We stumbled across this commentary about Brooklyn Industries on the blog Raeubertanz and we bring it up only because this Brooklyn business has gone from being amusing five or six years ago to being a little bit of a source of irritation today (especially the aggressive sales help the moment you walk in the door, at least, if you’re like us and want to be left alone to look around). They seem to us to have acquired the status of those Black Dog t-shirts that started in Martha’s Vineyard. Well, perhaps, not quite, but they’re a second or third cousin spiritually. In any case, the writer takes issue with an aspect of the company’s marketing strategy:
So, Brooklyn Industries, the company that prides itself on “urban-wear”, professing the greatness of the (best) borough of New York by labeling their clothes, and accesories with Brooklyn pride uses all white models for their catalog. Now a borough that is almost sixty percent non-white should really be properly represented by the clothing company that represents it, i think. Brooklyn Industries even goes on to use the iconic water towers of the Gowanus Projects as their logo, portraying the “Brooklyn Skyline.” That was the projects I mentioned earlier for all of you who don’t read closely, and I’m not going to make any rash overarching statements, but I’m pretty sure that my seventy-five dollar bag does not market towards the people who live in the Gowanus Projects. Now personally I don’t have any huge problems with Brooklyn Industries, mostly because I look badass in my new bag, but maybe they should go for some of the marketing techniques Talbot’s uses, and use a different skyline of “Brooklyn”. I’m thinking something more like Williamsburg, or that new apartment that sold down by the water for something like 3.1 million (the one with the giant clock window). But oh doesn’t it feel great to make money off of gentrification?
Some may agree. Some may disagree. In any case, it’s food for thought.
[Photo courtesy of dyobmit/flickr]
7 responses so far ↓
1 Gowanus Monkey // Nov 1, 2006 at 5:19 pm
Your predictable, generic, left-of-center blah-blah. Water towers are a symbol of NYC to the point of being a major cliche. And the Gowanus Houses water towers in particular are a major part of the skyline I see from my kitchen balcony; I’m sure that thousands more have a similar view. Brooklyn Industries logo may be uninspired (that’s what mostly preventing me from buying their branded products,) but it has nothing to do with race and class.
2 chuck // Nov 1, 2006 at 9:20 pm
please factor into the discussion that Brooklyn Industries started in Williamsburg, and the water tower icon was based on a water tower the founder saw out of his window (in Williamsburg). It’s not the GH.
3 Anonymous // Nov 4, 2006 at 12:43 am
I’m pretty sure that Brooklyn Industries products aren’t even made in Brooklyn (or the U.S. for that matter). Which is lame, especially considering the name.
4 Celebrity // Jul 13, 2007 at 12:24 pm
A coupla years ago I went to Brooklyn Industries because I needed a winter coat and wanted to keep my money local, if possible. I was kinda surprised to find out that not only was the coat I was looking at made in China, but *EVERYTHING* I could find in Brooklyn Industries was imported from China, Turkey, etc.
Just stopped by last week and checked again. Still the same deal. It makes me kinda queasy when I see Brooklyn Industries stuff now. I don’t have a problem with imports in general (I mean, how could I?), but “Brooklyn Industries” it ain’t.
Tony
If they were straight up and called “Brooklyn Importers” I’d probably have bought that coat.
5 Benjamin // Nov 24, 2007 at 11:39 am
A year later… but I thought I would comment anyway considering this is one of the first result entry when you search Brooklyn Industries on Google…
Of course they wouldn’t make their clothes in Brooklyn, how much would that cost? But I guess their HQ and designers are in Brooklyn, which is the most important to me.
About their models, the catalogue I have has black, asian and latino models, as they have used staff from their several stores to model thier goods, which I think is a wicked idea.
xx
Ben form London
6 Anonymous // Jan 14, 2008 at 1:16 am
The first Brooklyn Industries logo was designed in 1999 by the Brooklyn-based graphic design team DresserJohnson.com.
See link here…
http://www.dresserjohnson.com/b_i_logo.html
Dresser Johnson’s inspiration for the water tower was a view of Greenpoint as seen from their studio on 15th Street and Wythe Avenue. The revised logo redesigned by Brooklyn Industries co-founder, Vahap Avsar, seems to be an invented Brooklyn/Manhattan Skyline similar to the Manhattan Portage logo.
7 Ken Doll // Feb 15, 2008 at 4:37 pm
All of you posers who think that Brooklyn Industries should keep their merchandise manufactured locally have absolutely no idea how the retail industry works. Everywhere you go, merchandise is made overseas. Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters have thier items made in India, Gap has their denim made in Mexico, H&M comes from anywhere cheap. If the merchandise was made in Brooklyn – YOU WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO AFFORD IT!
The fact that the design center is here and it’s still privately owned says a lot about the company and what they beleive in. Why don’t you quit complaining about the logo, and keep your money local.
By the way, since Hong Kong became part of China again, anything made in Hong Kong now has to say “Made in China”. However, Hong Kong produced some of the worlds best fabrics and designs, and is a world leader in quality. Perhaps you should do a little more research before pointing the finger.