Shop Report, MONKI AND DESIGUAL

SHOP REPORT- mONKI and dESIGUAL

Desigual is a casual clothing brand based in Barcelona, Spain, it means "different" in Spanish, their clothes feature intense patch work designs and  prints, modern graffiti art and lots of vibrant colour. Their stores are worldwide, they have employed 3,000 people of 72 nationalities.                                                                                                                          

The Swedish Monki brand began with the basic idea that monkeys needed a world to inhabit. So each of the Monki stores is a different landscape. In November 2011 Monki had opened its first store in London with an interior concept of twelve adorable, demonic and unattractive monkeys which were created by Swedish graphic design company Var. Monki's clothes are simple have limited colour and a few print products. The shape, drape and fabric used for the clothes is contemporary.

The Desigual store in central London is located on Oxford street near stores like Zara, similarly Monki is nearby. Monki clothes range from size extra small to large, whereas Desigual sizes are from extra small to extra large. The prices for clothes from Desigual are almost double that of Monki's, for example a casual skirt in Monki would cost around 25 pounds and in Desigual 64 pounds.

Monki's clothes are always quite loose fitted, looking through their website I found that all their blouses were loosely fitted, also that a see-through, light weight fabric is used throughout. In contrast Desigual's shirts, tops and dresses have exactly the same type of fitting for each garment where its fitted around the waist then slightly loose around the hips. Desigual seems to mostly use heavy weight opaque fabrics. Monki always has a variety of lengths for skirts and tops, on the other hand Desigual usually sticks to a certain length for tops and most skirts. Monki's uses very modern lengths for instance miniskirts, knee length and ankle length skirts. Desigual's skirts are all knee length.

The theme for the new London Monki store is the "Sea of scallops." The stores characteristics achieve this underwater feel, for example the lights are silvery streamers, they are the jellyfish, the display tables are water lilies, the floor is green like the sea bed whereas the mirrored ceilings are the water. The clothes labels are in the shape of a dripping chemical that forced the Monki's into being. Even the receipts have illustration of the monkeys and their personalities. Desigual has simple label tags white text on a black background. The in store music of Monki contrasts with the clothes, for instance recently there was classical piano playing  in contrast to a more young, lively audience.

The Desigual store has a homely style, where you find sections of the store which highlight their handmade process, for instance there are tiny drawers full of needles, thimbles, buttons and balls of yarn. They aim to create a warm friendly atmosphere with poufs, rugs and blue tiles as well as numerous mirrors. Whereas inside the Monki store you feel like you're in new exciting place. Inside the Desigual store it is quite dark compared to the Monki store which is very bright inside.

To promote the Monki brand they have their own magazine which is also available to read online and Monki TV which is a weekly online show that features girls whose personality and style inspire the Monki brand. Furthermore in Hong Kong local street artists were plastering the town with Monki cartoons to support their new Monki store. In contrast Desigual had began a campaign in Portugal and Spain which was "come in undressed and go out dressed" where at their Madrid store 200 people lined up outside the store ready to strip down to their underwear and this was for the winter sale and the first 100 people who showed up in their underwear got a free Desigual outfit. Desigual also regularly holds "Kissing party's." They have these events to gain media attention and  to promote their clothing and stores. These events begin global discussion's where people want Desigual stores and events to come their country.  The Desigual kiss party is a free, fun social event and is open to all people who enjoy kissing

In addition Desigual's dream collection for fall/winter 2011-2012 featured 30 garments designed by Christian Lacroix. The collection was described as haute couture mixed with the urban and casual, the garments revealed an explosion of prints.

H&M is a Swedish clothing brand who are continuously producing a diverse range of fashion for men, children and women.  In 2008 H&M brought 60 percent of a Swedish fashion company, FaBric Scandinavien AB, In 2010 H&M acquired the rest of the shares. This company includes the brands Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday. Thus Monki is associated with Cheap Monday who are known for their quirky designs and Weekday who produce urban fashion at affordable prices.

Desigual sell's men's, women's and children's clothing and accessories whereas Monki only sells women's clothing and accessories. Desigual seems to attract more Spanish people although Monki appeals to much more contemporary audience. Monki sees their clothes as appealing more to a woman's attitude to life rather than a specific age group, the brand is all about style and individuality. By using images, colours and phrases Monki's website sets the feel for their new collection "Imagine me," Desigual's website is much more colourful and commercial, where the collection's inspiration and name is not emphasised, the front web page displays images of products and their prices. Monki has only four visual designers who work across 55 stores on the other hand Desigual has 23 designers who prepare a collection of 1,000 or more items for hundreds of their stores.

Desigual believe in positivity, tolerance, commitment and fun. Monki values lie in humanism and the environment. Monki are now beginning to use materials and processes that are more environmentally friendly. Monki does not sell furs and merino wool if there is a case of animal cruelty.