Fashion Principles, Perspectives, And Theories

M06_STAL4104_01_SE_CH06.QXD 5/20/10 10:36 AM The quickest way to kill a fashion is to see your grandmother wearing it. 102 Page 102 M06_STAL4104_01_SE_CH06.QXD 5/20/10 10:36 AM Page 103 FASHION PRINCIPLES, PERSPECTIVES, and THEORIES LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of the chapter, students will be able to: • State and explain the eight principles of fashion. • Describe at least two examples of historical continuity as it relates to fashion. • Distinguish among the different theories of fashion innovation and diffusion and state the major premise for each theory. • Compare characteristics of fashion innovators and fashion followers. • Explain a style tribe as it relates to fashion adoption. • Apply Laver’s theory on the timeline of acceptability to a variety of past and present fashions. • Argue the likelihood that James Laver’s theory on the shifting erogenous zone is still a part of contemporary fashion. • Identify the various purposes of fashion in modern Western civilization. 6 103 M06_STAL4104_01_SE_CH06.QXD 5/20/10 10:36 AM Page 104 Principles of Fashion Fashion marketers use fashion principles as guides on which to base business decisions. When marketers understand the important principles of fashion, they make educated and profitable decisions. Since crystal balls do not really exist and it is impossible to know what the future holds, fashion forecasters rely on guiding principles to identify the designs most likely to succeed among the targeted consumers. Students of fashion should commit these fashion principles to memory. They are unique to this industry, yet they have a broad application that reaches to just about any product that has an element of fashion. The following section presents a detailed discussion of each principle. FASHION FACTS: Principles of Fashion • Fashion is not related to price. • The consumer is king or queen and decides what will or will not become a fashion. • Sales promotion cannot reverse the decline in popularity of a fashion. • All fashions end in excess. • Fashion requires imitation of style or look. • Fashion change moves in a cyclical pattern. • Fashion change is usually evolutionary; it is rarely revolutionary. • Fashion is a reflection of the way of life at a given time. Fashion Is Not a Price Consumers can purchase a similar fashion look at any price point, regardless of their budgets. True fashion is available to persons from most income levels. Being fashionable does not require consumers to spend a great deal of money on clothing. Because of mass media and mass production, consumers can view and purchase similar styles of clothing manufactured at prices to fit their budgets. For example, if a nautical trend is quite fashionable one season, then a navy-and-white color combination will be a featured color combination in most stores that sell fashion apparel, from mass merchandise stores to high-end specialty stores. The same might be true if embossing is the fashionable look for leather goods. Whether a customer purchases PVC shoes at Payless Shoe Source or top grain leather at Steve Madden, the embossed look will likely be available. The instant accessibility of fashion images on the Internet and television creates a large-scale fashion demand for similar looks. Fashions at all price points can coexist and may appeal to the same consumer. As an example, Gossip Girl stylist Eric Daman believes in mixing price zones together for particular fashion looks on the show. When asked w