Part 1: Basic Fashion and

Business Concepts
Chapter 2
Fashion Movement
Understanding Fashion
Movement
 Fashion movement is
the ongoing change in OBSOLETE
what is considered
fashionable from
acceptance to
obsolescence (the
rejection of a fashion
in favor of a new one)
 A fashion trend is the
direction fashion is
moving
Fashion Movement
Ongoing motion of fashions moving through the
fashion cycle
Classics – fashion that remain in the rise stage
 Jeans
 “little black dress”
 Tailored suit
Fads – fashions popular for short periods of time
 Produced and sold at lower prices
 Easy to copy
 Moves quickly through fashion cycle
 Sudden appearance and disappearance
Factors affecting fashion
movement

• Consumer acceptance and desire

• Economic acceptance - affordability
• Social acceptance
• Adaptations
– Fibers , fabrics, textures
– Color
• Marketing - Advertising techniques
• Fashion Leaders
Fashion Leaders
 Confidence to start or accept
new fashions
 Small number who dare to
be different
 Trendsetters
 Noticed and imitated
 First to discover and display
(wear) new styles
 Often public celebrities
Fashion Fashion
Motivators Victims
 Role models of  Blindly follow
latest fashion  May be wealthy
 Money does not
buy taste or style
 May fall victim to
prestige or
acceptance at
fashion’s expense
Fashion Followers
 Need time for fashion to be
firmly accepted by majority
before they will adopt it
 Fashions must become
well-established
 May lack time, money,
interest, and devotion to
fashion
 Tend to admire and imitate
 Insecure about their own
tastes or sense of fashion
Fashion Laggers
 Last to adopt a style
or fashion
 Majority of people
have already
accepted the fashion
 May often find their
apparel on sale as it
is usually on the
way to obsolescence
 Theories of Fashion Movement

Higher $
Royalty Rich
White collar
Lower $
Blue collar

TRICKLE DOWN TRICKLE UP TRICKLE

ACROSS
Fashion trends Fashion trends Fashion moves
start at the top start with the horizontally
of the “social young or lower through similar
ladder” income groups social levels
Trickle-Down Theory
Movement of fashion
starts at the top Fashion trendsetters

socioeconomic status
of consumers
Fashion then accepted
“down” to the general
public
Fashion adopters
Oldest and most
accepted theory
 Trickle-Up Theory
 Starts with young
trendsetters
 May be lower income
groups
 Fashion defined by
street wear
 Examples may include:
 Tattooing, body
piercing, “grunge” looks
Trickle-Across Theory
Fashion acceptance begins among
several socioeconomic groups
All price levels at same time
Quality and lines vary
Most prevalent in 21st century -
technology
What is “The Fashion
Cycle”?
Period of time or life span during which
fashion exists
Style - particular look, shape or type of
apparel item
Fashion – style that is popular during a
given period of time
Stages of the Fashion
Cycle
Introduction
Rise
Peak
Decline
Obsolescence
 The Fashion Cycle
Peak
Height of popularity; Worn by the
majority of people (culmination)
Rise Decline
Slowly increases in Decreases in popularity
popularity (saturation)

Introduction Obsolescence
New style is introduced Discarded for a
(colors and textures) newer style

ALSO KNOWN AS THE MERCHANDISE ACCEPTANCE CURVE

Introduction Stage
Designs and styles previewed at major
design centers
Limited acceptance by consumers
Fashion leaders
Higher prices
Small quantities produced
Rise Stage
Manufacturers adopt designs and styles
to produce with less expensive fabrics
or less detail
More affordable and more availability
Acceptance by more people
Adaptations and changes
Mass production
Peak Stage
Fashion most popular
and accepted
Variety of fashion
versions
Variety of price levels
Length at this stage
determines if fashion
becomes a classic
Decline Stage
Decreasing demand for the fashion
Fashion has “oversaturated” or flooded
the market
Consumers won’t pay high price for the
fashion
Retail markdowns occur
Obsolescence Stage
Consumers no longer
interested
Low price
Retailers not restocking
Manufacturers not
producing
Overall Fashion Cycle
Variations . . . From Flop to Classic
Length of Fashion Cycles
 Long-run fashions
 Take a long time to
complete cycle
 May have slow initial
acceptance; longer time
in popular demand
 Classics are long-run
 Short-run fashions
 Usually popular for only
one season
 Label each picture
Principles of Fashion Movement
Fashion is . . .

 Accepted or rejected by
consumers
 Not determined by price
 Not determined by sales
promotion
 Evolutionary, not
revolutionary
 Or can be extreme, causing
reversal or abrupt change
Factors that Speed Up Fashion
Cycle Movement
 Mass media, modern
communications
 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 Slow Down
Fashion Cycle Movement
 Bad economic  Religion
fashion may lead to
conditions


corruption and
 consumers have less temptation
money to spend
 Laws/government
 Cultural customs regulations
 passing down  tariffs, quotas
traditional clothing;  Disruptive world
not buying new
events
 droughts, wars,
terrorism
CLASSIFICATION OF FASHION
DESIGNERS
Fashion designers are responsible for
•sketching new designs,

There are three different catagories of fashion

designers

 Apparel Fashion Designers,

 Shoe Fashion Designers and
 Accessory Designers.
Apparel Fashion Designers
Apparel designers take care of clothing
and costumes worn by individuals around
the world -from street workers to the
stars of Hollywood
Costume designers and experts working
on this particular category of fashion are
titled as ‘apparel designers’.
Haute Couture 
Apparel designed for the rich and wealthy are
the responsibility of the haute couture fashion
designer.
Every customer is given individual attention
according to their style, personality, taste and
preferences.
Such a fashion designer prefers to take one
person at a time creating garments as per the
exact measurements of the individual.
• Prêt-a-porter
They do not conceptualize for the entire
population but for specific numbers.
Mass Market
The responsibility of creating and predicting
styles for the general population comes in the
hands of these fashion designers.
Their garments are manufactured in large 
quantities and made available for the open
market.
These apparels are generally available in
standard sizes with multiple copies of the same
design.
Keeping in mind the large demand for such
products, the opportunity to become a mass
market fashion designer is the most lucrative at
the moment.
Shoe Fashion Designers
Every individual wears shoes or footwear.
Some prefer to match them with the color of
their outfit while the others sync it with the
style.
Footwear designers are involved in creating
the different types of footwear – athletic,
casual, formal, party wear etc.
They may also be categorized on the same
lines as apparel fashion designers.
 Accessory Designers
Accessories include
 jewellery,
 bags and
all other items that do not come under
apparel.
Designers of this field indulge in creating
beautiful pieces of necklaces, bracelets, hand
bags, scarves, belts and other items used for
accessorizing.
TYPES OF FASHION
DESIGNERS