Fashion Design Technology - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: Fashion Design Technology The role of garments in our contemporary society is changing. People no longer have definite interpretations about class and statues by mere judgments of garments worn. The role of garments continues to change with respect to the massively dynamic lifestyles of people. Nowadays new systems of life have adopted certain types of garments. For this reasons, fashion designers have to keep abreast of the customer needs, tastes and preference before designing certain garments. It should no longer remain as the statusquo prescribes. The research conducted to this effect shows that there are many changes that modern life has brought. Fashion has also been specially designed to meet the specific field requirements that have come along. This means that garment interpretations previously associated with the particular garment has changed too. Introduction At any point in life, people will always seek for ways to do things better than they are used to. The designs of cars are changing every day, kinds of preferences for homes, new occupations are coming up and the list is endless. These different lifestyles have their different requirements too; new policies, new structures and new garments among others. “Fashion trends do not change once in a season or once in a year in fact fashion trends keep changing every day.” (Scott 2011, 1) Garments are being designed by fashion designers with respect to what are the present customer needs. It is pretty hard to interpret the meaning of the kinds of garments that people wear. There has been a whole improvement in the way designers make up their fashion. Scott says that “In today’s era, change in fashion has been significantly altered due to the expansion of fashion markets and cultural acceptance to fashion change.” (2011 1) Different occupations for instance have their special requirements which differ completely from those of the other occupations. This paper explains how changing needs in people’s way of life has made it difficult to identify their different garment roles. In my research, I wanted to find out the specific kinds of garments that selected professions have and use, similarly which occasions do we have certain kinds of garments won. A new and exciting field of fashion has come up to this effect; functional clothing. Functional clothing can be defined as “the term which includes all kinds of clothing or assemblies that are specifically engineered to deliver a pre-defined performance or functionality” (Guptar 2011 3). In designing these kinds of clothing, a lot of creativity and special materials are needed. After they have been creatively designed, it is meant to live to the expectations of that particular functionality. “The choice of material has to take into account how the product / component will be used and what environment(s) it will be used in.” (Still 1998 2) In this case, functionality represents that value that has been added or function that the particular clothing is meant to perform. The clothes could be mere uniform for a particular career, to cover up or simply protect those individuals that are exposed to a certain risk or for entertainment or sporting purposes. Garments designed for this purpose are meant to ensure that those who wear them have free movement, stability and are presentable with respect to the kind of activity involved. For this reason, you will understand that telling the type or class of people just from how they are wearing is a completely old concept. Technology and peoples’ dynamic lifestyles have completely changed the roles and functions of garments. Rational When I set to study on this concept, I needed to establish people’s preference to certain kinds of garments. Whether it is a mere love of fashion that fuels peoples choices or if we have any underlying factors. I wanted to know whether certain classes of people are identified by certain garments and fashion. My question was whether it is easy to tell the status of a person in the society, merely by looking at the kind of garments the person is wearing. All across our history, we have lived to know that what we wear is usually fueled by external factors as well as our own internal preferences. This is certainly a global perspective. As pointed out earlier, there are other factors that are very obvious; protection against physical harm from environmental factors. In addition, garments are meant to reveal our identity. But perhaps an important question that we have to ask is whether these concepts have been withheld till today. People wear different clothes to communicate something in their minds or environment. Clothes have been used not just to represent people status and class but as tools to communicate certain kinds of ideas and feelings. "People buy things not only for what they can do, but for what they mean" (Levy 1959, p. 118). Robertson looked to stress on this point by saying that: “Products vary in the degree to which social-symbolic meaning is important. Cars and clothing are both products which are high in visual display and recognized in our society as "saying something" about a person” (1970, p. 3). We need to understand that there are multi roles that garments aim to tell and that we cannot point at one of it as the sole reason why a certain garment is one. For instance, some people may wear very expensive clothing, not because they belong to a certain class of people, but because they are simply acting. Similarly, we may expect that people wear heavy clothing to protect the body against cold, while in the same way; it might be one for a similar activity during entertainment like acting and so on. In addition, some kinds of profession may dictate that people wear light clothing so as to interact with clients properly as in the case of air hostess, modeling among and others. In this way, the sole meaning of that particular garment changes completely. So what exactly fuels people’s choices for certain kinds of garments? I sought to establish the relevance of making certain choices for certain garments and the specific kinds of materials that are accompanied with such preferences. People want to look modest and presentable, this is a common phenomena. When garments are worn, they show how modest people are. In this case, people will want to be seen with certain trendy wears. Garment designers will therefore put more creativity and innovation in making those kinds of clothes that invite more clients to them. They are to be keen on the kinds of market and the profit margins that they want to make. People may argue that sometimes modest is a relative term. There have been arguments about those people that wear clothes or garments that are too revealing. Could this concept be termed as being modest? In actual sense, this is an issue that varies across cultures. Certain groups of people have their own expectations about certain garments which may be totally different from the needs of another group of people. This makes it hard to make worthy judgment just by mere looking at what people are wearing. People put on clothes to match particular incidents and ceremonies. In this respect, the rules governing the occasion will stipulate the kinds of clothing to be worn by everybody. Where everyone turns for the occasion in the full attire that is needed, it is not easy to segregate the people. Garments for this reason unify people in the various activities that they do in everyday life. We cannot undermine the influence of modern trends in garments. People have a way of preferring to have fashion that is totally unique. Those types that have not been worn by anyone. This is one factor that has largely contributes to the changing roles of garments. People will always want to be original and inventive. They want to be trailblazers. As long as this craving continues to burn, there will be diverse changes in the meaning and types of garments that people wear. Research Methods These are the methods that I used in order to have a successful research. I made use of different primary and secondary research techniques Primary research I started by evaluating the kinds of garments people wear and the reasons why they prefer them. There were various suggestions with respect to color, sizes and some having special consideration to prices for the garments that they wore. I also asked people about the motivations behind the choice of certain garments. Varied explanations were given some people said that irrespective of their status in life, they valued current trends. This group of people said that they would do anything they want in order to have a kind of fashion that their peers do not have. The said that they wanted others to follow in their foot steps On a separate point of view, there were those who explained that they buy certain garments because they want to be associated with certain people; these are people who will buy clothes in order to identify with celebrities and other big names, preferably in the entertainment and sporting industry. I also sought to find out from clothes vendors about people’s clothe-purchasing behaviors. I wanted to know from their point of view about what drives people to buy certain kinds of clothes. There are those who pointed out that they had certain kinds of brands that people bought from them. They said that these are some of the brands that are associated with certain celebrities. This was evident in their outlets. There were portraits of musicians in some of the outfits so that people would easily make their purchase decision based on those. There were very few people who stocked clothes for specific classes of people. When I asked the reason for such a move, they pointed out that few people wear clothes that tell of their class. Bray (2011 3) says that nowadays, what people dress in reveals a transformation from a class culture to a segmented culture. In other words, whereas once people’s clothing showed their class, the reality is that what we wear is largely expected to show a diverse sort of attachment: In addition, it was hard to identify a certain class of people so that you stock the cloth varieties that appeal to them. The use of the primary was relevant in that it provided first hand information into the consumers or users of garments from designer companies. Likewise it was important to get it from the cloth vendors who had important information about their clients purchasing patterns. Secondary research In this method, I did a lot of reading into some of the website information of some profession. I gave partiality to air hostess. I wanted to establish the kinds of garments that are worn and the design techniques that go hand in hand. Servants in a company are mean tto wear similar clothing for uniformity purposes. There are special requirements that go alongside their design. While the garments in this color guarantees uniformity at work place, every company has its own prerences for the kinds of uniforms that they find appropriate for their needs. I also read journals from some companies detailing their organisational culture. I was keen to find out about the preferences of different companies about their outfits and garmetns they accept as part of their uniforms. It was clear from the document sources that companies in the same industry did not have similar preferences for the clothes that used as uniforms. There were differences with color, material design and branding. Movies and documentaries that I watched could also reveal clearly that there were acute differences in the way companies make preferncs for the work garments. A particular company showed that they had had several changes in the types of cloth preferences in a bid to attract and maintain clients. The idea of uniform dates back to the 16th century where charity school that were educatiing the poor were needed to wear them. The concept was later accepted into public schools. In America, it was be associated with high end schools. As decades rolled by the concept was seen to represent uniformity and was accepted by other institutions and corporate organisations. Every group of people wanted to look unique and the concept has still reamined a important consideration when choosing uniforms for institutions and organisations. Currently, organisations look for finer details in choosing their uniforms. This considerations vary from one organisation to another. The maids and nannys from the 19th also used uniforms, they mostly worked for the upper class people because they were able to pay them. Their main work, just like it is to today was to nurse the babies of their bosses. They were expected to have great affection. The maids did not have full uniforms. They only needed special clothes that were able ble to prvent foods from droping on their clothes when they were nursing the babies. The special garmetns worn would only cover the front part and not the back. They were made of special material and sorn by skilled designers as well. Some of their samples have been well conserved in galleries for interested parties to check. Interpretation of research findings The research findings from this exercise revealed that fashion is a rapidly changing industry. People’s motivation about what they put on is not stationary. What previous generations considered important is no longer important in the present time. “Trends or fashion changes with time and gives a huge impact to people” (Munarani 2013 3) Selection guides have diverse drives. It is also important to realize that a certain group of people may possess almost similar preferences for instance; majority of respondents in the primary research pointed out that entertainment was the key driver of their choice patterns and behavior towards fashion. This is the reason why most young people in many societies will want to identify with certain people they consider as role models. Similarly the group that comprises of old people did not have much influencer of their purchase preferences. They would rather stick to the general purpose for wearing garments. This is perhaps due to the fact that they no longer consider certain things with the importance that they used to attach to them. Society has had to accept certain changes that have been brought about by modernization. Nowadays we have other modes of segmentation that provide the parameters for choice of certain garments. In the previous order, all kinds of garments were not just for all kinds of people. For instance robes were largely associated with the rich. This was usual in various gatherings. There were special designers for the rich and those of the lower class. On the contrary, the concept has slowly faded. Designers have known that we have various activities of people that may require the use of certain attires which was earlier preserved for a certain group of people in the society. Similarly different professions as witnessed in the modern society may force people to prefer certain kinds of clothing. For instance, police detectives may not have to put on official wear at certain places of duty. Perhaps for the sake of camouflaging, they may want to look like their target to avoid suspicion. These among many other considerations have changed the usual impression that was attached to clothes that people wore. Sellers of clothes prefer to sell multi varieties of clothes so as to attract a large clientele. In the competitive clothes industry, the idea of stocking different varieties of clothes makes it easier for you to attract large client groups. Many established dealers specialized in more than one line of garments. A look at most company websites shows that they prefer to be a one stop shop for all kinds of uniforms for various groups of people; children, adults, males and females all together. For companies and other corporate organizations, choice of the kinds of garments that are used as uniforms is very important. This is because; clients also want to identify with companies that share their preferences in terms of colors and other patterns. This is the reason why some companies keep changing their color profiles on their website platforms, their companies and even literature that they use. A specific look into the air hostess and their garment choice and preferences can be summarized in the following manner; Shape, scale and proportion Most of the garments were bold, had squared shoulders and wider bottom. Silhouette is usually squared and sharp. It is usually cut according to the specifications of the airhostess Techniques and processes There are usually pleated elements made according to the maids pleating dress and the pleats on air hostess uniform. The finishing comprises of gold buttons, hood and eyes from the uniforms. There are also squared collars according to the air hostess and the nanny’s uniforms. Color, texture and materials We have ruffles feeling according to the 19th maid’s uniform, the collars are squared according to the uniforms of the air hostess and the nanny’s uniforms. Ranges of color are from blue, burgundy, to mustard. Textile considerations include fake fur. Image 1; airhostess garment preferences Findings from the research reveal that we have no preferences for uniform in terms of class of people, underpinning the fact that when people are working or undertaking their normal life, it’s not was just to tell their classes in the society. Similarly various garments are being use for various roles. This means that the general roles that had earlier been attributed to certain garments is rapidly changing and what we have currently, may not be the same in the years to come Summary and conclusions Fashion is an important facet of human life. With changing lifestyles of people, a lot has been witnessed and continues to resurface with regard to changing form of garments. People have different drives towards making fashion garments, which differ from one group of people to another. The advent of technology continues to fuel innovations and inventions towards the design of fashion. Garment and fashion designers are doing their best in order to remain relevant in the market by making clothes that appeal to their clients. Taonac. (2012 3) says that, “retail businesses are becoming less brand-centric and more consumer-centric.” Social amenities and other work places where different kinds of people meet for work purposes, have a way of ensuring that they are able to identify themselves. This is achieved through the design of clothes that make up the uniform of that particular group of people. Uniforms in this category differ from one company to another. In general, garments bring together uniformity in people in organizations. At present it is not possible to tell the classes of people from the kinds of clothes that they wear. This is due to the fact that we have different activities of people may involve participants whose fashion requirement may not necessarily tell their class in the society. References Bray G. S. 2013. Modes and Discourse. Book Review. University of Chicago Press. Available at; < http://canlit.ca/reviews/modes_and_discourse> Gupta D. 2014. Functional clothing – Design and specifications. Available at: http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/13225/1/IJFTR%2036%284%29%20321-326.pdf. Levy, S. J. 1959. "Symbols for Sale," Harvard Business Review, 37, 117-124. Available at: http://www.uibk.ac.at/smt/marketing/brandresearchlab2/files/symbolsforsale_levy.pdf Munarani, 2013. “The Factors That Influences People’s Choice in Cloths” available at; http://writing.wikinut.com/%E2%80%9CThe-Factors-That-Influences-People%E2%80%99s-Choice-in-Cloths%E2%80%9D/2wuxgzax/ Robertson, T. S. 1970. Consumer Behavior, Glenview, IL: Scott-Foresman and Co. Scott. T. 2011. Fashion Wear Trends: Is it always changing? Available at; http://www.fashionhungry.net/blog/fashion-wear-trends-is-it-always-changing/1757 Still H. 1998. Craft and design factors that influence Fashion. http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/Images/3730det2_tcm4-124439.pdf Taonac 2012. Fashion Industry; The influence of technology. Available at, http://kotics.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/there-influence-of-technology-fashion-industry-strategy/ Read More