Fashion and Apparel
production, and
UNIT 1: Nature and Importance of Fashion Products
Topic 1: Careers /Business Opportunity, Supply Chain
WHAT IS FASHION
- Is a popular style or practice, especially in clothing,
footwear, accessories, makeup, body piercing, or
furniture
WHAT IS POPULAR CULTURE
- Popular culture is defined as all of the ideas,
perspectives, attitudes, moods, images, videos, and
expressions held by a majority of people at a given
time
HOW DOES FASHION INFLUENCE POPULAR CULTURE
- Fashion influences culture because our society
judges people by how they look and that includes
what they wear
WHAT INFLUENCES FASHION?
- Fashion is influenced by social-cultural changes,
such as modernization, technological innovation
and also by artistic movements
- Other factors that influence fashion are famous
people, models, artists, etc
HOW DOES CULTURE INFLUENCE FASHION
- Traditional costuming from around the globe is a
constant inspiration for the fashion industry
- Cultures from all around the world are associated
with fashion and our individual styles
FASHION IS ABOUT CREATING
- In order for the change which is intrinsic to fashion
to take place, the industry must continually create
new products. Used in another sense, the term
fashion means to construct, mould or make.
Fashion, therefore, also involves a strong creative
and design component. Design skill is essential and
can be seen in all products from the made-to
measure suit to the elaborate embroidery on a
cardigan. The level of design can vary considerably
from a basic item such as a T-shirt to the artistic
creations of Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Yves St
Laurent or, in more recent times, Stella McCartney.
To some the design of fashion garments can be
viewed as an art in its own right, though this is a
notion supported more in countries such as France
and Italy than in Britain. The majority of garments
sold do not come into this category, but the
inspiration for the design of many of those
garments may have come from works of art.
FASHION TIMELINE
- Mid-19th century
➢ all clothing was handmade for individuals,
either as home production or on order from
dressmakers and tailors.
- Beginning of the 20th century—with the rise of new
technologies such as:
➢ the sewing machine,
➢ the rise of global capitalism and
➢ the development of the factory system of
➢ the proliferation of retail outlets such as
department stores
*clothing had increasingly come to be mass-produced in
standard sizes and sold at fixed prices
FASHION TIMELINE 1900 – 2015
1900
- The skirt silhouette was slim at the hip with pleating
- The decoration was applied using large and small
tucks, ruffles, and buttons and lace insertions.
- For the day, ladies wore very high necks
- The Edwardian era: Retro step, delighting in small
balloon sleeves and very nipped-in waists.
- Most representative of the period were the
amazingly detailed and superbly constructed gowns.
1910
- The First World War provoked skirts above the
ankle.
- Asymmetrical designs were featured in bodices and
skirts.
- Fabrics: satin, taffeta, chiffon and light weight silks
with washable cottons to ease hot summers.
- Early Art Deco inspired prints were seen in the post
war years.
1920
- World War I ended. Fashion responded by making
dresses unfitted. hems lines perched above the
ankle but in only three years skirt lengths had risen
to unprecedented heights.
- Necklines: simple scoop or "V. Sleeves: were either
long or straight or with bell shaping.
- Sometimes a belt was applied to the hip.
- Designers of the included: Patou, Molyneux, Chanel,
Boue Souers.
1930
- Great innovations in fashion were seen during the
economic depression
- Waistlines returned to the natural position
Synthetic fabrics. Costume Jewelry, popularized by
Chanel's signature (Pearls)
- After 1935, zippers were employed.
- The movies influenced how women dressed and
what they thought about fashion
- The Hollywood phenomenon spread to Europe.
- They use a full length garden party dress with a hat
1940
- By the time the United States emerged from the
Depression, Europe and much of Asia were already
at war.
- Women who were deprived of fashions began to
look to homegrown talent
- This development changed America's fashion profile
and the market continued to gain momentum after
the war ended.
- Materials that were needed for military purposes
were restricted for civilian use.
 - The war brought social and cultural change, so - The called 'mash-up' decade because it is the first
many women entered the Workplace decade that didn't have a certain style for the most
- Pants, once considered scandalous gained part
popularity - Designers began to adopt a more colorful, feminine,
excessive, and anti-modern' look.
1950
- Vintage and retro clothing became extremely
- The birth of pret-a-porter (ready-to-wear). popular and colors like baby blue, yellow and hot
- Fashion was regulated by: code, conformity and pink were very common.
consumerism.
2015
- Women's focus was on taking care of their children
and keeping the house - Street style
- Daily activities were centered on family and home. - Celebrities of red carpet are the largest indicator of
Women dressed for 'Wifely roles. the trends
- Hawaiian textiles were popular for summer wear - One of the most things used are ripped jeans
and Asian brocades for formal wear
- Bullet bras, were also very popular
FASHION INDUSTRIES

- Multibillion-dollar *global enterprise devoted to the

business of making and selling of clothes, not
particularly in one country but several countries
*China to the world
1960
- EXAMPLE:
- In the U.S. in 1961 John . Kennedy became ➢ An inventory-tracking computer program in
President, bringing as fashion inspiration his wife a department store in London, can trigger
- Jackie Kennedy's sense of style and dress made her an automatic order to a production facility
'Queen' of American fashion. in Shanghai for a certain quantity of
- Market shifted towards a more youthful style. garments of a specified type and size to be
- Teens dominated the fashion and adults adopted delivered in a matter of days
looks.
CAREER / BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
- The French 'baby doll look comprised shorter skirts
and big hair. - Fashion industries employ millions of people
internationally. Jobs in designing, manufacturing,
1970
distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, and
- The 1970s can be called Decade of Decadence, the even promotion to all types of apparel:
'Me' decade and the decade of excess 1. Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s
- Women emerged in the workplace, they wear 2. Rarefied and expensive haute couture (literally,
pantsuits with a sense of masculine style “high sewing”)
- The hippie looks carried bohemian silhouette, 3. Designer fashions
celebrating ethnic styles in Indian style prints, free 4. Ordinary everyday clothing—from couture ball
flowing breezy dresses, and wide legged pants. gowns to casual sweatpants
- Blue jeans emerged in the 1970s as every day wear.
CAREERS IN FASHION
- Disco also have big influences like sequins all over
- Fashion designers
1980
➢ Fashion Forecasting
- Decade of materialism and excess. ➢ Color services
- Hair: coiffed to larger proportions and ➢ Color forecasting services
extravagance. Jewelry: necklaces and - Merchandisers
- Makeup: bold and colorful. long earrings - Tech designers
- Music continued to have a strong influence on - Pattern makers
fashion: MTV brought music fashion to the masses. - Sample Makers
- Pop music stars became style icons as Madonna. - RAW MATERIALS
➢ Textile & print designers
1990 ➢ Graphic designers
- Called the "anti-fashion" decade ➢ Fabric mills, converters, etc…
- Clothing trends were a reaction against the ➢ Trims Designers
materialism and excess of the 1980s ➢ Leather tanneries
- Decade of minimalism - SAMPLE MAKERS AND FABRIC MILLS, CONVERTERS
- Use of simple fabrics and uncluttered designs. Was ETC.
generally loose fitting and colorful. ➢ Beading
- Musicians had a much greater influence on what ➢ Embroidery
young people wore than designers ➢ Appliques
➢ Cyehouses
2000 ➢ Washhouses
➢ Laser Cutting
➢ Deboss/ Emboss
- PRODUCTION
 ➢ Product pattern makers SUPPLY CHAIN
➢ Grading
- Process of tracing each step of the clothes
➢ Marker makers
manufacturing process:
➢ Cutters
1. Sourcing of the raw materials,
➢ Sewers
2. Factories (where those materials are made into
➢ Finishers
garments);
- CUTTERS, SEWERS, FINISHERS
3. Distribution network by which the clothes are
➢ Vertical integrated factories or specialize
delivered to consumers.
- SALES
➢ Wholesale:
✓ Sales representatives
✓ Showrooms
✓ Tradeshow Production
➢ Retail
✓ Buyers
✓ Retail Crew / Retail Machine
✓ Visual Merchandisers
➢ Direct to Consumer Retail
✓ Visual Merchandisers
✓ Online Shop Management
✓ Web Designers

- MARKETING
➢ Public Relations
➢ Social Media
➢ Runway:
✓ Models KEY SECTOR
✓ Hair & Makeup design
✓ Set design - TEXTILE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION
✓ Runway design ➢ The production of raw materials,
✓ Runway production principally fibers and textiles but also
(Photographers, videographers etc) leather and fur
➢ Ads Agencies: ➢ The partial automation of the spinning and
✓ Billboards weaving of wool, cotton, and other natural
✓ Magazine ads fibers was one of the first accomplishments
✓ TV commercials of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th
✓ Fashion films century.
✓ Website ads ➢ In the 21st century those processes are
✓ Social media highly automated and carried out by
- Journalism computer-controlled high-speed machinery.
➢ Magazines A large sector of the textile industry
➢ Newspapers produces fabrics for use in apparel.
➢ Blogs ✓ Both natural fibres (such
➢ Websites as wool, cotton, silk, and linen) and
➢ Podcasts ✓ synthetic fibres (such as nylon, acrylic,
➢ Writers and polyester) are used.
➢ Editors ✓ High-tech synthetic fabrics confer such
➢ Graphic Designers properties as moisture wicking (e.g.,
➢ Editorial teams Coolmax),
➢ Videographers ✓ Stain resistance (e.g., 303 High Tech
- Shipping Fabric Guard),
➢ Credit Cards ✓ Retention or dissipation of body heat,
➢ Finances and protection against fire, weapons
➢ Real estate (e.g., Kevlar),
➢ Scam industries ✓ Cold (e.g., Thinsulate),
➢ Knockoffs ✓ Ultraviolet radiation (Solarweave), and
- Education other hazards.
➢ Fabrics are produced with a wide range of
effects through dyeing, weaving, printing,
and other manufacturing and finishing
processes.
➢ Together with fashion forecasters, textile
manufacturers work well in advance of the
apparel production cycle to create fabrics
with colours, textures, and other qualities
that anticipate consumer demand.
 - Fashion and Marketing
➢ the production of fashion goods by
designers, manufacturers, contractors, and
others;
➢ Designers draw inspiration from a wide
range of sources:
✓ film and television costumes, street
styles, and active sportswear.
➢ Traditional design method (sketches on
paper and draping fabric on mannequins)
have been supplemented or REPLACED by
computer-assisted design techniques.
These allow designers to rapidly make
changes to a proposed design’s silhouette,
fabric, trimmings, and other elements and
afford them the ability to instantaneously
share the proposed changes with
colleagues—whether in the next room or
on another continent.
➢ An entire product development team is
involved in planning a line and developing
the designs. The materials (fabric, linings,
buttons, etc.) need to be sourced and
ordered, and samples need to be made for
presentation to retail buyers.
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Topic 2: MARKETING PURCHASERS
Fashion designers and manufacturers promote their
clothes:
- to retailers (such as fashion buyers)
- to the media (fashion journalists)
- to customers.
Key Sector
- Media and Marketing
➢ 18th century - first dedicated fashion
magazines appeared in England and France
➢ 19th century, fashion magazines—such as
the French La Mode Illustrée, the
British Lady’s Realm, and the
American Godey’s Lady’s Book—
proliferated and flourished
➢ 20th century - The development of effective
and inexpensive methods of reproducing
photographs in print media such as Vogue.
As magazine advertising rapidly became a
principal marketing tool for the fashion
➢ These levels consist of many separate but
interdependent sectors, all of which are
devoted to the goal of satisfying consumer
demand for apparel under conditions that
enable participants in the industry to
operate at a profit.
- Fashion Show
➢ Production of inexpensive clothing copied
from or inspired by the runway designs.
Photographs and videos of fashion shows
are instantaneously transmitted to mass-
market producers.
➢ By the early 21st century fashion shows
were a regular part of the fashion calendar:
✓ Couture shows, held twice a year in
Paris (in January and July)
✓ Ready-to-wear fashion shows, held
during spring and fall “Fashion
Weeks,” of which the most important
take place in Paris, Milan, New York,
London, Tokyo to São Paolo.
✓
- Customers
Internet in the 21st century
- the inability for customers to try on clothes prior to
purchase,
- the need for facilities designed to handle clothing
returns and exchanges)
- opening up new opportunities for merchandisers
- the ability to provide customers with shopping
opportunities 24 hours per day, affording access to
rural customers).
Merchandising involves selling:
- the right product,
- at the right price, (*offering items for sale at
attractive but still profitable prices and discounting
overstocked goods.)
- at the right time (*surges in demand by rapidly
acquiring new stocks of the favored product)
- and place, (* goods attractively and accessibly
using store windows, in-store displays, and special
promotional events)
- to the right customers
FASHION MARKETING
- is the process of managing the flow of merchandise
with the goal of maximizing a company’s sales and
profitability. Successful fashion marketing depends
on understanding of consumer desire and
responding with appropriate products
- They are also responsible for:
➢ Identifying and defining a fashion
producer’s target customers (sales tracking
data, attention to media coverage, focus
groups
➢ Responding to the preferences of those
customers.
➢ Initial selection of designs to be produced
by the manufacturers
➢ To the presentation of products to retail
customers
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Chapter 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO FASHION MARKETING
“Fashion is not art, it is industry”
- Jean Muir
SOME MARKETING DEFINITIONS
- “Marketing is a human activity, directed at
satisfying needs and wants through exchange
processes”
➢ Kotler
 - “Marketing is the management process which What is Fashion Marketing?
identifies, anticipates and supplies customer
- “…. the application of a range of techniques and a
requirements efficiently and profitably”
business philosophy that centres upon the
➢ Chartered Institute of Marketing
customer and potential customer clothing and
clothing-related products and services in order to
- “Marketing is the whole business seen from the
meet the long-term goals of the organization”
point of view of its final result, that is from the
➢ Mike Easey
customer’s point of view”
➢ Drucker

- Marketing is about making it easy for the customer TWO VIEWS OF FASHION MARKETING
to say “YES” Fashion Design should be
Sample
- Write down what makes it easy for you to say ‘YES’ marketing is the based solely on
and make a purchase statements same as marketing
- The aim of marketing is to eliminate the need for promotion research
selling Assumption Sell what we can Make what we
make can sell
Orientation Design centered Marketing
WHAT IS FASHION? centered
Alleged High failure rates Bland designs
- Fashion involves change, accepted change, defined Relies on Stifles creativity
drawbacks intuition
as a succession of short-term trends or fads
- Styles do not become fashions unless they win
acceptance amongst consumers
THE FASHION MARKETING CONCEPT
- Fashion is not just about clothing

High DESIGN FASHION

FASHION PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
Concern for CENTRED MARKETING
RELATED FASHION Fashion CONCEPT
SERVICES Design Low FAILURE MARKETING
CENTRED
Advice on garment
coordination Cosmetic Concern for customers and
surgery Tattoos Hairdressing profit
Garment alteration,
cleaning, repairs Sun
tanning FASHION MERCHANDISING

- The retailers’ role in fashion marketing is very

I -
important
Merchandising = the buying and selling of goods.
CLOTHING USAGE - Fashion Merchandising aims to have:
SITUATIONS ➢ The right fashion merchandise, at the right
Underwear...Outerwear place, at the right time, in the right
Formal……..Informal Work/School
quantities at the right price
Bespoke… ..Ready-made Leisure
Natural……..Man-made Domestic

I Marketing Mix – 4 P’s

- Product
Fashion-related products ➢ what a business offers customers to satisfy
needs
Shoes, Hats, Hosiery, - Price
Jewelry, Belts, Bags, ➢ the amount the customer pays for products
Scarves, Cosmetics, - Promotion
Fragrances, Wigs
➢ the ways a customer is informed and
encouraged to buy the product
- But fashion fulfills more than just a basic need of - Place (distribution)
clothing and home furnishings ➢ involves getting the product to the
- Fashion fulfills a need to reflect an image of oneself customer
to the world
KEY MARKETING FUNCTIONS The Marketing Triangle

Functions of Marketing - Illustrates the relationships within marketing

- Marketing Information Management

- Financing Customers
- Pricing
- Promotion
- Product/Service Management
- Place (Distribution)

Marketing-Information Management

- Involves gathering and using information about

what consumers want

Competitors Company
Financing
- Involves planning ways to cover the costs of
successfully operating the business Marketing Dynamism

- Marketing Strategies cannot be static

Pricing - They must respond to a changing environment
- Is the process of setting the value or cost at the
right level
- Must cover costs of all other marketing functions
- Is the only element of the mix which brings in cash
- Depends on the costs of production plus a margin
for profit
- Needs to reflect demand

Promotion

- Is communicating with the customers about the

product to achieve the desired objective
- Methods of promotion include:
➢ Advertising
➢ Personal selling
➢ Publicity
➢ Sales promotions
➢ Public relations

Product/Service Management

- Designing, producing, maintaining, improving

and/or acquiring products or services to meet
customer needs.

Place (Distribution)

- involves moving the product each step from the

design idea to the consumer