Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Why Do Luxury Brands Have Mascots?

Why Do Luxury Brands Have Mascots?

While logos serve as symbols of status and recognition, mascots allow for play and novelty.

Characters like the Geico Gecko, Mr. Clean, and Tony the Tiger have become household names even outside of the respective companies they represent, and mascots have a place in more than just commercials and artwork on food packaging. Luxury houses are utilizing mascots-physical and digital-to further tell their story and serve as brand ambassadors as the fashion world evolves.

Brands' logos and signature prints alone have usually sufficed as identifying markers and points of community, but top labels have also introduced signature characters. Fendi debuted its monster in the Fall/Winter 2013 show, an evolving character that continues to appear in its original form as a fur bag charm and as a more toned-down image of glowing yellow or black eyes. Lifesize Fendi monsters even traveled the globe in 2016 to attend events at Fendi stores and perform on the runway. Karl Lagerfeld, the late creative director of the fashion house, even appeared as a fluffy Karlito bag charm for several seasons. Not to mention, Lagerfeld's namesake label often features a cartoon version of the designer on everything from leather jackets to enamel belt buckles.



Karl Lagerfeld with Fendi monster mascots.

                        

Fendi Spring/Summer 2015 Karlito bag charm and monster mini-bag

                        

Fendi Spring/Summer 2015 Men's monster backpack.

In 2018, Louis Vuitton introduced Vivienne, a doll that pulls from some of the brand's iconic motifs, as its mascot. Besides being a standalone accessory, Vivienne has appeared on bags and jewelry for the fashion house. More recently, during the boom of fashion video games last year, Burberry employed an animated deer as the face of its game, B Surf, and also created a platform for its digitally savvy Shenzen store through which visitors can interact with the avatar via an app.

Brands frequently collaborate with youthful entities like Disney, but their own mascots can be used to evoke the same sense of nostalgia and fantasy. Similar to the effect of capsule collections, limited-edition items sporting a brand mascot boost a brand's commercial appeal. The mascots transform accessories and fashion into coveted pieces of merchandise. They also appear on more accessible trinkets, like keychains, which allows a larger audience to connect with the brand.

Additionally, the increased use of animation in fashion advertising has allowed for their characters to come to life (even seemingly mundane objects like Hermès signature orange boxes, seen ice skating on a frozen pond in the French house's 2013 holiday campagin). They can also be used to add a vivid storyline to brands' collection, like Louis Vuitton's Vivienne, whose travels and activities are featured in the descriptions of and illustrations on the brand's holiday drops.



Louis Vuitton's Vivienne mascot.

For brands like Ralph Lauren, mascots are an integral part of its work, attracting a broad range of customers with different styles. Originally introduced in the '90s as a limited run of stuffed toys, the Polo Bear became a fashion symbol once it was sold on actual apparel. It especially gained momentum in the hip hop scene, giving the character cred in the streetwear circles, an unexpected route from its preppy origins.

The newest mascots in high fashion were introduced by Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton's series of physical and digital events used to promote the latest menswear collection. Cartoonized animals representing Abloh and his crew, called Zooom with friends, made an appearance in interactive filters and animations, a move that the brand made to strengthen the "diverse community spirit that exists around its menswear universe and encourages the public to take part in the ongoing dialogue between Virgil Abloh and his audience." The characters also joined the models on Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2021 men's runway.



Merging brand identity and novelty, luxury mascots offer an interactive piece to the consumer relationship. They can become collectible items, like the Fendi monster charms or Louis Vuitton Vivienne dolls, or act as a brand ambassador for audiences to connect with digitally. Either way, they offer connection–a theme that will likely grow in significance as we enter another socially distanced year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
×