Why are people fascinated with name brands?

I don't know if it's just me. I think that quality is not always directly correlated with what you spend on a garment. Don't get me wrong, spending a little more on a better fabric (silk, cashmere, angora) choice or garment construction is different than just spending on cotton with a name on it that was still produced in Korea, China, or some other sweatshop for 1/30 of the retail price. Why are people so fascinated with name brands? Sometimes you still get sub-par quality.