Diffusion Brands - Topic of the day 3/15/25
More than likely you have opinions on diffusion lines (CDG PLAY, Fear of God ESSENTIALS, Rick Owens DRKSHDW, Brooks Brothers 346, etc.) so lets hear them. What are the benefits of diffusion lines, or, if none, are they just a way to pad a designer's profits? Are diffusion lines an effective substitute for the mainline brand? What are your favorite/least favorite diffusion brands?
41 Replies
People see it as a way to pad the brands pockets, and im sure there is truth to that, but id also bet that sometimes theyre there to make sure the brand stays in business to do actual designing
:blobfeelsevil:
🗣️ DRKSHDW my goat i love the rick with the raw denim
the current MM6 has been very good, there are a lot of pieces that are better than mainline tbh, not a huge fan of the big numbers print bit but the stuff without that is quite good.
Diffusion lines can be very cool and while there are still certainly some that are the 1980s ysl-style diffusion (essentially white label fast fashion garbage with a YSL Label slapped on) there is plenty that is cool.
Comme is a great example for me. Of the Rei designed lines they've got two lines I'd call their mainlines (someone deeper into the brand might disagree and I defer to them).
* Comme Des Garcons
* Comme Des Garcons Homme Plus
Both of these lines have garments that can have an unconventional cut and generally very nice fabrics that start at a very high cost. Think a shirt with a sleeve within a sleeve made out of high skus of Thomas Mason fabrics. While it's fun to explore and there is certainly a consumer of these lines, most of us are going to be a passive audience. It's a brand that will be very difficult to put together a similar look or feel from a thrift store.
Bless Rei because you can generally find a version of those unconventional garments at the sub labels a year later in a slightly more wearable cut for a fraction of the cost at the labels below. Shirt in particular is special as it's almost a fascimile of the designs and may approach a similar silhouette completely differently in construction.
* Comme Des Garcons Comme Des Garcons
* Comme Des Garcons Black
* Comme Des Garcons Shirt
* Comme Des Garcons Homme Deux
Some of the other sublabels are entirely commercial enterprises compared to the labels above (though they're all trying to sell us a shirt). It's cool because even though they're "diffusion", they're still generally Nice Things To Own -- even if they're not for me. Think entirely conventional shirting, nylon coaches jackets with a logo, etc.
* CDG CDG CDG
* CDG Play
Diffusion of mall brands is a different animal. That is more of the 1980s style throwing slop out there -- Brooks Bros, JCrew Factory, Polo Outlet, Banana Republic Outlet, etc leave a bad taste in my mouth.
The fabrics are garbage, QA is miserable, and the way they sell is borderline predatory. Plus, they always pop up in some US outlet mall deep in the suburbs that gets a tax break to exist for 30 years then gets abandoned and leaving a blighted outdoor mall to rot at the expense of the local population
All this to say nothing of the various Issey diffusion lines ^^
IM product shirts are insanely good value and u can definitely get a sense of the issey design ethos
CDG Play is what I've only got from CDG lol
🤔 how do I find the Issey diffusions?
Issey diffusion lines are a bit different from CDG but follow a similar structure with there being two main lines
- Issey Miyake
- IM mens
Then the "diffusion"
- Bao Bao
- Pleats Please
- homme plisse
- 132 5.
There's a few others but tbh I don't remember, Although I dont think issey has any lines that could be compared to CDG play in a way that its far more conventional clothes just with the logos. Maybe the argument could be made for Homme plisse but still i think there's a bit more going on there. Also generally issey pricing is a bit more consistent(all expensive) the diffusion lines feel more like a different creative direction from the main lines than a variation of them but toned down a bit.
There's been increasing divergence in the cuts and styling for better or worse but S'YTE is a decent diffusion for Yohji since the quality is usually acceptable for the price and offers a more plentiful secondhand market.
They also tend to be fairly consistent since they tend to use a handful of fabrics, ex: their 100% wool gabardine and the 50/50 wool-nylon blend, as well as their signature rayon. I'd steer away from the knits, since most use their 85/15 acrylic/wool blend.
Is Fear of God Essentials as trash as I hear it out to be?
yes
diffusion lines are cool when theyre cool (cdg shirt, drkshdw, most of syte) and extremely boring and annoying when they are low effort obvi cash-ins
i see
boring and bad are different but complete agreed carrion
you didn't say bad but there is diffusion that is worth callin out as bad too
Good for having things that don't match the mainline asthetic. Will say theres a big difference between lines like FOG Essentials and CDG Play which are super low effort "just stick a shitty logo on it and print money", and lines like CDG Shirt, CDG Homme Deux, MM6, S'yte, Pleats Please
MM6 also lets margiela do logo mania while not damaging the mainline 4 stiches type shit, which i like
if only make lower cost products that still have some quality that appeal to the masses worked, but yeah, i can see how it's mostly cheap cash ins
ask yourself, "are these 'cash-ins' in themselves bad"?
this for sure, they destroyed knits are so good
not really
admittedly i've got a diffusion versace collection sweatshirt on lmao
it seems genuine or at least according to its certilogo tag
it does it's job at least :linkShrug:
disagree
ontologically yes they are evil
(ilu al)
To its credit, CDG Play is very cute and has carved out its own aesthetic and place. It's slop and a cash grab but it's fun slop, esp in context to many others
polo university gets branded with the "shitty poor mans PRL" label but in my experience it's been great; sizing can be goofy especially for suiting but that hasn't been a problem for me lol
bless you my beloved ❤️
Speaking of RL diffusion let's talk about the most RL diffusion of all time
Except LRL fuck that
Denim & Supply :blobfeelsevil:
And perhaps RRL
no not that RRL
Ralph Ralph Lauren
tell me what ya know about the brands sam. what's your perception of em
LRL is cheap and not really that good quality
PRL is decent (obviously)
D&S is also decent, it's like diet RRL
what differentiates the lines, why do you think they broke them out into separate lines?
It's most likely for different demographics and price points, like D&S was designed for a more youthful audience, 15-30
are they hitting different styles or are they all hitting the same "styles"?
(giving you some of the questions i ask myself when i try to evaluate if what i'm looking at is a piece of garbage they are hawkin or something capital G Good)
They're hitting decent styles. PRL is known for its preppy and ivy look while D&S is, as I've said, diet RRL, hitting some of those styles without being RRL price/quality.
RRL, of course, hits more of those western styles.
I'd actually skimmed through Ralph Lauren Corporation's last annual report and RRL is in its luxury group while PRL has its own group
I'd say that putting PRL in the mid range category is fair enough, it's not at RRL/Purple Label pricing, at least much of the time
is purple label a diffusion line 🤔
No
It's more of a luxury sublabel
S’yte is so good imo. Yes you take a hit in quality and construction vs mainline, but it is the perfect entry point and work as a better companion line than Ground Y.
I love it! Plus they tend to use a thinner gabardine that's great for summer
One of the few diffusion brands to really make cuts in the right areas in the right ways while still staying true to the vision
MM6 is cool, RAF by Raf Simons isn't, anything FOG sucks ASS, CDG Play is cute and boring, DRKSHDW is great, versace jeans couture and armani exchange could both disappear tomorrow and the world would be exactly the same.
Noguchi lamps remain awesome...
The Ikea diffusion tho
bad
Take a shot every time essentials pops up when you look for fear of god on vinted (impossible)
Simply dont look up fear of god on vinted
I would argue yes. PRL feels like the main Identity/mainline of the Ralph-Lauren-verse, with RRL and purple lable exploring certain sub-facets of the Brand but in more of a luxury way.
I think the fact that PRL kinda is the mainline is structurally a slightly odd thing about it
🤔
I might be wrong but I think they are made by people who have no connection to RL Corp other than licensing the use of the name.