.

[Joanna Fleming]

I don't think there's anything wrong with that, is there?

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I think as a consumer I don't see the issue. But I'm assuming it's a faux pas in the fashion world.

[Joanna Fleming]

Michelle gave quite the reaction.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah, yeah. Certainly did give quite the reaction. But I would also say they did reinvent. They came with a total new look and feel from who they were in the sense of even their stores. They all sort of flipped. I don't think I walk past a Unison and think, God, the fit out looks so similar to French Connection.

[Joanna Fleming]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Which seemed to be in every shopping center. Which is why you see Unison everywhere now. Because they kept those footprints. But I do think it was a tired, irrelevant brand. Sorry, French Connection, that is lethal.

[Joanna Fleming]

Ouch.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

But I think now I go out for drinks with girlfriends and they'll tell me that their tank or bracelets are from Unison or the puffer on the dog walk is from Unison. And I don't think anyone ever told me they were wearing French Connection.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

No.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

So bravo, Brand Bank Group. I think you've done a great job.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

I can only speak from a consumer perspective. I don't know enough from an industry perspective. But in my opinion, I don't really have an issue with how they played it out. And as I said, I'm an active consumer of their products. I feel like I'm very selective about what I buy from them. But, yeah, I, I think they're doing a great job.

[Joanna Fleming]

I also think it's great that they're using the resources that they were using for French Connection.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yes.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Yeah. And I think so interested to see where to next because ultimately they're not even 18 months old in market, so I think there's still a lot we'll see from them here.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Yeah.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

And that brings us to the end of this week's episode of Stylish. Thank you very, very much for joining us. And of course, thanks very much to you, Joanna Fleming. Lovely to have you back from holidays.

[Joanna Fleming]

Thanks, Matt.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

Sure you wish you were still there. And Rhiannon Joyce, who has filled in the hot seat a second week in a row. Remember, you can drop us an email anytime at style-ish@sheless media.com or you can slide into our DMS over at Stylish AU. And we can't forget to thank the Shameless Media team, head of podcast Lucy Hunt and our lovely senior podcast producer, Kate Emma Burke and researcher Chloe Wilson. We'd be lost without you. We'll be right back with you next Wednesday. See you then.

[Rhiannon Joyce]

Bye, guys.

[E]

This podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri land.

[Joanna Fleming]

Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.

[E]

Hey guys, it's Mish here. Are you struggling this summer because all of your favorite podcasts. Podcasts are on break? Fear not, because our recently launched interview show, Inherited is working right through the summer break. Yep, that means fresh interviews for your ears every single week. If you've not listened to an episode of Inherited before, it's the show where we ask our guests for the recipes, rules, relics and rituals that have shaped who they are. My favorite interview is actually a bit of a toss up. I'd have to say it's between Lucy Jackson or Tony Lodge so far. But I'll tell you a bit about Tony Lodge's is epp. This interview had a bit of everything. It made me laugh because of, you know who Tony is as a person, but it also made me tear up and cry. From building her career from scratch to losing her mum and finding reprieve in dark humor, so many snippets of this interview have just stuck with me long after listening. Here's one of them when you're talking.

[Madison Sullivan Thorpe]

To a friend and they kind of go, oh, I was just chatting with my mum the other day, and I used to just get so many mad that there was no way that I could just casually bring up my mom. This was pre therapy, obviously, and so when people would be like, oh, my phone's dead. I'd be like, oh, my mom as well, because I just wanted to talk about her.

[E]

Search inherited on any of your favorite podcast apps and get listening. Your summer road trip is sorted.