The Fashion Industry and Trends - Research Paper Example

The Fashion Industry and Trends The fashion industry is one of the most dynamic places of work in the industrial sector today; fashions and trends change almost every single day, giving designers and producers a hard and fast challenge to keep up with the business in order to supply more and more creation to the world. The fashion industry caters to all kinds of people; every person needs clothes to wear and thus it depends on the kind of clothing an individual requires, the kind of money that he would be willing to spend on something, all wrapped within the cocoon of the fabric, raw materials, labor as well as the intellectual creativity that goes into making a garment and selling it. However, marketing in the fashion business holds a very important post because only when the clothes are marketed in a proper manner will they pose as appealing to the consumers; an individual might not know the need for different pieces of clothing and accessories unless they appeal to him or her and are displayed in such a manner. The fashion industry thus makes use of very interesting methods to market its brands as well as the products in order to keep the sales soaring and the customers happy. Men and women all around the world change trends on a daily basis; is it because of film stars portraying different glamorous images that the common people are desperate to have in order to make their lives more interesting? Or is it because people want an extra push in order to motivate themselves to look their best and feel good from the outside? Whatever the reason might be, there are many people willing to shell out their earnings for a nice dress or suit, and this is all because of the marketing that fashion industries are clever enough to do. One of the most famous techniques that almost all fashion houses make use of are using supermodels, actors, and other such famous people in order to model their clothing for them. They make them the brand ambassadors for their clothing brands and design clothes for them to wear to their high society parties. These dresses are then worn with different kinds of shoes and accessories and their photographs are conceptualized by the media on the news as well as the internet, making common people yearn for the same look. Fashion houses then make use of cheaper fabrics and raw materials in order to make the same design and sell those clothes to the commoners on a more affordable basis. There have been numerous instances where famous movie stars wear certain clothes and then advertise them through photographs for fashion companies and tell people that they can get the same look for a lot less money under the respective brand. (Paxton, Anne) Fashion industries look for the best way to advertise their clothing and garments to the largest possible number of people in the most cost effective manner and what better way to do this than to make use of the internet. Advertising products online on various websites that tend to be visited on a high scale by the world’s largest number of people are the target websites for fashion industries. The internet is the best place for people to find out information and today, since most people are hooked onto the internet for various different purposes, it is quite easy for industries to post pictures of their clothing and designs on their websites, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter and conduct online giveaways and contests in order to attract people. (Staff) For example, clothing brands like Aldo, Vero Moda, Mango etc. are extremely tech savvy and keep in constant touch with people through websites like Facebook; their strategies are to post pictures of celebrities wearing their clothing and accessories and then asking the general public about their opinions on the same; asking people to post their pictures wearing their products; hosting discounts and other such offers in order to attract people – all at a very cheap cost as compared to advertising on billboards and magazines, and also attracting a lot more attention by being in direct contact with the potential customers. Fashion industries, like any other entrepreneurial venture, take the opportunity to come up with solutions that affect people the most as one of their other marketing strategies; for example, helping plus size women get clothing their size is a very big problem in many countries where obesity is becoming a social issue and thus fashion industries try and market their clothes by having sizes for all kinds of men and women, and having them model their clothes as well, telling the world that fashion is not just for thin or skinny people. This is a strategy that helps to attract a lot more attention and helps the plus size population to know that they need not lose out on dressing well because of their weight problems. These industries thus like to tap on other social problems and meet their needs thus appealing to people more; like promoting healthy clothing made of fabrics that are climate friendly and do not harm the environment or animals. (Fashion Industry : Fashion Retailing, Marketing, and Merchandising) Another strategy used by fashion industries is to understand the masses directly - that is keeping in tandem with the youth population which is the maximum number of clients that any retail store or fashion house can get. These industries try and advertise their clothing with the help of catch phrases that the generation of youth makes use of; by using their terminology they can directly catch their attention and thus be effective. For example, many fashion houses for the youth like FCUK have tags to support their advertising in keeping with the language and lifestyle that the current generation has a rapport with. Furthermore, they create different kinds of clothing, for example ‘street wear’ or ‘casual formals’. Such terms appeal to the people a lot more and help them classify their clothing according to the different needs that they have. Fashion houses use this strategy to create a need for a person to not just have one kind of (for example) office wear but different garments that one could wear during different occasions at the office like casual office wear, office party wear, clothing for meetings with clients, clothing for office retreats etc. This is done in every aspect of life, not only the office, but also for students, family life etc. and this helps people identify their need for having more and more different kinds of clothing. Where an individual felt the need to own a single pair of jeans for all kinds of different occasions, he or she now feels the need to own three or four different kinds depending on one for the home, one for work which resembles a pair of trousers, one for an evening dinner or date and so on. In conclusion, marketing is the car that drives on the road to fashion; it assists designers to take their products and creations to newer levels by creating consumption in the market for people. It is no obvious for an individual to buy new clothes unless he has the desire to and thus marketing helps in creating that hunger within a person to attain a different trend or a new piece of clothing within his wardrobe. Fashion industries thus need to keep up with marketing strategies in order to maintain their companies, while providing low cost supplies in addition to their demands. Works Cited Paxton, Anne. "Where Is Women's Fashion Going?" Where Is Women's Fashion Going?Web. 15 May 2012. . Staff. "Fashion Industry Marketing Strategies." Fashion Industry Marketing Strategies. 2009. Web. 15 May 2012. . "Fashion Industry : Fashion Retailing, Marketing, and Merchandising." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 15 May 2012. . Read More