Logo rebellion

Lesley Stahl's piece on Luxottica, the Italian eyewear manufacturer and distributor, made me think that back in the 70's and early 80's Luxottica was THE luxury brand in eyewear.  Our neighbor at our original location at the Watergate complex was "Watergate Opticians," where owner Nancy Glick purveyed fashionable eyewear that could not be found elsewhere.  I didn't even need glasses yet, but any visiting relatives would head next door to find the latest styles.  It was BEFORE prestige logos were a must-have...it was all about (mostly) tasteful design.  I think that Diane von Furstenberg and Luxottica were the top of the line brands for eyewear (maybe Givenchy and YSL were available too, but I can't quite remember--and it wasn't about the logos).  Somehow, "design" must now be tatooed with a prominent logo in order to be relevant in the marketplace.  When did that happen?  Luxottica says that its first prestige deal was with Armani in 1988 (that would have been the "power suit" era, and Armani's suit was kind of the power power suit).

I remember a first trip abroad when I was 20.  I was abroad for a month, for work.  My goal at the end of my assignment was to stop in Paris, buy a pair of purple shoes for fall, and get a haircut (yeah, I know, nobody believes I ever get a haircut).  I didn't have much time, and I didn't then and still don't speak French that well (I tend to say things like septente instead of soixante-dix, which means I speak better Swiss than French).  Anyway, I bought some fabric at Rodin (surprise!) got lost (which was fun), bought two dolls for my younger sister, and some Godiva (which must have still been a Belgian company at that point--you bought the candy by grams at a sidewalk stand instead of in the famous gold ballotin in a suburban shopping mall).  I ate quiche (which was not very good after all).  I opened an account at Credit Agricole.  Saw the most beautiful display of purple shoes on the Champs Elysee (so many shades of purple, magenta, plum, so many finishes, perforated suede, leather, I could not have chosen--so I just carried the image around with me ever after).

The Dior boutique had just been redone in shades of gray.  Celine was kind of fading into obscurity. I found the tiny Balenciaga boutique, where racks of perfect, fluffy silk dresses were being wheeled in the front door (back from a private showing, perhaps).  I was able to pick out a tie for my husband.  Afterward, I climbed part of the way up the Eiffel Tower, which was less than a dollar.

I was saturated in fashion by the time I left, and there was nary a logo to be seen.

Now, logos are annoying.  In certain quarters, a logo-soaked fake Vuitton bag is more "valuable" than a plain Calvin Klein leather bag (or a plain good quality leather bag of any kind).  Some people who can afford or almost afford an upper echelon bag (or watch or scarf) won't even buy one because they'd rather buy ten knock offs.  Others won't buy an authentic bag because they don't want anyone to mistake it for a knock off.  These perverse logo madnesses have totally displaced good design, and they certainly don't convey "prestige."  Didn't Pierre Cardin teach us anything?

A Vogue or Harper's Bazaar magazine from September 1979 would be fun to have.