Writing For Fashion Brands

Create Worlds, Not Ads. Most brands market. The best brands world-build. Late Checkout—a Spanish streetwear label that feels like it walked straight out of a Wes Anderson film—is a masterclass in this. Their collections aren’t just clothes; they’re stories, characters, and conceptual spaces. A world you want to step into. Take their campaign, The Painter. It wasn’t just about selling a collection. It was about a fictional hotel guest who checked in for a weekend and never left, wandering the halls in a haze of inspiration. It was cinematic. It was immersive. It was fashion as world-building. And now, Late Checkout is pushing this concept even further—collaborating with The Ritz-Carlton. This is an unexpected, subversive partnership. Luxury hotels aren’t known for creativity—they’re rigid, rule-bound, and often feel more corporate than cultural. But this collab builds on Late Checkout’s fictional world and merges it with a real-world institution. It’s a brilliant example of how brands can expand their narratives beyond just marketing. Why this works: 1️⃣ It turns consumers into participants, not just buyers. A great brand isn’t something you wear—it’s something you step into, explore, and experience. 2️⃣ It makes fashion (or any product) feel like culture. By weaving in art, humor, and storytelling, Late Checkout elevates streetwear into something that lives beyond trends. 3️⃣ It disrupts stale industries. The The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. isn’t known for creative risk-taking, but this collab proves that even the most traditional brands can stay relevant by leaning into imaginative world-building. Luxury doesn’t have to be stiff. Branding doesn’t have to be boring. And marketing should never feel like marketing. More brands should follow this lead. Create worlds, not ads. What’s a brand you think is doing this well? Drop your favorites below. ⬇️ #CreateWorldsNotAds #LateCheckout #BrandBuilding #Storytelling #Marketing #LuxuryFashion

Ever wonder why some brands feel cold while others feel unmistakably human? A few days ago, a founder asked me — “Ritika, why should I share real stories in my brand content? Isn’t professionalism enough?” I smiled and said,   People don’t buy into logos. They buy STORIES!! Because when you talk about your struggles, the late nights, the lessons that shaped your values, you stop being a brand.   You become "Relatable." Trust me, in the last 12+ years of my career, I have seen this: When a founder shares how they almost gave up before their first big client, or how a small idea during lockdown became a thriving business. It connects. Not because it’s perfect, but because it’s human. Stories aren’t fluff. They’re your brand’s emotional bridge. They make people feel — I know this person. I trust them. That’s why the founders who lead with stories build movements, while others just build pages. So the real question isn’t “Should I tell stories?” It’s:-  Which story are you still hiding that could change how people see your brand?

WHY RELATABLE > REMARKABLE AND HOW TO CREATE THOSE CHARACTERS In the early 2000s, Channel V had VJs who looked like they just walked off a Milan runway during Fashion Week. MTV VJs looked like they’d stolen your last smoke and given you life advice in the same breath. Guess which ones stuck around longer in people’s hearts? Relatable beats unreachable. Every. Single. Time. Sure, it’s fun to watch superhumans jump across buildings or solve a murder mystery in Versova with a vada pav. But what really hits home is the guy who forgot his anniversary and is now frantically YouTubing “How to make a sorry card using pasta.” Judd Apatow, Hrishikesh Mukherji, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao have built their careers on this. WHY RELATABLE CHARACTERS WORK 1. THEY FEEL LIKE US When someone on screen or in a story mirrors your awkwardness, your quirks, your chaos... You lean in. You care. 2. THEY STICK LONGER You remember Shah Rukh’s Rahul from KKHH not because he was a basketball champ... but because he was confused, heartbroken, funny, real. 3. THEY INFLUENCE BEHAVIOUR You don’t change your habits after reading War & Peace. You might after watching a 2-min reel of someone stammering through a breakup and finding strength in an auto ride. HOW TO CREATE RELATABLE CHARACTERS [3 Easy AF Tips] 1. BORROW FROM LIFE, NOT PINTEREST That colleague who keeps fake laughing on Zoom calls? The neighbour aunty who turns off the WiFi to improve digestion? Steal. Shamelessly. Reality is the best raw material. 2. GIVE THEM A FLAW THEY AIN'T PROUD OF Perfect people are boring. Someone who talks tough but cries during Mufasa’s death scene? Instantly 100x more human. 3. LET THEM WANT SOMETHING SMALL BUT DEEPLY PERSONAL Forget saving the planet. Let them want to sing without being laughed at. Relatable characters = emotionally sticky content. They don’t have to be ordinary. They just have to be recognizably human. Even if they’re robots, a fish or an alien that wants to phone home. Because relatability isn’t about being basic. It’s about being believable. Aspirational characters inspire. Relatable characters stay over for chai. #ContentMarketing #Storytelling #BrandedContent Ps: My book 'Branded Content Boss'. All proceeds to a Centre for Autism. https://amzn.in/d/9TcxZtz

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜 ≠ 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 (𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬) A fashion accessories client was pumping out 12 blogs a month. Topics like: → “Top 10 bracelet trends” → “How to style jewelry like a celeb” → “History of silver anklets” Great for traffic. Terrible for sales. Here’s how we fixed it: ✅ Paused all content for a month ✅ Audited their top blog traffic → zero conversions ✅ Replaced fluff with intent-backed content: → “Best silver bracelets under ₹1000 – with offers” → “Buy party-wear earrings online with 1-day shipping” 📈 Results: → Blog-to-product clicks ↑ 340% → Conversion rate from blog pages ↑ 52% → Ranking fewer keywords, but making more money You don’t need content volume, you need 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩. Rank what your buyer Googles before clicking “Add to Cart.” #ContentThatSells #BlogSEO #MagentoContent #RankingTip

Nostalgia, relatability, and spot-on cultural references are winning in marketing right now. I’ve been keeping a close eye on how fashion and beauty brands are evolving beyond “aesthetic” into something deeper: emotionally resonant storytelling. Here are a few recent campaigns that absolutely nailed it, and why they worked: 💛 Reformation x Devon Lee Carlson → Reformation partnered with everyone's favorite it-girl, Devon Lee Carlson, to design a capsule inspired by early 2000s rom-coms. Think: the iconic yellow dress from How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, reimagined sustainably. The campaign hit a sweet spot of nostalgia, pop culture, and femininity, while reinforcing Reformation’s cool-girl environmental ethos. I love it (and the launch has already been massive). Devon is THE person to partner up with if a brand wants to create that nostalgic aspirational look, and Reformation gets it. 👡 Gigi Hadid x Havaianas → Flip-flops, but make them fashion. Gigi Hadid’s recent collab with Havaianas paired laid-back Brazilian vibes with high-fashion edge. The dreamy visuals and creative direction gave the classic sandal brand a serious aesthetic glow-up, proving you don’t have to rebrand to refresh your cultural relevance - you can just be strategic with your partnerships. These campaigns work so well because they’re tapping into something deeper: Gen Z's love for nostalgia, fun & elevated visuals, and storytelling. It's what Gen Z responds to, so that's what lasts. Seen any other great lifestyle or fashion campaigns lately? Would love to hear what’s been catching your eye 👇 #marketingstrategy #genzmarketing #brandstrategy #fashionmarketing #fashion #socialmediacampaigns

Loewe keeps winning on TikTok because they just get “the lore”. The Spanish luxury fashion house has quietly mastered something extremely valuable: authentic cultural integration through strategic partnerships with niche content creators who've built recognizable content formats. The two most recent examples showcase their approach: First there’s @anthonybackup9 who filmed himself literally just standing in front of passing train a bag in a hand and being all melancholic, listening to one of Lorde’s top hits “Buzzcut Season”. This video blew up, as it perfectly captures the nostalgia of this song as Lorde resurfaces in pop culture through her Charli XCX collaboration and upcoming album release. Loewe just asked him to recreate the video, handing him a branded bag and THE tomato bag (that’s a whole story in itself), letting the video speak for itself — no big changes, creative direction. The second example is their collaboration with @antthrowny, who started hammer throwing his boombox while listening to trending pop songs (Sabrina Carpenter’s pLeAsE pLeAsE pLeAsE ᵈᵒⁿᵗ ᵖʳᵒᵛᵉ ⁱᵐ ʳⁱᵍʰᵗ went VIRAL). And again — Loewe didn’t reinvent his content or impose their messaging: they simply integrated their product into his existing, proven format while he wore/threw their pieces naturally. This might be an interesting content formula and cast brands and marketeers could learn from: identify pop culture angles already gaining viral momentum, partner with creators who have cultural relevance (not a follower count!!) and execute product placement that feels native to the platform, creator and format. If you really want to create “authentic” branded content to better engage with potential consumers, this is the way to go. (Plus your marketing dollars might go much further as the cost per collab will likely be much lower than one big celebrity endorsement. (As always, you can find the videos in the comments)

Lots of noise in SEO nowadays AI Agents, Digital PR, AI Overviews, etc But if you continue to focus on content & links, you will lap all the SERP competitors that are easily distracted by shiny objects. I worked with 78 brands last year. Here's what worked for them: Content: - Optimize your collection pages (don't just leave them bare) - Build 4-8 high-quality blog posts monthly - Focus on topic clusters around each product/collection - Write unique product descriptions (stop using manufacturer copies) Links: - 5-15 quality backlinks per month - Focus on relevant niche websites - Prioritize in-content links over sidebars/footers - Build links to collections, not products Results from one brand following this approach: (screenshot for proof) → $3K to $215K monthly revenue in 2 months → 747% organic revenue growth → 195 money keywords on page one Let others chase trends. Stick to fundamentals.

The number one reason people say they connect with me is because my content "feels authentic." Not to toot my own horn (toot toot), but that's a really hard thing to do. Why? Because being authentic means being honest. And being honest feels vulnerable. And being vulnerable feels scary. But that's only because there's an assumption that being vulnerable means exposing yourself and your failures or weaknesses in a way that will make you look bad. But, when done right, it doesn't make you look bad—it makes you relatable. And being relatable builds trust. And trust is one of the hardest things to gain when you're selling your services or your stuff by capturing attention. My content feels more authentic because I share value through my lived experiences—not just the stuff I know. You could get the same stuff that I know from literally hundreds (or thousands?) of other content strategists or storytelling experts on this platform alone. If you want to come across as authentic (and therefore trustworthy), a valuable skill you might want to learn is how to communicate through storytelling. But not just any stories—stories that are honest, vulnerable, and relatable. In the 10+ years I've been helping small businesses build audiences, I've learned that sharing content focused only on what you know or what you offer won't help you build trust. And it certainly won't help you stand out in a sea of sameness and competition. Sharing stories—honest, well-crafted stories—will. It's hard. But, as I tell my kids, you can do hard things.

Why Most Ecommerce Blogs Don’t Drive Sales Here’s the pattern I see again and again: An ecommerce store launches a blog. They start publishing posts like: “Top 5 Fashion Trends in 2025” or “10 Celebrity Looks to Copy This Year.” The result? Sure, they get traffic. Maybe even social shares. But sales? Almost zero. Why? Because those topics attract browsers, not buyers. People reading about “fashion trends” are usually in inspiration mode, not shopping mode. Now let’s flip the script. Imagine instead of chasing broad, top-of-funnel ideas, your blog targeted buying intent: “Best slim fit dress shirts for office wear” “Black stretch pants for men: Top picks for comfort and fit” “How to choose the right size in men’s designer shirts” See the difference? These aren’t just topics. They’re buying signals. When someone lands on that kind of post, they’re already close to pulling out their credit card. And by solving their specific needs in your content, you naturally guide them toward your products. That’s how an ecommerce blog stops being a content graveyard and starts becoming a sales driver. Traffic is nice. Revenue is better. And the right content strategy bridges the gap between the two.