The Internet Age has brought faster delivery and wider product selection to consumers, but it has done more than that, it has also changed their taste. Rebecca Minkoff CEO Uri Minkoff explained the influence of technology on the male consumer at Cowen and Company’s Men-at-Work Summit in New York City.
Minkoff explained that young men used to be tied to a one-size-fits-all mentality. “If you were an 18-34-year-old male, then you must be into red cars, and women of a certain type and video games.” He added, “We’re starting to break down the walls of not only discovering who we are, but sharing who we are, and I think we’re going to have a rise in these brands that, are not fringy, but that hit someone at a certain point in their heart.”
The rise of Internet culture has led to the growing popularity of male bloggers, and Minkoff is looking for a customer for his eponymous line of men’s footwear and accessories who is starting his journey of fashion exploration, inspired by magazines and style icons. He explained that his target customer is in his late 20s to mid-30s. “He’s in that first, second job, he doesn’t want to look like how his father dressed, he doesn’t want the obvious,” he said.
Minkoff gave the example of his cousin who works in finance and who didn’t want to look ostentatious, but also did not want to look like everyone else. The Uri Minkoff brand is a good building block for this customer, as the line has its roots in classic styles with hints of flair. Most notably, all of Minkoff’s bags include mismatched colored zippers to add visual interest.
“I am looking for the subtle details that will make him feel it’s a little bit different, but you haven’t totally lost me,” he explained.
The technological age has also led to the need to carry more things: on top of a wallet and keys, people now carry a phone, a phone charger, a USB cord, an iPad. Minkoff demonstrated how these devices might begin to integrate into everyday wearables with a studded bracelet from the Rebecca Minkoff brand that converts into a USB cable. Minkoff believes that having more necessities will lead to a trend of people carrying things within things within things.
“What does that look like in a new stylistic way?” he questioned. “And how does it represent and convey your identity?”