PLANTA ROSA’s communication strategy

Planta Rosa is a Russian fashion brand founded in 2021 by Evgenia Pavlin and Ibrahim Gatsiev. From the beginning, the brand was connected with vintage aesthetics, photography, pop culture and expressive visual storytelling. Its identity was not limited to clothing as a functional product. Planta Rosa presented fashion as a way to create mood, image, cultural association and personal style. At the early stage, the brand was mostly associated with sporty silhouettes, oversized sweatshirts, retro-inspired prints and streetwear aesthetics. This direction was closely connected with the founders’ backgrounds. Evgenia Pavlin had a public image as an influencer and entrepreneur, while Ibrahim Gatsiev was known as a stylist, photographer and creative director. Their partnership helped the brand develop a recognizable visual language from the start.

Over time, Planta Rosa expanded its product range. Today the brand includes not only baggy clothes, but also jackets, leather items, dresses, skirts, knitwear and accessories. This change shows that Planta Rosa has moved from a mainly streetwear-based project toward a broader contemporary fashion brand. This development can be described as a soft brand transition. It is not a radical official rebranding, because the name, general identity and main visual codes remain recognizable. However, the scale of the brand, its product range and its public context have changed. The transition became especially visible in 2025, when Ibrahim Gatsiev announced that he was no longer involved in creating the brand’s image and clothing collections because of different views on the future of the business.

This situation creates an important communication challenge. Planta Rosa has to preserve recognition and trust while proving that the brand can continue developing after a major creative change. In this project the brand is analyzed as a communication system: its website, catalogue, editorials, product names, social media presence, customer service tools and visual style all work together to construct meaning around the brand.

The core positioning of Planta Rosa can be described as a contemporary fashion brand that turns clothing into visual and cultural self-expression. The brand does not position itself as a basic mass-market label. It builds communication around atmosphere, references, styling and symbolic value. Its products are presented not only as wardrobe items, but as signs of identity and taste.

The target audience of Planta Rosa is young adults interested in fashion and visual culture. These customers use clothing not only for practical purposes, but also to communicate mood, lifestyle, confidence and belonging to a certain fashion community. The expanded product range also allows the brand to reach a wider audience, including people who are interested in more mature wardrobe pieces and premium items.

Planta Rosa’s brand personality can be described as bold, nostalgic, ironic, urban, artistic, youth-oriented and culturally aware. The brand does not try to look neutral. Its personality is created through product names, editorial images, styling, website design, and social media communication. After the creative transition, this personality becomes even more important, because the brand needs to show that its identity can continue as a stable system, not only as the expression of one creative figure.

Planta Rosa communicates through several public channels. The most important ones are the official website, the online catalogue, editorial pages, social media, the mobile app, the offline store experience, the e-mail newsletter and customer service sections. Together these channels create a complete brand environment where the audience can discover the brand, understand its aesthetic, browse products, receive updates and interact with the company.

The official website is the central platform of Planta Rosa’s communication. It combines commercial, informational and image-building functions. On the one hand, it allows customers to shop, use filters, create a personal account, add items to favourites, place orders and read delivery or return information. On the other hand, the website also presents the brand’s visual identity through its structure, images, typography, product names and editorial sections. This makes the website more than a technical sales platform. It works as a controlled brand space where Planta Rosa decides how the audience enters its visual world.

The catalogue is one of the strongest communication channels because it directly connects product and identity. It includes a wide range of clothing categories. This variety communicates the brand’s development from sportswear and streetwear toward a broader fashion wardrobe. The catalogue also supports rational decision-making through filters by price, color, material, model, length and size. At the same time, product names such as LEATHER PANTS, LEOPARD DISTRESS TOP, CHATEAU-PLANTA HOODIE, HOT-WHEEL T-SHIRT and LOST-ANGELES SWEATSHIRT add emotional and symbolic meaning. They make the shopping process feel less neutral and more connected to pop culture, irony and attitude.

The editorial section is especially important for Planta Rosa because the brand relies heavily on visual storytelling. Editorials allow the company to show clothing not as isolated products, but as part of a mood, scene or character. Through models, locations, poses, styling, lighting and composition, the brand creates a specific atmosphere. This is important because the audience does not only evaluate the clothes themselves. It also interprets the lifestyle and identity that the brand offers. For example, the styling by Una Vertuka and photography by Slava Porozhny help define this visual identity.

Social media is another key channel, especially for a fashion brand with a strong visual identity. Through social media, Planta Rosa can announce new drops, show campaign images, present styling ideas, share editorials, create anticipation before product releases and maintain everyday visibility.

The mobile app strengthens direct communication between the brand and the customer. It makes the shopping process faster and more personal. For a brand that works with new drops and visual desire, an app can create a feeling of immediate access. Push notifications, product updates and easier browsing can turn communication into a more regular habit.

The offline store experience adds a physical dimension to the brand. A store is not only a place where customers buy clothes. It is also a space where they experience the brand through interior, service, product presentation, music and atmosphere. For Planta Rosa, the offline format is important because it supports the perception of the brand as more established and premium.

The e-mail newsletter is a more direct and controlled communication channel. It allows the brand to send information about new products and special offers without depending fully on social media algorithms. The newsletter mostly works as one-way communication, but it helps maintain long-term contact with interested customers.

Customer service tools also play a communication role. Delivery, payment, refund, exchange, contacts, request-a-call options, personal account, cart and favourites reduce uncertainty and support trust. This part of communication is less emotional, but it is essential because even the strongest visual identity will not work if the customer does not understand how to buy, receive, or return a product.

Planta Rosa’s PR strategy can be described as a combination of visual branding, cultural positioning, drop-based communication, direct digital contact and community-oriented identity. The brand communicates mainly through images and atmosphere, but it also uses cultural references and product scarcity to make its collections feel more desirable. After the brand transition, these channels also work as tools of reputation management. They need to show that Planta Rosa remains recognizable, active and consistent.

Two theories are used as the main analytical framework for this project: the Elaboration Likelihood Model and the Framing Theory.

[1] The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), developed by Richard Petty and John Cacioppo, explains two routes of persuasion. The central route is activated when people are motivated and able to process information carefully. They pay attention to arguments, facts, product quality, practical value and other rational details. The peripheral route appears when people do not deeply analyze the message but instead respond to external or symbolic cues. These cues may include visual attractiveness, emotional atmosphere, influencer association, social proof, status and aesthetic consistency. Analyzing Planta Rosa is relevant because fashion communication combines rational and emotional persuasion. Customers may consider practical details later, but initial interest is often shaped by visuals, styling, cultural references, and community appeal.

[2] Framing Theory, developed by Erving Goffman and later expanded in media studies, explains how organizations shape audience perceptions by highlighting certain aspects of reality while downplaying others. Rather than presenting information neutrally, communication frames influence how audiences interpret brands, products and events. Analyzing Planta Rosa is relevant because the brand relies heavily on visual framing. Through its campaigns, styling, photography and product presentation, it frames clothing as part of a fashion world associated with confidence, sexuality, nostalgia and contemporary culture. The theory is also useful for understanding the brand’s rebranding, as Planta Rosa shifted from a sporty streetwear image to a broader contemporary fashion identity.

Planta Rosa communicates through a combination of visual, verbal and functional elements. The visual elements include conceptual product photoshoots, editorial images, models, poses, colors, website layout, styling and the overall atmosphere of the campaigns. The verbal elements include the brand description, product names, website categories, delivery information and public comments about the brand’s development. The functional elements include product filters, user account tools, shopping cart, wishlist, call request options and customer support pages. These elements shape how the audience perceives the brand and interprets its identity.