...htm JFMM 8,4 ACADEMIC PAPER 362 Fashion change and fashion consumption: the chaotic perspective Ka Ming Law, Zhi-Ming Zhang and Chung-Sun Leung Institute of Textiles and Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong Keywords Fashion, Consumers, Young adults, Social change Abstract Previous researches have considered that the impact of fashion change and fashion consumption is linear. Therefore, one reason was found as the ultimate source to explain why a fashion style/ trend was spread to the mass market. However, the existing market is complex and difficult to find out the holistic reason to explain fashion consumption. In this study, the chaotic perspective is taken into account to investigate the relationship between fashion change and fashion consumption. By using the grounded theory method, 33 in-depth interviews were conducted. A chaotic fashion consumption model is developed from the findings to explain how different fashions are consumed and rejected while fashion changes. It is found that the interaction of being fashionable, perceived fashionability and system participation affects the ultimate decision on fashion consumption. It is also found that a pattern can be traced to forecast the degree of fashion consumption even when the fashion change phenomenon is chaotic. Thus, it is similar to the principle of chaos theory that short-term prediction is possible in relation to the degree of fashion acceptance among consumers. Marketing implications...
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...Montgomery (2008) a firm’s resources are responsible for its better performance while working in a dynamic environment which academics term as resource based view of the firm (RBV). The RBV analysis assumes that both resources and capabilities are important for better performance and explains why some firms perform better than others in an industry. Using RBV as a framework this essay aims to examine how ZARA generates sustainable competitive advantage. (Opening is good, you have been able to introduce theory that would be discussed the essay). “A fast fashion system combines quick response production capabilities with enhanced product design capabilities to both design latest products that capture the latest consumer trends and exploit minimal production lead times to match supply with uncertain demand” (Cachon and Swinney, 2011). Fast fashion is widely gaining recognition as being a key enabler for success for modern fashion retailers (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood, 2006). Fashion retailers such as ZARA, H&M and Benetton have adopted this strategy in order to enhance its business system and gain competitive advantage. ZARA was established in 1975 and is the flagship of Inditex (Industria de Disen˜o Textil) of Spain. In a relatively short span of time, ZARA became the largest and most internationalized of Inditex’s chains. At the end of 2001, it was operating in 507...
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...How does celebrity endorsements influence consumer behavior in fast fashion industry? 1. Introduction The fashion industry has come a long way over the past two decades. In the early years, big players such as Marks & Spencer offered a relatively straightforward fashion retail choice. However, with the lower cost of starting a retail outlet, the market has become more crowded since then. So called fast fashion retailers, are by no means the only one who succeeded and grew over the past years. Overall, the fast fashion retailers experienced a greater growth compared to the fashion industry as a whole (Cachon and Swinney, 2011). Such retailers are now ubiquitous and spotting a person on the streets who does not wear at least one fast fashion clothing item is rare. The key point to success lies in their business model; making the trends available to everyone. The rapid global changes have restructured the way fashion retailers do business. In today’s competitive market, using celebrity endorser to promote brands on television is a fairly common practice (Erdogan et al. 2001). Celebrity endorsements is believed to help consumers remember the message of the advertisement and the brand name the celebrity is endorsing. This creates the personality of a brand because when a celebrity is paired with a brand, this image helps shape the image of that brand in the minds of consumers (Argrawal & Kamakura, 1995). Celebrity endorsement is a new strategy in brand selling...
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...Vintage Fashions are a way of retaining individuality in the age of fast fashion-discuss In the age of fast fashion and mass production of garments vintage fashions have become increasingly popular as a way of escaping contemporary stereotypes and retaining individuality. However the acceptance of this ‘vintage look’ has made the fashion industry adopt it as a way of creating new collections therefore making it more accessible and less individualising than it originally was. The meaning behind vintage fashion has changed drastically in the last 50 years, formally being associated with poverty and the lower class, due to the fact that second hand clothing was very dirty and was often contaminated with diseases such as the plague. Even though this was the case second hand clothing was necessary for many people before the rise of ready to wear fashion, as emphasized by Caroline Evans (2007) “Second-hand dress has historically been associated with low economic status and class; long before there was a ready-to-wear industry, the second-hand trade clothed the poor, often in third-, fourth- and fifth-hand clothing”(2007:249). Clothes were very highly valued; they were passed down in wills and given as gifts, this was due to the fact that clothes were very expensive as all clothing was hand made. However in the 1960’s with the introduction of mass production when clothes were no longer as expensive they were also no longer one of a kind. After WW2, the age of make do and mend...
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...How Fashion Has Reflected the Changes in Society INTRODUCTION Change is a theme that is ever-present in our culture and society. Often this change is reflected in the dress of its people. From the fashionable silhouettes of the 1920’s to the colorful 60’s, hip-hop look of 90’s up to the modern twist of today, social change and change in fashion has, in theory and practice, been linked. According to ask.com, Fashion can be defined as a prevalent style by a particular group at a particular time, and, therefore, may be linked to a specific cultural and historical context in which there is general acceptance of a given style or look Change in fashion was a direct result of class struggle or that it resulted from the need for the elite to maintain their distinction from and superiority over the masses. This, then, produced a “trickle-down” effect (Kaiser, the Social Psychology of Clothing) whereby the elite were constantly adopting new styles in order to maintain their distinction once the lower classes began to imitate them. In the past, it was rare for the poor to have new clothing, making it a most valued possession if they have one. Cloth even became a product of such great value that it became its own form of currency and was used as payment for services. There was also a tendency for social classes to imitate those directly above them in order to move up the social ladder and to be accepted. Throughout history the tensions and societal relationships that exist between...
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...co-creation in the entrepreneurial development of designer fashion enterprises particularly. By analysing the three essential stages through grounded theory and in-depth interviews, respectively, presentation, interpretation and reaction, the author holds the belief that the continuous cooperation between stakeholders and enterprises can help brand development effectively, and can obtain distinctive brand recognition in which condition...
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...primary business or businesses, highlighting how the leader got started and analyze the leader’s three (3) major business challenges in establishing and/or running the company The fashion career of Vera Wang began in 1971, She worked extremely hard eventually earning a position as Senior Editor for Vogue. In 1987, she started working for already established fashion designers like Ralph Lauren, dealing mainly with accessories. Due the frustration of limited options that were compatible to her exclusive taste she began to designed her own wedding gown, commissioning a seamstress to assemble it. “This inspired her to launch Vera Wang Bridal House Ltd., in the Carlisle Hotel on Madison Avenue, New York City”.(bridal house, 2003). Vera decided to target upper class clientele, initially offering bridal gowns by designers such as Guy Laroche, Arnold Scaasi, Christian Dior and Carolina Herrena. Her background spawned her birth as a force to be reckoned with in the fashion world: the discipline she learned from competitive ice skating; the trips to Paris for fashion shows with her mother, as a child; her high-priced education; the mentors she acquired during her career at Vogue and with Ralph Lauren, who broadened her knowledge of fashion. Her background and understanding for the need to fill a niche, in the fashion industry, fuels her passion for designing elegant apparel. A major challenge that Vera Wang faced in establishing her business was managing the four million dollar start-up...
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...News report#1 Amazon is the largest Internet-based retailer in the United States. For the past few years, it has tried to gain a foothole in the luxury fashion retailor market. Recently it has changed its stand about focusing on courting luxury brand according to the Jennie Perry, chief marketing officer of Amazon fashion division. The strategy was disclosed on an online newsroom on businessinsider.com. The chief marketing officer of Amazon fashion division disclouse the current strategy Amazon is taking to secure a foothole in the fashion retailer market. Amazon is a retail industry which focuses primary on e-commerce according to Bloomberg. Its competitors are vast, where Walmart and Target stands out as its brick and motor rivals in the general merchandise and electronics segment. In addition, amazon try to gain a foothole in every market it can possibly enter which is also why the strategy above stated was by the chief marketing officer of Amazon fashion division rather than the CMO of Amazon. In the recent year, Amazon tried to breach the fashion industry by setting large warehouse for photography at trendy neighborhood Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Hoping to lure fashion companies to its sites but has failed. The brand continue to strives to gain a foothole with the sponsoring the first-ever New York Men’s fashion week. The strategy has proven little result as its core audience are budget consumer seeking inexpensive item. The strategy to focus on mid-tier brand...
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...UGB247- Responsible Business Report on Corporate Responsibility ‘Fashion Retailing in Europe’ Laura Wallace: 1083579942 Module Leader/ Tutor: Mark Winter 15th May 2015 Word Count: 3,296 1 Contents 1.0 What is Corporate Responsibility? Page 3 2.0 Key Issues of Corporate Responsibility Page 3 2.1 Issues Relating to Outsourcing Page 4 and 5 2.2 Child Labour Page 5 and 6 2.3 The Use of Animal Fur and Environmental Issues Page 6 and 7 3.0 Best Practice Within the Sector Page 7 3.1 Primark, Compensation and Utilitarianism Page 7 and 8 3.2 H&M, Child Labour and Deontology Page 8 3.3 M&S and Virtue Theory Page 8 and 9 4.0 Recommendations Page 9 4.1 Responsibility Auditing Page 9 4.2 Education Page 9 and 10 4.3 Making a Stand Against Animal Fur Page 10 5.0 Conclusion Page 10 6.0 References Page 11 and 12 7.0 Appendices Page 13, 14, 15 and 16 2 1.0 What is Corporate Responsibility? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is “about businesses and other organizations going beyond the legal obligations to manage the impact they have on the environment and society.” (Lea, 2002) In recent years, the fashion retailing sector in Europe has gained a lot of media interest over its irresponsibility to society and its employees. Some companies which have been under scrutiny around this issue include: Primark, Zara and H&M as well as many other brands which are increasingly popular...
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...Contemporary UK Fashion Industry Sustainable? The sustainability of the fashion industry is one of the major concerns facing many stakeholders in the sector. The UK fashion industry is increasingly facing a wide range of sustainability issues ranging from wastes generation due to increased production of fashion products to the use of toxic materials in the production of fashion items. In addition, the industry has also been faced with the problem of the growing problem of widespread use of unsustainable materials such as non-biodegradable materials that are not usually easy to recycle as well as the current energy consumption to the release of millions of tons of greenhouse gasses released during the manufacture of fashion and textile products. It is widely believed that many of these sustainability challenges and issues are largely attributed to the recent increased flow of a diverse range of fashion products particularly clothing and textiles in the UK market. For example, recent statistics indicate that that up to 3.2 million tonnes of fashion related products like clothing and textiles currently flow through the country each year . Generally, the environmental impacts of the fashion sector mainly include its high contribution to the climate change in the form of the increasing requirement of fossil fuels required in the generation of energy used in the industry such as in the production and manufacture sectors. For example, the intense production of fashion items to meet...
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...Is Apple’s release of the Apple Watch an example of good innovation timing? Yes, Apple’s release of the Apple watch is an example of good innovation timing. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that produces consumer electronics and computer software products. It was co-founded by the iconic Steve Jobs and the other founders Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Though it faced tremendous amount of adversities in the initial, under the stewardship of Steve Jobs, the brand became a household brand. The company's reputable gadgets include Macintosh computers and laptops, the iPod and the iPhone. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser and many other applications (Rouse, 2009). Being a titan in the consumer electronics industry, its latest innovation would the Apple watch. Although other smartwatches has been out in the market. I feel that Apple watch was an example of good innovation timing. The first reason to support my claim would be that, Apple has made life easier for payments. Unlike other smartwatches that does not support the payment through smart gadgets. Apple has made it easier for Apple watch users to pay using the Apple Pay function. This is a mobile payment and digital wallet that allows the users to make payments via their smartwatches at the most secured way (Apple, 2015). This function is so much notable that great companies such as Barclays (Brian, 2016)and ExxonMobil (Campbell, 2016) are backing up this feature...
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...Ortega started a fashion retail shop that makes the fashionable clothes faster and beauty than other competitors. The first Zara store opened in 1975 in Spain. The very best quality of Zara was, it only takes two weeks to develop a new cloth/product and release it to the market while other competitors take two months. Zara didn’t get third party help to distribute, design or even produce because Zara did them alone. Zara was fashion focused producers that makes new clothes, apparels according to the trending fashion. Zara uses its own strategic method which is done by sending some employees to higher level venues, occasions, functions, clubs etc.Then the collected new designs and patterns will be forwarded to the headquarters. Although Store managers are used to report feedback, new demands that is given by the customers. These methods will help Zara to be the top among their industrial competitors. Although this method will helps Zara to manufacture more products than others, like 30,000 products annually while others are doing 10,000. Another unique quality of Zara is they don’t keep products that doesn’t sell for around 4 weeks and this trick make customers to come and see regularly on Zara stores that “What’s new?” With the development process of Zara become more and more popular and powerful on its industrial market. Hence Zara decided to enter the market with various brands. They were categorized into some societies. • 1975 – Zara – Fast fashion clothing – Ages...
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...Fashion is defined by changes in current trends. In a way, those trends are defined by fashion. One uniquely fashion-forward design quickly turns into a trend among numerous designers. It becomes a staple on every runway and a defining factor in the modern fashion industry. Soon after, the newest trend can be seen in every store window and major mall across the nation. While some people advocate for the legal protection of fashion designs, other argue that the fashion industry benefits from copying. Nevertheless, the cheap imitation of high fashion is evident everywhere, from bazaars to discount retailers. Imitation helps to condense the market, promote brands, offer new innovations and styles, and increase a company’s profits. The industry benefits from copying because it breeds competition. When counterfeits of a brand exist, the brand has proven itself to be reputable amongst consumers. The advantage is that counterfeits promote the brand by generating merchandise from that brand in the competitive market. At the same time, this process also condenses the market as more customers increasingly develop brand loyalty. Supporting this side of the debate, from a consumer’s point of view, I often witness dozens of people wearing luxury brands, real or not. The point is that the industry benefits from more exposure and advertisement. As of today, there is little evidence proving that counterfeits damage a brand’s image and its reputation among customers. According to Kal Raustiala...
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...from many options. Just like Gurak and Lannon (2009) say, topic is the first step to access successful team work. However, According to O'Leary (2004), different views and opinions among team members are inevitable and bringing these different points together is one of the strengths of a team approach. Indeed, after two times’ discussions, we roughly decided on two aspects fashion and food. Based on the interests of these two different areas, we divided into two groups to do the research. Firstly, the opinion of fashion group is that they want to set up an independent designer clothing store. These independent designers come from students who study in fashion department. However, through research, the fashion group found that we do not have the basic knowledge and understanding of fashion industry. Moreover, the root problem is that clothing shops need a larger store which means we need more rentals. What is more, considering the issues of the cost of foundry, location of store, and the salary of these independent designers, it seems not workable with the ￡100,000 investment fund. Compared with fashion group, the idea of food group is to set up a noodle rice store which needs much less cost on rent and lower barrier to access. What is more, because we can operate this noodle rice store completely by ourselves, we can get rid of salary to other employees. However, with these facts, some team members...
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...a Vogue magazine; welcome to the imaginary world of the "ideal." Nobody has a bad day, as they are too busy being perfectly happy, perfectly rich and perfectly successful. Everything is make-believe; so much for aspiration! However, walk down the street or look in the mirror and it becomes a case of welcome to the "real" world, us. Where everyone is in all shapes and sizes, colors and ages. Like in the book The Mouse that Roared, the authors shows how Disney attempts to hide behind a cloak of innocence and entertainment, while simultaneously exercising its influence as a major force on both global economics and cultural learning. In the fashion industry I feel that it is the same way, while forty percent of the United States is obese, Vogues magazines and many others show those unreal skinny bodies that everybody is dying to have. The fashion industry has shaped women’s ideals of what to wear and what to look, and until the industry can shift from encouraging people to be a shape which nature never intended them to be, however, the media will continue to form young people’s view of the world, a world that is apparently populated by only thin girls. The words "eat" and "boring" are usually never found in the same sentence, but leave it to a supermodel to accomplish this task. Bodies in a bathing suit, underwear, or a skimpy tank top flood magazines magazines today. How many times have you flipped through the pages of a Vogue magazine and spotted an article about...
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