Consumer Groups in Fashion

Fashion  Innovators 

• Fashion  innovators  are  fashion  leaders  who  sense  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  are  early adopters  of  new  styles.
• They  may  be  designers  themselves  and  are  therefore  the  ones  who  actually  create fashion  trends. 
• They  are  quick  to  adopt  new  styles  long  before  they  become  full-blown  trends making them influential within and beyond the social  group. 

Fashion  Motivators 

• They play  a  role  in  motivating  consumers  to  adopt  new fashion.
• They  can  be  movie  stars,  models  or  celebrity  professionals  who endorse  fashion products  and  brands  which  are  motivating factors  for  increased  purchasing patterns  across  all  social  strata. 
• They  can  be  media  persons  and  fashion  journalists  whose articles  in  newspaper columns,  fashion  magazines  and  blogs  are avidly  read  by  many.

Fashion Victims

• This phrase is sometimes used to refer to those who follow fashion trends without exercising their own judgment. 
• This consumer segment is often characterized by high income and high purchasing power. 
• They tend to buy the latest fashion simply because it is expensive or because media or fashion pundits declare it as being 'in'. 

Fashion Followers

• They are the majority of consumers who accept and emulate trends which are firmly entrenched in the market. 
• They feel a sense of comfort in conforming to styles that merge with others in a larger group. 
• Fashion followers may also be those who may not have much of disposable income or have limited time and interest in fashion. 

Laggards

• The more price-sensitive or less style-sensitive consumer may adopt a style in decline. 
• These consumers are known as  decline laggards  or  fashion reactive,  as they are slow to react to changes in fashion style.

References:

1.  The art in everyday life، Harriet Goldstein، Read Books، 2007
2. Elements of fashion and apparel designing, by Sumathi G.J., New Age International Pvt. 
   L.t.d.
3. Inside the fashion business, by Macmillan publication company.
4. Fashion from concept to consumer, by Gini stephens Frings, Low price edition.
5. Fashion designing and sewing technology text book، Bharathiar University.

Fashion Forecasting

Fashion Forecasting

Fashion Forecasting is a complex activity where research and analysis of previous fashion trends help in identification of future trends. It is a method by which the activities of fibre, yarn, fabric and apparel producers as well as retailers are coordinated. 

Fashion forecasting is the prediction of mood, behaviour and buying habits of the consumer. It is no longer a question of identifying the customers by age, geography or income, but looking into how and why they buy, based on their mood, beliefs and the occassion. It is impossible to ask all consumers what they will want to wear a year or two in advance . Because designers, merchandisers, and retailers must work so far ahead of selling season.

Fashion forecasting involves the following activities:-

• Studying market conditions. 
• Noting the life-styles of the men, women, or children who are the customers. 
• Researching sales statistics to establish sales trends. 
• Evaluating the popular designer collections to find fashions that suggest new directions or trends. 
• Surveying fashion publications, catalogs, and design services from around the world. 
• Observing street fashions

Fashion Forecasting is done through many communicating media, such as, cinema, fashion shows, press, magazines, newspapers and window display.

It includes:

1. Market research - Manufacturers and retailers must constantly research their target market through
    a) Consumer research- manufacturers and retailers may ask consumers directly about their buying preferences. Methods of questioning consumers can be formal or informal. Market research companies may be asked to make inquires through;

o Surveys- by telephone or mail are made by publications and market research companies for manufacturers and retailers.

o Consumer focus groups- are meetings of target customers ususlly selected by a market research firm to meet with manufacturers and retailers.

o In-store informal interviews-can help researchers to obtain information by simply asking customers what they would like to buy, what styles they like that are currently available, and what merchandise they want but cannot find.
         b) Shopping- To study what consumers want and need, designers and merchandisers also 'shop' retail stores to find what merchandise is selling best. Designers and merchandisers compare the styling, price, fit, and quality of lines that compete with their own.
          c) Sales Records-  Every manufacturer and retailer researches its own sales recors. Rising sale statistics show what fashion trends are developing; declining sales show what styles have passed their peak etc.
2. Evaluating the collections- American manufacturers and retailers turn first to Europe for an indication of the newest fashion ideas.

        a)Fashion Trends- Fashion trends are the styling ideas that major collections have in common. They indicate the direction in which fashion is moving. The trend may appear in a fabrication, a silhoutte, or another design element that appears in several collections. A new trend appears in small doses until it spreads to other collections. The press notices similarities between collections and highlights them, the media exposure also helps establish the trends.

    b)Trend for Target Market- Designers and merhandisers must decide what trends best suit their own customers based on age range, income level, life-style and fashion preferences.

Terminologies related to fashion

Fashion
• Fashion is a style that has been accepted and used by the majority of people in any one group, at any one time.
• Fashion is the style or styles most popular at a given time.
• Malcolm Barnard traces the origin of the word 'fashion' to the Latin 'facere' which means 'to make' or 'to do'.
• In simple terms, fashion is a style that is popular in the present time, or a set of trends which have been accepted by a wide audience.
• The terms "fashionable" and "unfashionable" are employed to describe whether someone or something fits in with the current popular mode of expression.

Style
• Style is any particular characteristic or look in apparel or accessories.
• Style is always constant. It does not change whereas fashion changes. Fashion is not constant.
• The term style is a popular word in fashion and refers to a sub-division within fashion. By definition, it is that which has certain characteristics that distinguish it from other designs. For example, the fashion could be pleated skirt, yet the style is box pleat.
• A style may come and go in fashion, but that specific style always remains that style, whether it is in fashion or not.
• When we add a different neckline and different sleeves with some trimming here and there over a basic garment then the basic garment is modified into a different look or a different outfit, this modified garment will become fashion, when it is accepted by people.
• It is a common fallacy to believe that the famous designers create fashions. They create styles which they hope will be accepted. When these styles get mass acceptance, they become fashion.

Basics or Classics
• Basics or Classics are the outfits which stays in the fashion scene for a long period of time that is from past to present and even in future it stands.
• A classic can be described as an item that is considered in good taste over a long period of time.
• When a fashion is constant or long lasting, such as, salwar kameez and saree, it is called Basic or Classic.
• Classics are enduring styles that do not become obsolete; instead reaching a plateau of acceptance continuing for a long period of time.
• Classics have acceptability through minimal modification in design thus retaining a sense of simplicity and timelessness.
• A customer has one or more in her wardrobe, to be worn to suit different occasions.
• There are many outfits that fall into this classification, such as, chudidhar, kurta, dupattas, shirt and trousers, plain or pleated skirts and denims, etc.

Fad
• Fads are fashions of short duration that peak in popularity due to a fast rate of acceptance by the consumer but have a brief life expectancy with the tendency to become outmoded rapidly.
• Fads are short-lived which may come and go in a single season.
• Another characteristic is that they are typically confined to particular social groups.
• They lack design strength to hold consumer attention very long.
• They tend to begin at lower prices, are not expensive to copy or produce and therefore the market gets saturated easily and public tires of them quickly and they die out.
• Examples are fluorescent coloured T-shirts, ankle or calf length jeans with turn-up cuffs, baggy anti-fit jeans etc.
• Overall, Fad can be defined as short lived fashion, lasting for a very little time or period, acceptable by only a certain group of people.

Trends
• A trend is a general direction for clothing design.
• Fashion trends are the styling ideas that major collections have in common.
• They indicate the direction in which fashion is moving.
• Fashion forecasters look for the styles they think are prophetic, ideas that capture the mood of the times and signal a new fashion trend. Several designers may use a similar fashion idea because they have been inspired by common sources.
• The trend may appear in a fabrication, a silhouette, or another design element that appears in several collections.
• Very often, a new trend appears in small doses until it spreads to other collections. As the press notices similarities between collections and highlights them, the media exposure also helps establish the trends.
• Evaluating the collections becomes one way a designer, working for a mainstream manufacturer, can research fashion direction. As designers are not invited to the shows, they must evaluate by shopping in major fashion capitals or using design services, magazines, and newspapers.
• Empowered by the Internet and television, global trends are moving at an accelerating pace. The life-span of a trend is now about five months instead of a year. For the junior market, the span is only three months.

Haute Couture
• Haute couture (French) refers to high fashion created by designers known as 'couturiers'.
• Couture refers to unique and exclusive creations of fashion made-to-order customized for individual clients, since the design is never duplicated.
• These clothes are most luxurious and the most expensive.
• The extremely high prices are due to design exclusivity, high quality of fabric, skilled labour used for surface design techniques, embroidery, drape, craftsmanship, garment construction and quality of finish.
• The term haute couture is protected by law in France and is defined by the Paris Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris).
• India has several designers like Ritu Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Bal, Suneet Verma, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora, Manish Malhotra and others in this genre. The main label of most designers is 'eponymous', i.e. the label bears the name of the designer.

Prêt  a  porter 
• In (French) it  refers  to  ready  to  wear  (RTW)  clothing derived from  the  couture  line  or collection  of  each  designer.
• It reflects  the  same  aesthetics,  manufactured  with  high  quality standards, at  more  affordable  prices  in  multiple  sizes  in  a wider  range  of  colour  options  or  'colour  ways'.

Avant garde
• In (French) it refers to the 'advance guard' or vanguard of art and culture which differentiates it from the mainstream.
• These designs are limited in numbers and may not be wearable or commercially viable.
• The underlying idea is to showcase these creations as statements of the designer's vision or ideology

Mass or volume fashion 
• Mass  or  volume  fashion  as  the  name  suggests,  is  widely  available  in  stores  nationwide.
• These designs  are  available  in  a  variety  of  'colour  ways'  (options  of  colours)
and  sizes,  practical  and generally  affordable  by  a  wide  cross-section  of  society.

Knock-off
• A  close  resemblance  or  reproduction  of  a  designers  'look'  by  another  designer  or  company  usuallyusing  relatively  cheaper  materials  and  lower  production  cost  is  called  a  knock-off.
• This is a common practice where popular trend or distinct style of a successful designer/brand is replicated with minimal changes if any, to lower the cost for moderate level market.
• While  this  gives  the opportunity  to  the  larger  population  to  buy  popular  styles  in  fashion,  it  also  raises  problems  of Intellectual  Property  Rights  (IPR)  and  Copyright Law infringement.

References:
1. The art in everyday life، Harriet Goldstein، Read Books، 2007
2. Elements of fashion and apparel designing, by Sumathi G.J., New Age International Pvt.
L.t.d.
3. Inside the fashion business, by Macmillan publication company.
4. Fashion from concept to consumer, by Gini stephens Frings, Low price edition.
5. Fashion designing and sewing technology text book، Bharathiar University.