Arek Dvornechuck
Branding Expert
The ever-changing fashion industry makes branding especially important—a good logo allows customers identify products.
A well-designed fashion logo can increase your brand's perceived value.
Whether you’re designing your logo for the first time, or redesigning it, you can learn best practices from top designer brands.
Here's my list of top fashion brands and their logo analysis.
Gucci, the Italian fashion label, is probably the most desired luxury brand in the world.
The two interlocking "G"s stand for the founder's name: Guccio Gucci.
Because this pictorial mark uses a single color, it’s very adaptive to different mediums.
Gucci uses multiple variations of this lettermark in fabric patterns or as a bag or belt closure.
The initials overlap cleverly in the middle making it an interesting mark - we call this graphic treatment a monogram.
A monogram is simply a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters that are usually initials of the founder—fashion designer.
The Gucci monogram is symmetrical, which means you can flip the left part to get the right one and vice versa.
I described Gucci logo history in my another article in great detail.
Fendi is a well-known Italian fashion house established in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi.
The “double F” logo stands for the founders' last names: Edoardo & Adele Fendi.
The Fendi logo is a combination of two reverse ‘F’ letters.
Similarly to Gucci, Fendi plays off the the first letter of the company name to create an interesting monogram.
However, in this case the "F" letter is flipped vertically and horizontally at the same time, or just rotated by 190 degrees if you wish.
Because of the "F' letter shape, this treatment makes more sense here as probably in any other case.
Fendi monogram is featured on majority of designs: clothing, belt buckles, handbags, sunglasses, etc.
Versace, is an Italian luxury fashion company and trade name founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.
The Versace logo features Medusa head, a Greek mythological figure.
The border around it comes from Greek mythology as well, and you can find it deeply engraved in Greek culture.
The founder Gianni Versace chose Medusa as the logo because as the story tells, she makes people fall in love with her with no way back.
Gianni hoped that the Medusa would have the same effect on people who wore his clothes and accessories.
The Medusa comes from the floor of ruins where the founder and its siblings used to play as children.
Coach, unlike most luxury fashion brands, wasn’t originated in Italy or France but was established in 1941 in New York.
The Coach logo features the image of a horse and carriage that tells the authentic story of its origins.
The Coach logo was designed by Bonny Cashin, a famous fashion designer and artist.
Why carriage? - Because coach is originally a large, usually closed, four-wheeled carriage with two or more horses harnessed as a team, controlled by a coachman.
Therefore the carriage element is appropriate for the logo and it also carries impression of luxury, royalty, and elegance.
The company name is written in a custom serif typeface, which is quite attractive and effective.
Louis Vuitton is a top luxury fashion brand that started as luggage business in Paris, France in 1854.
The interlocking "L" and "V" are probably the most famous monogram in the world.
The monogram was designed by Louis Vuitton’s son, Georges Vuitton, in 1896 as a way to brand his luggage business.
This monogram doesn't play of reflection or rotation like Gucci or Fendi describe earlier in this article, but instead takes a different approach.
The logo designer found a unique way to create a monogram—an italicized serif "L" is set slightly to the left and bottom of a capitalized "V".
Learn more about the history of the famous LV monogram on Vogue.
Dolce & Gabbana was founded in 1985 by the two Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.
The "DG" logo features the last name initials of the two founders Dolce & Gabbana.
The logo has a very minimalistic design and it doesn't create a monogram like other fashion brands.
Instead the initials are set in a modern sans serif typeface that carries a distinctive and visually appealing Baroque aesthetic.
It makes it a perfect combination of great functionality and minimalistic design approach.
What's the font used in the Dolce & Gabbana logo?—it's a slightly modified version of the popular Futura typeface.
Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry.
Burberry got rid of its famous Equestrian Knight in favor of simple sans serif wordmark.
Burberry released the new logo and monogram in August 2018 created by graphic designer Peter Saville.
The new minimalistic Burberry wordmark simply states the brand name in all caps followed by smaller “London England” underneath.
It's a bid and bold move, given the equity build around the old logo.
However as the designer explains - its purpose is to move the brand into the digital 21th century.
And as far the new digital look seems to pay off giving Burberry the boost in sales it needed.
Givenchy is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy.
Givenchy mark consist of quadruple "G" forming a square—Celtic motifs
The current Givenchy logo was designed by Paul Barnes in 2003.
The logo is visually interesting but rather simple at the same time.
It consists of a quadruple ‘G’ forming a larger square.
The logo reminds of Celtic jewelry with a similar kind of rotational design.
Giorgio Armani is a luxury fashion house founded by Giorgio Armani in 1975 in Milan, Italy.
The Armani eagle looking right is a symbol of quality and supremacy.
Togo is simply an eagle looking to the right—meaning correct direction or forward thinking if you will.
The logo pursues a highly simplistic and elegant design approach with basic black and white color palette, giving it a classy impression.
The Giorgio Armani logo is considered to be a prime example of a minimalist yet elegant logo design.
Jimmy Choo is a British high fashion house specializing in luxury good, mostly known for its women shoe collections.
The logo is a straightforward yet sophisticated wordmark set in a custom serif typeface.
The Jimmy Choo logo contains letters made up of thin strokes that are grounded by the addition of small serifs.
In the logo, the "J" curls up in a fluid motion that adds some flair to it and the O’s are completely circular letters that are much wider than the others.
The roundness of the double O’s is balanced by the thinness of the double M’s in the first part of the logo making the two words similar in length
.All this helps the logo depict grace, elegance, and a little stylish flair.
Most luxury fashion brands have a classic logotype set in white and black.
Often with some sort of monogram that lends itself well to a pattern for application on clothes or accessories.
We proudly wear these brands as a symbol of status, apart from their outstanding quality, of course.
While logos don't make brands, they're certainly the most visible element of a brand.
With time, people imbue these logos with meaning and they become iconic.
Also check out my tutorials on how to design a logo, then how to present logo concepts and finally how to deliver a logo package to your clients.
As a Brooklyn-based branding expert, I specialize in crafting unique, memorable identities that resonate with your target audience.
Whether you're launching a new label or rejuvenating an existing one, let's collaborate to make your vision a reality.
Check out my services page and send me an email to discuss your project today!
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I'm a branding expert and graphic designer based in NY. I specialize in the development of brands: brand strategy, identity & web design. Need help with your project?—Get in touch
