What does Philipp Plein’s success have in common with Satanists?

Let’s take a step back before we answer this question tho. First, PLEASE don’t get me wrong. I’m in no way a fan or supporter of this fashion label, but I’m not oblivious to its success either. Philipp Plein sells clothes. A lot of them. And for a price tag so high, others could use it to pay for two months of rent in New York. Why is that and why does Plein’s concept also influence the way other high fashion houses will run their business in the future?

The easy answer is luxury. People want to feel wealthy and worthy. But can’t you just buy LV, Dior or stuff like that? Well technically yes, but not in this case. 

The current generation looooves to judge. Whether it’s based on looks, on the way you speak or on the clothes u wear. Everyone does it although most try not to. If you see a person wearing an LV College Jacket, one of the many the late Virgil Abloh created, most people will assume this person likes streetwear, reads HYPEBEAST and loves Ye. I mean let’s not lie, you basically know what their Pinterest For You page looks like, what music they listen to and what character traits they value.

So, what do people like you, and I probably think when we see someone wearing a Swarovski studded Philipp Plein Leather Jacket? Snob, rich, no sense for fashion and DEFINETLY arrogant just to name a few. Well, that’s how we see it. You can’t convince me that more than 10% of the people who wear Plein, actually wear it for the looks and not the status. 

And I think that’s the point. Unlike LV, Dior or Gucci, whose clientele mostly just wants to be recognized as wealthy, people who wear Phillip Plein see it as more than that. A family and connection to other people, as cliché as that sounds and other brands can’t give them the same feeling of belonging. To me, it seems more like a cult than anything else. Imagine Satanists all dripped out in Philipp Plein performing their usual ritual, that’s what it feels like.

Philipp Plein is not a designer, but a rather successful businessman and I fear that this profit-focused mentality, will dictate more and more of the high fashion world.