UNIT BUNIT BEVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION AND

MOVEMENT OF FASHIONMOVEMENT OF FASHION

2.02 Summarize the movement and acceptance of fashion.

Fashion movement: change in what is considered fashionable.

Fashion: Styles that are accepted and used by a particular group of people at a given time.

Theories of fashion movement

Don’t write this down . . .•Trickle-down theory

•Trickle-up theory

•Trickle-across theory

Trickle-down theory (Downward flow):

fashion trends start among the upper class or fashion leaders and move down to the masses or fashion followers.

Trickle-down theory•Oldest and most accepted fashion theory

•Asserts that fashions are accepted by people of lower socioeconomic income levels only after they have been worn by people of upper socioeconomic income levels

•These styles are seen on high-fashion runways.

•Jackie Kennedy’s pillbox hat, Barbara Bush’s pearls, Nancy Reagan’s red, Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits in the office

Trickle-up theory*** (Upward flow):

fashion trends start among the young or lower income groups and move upward to older or higher income groups.

Trickle-up theory

•Style originates with the lower class and gains approval by upper class or the fashion elite.

•Ripped jeans**, leather jackets**

Trickle-across theory (Horizontal flow):

fashion moves horizontally through groups at similar social levels from fashion leaders to followers.

Trickle-across theory

•Members of each social group look at the leaders of their own group for fashion trends.

•A leader within each class influences peers or a leader of one group affects the other group members.

•Example: Designer fashions are copied quickly for mass production, providing similar styles at most price ranges. However, they don’t become popular until the fashion leaders of each group have accepted them.

The fashion cycle

•Fashion cycle: ongoing introduction, rise, peak, decline, and obsolescence in popularity of specific styles or shapes.

•All styles that come into fashion rotate*** through the five stages of the fashion cycle.

•Fashion acceptance can be illustrated using a bell-shaped curve.

Stages of the fashion cycleStages of the fashion cycle(handout from instructor)

• Introduction• Rise• Peak• Decline• Obsolescence

The fashion cycle (cont.)

•The cycles for some styles are exceptions to the bell-shaped curve.

•Flops**: Fashion expected to be a hot seller, but does not sell.

•Fads**: short lived popular fashions and styles that gain and lose popularity quickly.

•Classics: Styles that continue to be popular over an extended period of time even though fashion changes year after year.

Stages of the fashion cycle Stages of the fashion cycle (cont.)(cont.)

1. Introduction: new styles, colors, textures, and fabrics are introduced.

• New style may be accepted by fashion leaders.

• Promotional activities include fashion shows and advertising in high fashion magazines.

• Fashions are produced in small quantities at high prices**.

• Retail buyers purchase limited numbers to see if the style will be accepted.

2. RISE stage2. RISE stageSecond stage of the fashion cycle when

consumer** interest grows and the fashion becomes more readily accepted by consumers.

• Mass production brings down the price of the fashion, which results in more sales.

• Styles are manufactured in less expensive materials and in lower quality construction than the original.

• Promotional efforts are increased in fashion magazines to heighten consumer awareness.

• ***Retail buyers order items in quantity.

3. Peak3. Peak Stage Stage

Culmination stage: Third stage of fashion cycle during which a style is at its height of popularity.

• Fashion is demanded by most consumers*** because it is affordable and is mass produced in many variations.

• Each retailer tries to persuade customers that its version of the style is the best.

Peak stage Peak stage (con’t)

• Style may have a long or short stay at this stage.– Short-run fashions: Styles that are

popular for a brief period of time.•Fads, usually lasting only one season•Accepted and rejected quickly•Teenagers’ fashions change the fastest

and have the most trends.•Styles are easy for the manufacturer to

produce and are relatively inexpensive to the consumer.

•Styles typically have more details than seen in classics.

Peak stage Peak stage (con’t)

– Long-run fashions: Styles that take a long time to complete the fashion cycle.•Classics, basics, and/or staple fashions•Slow introduction, long peak, slow decline

•Styles have simple lines, minimal detail.

4. Decline Stage 4. Decline Stage

Fourth stage of the fashion cycle • Market is saturated**, popularity

decreases.• Fashion is overused and becomes dull

and boring**.• As the fashion decreases in popularity,

retailers mark down their prices.• Promotions center around major

clearance or closeout sales of the fashion.

5. Obsolescence Stage5. Obsolescence Stage

• Fifth stage of the fashion cycle• Style is rejected, undesirable at

any price, no longer worn, and no longer produced.

Lengths of fashion cyclesLengths of fashion cycles• Cycles have no specific lengths.• Recurring fashions: Styles which

have been in fashion at one time, gone out of fashion, and come back in fashion again.– Fashion trends seem to recur about every

generation or every 20 to 30 years.• Fashion cycles are less distinct now

than in the past.

Fashion leaders and Fashion leaders and followersfollowers

• Fashion leaders: Trendsetters who have the credibility and confidence to wear new fashions and influence the acceptance of new trends.– First to purchase new styles– Want distinctiveness and uniqueness– Innovators and/or influencers.– Royal families, first families, movie

stars, television personalities, athletes, singers, musicians, popular kids at school

Fashion followersFashion followers

• **Those who accept and wear a fashion only after it becomes widely acceptable

Basic principles of fashion Basic principles of fashion movementmovement

• Fashion acceptance or rejection is determined by consumers***.

• Price does not determine fashion acceptance.– Knock-offs: designs copied from expensive items

• Sales promotion does not determine fashion.

• Fashion movement is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

• Fashion extremes** cause reversals or abrupt changes.

Factors that accelerate fashion Factors that accelerate fashion movementmovement

• Communications and mass media

• Good economic conditions• Increased competition• Technological advances• Social and physical mobility• More leisure time• Higher levels of education• Changing roles of women** • Seasonal changes

Factors that decelerate fashion Factors that decelerate fashion movementmovement

• Bad economic conditions

• Cultural and religious customs

• Laws or other governmental regulations

• Disruptive world events