Kith & Giorgio Armani: A Marketing Case Study

Kith and Ronnie Fieg teamed up with Giorgio Armani for the brand’s first collaboration in its 49-year history. Their shared collection was coupled by an incredible marketing campaign, leveraging short-films, unrivaled product photos and storytelling, and a combined 13+ million social media followers. But how did Kith perfect this campaign with Armani? What strategies contributed to this grand-slam of a campaign, and how does it enable Kith to sell-out a coat priced at $14,000? This marketing case study breaks down Kith’s collaboration with Giorgio Armani, their combined marketing strategies, and how the half-century anticipation created a generational ripple effect within streetwear and fashion circles.

Achieving the Impossible

Since its founding in 1975, Giorgio Aramni has had 100% ownership of his company, and has never collaborated with other companies, brands, or individuals. Well, that is until now. 

Four years prior, Fieg and his team started their journey on designing and manufacturing high-end formalwear. Through several product collections and new designs, Kith began to master its pieces by incorporating new aesthetics with timeless fabrics and details. Kith was ready to take its formalwear to the next level, and three years later, they explored opportunities with the biggest names to make a big statement and continue the brand’s expansion.

In 2023, Ronnie Fieg and the executive team presented its project to the Giorgio Armani team in Milan, Italy and revealed how their partnership would disrupt both the streetwear and high-end fashion arenas. However, an abnormal project deserves an abnormal presentation, and Ronnie gardened traditional roots for his pitch by presenting Mr. Armani with a book outlining the collection (via @ronniefieg Instagram)

“Rather than a presentation or a deck, with the help of my team, I put a book together. I had the honor to take Mr. Armani through this book and share my vision with him on what Kith & Giorgio Armani could look like. Fast forward to today…where I’m proud to announce that this dream has become a reality.”

- Ronnie Fieg via Instagram

Fieg’s ‘thank you’ post to Armani and their team was the first introduction at the upcoming collaboration, which was a two-fold release; a small, three-piece drop as part of Kith’s Monday Program on September 9, and the rest of the collection releasing on Friday, September 13. 

High Ticket Audience Analysis

With no surprise, this collection isn’t for the average consumer. With products ranging from a $225 Jacquard Tie all the way up to a $14,000 Armani Shearling Coat, Kith’s shared project was for an exclusive, niche audience that not only affiliated with one (or both) of the brands, but could also purchase multiple pieces from the collection. Kith and Armani’s ideal audience shared these primary demographics and psychographics:

- Millennial to Gen-X: These generations not only grew up alongside Armani, but they also have the income where they can purchase items from this collection. With Gen-X favoriing Armani, and Millenials favoring Kith, this collection perfectly fuses the two groups together to cherish items they enjoy while being exposed to new pieces they may consider buying.

- Upper Class: Kith and Armani’s collection is expensive, very expensive. Price tags will naturally turn the majority of buyers away, but those still interested are the cream of the crop. They not only have the funds to buy multiple pieces, but are also extremely loyal to these two brands. 

Note: This audience is much different than Kith’s audience for more accessible releases like its latest collaboration with Marvel. While Marvel attracted a much younger audience and focused on the quantity of pieces, Kith’s project with Armani intentionally drew in a much older clientele that has no problem with spending thousands of dollars in discretionary income.

- Live In or Near Urban Settings: With designer brands commonly residing in metropolitan areas around the world, it's likely that Kith and Armani’s audience follows suit by staying within a short radius of the hustle and bustle. In specific, cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Milan, Paris, and London are likely where Kith and Armani’s high-end clientele call home.

- Heavily Interested in Fashion: This audience isn’t exclusive to fashion week goers, but it certainly includes that crowd and then some. Kith and Armani’s audiences both share interests in fashion and apparel, social media, technology, and technology according to Similarweb, so having a strong appeal towards fashion is a must-have for its marketing strategy.

Relentlessly Chasing the 20 Percent

Within any corporation, a business can compile 80% of its customers to create 20% of the company’s revenue. In turn, that means the other 20% of its customers generate 80% of a company’s revenue. 

So why did Kith and Armani target their 20 percent? 

With such a high-ticket collection, the majority of their audiences could not afford even the most affordable item in the collection. But instead of worrying over its large pool of customers, the project focused on maximizing the small, yet financially abundant 20 percent to provide them with the highest quality pieces that couldn’t be made anywhere else. In turn, this collection had no problem selling - with most pieces being left to outlier sizes.

Breaking Down the Kith & Giorgio Armani Marketing Campaign

With its first combined marketing project in 45+ years, Armani and Kith certainly disappoint, putting on show-stopping performances that begged the customer to not only learn more, but to explore the collection with an undivided attention. Along with its work on social media, this project featured a series of four short-films that eloquently displayed the four archetypes of customers this project was trying to reach. 

Archetype Analysis: The Artist

With Martin Scorsese taking center stage, this introductory video not only described this new character in full, but also hinted at the upcoming videos throughout the script. Scorsese effortlessly walks through a movie set while being interrupted periodically for his thoughts and opinions from others, bringing the audience’s perceptions to life of how a typical artist behaves. The archetype collection on Kith’s website is predominantly black and gray tones, coupled with an elegant aesthetic to complement an artist’s taste and outlook on the world.

Archetype Analysis: The Entertainer

Led by LaKeith Stanfield, the entertainer is the perfect blend of mystery and fascination, structured with charismatic color palettes, outfit design, and character. This archetype is crafted to ensure customers feel like ‘they own the place’ in every place, making a great impression at every turn. The collection features muted hues of navy, forest, and black - including the most coveted piece of the entire collection: the Armani Shearling Coat. 

Archetype Analysis: The Traveler

Hard to catch and never home, the traveler is always on the move yet enjoys reminiscing on the ‘good old days’ when stopping by his hometown. Played by Pierce Brosnan, the Traveler archetype consists of brown and off-white shades within suit jackets, sweaters, travel bags, scarfs, and other must-have essentials when discovering the world.

Archetype Analysis: The Entrepreneur

The fourth, and arguably the best, collection, the entrepreneur focuses on the man who built the collection, Ronnie Fieg, and leverages an interview-style format to share Fieg’s purpose and mindset. This one-of-a-kind deliverable is paired with a brown-and-black heavy collection ranging from suit jackets, puffer coats, bags, and more. While it's evident this entire collection is a work of art, Ronnie Fieg expands on this idea when asked, “How would you describe your work?”

“I would describe my work as autobiographical. Everything I do in my life, everything I see, I include that in my work. Having the constant eye on the aesthetic, on the product, how it's shot and where it's shot, they are all intertwined and linked. I never see a separation between how the product is presented to the world vs how the product is built.”  - Ronnie Fieg

Kith & Armani's Successful Marketing Strategies

Ronnie Fieg and Giorgio Armani have created an undisputed favorite marketing campaign for all of 2024, and it was by no accident. With the first collaboration in Armani’s 49 year history, Kith needed to come out with guns ablazing. Not only did customers enjoy this campaign, but even those who hated the high prices found appreciation - creating the ultimate sense of unity. So how did they do it? 

• Instagram (Ronnie Fieg - 1M, Kith - 3.1M, Armani - 5M)
• X (Ronnie Fieg - 240K, Kith - 301K, Armani - 3.4M)

- Encouraged Engagement and Interaction: Customers placing themselves into a box ultimately created an out-of-the-box, successful marketing strategy for Kith and Armani. Normally, being ‘put in the box’ flops and doesn’t sit well with most customers - so how did this campaign avoid this?

In short, people love receiving gifts. But while this campaign didn’t gift buyers with any physical gifts, they WERE gifted with an elevated, luxurious complement of not only their lifestyle, but also how they view themselves (self-reflection). No matter which option you chose, this campaign rewarded you with an elegant collection, tailored to your style and persona. Customers could paint their canvas by selecting various pieces from either one or multiple collections to create the ultimate archetype. 

- Championed Care & Quality: From storylines , quotes, emotions, outfits, to the collection itself, Kith cared more about this marketing campaign than arguably any other campaign the brand has done before - and it paid off. Whether fashion or sportswear, consumer brands continually struggle with displaying a high-level of care within its projects. For Kith, they not only thrive in this realm, but they do this better than anyone else. This project is coming off the heels of a successful Kith Fall 2024 collection; and despite being released just a few weeks prior, Kith’s collaboration with Armani blew it out of the water for marketing appeal, strategy, and potentially in regards to revenue.

The X-Factor Perfecting Kith & Armani's Marketing Campaign

Not only did they reach its audience without fail, but its marketing campaign also strongly persuaded other audiences to justify spending hundreds, if not thousands, on its new collection. Unfortunately, the majority of the new audiences don’t have the same flexibility to spend $1,000 on a new sweater, and oftentimes these audiences are aware of that. However, that doesn’t mean Kith and the new customers are out of luck. Kith realized this and created its own internal funnel that separates its audiences, showcases the proper collections, and helps customers purchase the items they are looking for. The best part? Most of the pieces in the Armani collection have alternatives within Kith’s Fall 2024 collection that has already been released, meaning customers won’t leave empty handed! 

Conclusion

Between a dozen social media deliverables, four short-films, and one perfected marketing campaign, Kith delivered above and beyond for Giorgio Armani’s first shared collection in the brand’s 49-year history. This marketing campaign was nothing short of amazing, and we have never seen anything like this before. For Armani’s flexibility to be coupled with Kith’s unbeaten track record of producing phenomenal marketing campaigns, it created a series of unforgettable moments that fans resonated with more than ever before. Now that’s a project worth celebrating.