Lessons in Fashion Marketing

Warning: Contains spoilers!

This isn’t a review, but please be patient; it eventually gets to the point.

As an excellent British comedy and the epitome of British cool, I am surprised that it isn’t listed in the Top 100 best movies of all time. But Kinky Boots has become an instant favorite for me. What I find so captivating about it is that it has deep messages and meaningful lessons that are useful in life as well as in business (which is the whole point here).

Of course, the artistic value of the film makes it worthy of such admiration by itself. Chiwetel Ejiofor’s dazzling performance alone merits praise as perhaps the most versatile actor. It is based on a real-life story, so it’s truly unique and original. The soundtrack and all the panache will immerse you in the narrative, et voila! You have yourself a masterpiece.

The movie is about Charlie from Northampton (Joel Edgerton), who inherits his family’s shoe-making business. While he is trying to save it, he gets help from the factory workers and, oddly, from a drag queen called Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The story, however, goes even deeper; there is transformation, trust, leadership, marketing, business, innovation, learning, and challenging the status quo. It’s highly educational for businesses, and I find it particularly relevant for hard times like 2020.

Marketing Lesson: Rebranding / Embracing the Change

Upon inheriting the factory, Charlie finds himself facing financial difficulties. As he is unwillingly making people redundant, he keeps asking himself, “What can I do?” One of the employees, Lauren (Sarah Jane Potts), confronts him just as she is about to be made redundant by saying, “Change the product.”

Change doesn’t always happen at will. We saw that pre-COVID-19, and we are going to see the business environment changing forcefully during and in the post-pandemic period. In tough times like these, we need to be open to new ideas and reform new strategies. Revitalizing or rebranding is better than letting it fail. Instead of throwing in the towel, we can always find ways to survive.

Marketing Lesson: Finding your Niche / An easier way to Compete

The talk with Lauren gives Charlie the idea to make shoes for a niche, and he seeks the help of a drag queen whom he knows through a strange turn of events.

Distinguishing your brand from the competition is not an easy task. But recrafting value propositions according to your target audience will fortify your position and clarify your strategies in reaching your goals as a business.

Business Lesson: Make people your focus / Lead with compassion

Charlie Price is portrayed as a pure soul who sets out with a principle: helping people. He cares about people and wants to save the company so that they can keep their jobs, even though he doesn’t know how to do it. When the employees find out about that, they work for him relentlessly toward the common goal: making the goods ready for Milan Fashion Week. When you have good intentions and put people first, they will follow you wholeheartedly.

Today, many big firms choose to lay off people to cut down on costs. While small and medium enterprises may not have a choice due to the pandemic, larger companies can find ideal ways to minimize costs without furloughs or layoffs. With carefully designed financial plans and human resources management, firms can divert the workforce into different areas and reduce fixed costs as long as they intend to keep the people. A small shift in management can make a huge impact for people.

Kinky Boots has so much more to tell its audience. If you haven’t seen it before, try to watch it for loads of fun and inspiration.

If you are looking for help with marketing in the fashion industry and ways to transform your business, let's have a chat.

(No obligation/fees for a consultation).