Little madness around Lidl Christmas sweaters - Madame Figaro Icon / Brand / F Plume Close the panel Open the panel Icon / Brand / F Plume

After the storming of yellow, blue and red sneakers (in the colors of Lidl), the German brand is doing it again with kitsch clothing which, barely put on sale, is already out of stock. And yes, the recipe works so well, why change it? The honor this time is to Christmas sweaters. This garment, knitted in acrylic wool, with snowflake, fir tree, candy cane, Santa Claus and discount distributor logo motifs, sold for €8.99, experienced a lightning descent when it was marketed in Belgium at the end of November. Almost immediately, it was found on sale on second-hand platforms, up to ten times its price.

A banal logo that has become trendy

Why such a craze? And such trading afterwards? In this field, Lidl is not at its first attempt. The discount store chain has grasped the cogs well to spark hysterical shopping urges on its clothes. By surfing, above all, on the fashion for the diversion of popular symbols: its banal logo has become trendy. Obviously, the distributor is not responsible for this “hipsterization”.

The fundamental trend was driven a few years ago by Demna Gvasalia and her label Vetements. The Georgian designer, who left his label in September 2019, used to appropriate symbols of popular culture such as DHL and McDonald's to divert them into his collections. But this type of transformation is not new. In 1989, Martin Margiela was already playing on the defector of social codes by parading a t-shirt cut from a Franprix bag. Lidl thus tested its hype rating on the niche with socks, then sneakers. And the case took.

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To ensure success, the brand has also modeled itself on the methods of selling streetwear. It creates buzz on the networks, makes its products viral and, like the Supreme clothing brand, then launches "drops", that is to say surprise collections published in extremely limited quantities, to create envy and frustration. There are obviously the first (clever) to snatch the object of all desires, then those who arrive too late. It does not take more for speculation to be made. But can this one really work with Christmas sweaters? The grail of the moment promises to reappear on French shelves from December 16. And once the holidays are over, it's hard to believe that the excitement continues.