Justin Timberlake Is A Luxury Brand!?

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But can he sell a “Suit & Tie” style to a “Thrift Shop” world? SOURCE

Justin Timberlake announced his return to music after a six-year hiatus in an “open letter” to his fans that mostly emphasized his craft and artistry. “The inspiration for this really came out of the blue, and to be honest, I didn’t expect anything out of it,” Timberlake wrote, sounding more like a guy who owns a small business selling artisanal snacks or craft beers than someone hyping up his audience for a multi-platform pop product that is tied in with a Bud Light Platinum sponsorship, a partnership with designer Tom Ford, a full week of appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and a co-headlining stadium tour with Jay-Z.

But to lead with any of that would be crass and tasteless, and that’s not what Timberlake is trying to sell you.

He is positioning himself as an upscale pop star; the sort of singer who is so talented and refined that he can make his fans wait half a decade for a new album because he only makes music when he feels truly inspired. The artiste angle is key to his marketing — he is, after all, following up on FutureSex/LoveSounds, one of the few genuinely arty pop albums to go multi-platinum in the past decade – but the core of Timberlake’s appeal is, as it’s been since he was a teen pop icon in NSYNC, his look and style. His comeback single, the slick R&B number “Suit & Tie,” is explicitly about his image — it is a song entirely about dressing up and being classy — and pushes the listener to associate his handsome face and seemingly effortless grace with men’s formal wear. It’s basically an issue of GQ adapted as a pop song, and it is the undiluted essence of Timberlake’s brand of aspirational yet attainable masculine sexuality. In other words, he’s bringing fancy back.