25/03/25 – BY APRIL BUTTEN
Why Every Brand Needs Its Own Vogue September Issue Moment
And the power of staying true to your roots.
Some brands exist. Others define the moment.
In fashion, there’s no bigger statement than Vogue’s September issue. It’s not just a magazine, it’s an institution. A cultural reset. A declaration of what’s next.
The north star of reinvention, momentum, and power moves.
For decades, this issue has signaled a shift—designers reintroduce their vision, brands make a splash, and the industry takes note. To land on that cover is a signal that you own the season before it even begins.
But here’s the thing—brands don’t need Vogue to tell them when to reinvent. The strongest ones create their own September Issue moment. They dictate the conversation instead of waiting to be featured in it. They make a statement so undeniable that the industry pivots around them.
The Power of a Brand’s September Issue Moment
A true September Issue moment isn’t about seasonal marketing cycles. It’s about engineered inevitability. The feeling that a brand is not just participating in its industry but actively reshaping it. It’s the creative stake in the ground where a brand stops playing by the rules and starts making them. Dictating what’s to come.
The brands that understand this don’t just drop new collections or launch campaigns, they shift perception.
How to Create a Brand Moment That Sticks
Some brands release things. Others announce their arrival. The ones that get it don’t just ‘launch,’ they declare. They build anticipation before the reveal, making people feel like they need to be part of the moment before it even happens. Think of how Jacquemus hijacks landscapes, or how Martine Rose turns the everyday into a spectacle. These aren’t just marketing stunts. They’re acts of cultural participation.
A true September Issue moment means reintroducing the brand in a way that makes past iterations feel obsolete. Forcing a reassessment of everything people thought they knew about you. Phoebe Philo didn’t just return to fashion, she returned to reclaim a movement. When Bottega Veneta erased itself from social media, it didn’t disappear—it created mystique. That’s the power of a well-orchestrated brand moment.
Three Shifts That Will Redefine Brand Power Moves
- Brands Will Build Their Own Media Ecosystems
Waiting for press coverage is dead. The smartest brands are designing their own publishing networks, producing campaigns that feel like editorial content but with complete narrative control. Luxury brands are already doing this, but the real shift will happen when mid-size brands start playing at this level—turning their websites, social, and events into interconnected storytelling hubs that rival traditional media. The brands that don’t just sell but report, document, and archive their own world-building will lead the next era. Keep an eye on how Oren John is rebuilding the Brandfathers. He’s just put out a job post looking for a designer (pick me moment right here @orenmeetsworld), so we just know he’s going to take his followers along for the ride. - The Best Brands Will Manufacture Cultural Whitespace
The world is oversaturated with content, but true power lies in controlled scarcity. Not just limited product drops, but limited access to ideas. Look at how Khaite doesn’t flood social media with endless imagery—their presence feels considered, almost withheld. The next generation of dominant brands will lean into this—creating a sense that their world is unfolding on its own terms, forcing audiences to lean in rather than scroll past. - Brand Revivals Will Overtake Brand Launches
The brands that will make the biggest impact in the next decade won’t necessarily be new. They’ll be forgotten names, resurfacing with new relevance. This won’t be about nostalgia. It will be about unfinished conversations. The biggest power move a brand can make is to remind people of what they’re missing, and then fill that void perfectly. We’re seeing this already in fashion, but it’s going to explode across other industries—beauty, home, and even tech. The brand that was five years too early in 2012? It’s about to be perfectly timed in 2025.
Your Brand’s September Issue Moment
Ask yourself this—when was the last time your brand made a moment impossible to ignore? When did it last reintroduce itself with the kind of force that made everything before it feel like a prelude to now? If you can’t pinpoint it, it’s time to build one.
This isn’t about a product launch. It’s about a shift. A new era. The kind of brand statement that demands a response. Because in the end, the brands that own their industry don’t wait to be featured. They create the moment so powerfully that the world has no choice but to follow.