The Production of Fashion - Essay Example

In contemporary fashion brands have superseded garments’. Critically evaluate this ment in relationship to the production of fashion Introduction The terms under which industries are developed are not standardized. Usually, the ability of an industry to promote innovation and change is considered as a key requirement for its growth. However, the responses of the public to an industry’s policies cannot be precisely estimated in advance. For example, the appearance of several brands in the garment industry has not particularly helped towards the increase of the industry’s profitability, at least not at the expected levels. Current paper focuses on the alteration of the characteristics of fashion industry under the influence of branding, as related to the changes on consumer preferences worldwide. Emphasis is given on the following issue: is the involvement of brands in fashion followed by the extensive use of superseded garments? Facts and figures related to the fashion industry of UK are used in order to show the various aspects of the fashion industry, as influenced by branding and advertising. The review of appropriate literature has revealed that brands developed in the fashion industry have led to the differentiation of the industry’s trends, including the use of superseded garments. It is also proved that the structure and the characteristics of the fashion system allow the expansion of the above trend: by focusing on the increase of their profitability, industry’s brands had to increase productivity, even if quality was decreased, more or less. Moreover, it could be supported that the increase of demand worldwide would not allow the industry’s brands to follow a different strategy, an issue that it is critically discussed below. 2. Brands and contemporary fashion 2.1 The system and knowledge of fashion The fashion industry, as part of the economy, is quite complex. Apart from a system for the achievement of profits, the fashion industry can be also characterized as a framework for the development of culture (McRobbie 1998). In this context, the industry’s development is not an easy task. Influenced by economic recessions and changes in consumption trends, the fashion industry has suffered strong pressures that have caused the limitation of the industry’s profitability (McRobbie 1998, p.142). For example, reference can be made to ‘the industry’s workforce in the UK for the period 1996-1997 which was estimated to 150,000 workers’ (McRobbie 1998, p.142), a number rather low if taking into consideration the size of the particular market. In order for the fashion industry to perform high, it is necessary that all its sub-systems are appropriately organized. More specifically, the material used need to be of high quality, as possible, while ‘design standards have also to be high’ (McRobbie 1998, p.144). In the case of UK, the fashion industry has failed to meet the above requirements (McRobbie 1998, p.144). Indeed, the UK’s fashion industry has to face the following two challenges: ‘a) textiles used in the manufacturing processes are of low quality’ (McRobbie 1998, p.144) and b) design standards have been declined, being influenced by ‘the deterioration of the manufacturing processes developed locally’ (McRobbie 1998, p.144). The increase of outsourcing in regard to textiles and to manufacturing processes has been considered as indication of the failure of the UK fashion industry to face the above challenges. Due to the above issues, the development of UK’s fashion industry, as a system incorporating a series of activities, has become problematic. Such problems can also appear in other countries that follow similar practices in regard to the particular industry. Another important characteristic of the fashion industry, compared to other sectors, is that the specific industry, as a system, is divided into four major categories that can be characterized as the sub-systems of the fashion system (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28). These categories, which are most involved in the international fashion industry, are: a) the product specialist fashion retailers (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28). These are fashion retailers focusing on the production of products of particular characteristics, i.e. of products that address the needs of customers of particular characteristics, ‘either in terms of demographics or in terms of interests’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28). Well-known retailers, such as ‘Nike and Tie Rack’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28), belong in the above category; b) fashion designer retailers (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28); they are the retailers that promote their products through international fashion shows. These retailers also provide their products to their clients directly, through their show rooms in ‘one of the fashion capitals (Paris, London, Milan and New York)’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28). Giorgio Armani and Gucci are examples of such fashion retailers (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28); c) ‘general merchandise retailers’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28); they are the retailers that offer a high range of products to the public (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28), and d) the ‘general fashion retailers’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28); these are the retailers that offer to the public products of a particular range; ‘Gap and Next’ (Moore, Bruce and Birtwistle 2012, p.28) are examples of such retailers. The above categories indicate the structure of the fashion system in its general context. The relationship between the retailers, the suppliers and the consumers can be analyzed as sub-systems of lower level of each one of the above categories. Particular reference should be given to the knowledge of fashion, as affecting the responses of people to fashion brands. According to Barthes (1983) the knowledge of fashion refers to the awareness of people in regard to the various aspects of fashion. This awareness shows the willingness of people to participate in social life, as related to fashion (Barthes 1983, p.14). The lack of knowledge of fashion indicates the willingness of a person ‘to exclude himself from the specific part of social life’ (Barthes 1983, p.14). According to Barthes, the above decision leads to ‘the stigmatization of the person as unfashionable’ (Barthes 1983, p.14). Other potential results would be the inability of the above individual to participate in social activities that require the knowledge of fashion. 2.2 Fashion and consumers As in all industries, in fashion industry also, consumption trends have a key power in defining the industry’s strategies. The relationship between fashion and consumption can be made clear after explaining the characteristics of consumption. According to Fine (2002) consumption has been, traditionally, related to commodities. This means that consumption has to refer to goods/ services of a particular value, as this value is depended on the economic and social framework of each market (Fine 2002, p.28). In addition, consumption ‘is often taken for granted’ (Fine 2002, p.28). This means that each individual who has the funds to afford a particular product/ service is necessarily considered as a potential buyer of the specific product/ service (Fine 2002, p.28). The above view leads to the assumption that the financial status of each individual defines his power as a consumer, an assumption who is not fully verified (Fine 2002, p.28). Indeed, it is possible for a person of an average income to spend more on buying goods/services than another a person of higher financial status who tends to avoid spending on goods/ services. Moreover, there are industries, like the garment industry or the food industry, where the high majority of buyers are of low/ average income, since these industry’s products are considered as basic goods for human life (Fine 2002, p.28). From this point of view, consumption should be not considered as fully depended on a person’s income. Rather, its potential relationship to other factors, such as brands’ power or advertising, should be carefully explored. An important factor that would influence the consumption trends in fashion would be culture. Culture, as a critical element of social life, is expected to affect the decision of consumers to buy a particular product; for example, a product reflecting the cultural characteristics of UK would be more welcomed by consumers across the country compared to a product that would reflect a foreign culture (Nixon 2003, p.5). The above fact shows the power of culture to influence not only the social life but also the economic decisions of people. In any case, the identification of effective tactics for influencing the consumer decisions in regard to fashion products has been proved particularly effective in increasing the profits of fashion brands. For example, Swatch watches have highly increased their profits by introducing the trend of ‘building a wardrobe of watches’ (Hoyer and MacInnis 2008, p.25). On the other hand, Hansen and Christensen (2007) note that effective advertisements in fashion should be based on the rule that consumer behaviour may not be affected by traditional advertising tactics but it would be rather influenced by advertisements based on innovation and uniqueness (Hansen and Christensen 2007, p.425). 2.3 Advertising and media as related to fashion Advertising is the most common method for keeping sales at high levels (Davidson 1992). At least, such target is usually set but it’s not always achieved. Advertising, as an important business activity, has three characteristics: ‘a) it is corporate, b) it is credible and c) it is creative’ (Davidson 1992, p.4). In practice, one or more of the above characteristics may not exist in a particular advertisement (Davidson 1992, p.4). Because it focused in increasing profits, advertising is often considered as a pure economic activity (Davidson 1992, p.4). The above assumption can be criticized at the following point: since advertising needs necessarily to be creative, it cannot be considered as related not only to economics but also to art (Davidson 1992, p.4). The above issue is quite important for the garment industry, where advertising is extensively used for the promotion of the industry’s products to markets worldwide. The garment industry is a key industry in the global market but it is not fully commercialized, at the level that the creation of its products cannot be considered solely as a business activity since non-economic characteristics, such as creativity and inspiration also appear. On the other hand, Davidson (1992) notes that advertising ‘has already passed its limits’ (Davidson 1992, p.6). It is explained that advertising, as all social and economic activities, needs to be aligned with particular rules (Davidson 1992, p.6). In practice, applying these rules has become quite difficult, a problem related to the increase of the power of culture, language and ethics on the specific activity (Davidson 1992, p.6). In this context, the effects of advertising on each industry are not standardized. For the garment industry, a similar assumption can be made. Advertisements used in the garment industry aim to promote specific brands. These advertisements use a variety of themes and messages, trying to increase the popularity of brands either locally or globally (Davidson 1992, p.6). In this way, advertisement has become an indispensable part of the garment industry, even if its precise role on the industry’s growth is difficult to be defined. Of course, the significant increase of the industry’s profits, as observed in all markets around the world, is highly related to advertising; the latter has been regarded as a decisive factor in the increase of consumerism in general, i.e. not only in regard to the garment industry (Davidson 1992, p.6). The potential role of advertising in the fashion industry is also analyzed in the study of McFall (2004). Reference is primarily made to the mission of advertising, as an economic and cultural activity. According to McFall (2004) advertising has ‘a persuasive role’ (McFall 2004, p.35), meaning that it needs to promote information and material that highlight the advantages of a particular product/ service. At the next level, advertisements need to be appropriately adjusted so that they are able to persuade people to buy the product/ service advertised. In any case, advertising seems to keep its priority in enforcing sales, but through the decades the ‘tools and techniques for achieving this target have been highly differentiated’ (McFall 2004, p.2). Moreover, today the power of advertising to influence the social and cultural framework of each framework has been significantly increased, compared to the past (McFall 2004, p.3). This phenomenon is related to the increase of the involvement of advertising in the promotion of services/ products in all industries (McFall 2004, p.3). As a result, the extensive use of advertising in the fashion industry should not be considered as only related to the increased needs of the specific industry, as explained above, but also to the expansion of advertising as an economic and cultural activity in markets worldwide. In any case, in order for advertising to enhance the profitability of a fashion brand it is necessary that certain requirements are met: a) the marketing message promoted to the public needs to be aligned with local culture (Nixon 2003, p.6) and b) the involvement of media in the relevant plan would be carefully designed, so that marketing practices that are against ethics are avoided (Nixon 2003, p.6). 2.4 How branding has affected the production of fashion and garments Brands have appeared in the global market ‘in the mid nineteenth century’ (Moor 2007, p.3). However, branding is a rather recent term, having been used ‘for just 10-15 years’ (Moor 2007, p.3). Branding is a term incorporating a high range of issues, apart from those that are normally included in the term brand (Moor 2007, p.3). Indeed, branding is used for showing a series of activities that can be related to a particular sector, such as ‘retail design, product design and marketing’ (Moor 2007, p.3). In its core mission, branding aims to show the exceptional quality of a product/ service, as distinguished from the quality of other products/ services (Moor 2007, p.3). Initially, the above target was achieved simply by the name of the brand or its logo (Moor 2007, p.4). Through the years, other issues such as the policies followed by the brand in terms of sustainability and in terms of the pricing of its products can influence the position of a brand in the global market. In order to understand the effects of branding on the garment industry, it would be necessary to refer to the industry’s current characteristics but also to important changes related to the industry’s historical development. Of particular importance for understanding the industry’s relationship with brands is the study of Fernie and Moore (2012). In the above study, the radical transformation of the garment industry in UK since the late 1980s is discussed. According to Fernie and Moore (2012) it was at that period when British garment industry suffered a major change: two firms, Marks and Spencer and the Burton Group, took the control of the industry after acquiring competitors (Fernie and Moore 2012, p.118). Together the two firms represented the 40% of the industry (Fernie and Moore 2012, p.118), a fact that highly influenced the industry’s characteristics. Moreover, these firms followed a similar policy in fashion design (Fernie and Moore 2012, p.118). Consumers in UK had, necessarily, to follow the trends of fashion, as set by the above two brands (Fernie and Moore 2012, p.118). It was in this way that brands become a key factor in UK’s garment industry (Fernie and Moore 2012, p.118). In the years that followed the dependency of consumers on the industry’s brands was further increased (Farnie and Moore 2012, p.118). New brands, such as ‘Hobbs, Karen Miller and Kookai’ (Farnie and Moore 2012, p.118) appeared making the competition in the industry extremely strong. Still, the growth of the industry up to 1997 was rather low, a problem related probably to ‘the recession of late 1980s’ (Farnie and Moore 2012, p.118). In fashion, the terms of branding are slightly differentiated compared to those applied in other industries. Reference can be made, for example, to the adverting costs of the industry’s brands. According to Lury (2004) license companies tend to invest on certain brand mostly because of the ‘brand’s name in the market’ (Lury 2004, p.99), as this name reflects a high level of profits. Through the years, license companies realize that their profits can be increased only if the brand’s image in the market is improved (Lury 2004, p.99). For this reason, license companies are likely ‘to take the responsibility for covering the adverting cost of their brand(s)’ (Lury 2004, p.99). However, in this way, the control of license companies on their brand is also increased (Lury 2004, p.99). The license companies acquire the right to intervene, directly, in the terms of production of fashion, setting rules in regard to the design and, even, the quality of the brand’s garments (Lury 2004, p.99). The introduction of superseded garments in the fashion industry can be highly related to the above practice. An indicative example of this trend is the following one: Sun Apparel, the license firm of Polo jeans, has paid ‘an amount of about $20 million for covering the advertising costs of the above brand’ (Lury 2004, p.99). Sun-Apparel has the license for the ‘manufacture, distribution and promotion of the brand’s jeans’ (Lury 2004, p.99). The full cover of the brand’s advertising costs by the license company shows the inability of most brands worldwide to have a full control on their design and quality standards. In regard to the above, it can be noted that branding has adversely affected the fashion, having led to the full dependency of fashion on the rules of license companies that have the control of the industry’s brands. 3. Conclusion The terms on which the production of fashion is currently based are affected by a series of events and trends. The continuous expansion of branding in the garment industry has increased the choices of consumers in regard to the industry’s products. At the same time, customers’ demands for garments are also increased, compared to the past. In this context, the alteration of traditional methods of garments’ production has been unavoidable. Advertising has supported the particular trend, promoting garments of specific characteristics, in terms of design and material. As a result, consumption trends in regard to the garments industry have been gradually alternated. However, the above facts are not necessarily negative. Indeed, the potentials of the garments industry to respond to global demand for garments are not unlimited. The development of new methods of production of fashion has been necessary for responding to the needs of people for garments, a need of primary importance as explained earlier. Therefore, the appearance of superseded garments in the fashion industry should not be considered as an indication of the decrease of the industry’s value but rather as a new challenge to which the industry’s firms should respond without decreasing their ethical standards. References Barthes, R., 1983. The Fashion System. California: University of California Press. Davidson, M. 1992. The Consumerist Manifesto: Advertising in Postmodern Times. London: Routledge Fernie, S. and Moore, C. 2012. Principles of Retailing. London: Routledge Fine, B. 2002. The World of Consumption: The Material and Cultural Revisited. London: Routledge Hansen, F. and Christensen, S. 2007. Emotions, Advertising and Consumer Choice. Oslo: Copenhagen Business School Press DK. Hoyer, W. and MacInnis, D. 2008. Consumer Behavior. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Lury: C. 2004. Brands: The Logos of the Global Economy. London: Routledge McFall, L. 2004. Advertising: a Cultural Economy. London: Sage McRobbie, A. 1998. 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