How Bulldog Gin became the star of Milan Fashion Week

The just-concluded Milan Fashion Week Men's SS23 was like a blaze: a flash of light and heat that ended in just three very intense days. And while the public's attention often always remains on the shows, industry insiders know that the best part of fashion week are the after parties. Not only does half the world always try to get into these after parties even without invitations or list entries, but it is precisely at occasions like these that journalists, models, industry insiders, and especially designers mingle and meet, finding themselves in a less rigid environment than that of fashion shows and showrooms and, to make a long story short, having some fun after many months of hard work. Just during the two main after parties of the fashion week, the one for Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan and the one for JW Anderson, it was hard not to notice how all the cocktails served were made with the same gin, Bulldog Gin. 

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Now, this kind of partnership between fashion brands and the world of drinking is not exactly uncommon; no less significant is the fact that the same brand has been the ongoing protagonist of after-parties and backstage events making Milanese and European fashion circles drink for two consecutive evenings. In a fashion world that is constantly looking for collaborations, intent on absorbing or reflecting the vibes of other brands from the most disparate fields, Bulldog Gin's cross-presence in the various events of Milan Fashion Week did not have the flavor of an occasional partnership as much as the tone of an ongoing twinning. It makes sense when thinking about how Bulldog, as a brand, has always focused on the lifestyle surrounding its products by curating as much the quality of its distillate as the culture and narrative surrounding it-a dual strategy that highlights how, no matter what it produces, a contemporary brand must build its own aura and philosophy. This approach is also evident on the brand's social media, much more focused on the individuals who represent the brand: producers and DJs like Blinkie or Ellie Prohan, but also designers like Wanda Lephoto and entrepreneurs like Chris Jammer. Here a further leap was taken: the brand's ambitious witchcraft was to make Bulldog Gin the gin of fashion. 

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

JW Anderson after party

The narrative strategy, which expands the brand's universe by taking it outside the boundaries of its own sphere, has something revolutionary about it. Until now, collaboration between the drinking world and fashion had resulted in two possible outcomes: either the bottles' logos were printed on a dress or a designer specially decorated a limited edition of the bottles. Except in some cases, such collaborations are a kind of fanservice, their target audience is the community that both brands involved already possess, and the narrative of the two brands does not expand. A third way of creating a partnership is one that was seen during this fashion week with Bulldog Gin, a technique that is based on the association between the two brands and that expands the community of both. Indeed, everything changes when, to the binary process of collaboration, the third element of clubbing is added. In the club space, the fashion brand's aesthetic is expressed in the set-up, in the selection of guests, in the music; while that of the second brand, in this case Bulldog, finds itself in dialogue with fashion on familiar ground, the dancefloor, where the collaboration is carried out actively and in real time because the collaboration is the party itself. 

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

Marcelo Burlon - County of Milan after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

Like a collaboration but better than a collaboration: if anyone in attendance was asked what the most featured drink was during fashion week nights, they could only answer by pointing to the black Bulldog bottle. The narrative of the collaboration was created by the guests themselves, simply enjoying the evening. In a world dominated by marketing, this kind of strategy feels organic and, more importantly, real - a reality that finds its reflection in the approach and the kind of care the brand has toward its product. In the luxury world of the future, in which all brands become bearers of their own cultural codes, there are no watertight compartments: fashion can dialogue with art, as well as with music, cinema, and even gastronomy and mixology. Indeed, it is precisely the lifestyle category, by its nature close to the public, that the fashion world is beginning to bet on: those who care what they wear will pay tenfold attention to what they drink. 

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

JW Anderson after party

Clearly, for such an association to take place, even lifestyle brands that collaborate with fashion must build a heritage and culture of design and brand experience that creates a perceived and perceivable value beyond the necessary product quality. In this sense, if Bulldog Gin's operation can be considered successful, it is precisely because the brand has cultivated its image alongside its product for many years, creating a solid reputation in both the mixology and lifestyle fields. Along with gin, Bulldog also produces aspirations: its bottle is recognized by those who already know it and intrigues those who do not. All the more so because its botanical notes that mix lotus and juniper, the aroma of cassia to that of lavender, coriander and angelica, is immediately memorable, complex but smooth - one cannot mistake it for another gin. A type of approach that is visible right from the final product that includes both the gin in the bottle and the bottle itself - a symbolic heritage that uses the colors, shapes and the brand's own narrative to create an entire imagery. The one chosen by Bulldog Gin is the imagery of boldness and night - the perfect imagery for fashion weeks in Milan and around the world.