The New York Times > Fashion & Style > Building a Brand by Not Being a Brand

Consumers may like Mr. Charney's management style, but industry insiders are more impressed by his marketing skills, which they say are in tune with a cultural shift. "There is a highbrow stand against commercial culture right now," said Alex Wipperfürth, a partner in Plan B, a marketing firm in San Francisco. "People are sick of being walking advertisements for clothing. By stripping brands of logos and of pretense, by being more subtle in your cues, you are saying that you are more about quality than image."

The peril, he warned, is that a company may put off consumers by too insistently tooting its own horn. "When you overexplain, it kills the magic," Mr. Wipperfürth said.

But Mr. Charney is still avidly promoting his social responsibility, and opening stores at a rapid clip: one in Vancouver last week, two in Miami not long ago, one in downtown Brooklyn this week, one in Chicago on Friday. And he is spawning competitors: No Sweat Apparel, a Massachusetts company, is describing itself as an ethical maker of shirts, sneakers and jeans in unionized factories abroad. But Mr. Charney is not looking over his shoulder. "If we can be the brand of the next generation of adults," he said, "then I know I have done my job well."

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