The urban landscape and fashion advertising: the case of the DKNY brand

Investment in strategic communication, and especially in advertising, in the fash- ion design industry remains a prerequisite for promoting the brand value. The effectiveness of brand visibility and awareness depends mostly on advertising, both in the context of fash- ion magazines and the new media, and in the context of the outdoors medium, which is si- multaneously one of the most traditional and modern means of mass communication. This paper aims to analyse and discuss both dimensions. Firstly, it aims to provide an un- derstanding of how the urban landscape is built into fashion advertising, and especially to investigate the extent to which the collective imagination contributes to that process. This research therefore seeks to identify the main landscape referents represented and search for the respective association with various cultural and artistic universes, such as literature, pho- tography or cinema. Underlying this critical reflection is an understanding that landscape is not just a simple decor, but conversely an extremely important visual and discursive re- source for the advertising message. Secondly, this paper attempts to challenge the implica- tions of fashion brands outdoor advertising specifically in relation to the urban landscape and to the everyday life experience. Therefore, it is also an important aim of this article to dis- cuss outdoor advertising within the scope of the more recent cultural and aesthetic trends. In order to achieve the stated objectives and engage in a scientific discussion of the topic, the case of the fashion brand Donna Karan New York – DKNY was selected, as it is considered to be paradigmatic of the main operational principles and hypotheses researched.