Sandro is a French brand of a public fashion company SMCP, which is currently controlled by a Chinese company Shandong Ruyi. SMCP annual revenue has been increasing over the past years, and the annual report for 2016 shows that the sales produced $939 million (Denis). The company headquarters are located in Paris, France, on 150, Boulevard Haussmann ( Welcome New Headquarters ). Sandros flagship store is located in London, the United Kingdom at 137-139 Regent Street. The store carries the brands full collection, including men and womens fashion, as well as accessories (Santamaria).
History
Sandro as a brand was created in 1984 by Evelyne Chetrite and Didier Chetrite. The company began in the Marais district of Paris and focused primarily on womens fashion. The first retail store of the company opened on rue Vieille du Temple, Paris in 2004. The switch to a retail pure-player model allowed the company to expand its ambitions and eventually led to a network of stores across the country.
In 2007, the company produced its first male line of clothing. Called Sandro Homme, it was created by Ilan Chetrite, the son of the founders. His childhood experience of growing up in the fashion industry created a deep connection with the design, which he expressed in his work for the company. In 2009, the company acquired fashion brand Claudie Pierlot in preparation for the creation of the SMCP group in 2010. SMCP stands for Sandro Maje and Claudie Pierlot, all of which are Parisian fashion brands.
By 2011, the SMCP group had opened its 500th store and expanded to the United States fashion market. Since then, the company hit a period of rapid international expansion. In 2012, the company opened its first location in Hong Kong, and in 2013 it spread to Mainland China. By 2015, the company owned more than 1000 stores across the globe. In 2016, its digital sales reached 10% of all revenue, which showed the adaptability of the company to the advancing online retail market ( History ).
Design Philosophy of the Label
The artistic director of the female line of Sandro products is Evelyne Chetrite, and she describes her creations as unambiguous clothing for urban women looking for a discreet but eye-catching look. Her designs shaped the image of the company since its inception in 1984 since the male lines of Sandro clothing were first designed decades later ( Designers ).
The male line of Sandro fashion holds a slightly different design philosophy. These clothes combine non-conformism and chic. Among cut and fitted suits, the artistic director of the male Sandro collection, Ilan Chetrite, creates slightly oversized long coats, and other unusual designs ( Designers ).
Signature Details of a Collection
The 2017/2018 Fall/Winter collection could serve as an example of Sandros clothing design. The collection is designed around a concept of a working girl, with strong shoulders and cinched waistline. The line includes belted jackets that reflect the signature feminine focus of Sandro, while at the same time empowering the female figure (Allende).
The Target Customer
The primary customers of the brand are women older than 18 but younger than 30 years old, who are interested in accentuating their femininity while retaining the look of professionalism at work. The prices of Sandro fashion suggest that the target customer has a medium to high level of income. The target customer is presumed to have an active lifestyle, and need to express themselves through their clothing. The company primarily targets urban residents who follow the fashion industry.
Appealing Elements of the Label
The label presents a unique combination of professional clothes that could be worn in the work setting, while also focusing on unique and very feminine designs. The company provides clothing for the majority of urban activities. While the male line of clothing takes up a smaller portion of the company, it is focused on a similar need to provide both clothes for both professional and leisurely activities.
Why Do I Want to Work For This Company?
One of my life goals is to be a fashion designer in a company like Sandro. Their label is relatively new, but it quickly gained acclaim for its unique and practical designs. Their clothing not only represents the style I enjoy but also presents an image of a woman who is confident in both work and pleasure, which is precisely the image that I relate to. The fact that the company began only in 1984 allows it to avoid relying on outdated traditions in design and culture while creating highly desirable clothing. Their success shows that it is possible to make a breakthrough in the fashion industry, even for those who have little previous experience. Their philosophy, culture, and design sensibilities align with my preferred vision on fashion, and I hope to join Sandro in the future.
Conclusion
Sandro is a part of a large fashion company which was created relatively recently. It has been successful due to its design philosophy and careful choice of the target customer. Hopefully, I could join the company as a fashion designer in the future.
The issue of child labor in fast fashion is quite acute today. Global brands using cheap labor have pledged to eradicate this practice. In 1992, about 10% of the garment workers were under the age of 14. The following year, when the US Child Labor Restriction Bill appeared, about 50,000 underage workers left factories (Minney). At the same time, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association pledged to phase out child labor and return children to school. The association also supported a 2010 law prohibiting the employment of children under 14 years of age (Statista Research Department). Unfortunately, these promises in the garment industry have yet to be fulfilled. For example, the Bangladesh government states that child labor is not currently used in this industry. However, unfortunately, this is far from being the case everywhere, and this problem must be addressed as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it is impossible to do this without actions by the state.
There are many reasons for the high level of child labor in fast fashion, in particular, different aspects of modern consumer culture. People are looking for new beautiful clothes at a low cost, so factories produce substandard goods in significant quantities. In addition, to reduce production costs, company owners are moving factories to emerging countries such as, for instance, India of Bangladesh (Hammer and Plugor). This can be considered one of the effects of globalization, which allows these organizations to become international. Thus, they can build new factories all around the world. Unfortunately, this trend only makes the industry worse. In poorer countries, these companies often hire women and children, and their wages are unreasonably low. In addition, the working conditions in these places are appalling, which undoubtedly has a negative impact on childrens health. Therefore, this problem must be approached carefully and comprehensively to truly eliminate such options for cooperation between employers and employees.
Most of the kids working in the fast fashion industry come from low-income families. Families in comparatively affluent garment regions rarely send their daughters to work in factories. However, in poorer regions, even with initiatives to reduce the cost of schooling for girls, many young women still drop out of high school. Often they do not have the opportunity to get paid work, and as a result, they have only one option: marriage. Consequently, when many girls have to choose between factory labor and early marriage, not hiring girls under the age of 18 can do more harm than good. To free girls from this choice and reduce the presence of kids in factories, it is necessary to combat poverty in rural areas actively.
By refusing to receive education, children become part of a system from which, over time, it becomes impossible to escape. According to UNICEF and the International Labor Organization, around 170 million children are employed in the garment industry worldwide (Moulds). Workers are also forced to work overtime without wage increases. This means that mothers have to either leave their children alone or take them to work. Many factories have what they call day care, which is actually just a corner where the babies wait for their mothers.
Consumers around the world are rejecting child-made clothing, and this trend is commendable. Children under the age of 18 should go to school and learn vital life skills, not work long hours in poor conditions. The garment industry is indeed in need of substantial reform. However, so far, to not expose women and girls to new, unnecessary suffering, the promise to eliminate child labor may not be the right solution. Building a new labor system would take a long time and effort because it is necessary to reconsider work attitude completely. However, it is possible, but only with the right intentions from the side of factories and readiness for cooperation and changes from the side of employees.
Hammer, N., and R. Plugor. Disconnecting Labour? The Labour Process in the UK Fast Fashion Value Chain. Work, Employment and Society, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 913928.
Solomon argues that since the advancement of technology and with a great number of people depending more on the media, society has continued to view aspects of sexuality from different perspectives. In the earlier years, any form of nudity in the media was seen as pornography and was highly discouraged because it was seen to negatively influence social morals. However, with more usage of the media for advertising and passing information, women and men are taking nudity to a different perspective.
According to Creed (2003), the media today contains quite some images of men and women acting as a form of advertising and promoting fashion. It is quite clear that with these images and with messages on sexuality, the social ways of living with dignity are likely to be affected. People have tried to borrow their identities from the media as a way of trying to be like the fashioners, making society a great change from the earlier years. Most of the young people are using most of their free time on the web, trying to make new friends and making social interaction indirect participation.
In the U.S. fashion industry, sexual images have been used to sell fashion for decades, with celebrities like Laura Mulvey, Germain Greer, and Kate Millet and there have been many objections from people while yet others supported it. In the current advertising campaigns, brands have started looking into peoples different views towards sexual images in advertising (Kegan, 2006).
Fashion and the media
According to Creed (2003), the glory of fashion is not just in the art but also in the way people take it in their day to days way of living. The fashion industry is very engrossed in gender and technology and most especially in feminism. It uses technology to make women beautiful and promote the fashion industry. Fashion magazines, television, movies, and the internet are examples of technology working towards advancing fashion, and to have the ability to determine what is beautiful and what is not in the fashion industry is a major challenge that must be critically looked into.
BenStock (1994) argues that fashion can be said to be a powerful aspect of art that assists us to express our personalities and feelings towards a particular thing. In todays society, men are perceived differently than women in fashion. Women are more exposed to staining their public image than men. Some people argue that a woman who shows interest in the fashion sector risks be taken as one who lacks dignity and who is disrespecting feminism. Fashion is seen by many people as the cause of many irresponsible and bad behaviors in society. It is therefore in this aspect that despite the growth in the sector, critics are also rising and there have been campaigns to restrict the extent to which fashion is taking its course.
Since the beginning of the art of fashion as early as the 19th Century, there have been different views of the way people relate it with feminism and the images that are used. As technology improves and as more people gain confidence in posing for pictures, the industry can be said to be taking a new direction that is heading towards social immorality. On the one hand, people feel that if women continue participating in the media and fashion, sexual immorality may become a norm and society may accept nudity as a formal way of promoting art. On the other hand, others feel that fashion and women ought to go together for the industry to grow. They fully support the use of female pictures in the media and they feel that images do not necessarily pass sexual messages to the public (Creed, 2003).
The rejection of feminism in fashion was taken by some supporters in the UK as the destruction of sexual stereotypes. The supporters argued that a womans way to attain power is to use her sexuality and power in fashion is a key factor to possess. In the late 1960s, Kate Millet who wrote an article entitled, Sexual Politics tried to criticize the people rejecting feminism and according to her, these were the people who wanted men to dominate all areas of life. She argued that feminism in fashion was the only way to its success and by rejecting feminism, people were rejecting growth. According to her, the campaigners against feminism in fashion were reasoning in terms of politics where men dominated and women hardly had a chance (BenStock, 1994).
There was also Betty Friedman, a feminist in the US who fully supported the role of women in fashion. According to Gamble (2006), Betty contributed to the establishment of the Womans Liberation Movement and was also one of the founders of the National Organization for Women. In her view, anyone who was restricting women to participate in fashion was preventing them to advance their talents. Beauty, according to her was something to be appreciated and women could do this through fashion.
Laura Ashley Mulvey brought out the theme of improving the feminine look in the 1980s. She failed to comprehend how people would restrict women from using their strengths in beauty to promote fashion. She was a professional designer and she used design as a way of bringing in more women into the fashion industry. She had her counterparts like Susan Brown Miller who emphasized masculinity as a factor to consider in fashion. Brown worked with Mulveys concepts to bring in the important aspects of fashion. Other supporters of feminism in fashion were Luce Iragaray, a Belgian feminist, and Helene Cixus a French feminist writer (Kegan, 2006).
On the other hand, some were less concerned with feminism and valued women as sex objects. Helmut Newton, one of the most famous photographers in the world, considered women to be sex objects and he had no great value for feminism. He showed the power of women in a fashion, not through feminism but their bodies and images of nudity (Kegan, 2006).
All these brought out the different peoples views towards feminism and sexuality in fashion.
Fashion in culture
Solomon (2006) argues that there are quite a several ideas and perceptions about gender and sexuality that are continuously being communicated by contemporary fashion images. Most of these ideas are on sexuality and feminism which are portrayed by gender and society. Different cultures perceive sexual means and feminism in fashion and this has led to many controversial issues arising as a result.
On the other hand, people have different specifications on the kind of gender that they find most appealing. In different parts of the world, people have different opinions about feminism and in the earlier years the art of fashion was condemned by feminists and factors like dressing and beauty were considered to be a means towards destroying feminism. However, by the 1970s, gender had become an important factor to be taken into analysis while identifying oneself in fashion (Solomon, 2007).
According to Kegan (2006), the cultural aspect of feminism and feminine appearance implies the kind of standards that women are to bear to make fashion clear and to ensure that sexual identity is enhanced. These standards that have been put up by different artists have tried to re-examine the behavioral expectations of the women and men towards the existing social set-up. This way, society will be more informed about the changes in fashion and the fashion industry will also be able to understand the needs of society and its views towards fashion and gender.
Todays provocative and pornographic images are all over the billboards, movies, advertisements, magazines, and the internet with women, and since, in the recent world, people believe that sex and nudity sell, there is the possibility that the social norms may soon be put aside. Pornography is likely to continue appearing as a normal issue and women may become sexual objects when their bodies and sexuality are linked to marketing goods through the media. The cultural values seem to be ignored with more extensive use of fashion in the media (BenStock, 1994).
Media, gender and identity
With the improvement in technology and with higher reliance on the media for information, it seems like both men and women are in a battle to who ought to be powerful. In the early 80s, men were seen to be powerful in all aspects and the world was dominated by their activities. Today, however, both sexes have become equal and competition has been going up for the most recognized positions, both in politics and in art. There have been formal rights for the woman, making them equally superior and this has created concerns regarding what people have been taking as healthy feminism (Embree, 1970).
According to Solomon (2007), confusion of identity has arisen from the effects of media to the extent that intimate relationships and marriages have been based on what is going on in all other parts of the world and not on the traditional norms. Many children are now being born out of wedlock and as women fight their way into recognition, they have been more involved in economic productivity through employment making their time at home minimal.
In other words, democracy has gone deep into the emotional aspect of society and most is that feminism has gone to a deeper level not just in fashion but also in the concept of social identity. Women have risen from just being perceived as objects to taking control of development and it is also through this that feminism and masculinity haveare been over-used to create recognition for same-sex relationships (Gamble, 2006).
Solomon (2007) argues that by supporting the legal recognition of civil unions for gay people and lesbians, the media can be said to be heading in the opposite direction for social identity. Sex and sexuality have come to be taken in different ways in society, resulting in the rejection of the old practices and the introduction of new ones.
Conclusion
In conclusion, diverse ideas about gender and sexuality are communicated by contemporary fashion images that are taking dominance in the media. The sexual and cultural aspects of feminism and masculinity have been identified by the fashion images through media. Identity has also been greatly affected by these aspects mainly because those who possess a dominant factor in terms of masculinity or feminism may not feel powerful in society and may distinguish their characteristics to create power.
It is therefore clear that the media can be taken as having both a positive and a negative impact on society and towards fashion. Feminism and masculinity are the key aspects towards the growth of fashion, but when they are over-used they tend to go against cultural dignity and pornography takes effect. However, with photographers like Helmut Newton and other artists, sexuality is one way of bringing out the real art of fashion and this, according to them, is what makes fashion.
Works Cited
BenStock, S, 1994.On Fashion: Rutgers University Press, UK.
Creed, B, 2003. Media Matrix: Sexing the New Reality: Allen & Unwin Publishers; New York.
Embree, A, Morgsan, A, 1970. Burning Femininity: Article.
Gamble, S, 2006. Feminism and Post-Feminism. Article.
There is a considerable difference between many works done by children. Some may be classified as difficult and more tasking than others, others may be considered as hazardous and to some extent morally reprehensible (Basu & Zarghamee, 2009). In this perspective it is logical to define what the term child labour means. Most often child labour is defined as particular kinds of works that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and dignity, and subsequently becomes harmful to their physical and mental growth (Baland & Robinson, 2000). Particular works considered to be morally or socially, mentally, and physically dangerous to the childrens wellbeing; and that which demand that they drop out of school prematurely, deprive them the opportunity to attend school or that which force them to combine schooling and excessive work (p.663). In extreme cases, child labour may involve children being separated from their families, enslaved, subjected to seriously dangerous exposure, and sometimes end up on streets to find ways in which they can fend for themselves (Bhukuth, 2008). Even tough a particular form of work can be categorized as child labor, the exploitation will depend on the age of the child, type of work, hours performed, condition in which it is performed as well as the objectives pursued by the individual countries or sectors (p.385). Since not all types of work that children participate in are regarded as child labour, children who participate in works which are considered healthy for their physical, mental and social growth are not classified as under child labour (Bhukuth, 2008). It is also noted that globalization has an impact on child labour. According to Edmonds (2002) there are two ways in which globalization would interact with child labour, i.e.: increasing the opportunities for more work hence enticing the poor households in developing countries to involve their children to work in such places as garment industries. Secondly, globalization increases the level of influence the developed countries have on the developing countries in their domestic policies, hence a possibility of reducing child labour if sanctions are used against the developed nations (Edmonds, 2002). This paper discusses child labour and its place in the fashion industry, analyzing some critical views and studies in the past and present.
Differing Perspectives of about Child Labour
In the moral perspective, it may sound unjustified to support child labour but several economists have argued in different perspective and proposed policies that would help children prosper. According to the traditional economic arguments that are based on perfect competition, its proponents are likely to promote child labour in the sense that it will promote economic growth through cheap labour. According to this approach, increasing the wages for the workers will reduce employment and even make workers worse than they are supposed to be (Johnson, 1994). Again, restricting or banning child labor is likely to make children redundant once they are out of the legitimate work process, a process that is basically illegal (Johnson, 1994).
However, many people on the moral side of the argument have insisted that child labor breaks the bond that is supposed to be present between the parents and the child as the latter is exposed to the outside environment prematurely (Ravallion & Wodon, 2000). The other basis of argument is that children are supposed to be sent to school so as their wages are added to their parents wages hence increase (Ravallion & Wodon, 2000). In these arguments, it is assumed that if all the children are withdrawn from work, the wages of their parents will increase and subsequently increase the living standards of the entire families for the children to be able to go to school.
The Sweatshop and Child Labour
Even though there is a popular belief that children no longer work in the fashion industry and sweatshops, many observers see the problem as still alive and persistent (Wilson, 1997). In the fashion industry just like any other industry, child labour has been of very much concern to the society. According to Wilson (1997) it was apparent that many countries were facing problems of child labour in the fashion industry. Many of them were found working in the cotton fields, ginnery and high street fashions where they mainly involved in processes such as beadwork, T-shirts embroidery, accessories, and many other fashion products (Wilson, 1997). Research indicate that the major reason why child labour thrived in the fashion industry is because children are paid less wages, a third of what adults are paid for the same or similar tasks (Nifong, 1997). This is perpetuated by the fact that consumers demand more for little, i.e. cheaper products for little costs, while the manufacturers and companies also desire to maximize profits (Nifong, 1997). The economic policies that deny parents of these children their livelihoods have also been associated with the increase in child labour (Nifong, 1997). In this case, the children are at risk of being subjected to hard labour just to help in the feeding of the family members.
It may be difficult to explicitly state the number of children who are economically active, i.e. working to earn a living due to many countries unwillingness to share the data about the population of their children considered to be exposed to unjustified work conditions (Nifong, 1997). However, statistical estimates indicate that about 200 million children worldwide between the ages of 4 and 14, in addition to 140 million of ages15-17 are involved in difficult economic activities (Bhukuth, 2008). Of all these, approximately a half of these children are exposed to risky work environment (p.386). Many governments have made considerable effort in the development of various programs to help cub the problems associated with child labour in the high street fashion industry. For instance many developing countries have tried to remove children from their places of work back to school as well as educating the society that child labour is illegal and the children too have rights to live and enjoy their childhood (Knoebel, 1988).
However developed countries led by the US are said to make many of their products in their overseas partners with little expenditure on the cost of production. Baland & Robinson (2000) claim that those American companies in different countries have not been favorable to the employees especially when it comes to compensation and work environment, acknowledging that sweatshops are still present with numerous numbers of children currently employed as workers.
In many occasions, the society has ignored the problem of child labour as practiced in sweatshops in the fashion industry (Bhukuth, 2008). In the recent past, there was a shocking revelation that an Americas prominent personality Kathie Lee was the figure behind the exploitation of underage children in Honduras fashion industry (Bhukuth, 2008). This particular story reignited the used to be rather dormant issue of children exploitation in the fashion industry sweatshops, making the society to start rethinking of their views and opinions about the end of sweatshops and child labour. According to Bhukuth (2008) the presence of sweatshops can never be assumed since it is still alive in both developed and developing nations. Wilson (1997) observes that sweatshops do practice the inhumane exploitation of many young and underage workers whom they are pay extremely low wages despite working for very long hours.
The general belief that sweatshops have been done away with has existed for quite sometime among many people. However Ravallion & Wodon (2000) claim that sweatshops do not only exist in developing countries but even to the developed countries like United States and UK. The human rights abuse is widely seen among the garment contractors where the workers are underpaid; the workers are paid far much less than the minimum wage requirement (p.159). According to the United States Labor Department, working conditions of the employees were deplorable with some news coming out that the over 70 jailed laborers from Thailand in El Monte, Los Angeles were forced to work for over 22hours a day for seven days per week and were paid only $ 1.60 per hour (Bhukuth, 2008). Other evidences has shown that sweatshops are very active against the assumptions that they were diminishing or even extinct (p.389).
Globalization and Child Labour
There are two ways in which globalization and child labour interconnect: the fact that globalization may increase opportunities for employment means that the poor households are likely involve their children to work in factories like those found in garment industries to increase family income; secondly the rich nations investing in developing nations may use their influence to push the developing nations to eradicate child labour, hence reducing the menace (Edmonds, 2002).
Plate 1: Child working in a small scale sewing industry in Pakistan (Source: Article&Forums, 2009)
Globalization would lead to industrialized nations investing in developing nations. Such investments will increase the host developing countys export, then subsequently increasing demand for local labour and higher wages (Edmonds, 2002). Such kinds of developments will most likely increase child labour, with poor households sending their children to work in the industries to boost family income. Indirectly, the enticing wages in industry works may make parents of the children to increase their working hours in the industry, thus delegating most of the household works to the children (Edmond, 2002, p. 3). In another dimension, proponents of globalization claim that the fact that globalization can increase family income makes it possible for parents to reduce involving their children in both industrial and domestic works (Edmond, 2002). This is possible when parents buy substitutes for gods that were initially produces by their children, or compensate for the money once earned by their children through increased income (Edmond, 2002). However, critics insist that globalization will increase competition in the export industries thus forcing small local firms that offered employment out of business, consequently reducing employment opportunities.
Culture and Child Labour
Many scholars have observed that child labour varies from culture to culture. This interconnectivity has increased its complexity in that even within a particular culture, the perception on child may differ (Edmonds, 2002). According to Edmonds, in some particular culture like in African countries, it is usually normal to find children carrying out multiple works in households and to a stranger from western countries; this would amount to child labour.
In some countries particularly West Africa, children are forced out of their homes due to poverty to work in firms as far as crossing the borders (Ravallion & Wodon, 2000). Such cases have been observed between Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, with a good number of children working in palm oil, coffee and cocoa plantations and processing factories (Ravallion & Wodon, 2000).
Recent Cases of Child Labour
A report by BBC that implicated Primark, a garment manufacturer in UK exposed some of the most worrying trends in the fashion industry (BBC, 1998). The report found inquiry found out that the companies affiliated to Primark used child labour as well as low wages to keep illegal immigrants in the UK (BBC, 1998). In Liberia, firestone was accused of putting unfavorable work conditions to its workers where they were required to fulfill certain levels of productions or else their wages will be cut by a half thus prompting them to carry their children with them to work. This revelation led to a worldwide protest and campaign against Firestone Company (Bhukuth, 2008). In 2008, the Labor Commissioner for Iowa David Neil said that the department of labour revealed that agricultural product processing farms had recruited nearly 60 underage children, as young as 14 years old to work in the factories, subsequently going against the state law that prohibits anybody under the age of 18 from working in such processing plants (Bhukuth, 2008).
Pro-child labour Cases
Even though many have expressed concerns on the increased use of child labour in the fashion industry especially in the developed nations, others have argued that any proposal to boycott these products from the child labour will be counterproductive since the children are likely to resort to more dangerous activities that would be detrimental to their lives and the welfare of the society (Nifong, 1997). For instance a study conducted by UNICEF revealed that after the introduction of Child Labor Deterrence Act in the United Sates, approximately 50000 children lost their jobs in Bangladesh, consequently leaving them with little options such as prostitutions and stone-crushing (Basu & Zarghamee, 2009). Accordingly, these jobs are considered more dangerous and destructive to the children than the fashion or garment industry. Milton Friedman cited in Johnson (1994) states that the child labour is not a strange happening since it started during the industrial revolution. Murray Rothbard, cited in Johnson (1994) states that British and American children during before and after the industrial revolution suffered more and even went a head and worked voluntarily in the factories without being forced because they had no jobs completely.
Government Initiatives
The governments initiatives have shown the level of concern that sweatshops have brought to society. United States government for instance acknowledged that sweatshops have a new dimension of child labor, with many children discreetly employed into these shops with horrible monthly wages. In the United States, the Congress gave the mandate to promote a sense of social responsibility among the general population so as to clean up the poor conditions of the both mental and physical health of children (Nifong, 1997). However, Wilson (1997, p.1) observes that the Task Force did not meet the projected objectives and goals. He states that the fashion industrys reluctance to comply with the regulatory requirements is one of the major reasons why the problem has persisted. For instance the Congressional Mandate puts it as an obligation that firms must pay the local minimum wage or just the prevailing minimum wage or at least adopt the prevailing wage limit in that particular industry (Nifong, 1997). According to Wilson, it is unfortunate that this set-up minimum wage is not practical as many firms from developing countries normally have insufficient standards where the minimum wages are set so as to attract foreign investors (Wilson, 1997, p.1). The problem with such set-up laws all over the world is that there is a general feeling of the need to only reach the minimum level with little commitment to take it as a firms responsibility. As Nifong (1997) observes, in real sense the fashion industry merely complies with the substandard laws that have already been created.
The combination between Task Force Agreement and the Congressional Mandate eventually led to the legalization process and practice that were actually taken as not humanely and thus acted as the benchmark for approval standards (Wilson, 1997; Nifong, 1997). The indication by the Congress that there was serious need for legislation eventually showed the insufficiencies in these regulations (Nifong, 1997). It therefore called for strict measures that would ensure a bit of fairness and equality of garment workers treatment. The Code of conduct that the congress passed also lacked the nerve to eliminate the sweatshops since companies like Nike had started implementing many of these policies, despite clear evidence that the working environment of these companies would still pass out for sweatshops due to their inhumane nature and absorption of child labor (Wilson, 1997). Furthermore, the companies decided to ignore the child labor laws thus exposing the underage to a 12hour per day work against the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1937. The act prohibited child labor among many other things even though it lacks the regulatory measurements to monitor its effectiveness (Nifong, 1997; Wilson, 1997). Wilson (1997, p.1) claims that it would be effective if the code of conduct used the Fair Labor Standard Act of 1937 standards to establish their pay instead of the current situation where the workers, including children are pushed to voluntarily work past normal working hours and paid wages not commensurate to the tasks accomplished.
It is observed that a payment system that would be considered fair is possible to implement by just linking some of the regulations from the labor laws and at the same time get use of the support from the NGOs. In this part, NGOs play the role of monitoring the groups of firms to closely establish where there may be loopholes as well as creating a sense of responsibilities among these people (Nifong, 1997; Knoebel, 1988).
In the UK, There has been unending campaign by the Fair Trade and Non-governmental organizations for the governments to change their policies in regard to child labour in sweatshops (Wilson, 1997). As observed, a typical single workshop in the UK employed children whose average aged is 12 as workers who would spend 14 and 16 hours daily in the garment factories (Nifong, 1997). These children undergo brutal lifestyle where the only entertainment is a television that is only present when they are taking their meals (Nifong, 1997). Worse still, they earn less that $5 per month as most of the workshop owners are not very much educated hence show little interest in education. Nifong (1997) says that we cannot just withdraw children from work without a supportive structure to help them cope with the current economic situation. He states that the current campaign to discourage child labour must follow a logical framework where the children begin schooling at the same age of their entry into the labour market (Nifong, 1997). In addition children going to school will increase in number if there are partnerships between parents, governments and the industry owners (p.87). According to Bhukuth (2008) Fair Trade movement is basically against child labour but not child work, where the latter gives the children opportunity to assist their families, boost their self-esteem and at the same time learn various skills and knowledge
Nifong (1997, p.2) argues that even though sweatshops are faced with numerous controversies as concerns child labour and low wages, there is the positive side that has been shown; it is possible to eliminate them, with more economic benefits. He highlights that the private company regulations of 1993 which some companies like Reebok have implemented successfully and consequently have managed to manage its factories with no loss made in several successive financial years (p.2). Many economists have argued that elimination of sweatshops will be of many benefits to the economy as it will boost individual income. Adam Smith, as cited in Knoebel (1988, p.172) stated that the economy will benefit if employers paid good wages to their employees. He states that while the manufacturer brings his goods and services to the market, they tend to benefit from the increased level of purchase from their employees wages, hence advancing their income and at the same time that of the employee (Knoebel, 1988). In simple terms, this may imply that as wages increase the individual income, the economy stabilizes and the money workers earn can be reinvested into the economy. In this way the people will be able to educate their children rather that sending them to factories to work for a family income. Bhukuth (2008) supports this when he says that this is the best way to reduce child labour.
Even though there is a possibility that both the countries economies as well as society have the opportunity to gain from the elimination of sweat shops, many governments and the fashion industry have shown inherent failure in an attempt to solve the problem adequately (Knoebel, 1988). May be efforts by governments to sponsor monitoring teams will prove effective at the initial stages of trying to sort out the issues as concerns the plight of workers (Ravallion & Wodon, 2000). At present, just a handful of companies have made some little efforts to have their own independent monitoring teams which have proved ineffective. Even though majority of the lobbyists prefer monitoring through the use of human rights, the fashion industry players wants the monitoring to be done in the accounting perspectives, where the team to monitor should be composed of accountants but the (Nifong, 1997, p. 2).
According to Ravallion & Wodon (2000) the fact there are policies guiding the problem of child labour is not a guarantee that it will work. For example, it is stated that India has one of the best child labour policy but has never been implemented effectively to help the suffering children in the hands of brutal employers. He therefore states that the key to prosperity in this effort is to ensure the enforcement process is done to the outlined procedures. Certain research has suggested that elimination of sweatshops is in essence beneficial to the entire economy and the general welfare of the society (Nifong, 1997). In the developed world, it is observed that very few sweatshops observe the rule of making the work conditions to the required standards of health codes, thereby convincing many observers that sweatshop labour exploitation of children will be with us to stay as long the respective governments fail to take the initiative of enforcing appropriate policies and creating awareness.
Conclusion
The popular belief that there are no children working in the fashion industry seems to be a notion with no apparent convincing explanation. The level of concern experienced by many scholars is an indicator of the presence of the problem. Further research indicating that the major reason why child labour thrived in the fashion industry is because children are paid less wages, a third of what adults are paid for the same or similar tasks (Nifong, 1997) is likely to drive the profit motives of using child labour. This may be aggravated by the fact that consumers demand more for little, i.e. cheaper products for little costs, while the manufacturers and companies also desire to maximize
Baland, J. & Robinson J. (2000) Is child labor inefficient? Journal of Political Economy,108, 663-679.
Basu, K & Zarghamee, H. (2009) Is product boycott a good idea for controlling child labour? A theoretical investigation. Journal of Development, 88, 217-220.
Bhukuth, A. (2008) Defining child labour: a controversial debate. Development in Practice, 18, 385-394.
Edmonds, E. (2002) Globalization and the economics of child labor. Neve Zurcher Zeitenung, (3) 2:4.
Johnson, P. (1994) American Government. Boston, Houghton Mifflin.
Knoebel, E. (1988) The Modern World. Orlando, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Nifong, C. (1997) No Sweat Pact to Cut Garment Worker Abuse. New York, The Christian Science Monitor.
Ravallion, M & Wodon, Q. (2000) Does child labour displace schooling? Evidence on behavioural responses to an enrollment subsidy. Economic Journal, 110, C158-C175.
Wilson, D. (1997) Fashion Industry Forum.. Economic Journal, 101, C138-C155.
Fashion has long been used to communicate gender and sexuality. From corsets to contemporary streetwear, clothing is a powerful way of expressing identity and communicating with the outside world. It can express edginess, femininity, masculinity, or any combination. By adopting certain styles, people can show others how they want to be perceived or challenge traditional ideas about gender roles or stereotypes. At its core, fashion has always been about individual expression; it allows the communication of personal beliefs, values, and preferences. Today, there is an ever-greater variety of clothing styles available to express gender and sexuality than in the past; it is no longer limited to traditional male or female roles. As fashion continues to evolve, it plays a critical role in shifting attitudes around gender and sexuality by creating new ways of self-expression. Through clothing choices, people can signal their social status, beliefs, and valueswhether they are expressing their individuality or fitting into a particular group or community. While exploring different fashion styles allows identity communication without saying a word, it also problematizes gender and sexuality identity.
Examples of Ways that Fashion Has Been Used as a Self-Expression Tool
There are several examples where fashion has long been used as a self-expression tool to communicate ones gender and sexuality. Some examples can be seen in The Politics of Dress: Understanding Identity and Representation Through Clothing by Jennifer Craik (2020, p. 28). In this book, the author discusses how fashion traditionally connotes femininity and masculinity with certain styles, such as tight-fitting clothing being associated with female beauty or baggy trousers being associated with male toughness. Fashion has been used as an incredibly powerful tool that can be used to communicate different gender and sexual identities, as well as challenge traditional norms. Over the years, gender stereotypes have become increasingly fluid in how clothing is seen, with men and women wearing items traditionally associated with the opposite gender. The book Crossing Gender Norms Through Fashion (Slade et al., 2020, p. 30) also explored how fashion can challenge and disrupt gender norms. The authors found that by wearing clothing items traditionally associated with the opposite gender, individuals could use fashion to break down traditional gender roles and express their own unique identity.
For example, female consumers may wear trousers or t-shirts, typically seen as masculine, while male consumers may choose to wear skirts or dresses, typically seen as feminine. Fashion can also be used to communicate different types of sexualities. For example, individuals may choose to dress in a way that reflects their identity or experiences (Ma, 2022, p. 9). This could include using fashion to express non-binary identities and queering style trends. Accessories such as pins, badges, and slogans often express messages about sex or politics. People can express themselves uniquely and empower themselves by incorporating various styles, colors, and textures into their wardrobes. Fashion can also be used to challenge the traditional gender binary. To challenge this binary, people might experiment with clothing traditionally associated with different genders (Ma, 2022, p. 10). This could include wearing more androgynous styles or playing with gender-neutral colors such as black and white. Additionally, some people may wear clothes not typically considered appropriate for their gender identity or expression to create a unique style statement.
Moreover, fashion is used by many individuals to establish their identity. Craik (2020, p. 21) argues that through colors and detailing on garments, individuals can create an identity that reflects their beliefs about gender and sexual orientation. She states that fashions have always been powerful tools in constructing identities based around gender, class, and sexual orientation (Craik, 2020, p. 21). Another article explored how consumers use fashion to construct a gendered self-image, with clothes being used as a type of communication that send out signals about the wearers identity, age, class, ethnicity, wealth and sexuality (Stübel and Goswami, 2020, p. 389). The research found that fashion was often used to express ideas of femininity, masculinity, and sexuality (Strübel and Goswami, 2022, p. 392). For example, female consumers were likelier to buy clothing items associated with traditional femininity, such as dresses and skirts. In contrast, male consumers would dress in a style that is considered masculine such as jeans and t-shirts. Strübel and Goswamis (2022, p. 404) research also found that certain clothing items were used to signal sexuality, such as short skirts or tight-fitting clothes for women and ripped jeans or tight clothing for men. By using colors, cuts, and detailing on clothing, individuals can express their gender, class, sexuality, and personal beliefs.
Another example of how fashion communicates gender and sexuality can be found in The Fashion: New Feminist Essay by Parkins and Dever. In this book, the authors discuss how the dress has been used to conceal and reveal identity aspects to conform to or resist societal conventions. For example, the authors mention how early female feminists adopted wearing masculine clothing as a means of resisting traditional gender roles and asserting their independence (Parkins and Dever, 2020, p. 60). Similarly, they also highlight how fashion has been used to express homosexuality, with colorful and vivid costumes being a way of challenging dominant heterosexual identities.
The examples above show how certain styles have become associated with different genders or sexual orientations and how individuals use clothing to conform to or resist societal expectations. Certain styles, fabrics, colors, cuts, and silhouettes can help send non-verbal messages about someones identity. One can show that they belong to a certain group or express individuality by wearing a certain outfit or style. These examples demonstrate how fashion plays an important role in communicating gender and sexuality.
Ways Fashion Creates Space for People to Perform their Gender and Sexuality
Fashion is an influential tool for creating and performing gender and sexual identities.
Fashion has long been used to express identity, with people drawn to particular styles and trends based on their conceptions of themselves and the identities they wish to inhabit (Boomsma, 2020). In this regard, fashion can create a space for people to perform their genders and sexualities. People can communicate how they want to be seen through clothing choices, enabling them to construct and present gender-based identities. For example, items such as skirts or high heels may be used to create a feminine look that signifies a female identity. Similarly, the wearing of suits and ties may be used to signify a masculine identity. This way, fashion can be used as a medium for self-expression and to communicate gender identity. Furthermore, fashion is often used to express sexual identities. For example, people may use clothing styles associated with certain subcultures, such as punk or goth, to indicate their sexual orientation (Adomaitis et al., 2021). In this way, fashion can be seen as a way to create and perform gender and sexual identities.
Concerns on the Ways Fashion Communicates Gender and Sexuality
The emergence of fashion has been a long-standing reflection of culture and identity. Over time, fashion has been increasingly associated with gender and sexuality, raising important questions about how fashion perpetuates existing gender and sexual norms or even challenges them. For example, Negotiating Gendered Identities Through Dress: Kimono at the Coming-of-age Day in Contemporary Japan (Becke, 2022) is a fascinating thesis that explores how fashion communicates gender and sexuality in Japanese society. This thesis examines the significance of the kimono as a key element of the Coming-of-Age Day ritual and how this ritual is used to communicate gender and sexuality through dress (Becke 2022, p. 186). Becke also examines the role of technology and media in influencing young peoples perception of gender and its potential to challenge rigidly gendered conventions. She argues that the kimono symbolizes a kind of symbolic uniform for young people, representing their transition into adulthood (Becke 2022, p. 14). Becke also explores how young people use different interpretations of the kimono to express their identity in different ways, often subverting traditional gender roles. This thesis contends that by negotiating their identity through dress, young women can redefine power structures in contemporary Japan and create new ways of understanding gender and sexuality.
The fashion industry has the potential to become more inclusive and accessible to all gender and sexual identities, but this requires a shift away from rigid and damaging stereotypes. For the industry to become more inclusive, there must be greater representation of non-binary people in mainstream fashion media and more diverse clothing choices. However, to truly effect change, there must be a shift in how gender and sexuality are framed within the industry, which moves away from rigid and damaging stereotypes. Stereotyping genders and sexualities can often lead to marginalization and discrimination of certain groups, damaging and unacceptable. Instead, fashion should be used to create a more tolerant and inclusive society. By presenting different gender and sexual expressions in a positive light, people can move away from rigid expectations of who people are supposed to be and allow everyone to express themselves without fear of judgment or discrimination. With this shift, the fashion industry can become more inclusive and accessible to people of all gender and sexual identities. The industry should celebrate societys diversity of identities and expressions. Only then will fashion be truly inclusive and accessible to all.
Ways Fashion Can Be Used to Challenge Traditional Understanding of Gender and Sexuality
Fashion provides an avenue to explore individual identities and foster community. Fashion creates an environment open to different definitions of gender identity and expression. Additionally, fashion can be used to express pride in ones sexual orientation. According to the LGBT History Project, for example, many members of the lesbian and gay community have adopted uniforms of sorts for special occasions that feature specific colors and styles (Adomaitis et al., 2021). This type of dress helps to create a sense of community and belonging.
Moreover, fashion can be used to challenge the traditional notion that clothing is gendered. For example, a growing trend in recent years is to buy childrens clothes without labels such as boys or girls (Murto, 2020, p. 239). This type of move challenges the idea that certain types of clothing or style are inherently masculine or feminine. As such, fashion can challenge traditional understandings of gender and sexuality by encouraging inclusivity and acceptance. Fashion is an important tool for creating a more inclusive and accepting society. By encouraging people to express their gender and sexuality through clothing, fashion can be used to challenge traditional notions of gender roles and beauty standards. Fashion can create a sense of community among many diverse groups by allowing individuals to showcase their identity and individuality.
Fashion can also be used to push back against traditional understandings of beauty standards. For example, the body positivity movement encourages people to look at their bodies differently and challenge traditional beauty ideas (Johnson, 2019). This type of fashion is designed to celebrate various body types and sizes. Furthermore, recent trends have seen the emergence of gender non-conforming styles designed to challenge traditional gender stereotypes and celebrate individuals who identify outside the gender binary (Johnson, 2019). This fashion encourages people to express themselves in ways that challenge traditional gender roles and expectations. This way, fashion can be an empowering tool for creating a more inclusive society that celebrates diversity.
Conclusion
Fashion is integral to how we communicate and understand ourselves. It can be seen as a form of self-expression that has the power to challenge existing expectations around gender and sexuality. Through fashion, people can create identities and express themselves in ways that challenge dominant narratives. Fashion can catalyze positive change, allowing marginalized groups to reclaim their identities and allow them to exist outside traditional gender roles. Furthermore, it offers an opportunity for self-exploration and expression that can simultaneously publicize messages about social justice. Fashion provides an incredibly powerful platform for engaging with gender and sexuality in ways that challenge traditional power structures. By using fashion to communicate diverse representations of gender and sexuality, people can disrupt stereotypes and reclaim their identities. In doing so, people can work towards a more inclusive society that celebrates all forms of identity. Ultimately, it allows us to redefine our understanding of gender and sexuality in a way that celebrates individuality, diversity, and inclusion.
Becke, C. (2022) Negotiating Gendered Identities Through Dress: Kimono at the Coming-of-age Day in Contemporary Japan. Thesis. The University of Sheffield School of East Asian Studies.
Both modern and historical fashion follow a variety of social, cultural, and gender norms. These are susceptible to frequent change due to external and other factors. However, gender norms in relation to dress are especially prominent and largely accepted. This can range from strict adherence to trends to the rejection of cross-dressing, or gender-specific items of clothing. The inability to follow gender-specific dressing by individuals is often seen as a breaking of a social norm. However, the promotion of the total observance of such norms can be harmful in a diverse manner. Fashion-based social and gender norms are unnecessary because they are based on their time period, are unsustainable, and are oppressive.
Gender fluidity is a natural facet of fashion and can be seen to occur frequently throughout history. Historical menswear often depicted features that could be associated with either modern or prior fashion pieces worn more frequently by women (Pariani par. 3). Women who would wear male clothing may have been considered strange and persecuted in some cases. On the other hand, present social norms allow more freedom for women to wear menswear while men are seen as unusual in female dress. These recurring and changing norms in relation to gender suggest that no particular clothing item or style belongs to any gender. Any fashion style can be worn by an individual, and the real limitations are not only bound to the social interpretation of gender but also the time period. As such, there is no inherent factor that argues for gender norms to be necessary or even true in relation to fashion and clothing.
Due to gender norms and even other expectations in regard to clothing, individuals become limited in what they are able to purchase and wear. Men and women are expected to purchase items from distinct categories of clothing. As such, this creates a production system that diversifies items but limits their sustainability. Due to the lack of universality, individuals find that they may only be able to purchase clothing that is deemed appropriate for them. However, in cases of shortages or excess, there is a lack of balance between products and consumers. In the case that gender-specific norms were disregarded, individuals would be able to purchase more freely and thereby create a more sustainable market.
Social norms in fashion can also become incredibly oppressive. Gender-specific dress requirements largely ignore individuals within marginalized groups such as those that identify as transgender, non-binary, or any other gender non-conforming approach. This directly impacts the way in which these individuals are able to express themselves and retain their identities. It is similarly oppressive for men and women that have particular preferences in clothing but may not enjoy the freedom to dress as they chose. As such, social norms in fashion exist primarily to adhere to pre-existing but largely unjustified beliefs or assumptions.
There is no expectation to completely remove all social or gender norms in regard to fashion. However, it is beneficial to reduce the severity to which people find them to be valuable and practical. Historically, fashion is incredibly susceptible to change as it is a fragment of culture that is continuously evolving. As such, the freedom to dress as one chooses must be cultivated and supported. This would involve the reduction of the social reliance on fashion social norms.
Alterations in how people perceive themselves and the world around them, being a part of the cultural change, are inherently tied to a greater range of factors lying outside of the culture spectrum. Namely, political, economic, technological, and environmental changes play a massive role in cultural development and in shaping peoples perceptions of themselves and others. The 60s and 70s in American culture exemplify the described trend quite accurately. A series of changes in the foreign policy of the U.S. and the resulting shift in societys idea of political and economic relationships defined the rise in the influence of leftist movements and the following dominance of the hippie culture (Gooden & Myers, 2018). (see Fig. 1). Since the hippie movement was influenced heavily by Marxist and leftist ideas, the perception of women shifted from the rigid traditionalism of a patriarchal perspective to a much more flexible concept enhanced by the premise of gender equality.
Along with alterations in the perception of womens role within the community, the image of a woman also experienced significant changes, which fashion innovations of the 60s and 70s demonstrate quite accurately. Featuring significantly looser and brighter clothes, the fashion of the 60s and 70s challenged the relentless gender normativity of the previous decades, allowing for looser clothes in female fashion and, thus, introducing a new concept of femininity.
Figure 1. Hippie Culture of the 60s ( Hippies, n.d.)
Remarkably, the changes observed in female fashion did not suggest pivoting away from the previously accepted concept of ladylike femininity in clothing. Instead, new elements that cautiously subverted the traditional perception of a woman were introduced to the preexisting fashion trends. For instance, dresses were still popular, most of them taking influences from their 50s predecessors in their outlines. Moreover, dresses became shorter, which, from the Feminist Theory perspective and, particularly, the concept of the male gaze, did not suggest a significant improvement of how women were perceived (see Fig. 2). Nonetheless, the 60s clothes implied greater variety and often featured the silhouettes that were deprived of the traditional shape expected to emphasize the outlines of a female body. Instead, straight silhouettes of contoured sheath dress that would border an androgynous look were rapidly introduced into the fashion spotlight, garnering attention and praise from customers and critics alike (see Fig. 3). The observed change aligned with the shifting perspective of womens role within a family and, by extension, American society.
Figure 2. Evening Dress (60s) ( 1962 Evening Dress and Hostess Gown (Pants Underneath Skirt), 2014).Figure 3. Contoured Sheath Dresses ( A variety of sheath dresses worn with coordinated gloves and heels, 2014).
However, when considering the pivotal change that allowed for a tremendous breakthrough and represented the shift in womens fashion, thus reflecting the transition to a more egalitarian community, was the introduction of an item as basic as trousers into womens wardrobes. By actively promoting trousers as unisex clothes that could belong to a womens wardrobe as well as the mens one, the fashion industry reflected the societal change observed in the U.S. in the 60s (Pöllath, 2018) (see Fig. 4). While trousers were no a new item in the range of womens clothes in the 60s, the first case of a woman wearing them occurred in the late 19th century, it was not until the mid-20th century that the specified piece of clothing finally made its way into the popular culture (see Fig. 5). The observed change could be seen as the direct effect of the influence of the leftist movement and the hippie movement that took American society by storm in the 60s. As a result, although the influence of the specified social trends subsided in the 70s, with the American community everting back to traditional values and ideas, the concept of female empowerment and the resulting shift in fashion choices retained its grounds.
Figure 4. Womens Fashion (60s) ( 1967 hip hugger pants, 2014).Figure 5. Womens Fashion in the 60s ( 1960s pant suits- of the town! 2018).
However, while the massive opposition to capitalist values and the emphasis on fighting the establishment pioneered in the 60s had tremendous power and influence, shaping popular culture in America, the inevitable response to the failures of the movement defined the further social permutations (Jony et al., 2017). Nonetheless, the focus on female empowerment and the fight for womens rights appeared to have a much stronger staying power than one might have expected at the time. As a result, a range of fashion choices made in the 60s was carried further into the 70s, cementing the change in the perception of women and promoting their independence and agency (Chinn, 2020). Although the psychedelic color scheme was no longer represented in womens clothing, the general effort of minimizing the impact of sexist preconceptions on womens clothes was visible (see Fig. 7 and Fig. 8). For instance, the outlines of the clothes underwent significant changes compared to the 60s, featuring a significantly less sexualized image. Specifically, the emergence of flare jean and similar items of clothing signaled the transition to a new perception of women (see Fig. 6). As the image below exemplifies, the transition from tight-fitting clothes toward looser ones was quite noticeable (see Fig. 8).
Figure 6. Womens Clothes of the 70s ( 1977 flare jeans with peasant tops, n.d.).Figure 7. The Colors of the 60s ( 1960s fashion, 2018).Figure 8. ( 1973 Casual with color, n.d.).
At the same time, the fashion industry was struggling to keep the opportunity to objectify womens bodies through fashion design choices. Specifically, the emergence of new trends geared toward the liberation of women coexisted with the presence of sexualized images, particularly, the introduction one of the most revolutionary items, the mini skirt (see Fig. 9). Arguably, the observed phenomenon was the product of collision of female liberation and the promotion of hedonism as the core philosophy of the hippie movement (Duque, 2019). Thus, arguably, even the specified change in womens fashion reflected societal trends, which were widely represented by the female liberation movement that gained increasingly large traction within American society (McMillon, 2018). Therefore, the sociocultural and sociopolitical trends in American society defined shifts within the fashion industry, informing the choices that designers made to reflect new cultural trends (see Fig. 10).
Figure 9. Female Sexualization in Fashion and Media ( Twiggy was the poster girl for the 1960s miniskirt, n.d.).Figure 10. Female Fashion ( The Go-Go Boots, 2018).
Finally, as the images below exemplify, the focus on female empowerment and the promotion of employment in women was also reflected extensively in female fashion. Specifically, the development of formal attires, including office suits for women, was a remarkable change worth noting as one of the principal alterations in womens fashion over the two decades. Therefore, along with the perception of women, their public image changed significantly, altering the fashion industry (see Fig. 11-12).
Figure 11. Transition to Workplace Clothing ( 1976 the pantsuit look with wide leg trouser, bow blouse and blazer, 2018).Figure 12. An Office Suit ( Stiped pussy-bow blouse and oversized sunglasses, 2018).
An equally crucial transformation in the perception of women in American society was also taking place at the time, leading to tremendous changes and leaving its noticeable trace in fashion and popular culture. Namely, with the rise in the popularity of the hippie movement in the 60s, the opportunity for elevating feminist ideals and the principles of gender equality emerged (Qudsia, 2020). Termed as the women liberation movement (WLM) and spawned from the key tenets of radical feminism, namely, its second wave, the WLM quickly gained traction within American society and affected how women across all classes perceived themselves (Nguyen, 2020). Although the described change occurred primarily among middle- and upper-class citizens, other female social groups also experienced a notable shift in how they were perceived within the community (Wiseman, 2019). For example, the concept of a working-class woman as a crucial part of the labor force was integrated into American collective consciousness effectively, even though the process of change was gradual (Yadav & Yadav, 2018). As a result, a transition from the image of a passive part of the patriarchal system toward an independent and emancipated woman was observed in the American community.
Therefore, the female identity altered significantly in the 60s and 70s compared to the rigid stereotype-based idea of a woman that was prevalent in the popular culture of previous decades. Although the process of womens liberation was launched much earlier than the 60s, the lack of support and the absence of political and economic shifts that could facilitate active integration of women into the political, economic, and sociocultural life of the American community led to a halt in the development of change (Haring & Maierhofer, 2017). In turn, the ideas of equality and equity that originated in the 60s gave a powerful boost to the WLM, supporting women in their plight against sexism and for equity in all areas of life, including workplace, social interactions, and political involvement. Remarkable, returning to the representation of womens image in media, one should note a significant drop in the extent of infantilization of women (see Fig. 13 and Fig. 14 for comparison)
In addition, when considering the impact of key political factors on the development of the female identity within American society, one must mention the general identity crisis observed across the U.S. community at the time. Due to the development of a tremendous political tension mentioned above, U.S. citizens experienced a social trauma, which manifested itself in a massive identity loss (Choi, 2018). Specifically, the challenge of traditional values that the promotion of liberal ideas encouraged by the hippie movement and leftist philosophy undermined the traditional perception of gender roles (Quinney, 2018). As a result, the preconceived notion of a traditional male and especially female role ad image quickly dissipated, being replaced by a new female identity rapidly (Haring & Maierhofer, 2017).
Figure 13. Portrayal of Women in the 60s ( The popular hairstyles in the 1960s, 2018).Figure 14. Portrayal of Women in the 70s ( Brown cords, white turtleneck shirts and teal blazer, 2018).
Finally, one must admit that the role of diversity began to amplify in the 70s, spurred by the increase in the power of the African American liberation movement. Gaining especially high influence in the 60s, the movement resulted in an increase of acceptance, which can also be seen in how women were represented in the media at the time. Specifically, the increase in the representation of African American women in fashion became the sign of significant social change (see Fig. 15).
Figure 15. Diversity in the 70s ( 1976 striped knit top, blue wide leg pants, 2018).
Overall, the societal changes caused by the political and economic permutations within American society have affected female fashion and identity vastly by introducing a more relaxed attitude toward the global sociopolitical tension. As a result, the tendency for the fashion for both men and women to feature looser and brighter clothing items that challenged the acceptable traditions and, quite frequently, the taste of the audiences, quickly became dominant. Consequently, the hippie movement with its anti-war messages and the promotion of psychedelic experiences as the ostensible gateway to boosting social change and revolutionary political shifts defined changes in female fashion significantly.
As the cultural transformation of the society occurred and women started seeking emancipation opportunities, the trends toward female liberation and challenging gender normativity trickled their way into the fashion industry. As a result, while still leaning toward a clear distinction between male and female clothing, most designer choices focused on making clothes looser and less restrictive. Combined with the increasing role in the psychedelic experiences and the resulting acceptance of a wild color scheme, the alterations in female fashion became obvious. Moreover, the specified trends within the fashion industry defined future developments in female fashion. Remarkably, while most of the hippie-related ideas would have to face significant backlash in the 70s with the rise in neoconservativism, the concept of female liberation would only gain further traction along with the movement for social justice.
Finally, changes in female identity could be observed with the introduction of social changes inspired by the hippie movement as the response to the political confrontation of the era. Powered by the rapid increase in emancipation, the transformation of the female identity as the idea of an empowered woman and an independent, self-sufficient human being was finally settled in American society. Thus, massive political and social shifts in American culture set premises for changing the image of a woman as it was perceived in society.
Chinn, L. (2020). How the Mimeo-Magazine sounds in 1960s counterculture: The floating bear as sonic artifact. Journal for Literary and Intermedial Crossings, 5, 1-6.
Choi, S. (2018). Gender politics in early Cold War North Korea: National division, conscription, and militarized. Journal of Peace and Unification, 8(2), 1-27.
Duque, J. F. (2019). A map for countercultural art in the 1960s: Transcultural mobility and art history. Novecento transnazionale. Letterature, arti e culture/Transnational 20th Century. Literatures, Arts and Cultures, 3(2), 162-173.
McMillon, K. (2018). Black feminism, the ancestors speak, and the women of the Black Arts Movement. Journal of Pan African Studies, 11(6), 175-187.
Nguyen, D. (2020). Asian American Women in the academy: Multiple success case study of their leadership labyrinths and practices. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 4(3), 14-44.
Pöllath, M. (2018). Revisiting island decolonization: The pursuit of self-government in Pacific island polities under US hegemony. Island Studies Journal, 13(1), pp. 1-7. Web.
Qudsia, A. (2020). Intersectionality as an emerging discipline in the 21st Century Women Studies. South Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 1(1), pp. 01-08.
Quinney, K. M. (2018). Teaching the history of the Cold War through the lens of immigration. The History Teacher, 51(4), 1-8.
Wiseman, M. S. (2019). Christabelle Sethna and Steve Hewitt, just watch us: RCMP surveillance of the womens liberation movement in Cold War Canada. Labour: Journal of Canadian Labour Studies/Le Travail: revue dÉtudes Ouvrières Canadiennes, 83, pp. 270-272.
Yadav, M. S., & Yadav, M. K. (2018). Aspects of Feminist Writing: A Presentation of Common Issues. Journal of English Language Teaching and Linguistics, 3(1), pp. 57-68.
The application of social media in the fashion sector has ensured that average consumers and would-be customers have considerable interaction with high-end clothing, retailers, fashion designers, shoes, and fashion houses. Social media has created new advertisement platforms that enable fashion houses and retailers to get to their target markets (Ngai, Tao & Moon 2015). Contrary to traditional ad sites such as magazines, TV and radio commercials, and billboards, which were under the control of fashion houses and their advertising networks, anyone who sees a social media post can make comments and share it with friends.
This makes it easily spread across the globe in a very short time. Such enhanced accessibility can be attributed to increased use of social media, which is a real-time platform. This has a great influence on how consumers interrelate with the fashion sector. Social media has made marketing easier and cheaper than traditional methods, and fashion houses have benefited most.
Influence of Social Media
Social media platforms that fashion houses mainly use include Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, and Facebook. From the time of the international financial crisis, worldwide consumption of fashion and luxury goods decreased significantly (Nadeem et al. 2015). Though the marketing approaches and tactics have varied, the primary goal of fashion houses remains the same: drawing and retaining customers.
In the social media period, fashion houses ought to reshape their marketing policies to capture the attention of potential clients (Ashley & Tuten 2015). This led to the change from traditional print media to more interactional media. Social media can employ different communication methods such as live streams, videos, pictures, and interactive applications while interrelating with the target audience. Through social media marketing, fashion houses have benefited more than consumers, bloggers, or retailers because they realize the greatest financial profitability.
The use of social media marketing by fashion houses increased greatly in 2009. Brands were able to connect and create lasting relationships with consumers merely at the click of a button. At first, social media was thought to be detrimental to the reputation of fashion houses as regular clients would write critical comments regarding designs and products (Öztamur & Karakad1lar 2014). Nevertheless, observers are convinced that regardless of the possible shortcomings, social media presents a strong opportunity for reaching and engaging a wide audience.
Using the internet as a way of advertising makes fashion houses reach an extensive and diverse market because it has lesser restrictions than traditional print media. For instance, thanks to social media, people using the internet at home can access nearly everything when judged against previously having no choice but to go and buy fashion magazines to access content regarding their preferred designs. Since word of mouth acts as the most influential source of information to sway customers decisions, details regarding different products are articulated through live streams and videos on social media platforms. This information usually goes viral, which makes it reach millions of potential and existing customers.
Most fashion houses rely on social media for advertisement and engagement of their target market over and above issuing reports on fashion news, ensuring that consumers have updates and announcements concerning new designs, promotions, and events, and offering excellent customer service. For instance, fashion houses employ Facebook in the promotion of occasions and aspects regarding different events with the use of digital videos and photos.
They also employ Twitter for short statements and updates (Agnihotri et al. 2016). Fashion houses and their advertising agencies decide the social media site to use, manage, and how the platform displays the image and information. Increased awareness of the significance of technology for information sharing and searching has enabled fashion houses to devote to boosting their social media marketing and presence (Henninger, Alevizou & Oates 2017). Through portraying their products on social media, fashion houses have made customers feel greatly involved.
Social media strongly controls occurrences in the fashion industry as it has made it shift from a sector that was dominated by a few designers to one that has its inclinations shaped by consumers who purchase from and stick to a given brand. Fashion houses and designers have begun to understand that they serve markets with consumers who have inventive concepts and are ready to share them.
Through engaging as many customers as possible, fashion houses gain a competitive advantage as potential consumers locate and cherish the styles they offer. Though many fashion houses have generated their calendars about key fashion shows, social media has offered them direct interaction with customers (Braojos-Gomez, Benitez-Amado & Llorens-Montes 2015). On this note, consumers tend to like, view, share, and purchase items that keep lingering in their minds, instead of having a glance of a product in a fashion magazine and having no alternative but to wait for days or weeks before it gets to a nearby store.
Fashion is turning out to be personal, emotional, and subtle for many while the design is getting more unique. Many stylists, both famous and unknown ones, are assessing the gains of employing social media to interrelate and share with existing and would-be customers.
Looking at the way social media appears to be a section of peoples lives today; it is difficult to imagine a life without it. In nearly all places, there is at least one person on their phone engaged with a social media platform. Though some individuals use social media to share information, others find a place where they can see what their pals are wearing. Most fashion houses are receiving the gains of social media marketing as it allows customers to order and pay for products at their convenient time (Schivinski & Dabrowski 2016). Before the emergence of social media, the majority of customers would overspend on some fashion items.
Since items in a persons closet were not as exposed as they presently are, one could, for example, carry a given handbag for days without being bothered. However, in the social media era where people have resorted to posting daily or weekly, and carrying a certain item (such as a handbag) for two days consecutively has rapidly changed. In the modern times, customers are choosing to show their favorite brands on social media platforms as a way of affirming their preferences and purchase decisions, being part of the crowd, and building a positive reputation.
Conclusion
Social media has resulted in marketing being easier and cheaper than traditional techniques, and fashion houses have gained to a large extent. Although the marketing approaches and plans have varied, the main goal of fashion houses remains unchanged: drawing and retaining consumers. Improved understanding of societys reliance on technology for information has facilitated fashion houses in their commitment to boosting their presence through social media marketing.
Reference List
Agnihotri, R, Dingus, R, Hu, M & Krush, M 2016, Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales, Industrial Marketing Management, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 172-180.
Ashley, C & Tuten, T 2015, Creative strategies in social media marketing: An exploratory study of branded social content and consumer engagement, Psychology & Marketing, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 15-27.
Braojos-Gomez, J, Benitez-Amado, J & Llorens-Montes, F 2015, How do small firms learn to develop a social media competence?, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 443-458.
Henninger, C, Alevizou, P & Oates, C 2017, IMC, social media and UK fashion micro-organisations, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 51, no. 3, pp. 668-691.
Nadeem, W, Andreini, D, Salo, J & Laukkanen, T 2015, Engaging consumers online through websites and social media: A gender study of Italian Generation Y clothing consumers, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 432-442.
Ngai, E, Tao, S & Moon, K 2015, Social media research: Theories, constructs, and conceptual frameworks, International Journal of Information Management, vol. 35, no. 1, pp. 33-44.
Öztamur, D & Karakad1lar, 0 2014, Exploring the role of social media for SMEs: As a new marketing strategy tool for the firm performance perspective, Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 150, no. 1, pp. 511-520.
Schivinski, B & Dabrowski, D 2016, The effect of social media communication on consumer perceptions of brands, Journal of Marketing Communications, vol. 22, no. 2, pp.189-214.
Fashion and the performing and visual arts have always been intertwined for those with the financial resources to indulge in one or all three. Fashion has also always been concerned with more than just covering nakedness or keeping off the cold and sun.
All over the world, and even in prehistoric tombs, what one wears has always been a mark of status, role, and affiliation, among many other characteristics.
It seems natural, therefore, that fashion, and fashions current most dramatic means of promulgating its newest innovations fashion shows should have adopted the characteristics of current performances and exhibits (Duggan 1-2).
The goal seems to boil down to blockbusters or nothing. It is possible to follow a logical path of development in fashions presentation of itself.
It has evolved from the crafting and wearing of clothing for strictly personal use, in earlier times, to mass-production, mass-marketing, and interdisciplinary collaboration, today.
The Ballet Russes, currently commemorated on its centenary at the Victoria and Albert Museum (Victoria and Albert Museum), is a type specimen of this latter sort of blockbuster arts/fashion/marketing combination.
Over the last century, fashion has appropriated many of the same functions as the fine arts. Fashion has thereby acquired all the political overtones and potential cultural impact that go along with that sort of enterprise (Duggan 1-2).
Designers have used their role to make statements far removed from fashion (Duggan). There are few better early examples of this sort of appropriation of the role of one art form by another than in the Ballet Russes.
This ballet company marshaled a massive outpouring of talent under the leadership of Sergei Diaghilev in the first decades of the 20th Century.
The artifacts currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museums centenary exhibit demonstrate this creative cross-fertilization clearly.
Designers over the last several decades have tried to create multi-media, multi-platform political and social statements that were by the way- fashion shows (Duggan). Todays designers would do well to look back to Diaghilev for some tips on vertical and horizontal integration.
The close connection of fashion and art is, as noted at the outset, not entirely new, and always carried more meaning than simply clothing the body, especially given the constraints on women1.
The links between fashion, commerce, and the presentation of an artistic, or even political, statement through what we would recognize today as a fashion show had its inception at the turn of the century.
Then, as Duggan points out, the clothing manufacturers put their products on models and paraded them down a runway for the first time (Duggan 2). This was a step forward from merely showing a dress sample in the window of the shop or designers studio.
They became more than a mere display of the designers most recent clothing ideas to the fashion press, or presentation of options from which wealthy women might subsequently select in the designers showroom. Fashion shows became performances.
Since then, the trend has largely been in the direction of increasing elaboration, as noted by Duggan (Duggan 2).
Manufacturing centralized, and stores increased in size, as did the middle class possessing discretionary income. At the same time, so did the technical sophistication involved in the staging of a fashion show (Duggan).
Over time, the act of marketing one individual dress to a well-heeled woman decreased in importance compared to selling thousands of similar dresses in large department stores.
This vertical integration meant that the ideas presented in a fashion show were soon or simultaneously accessible in a cheaper range of the same designer.
This trend was accompanied by a push to diversify and integrate horizontally. Selling even a thousand dresses was not enough; the designer needed a purse and shoe line, a perfume, and even a house wares imprint.
One needs to look no further than Pierre Cardin or Ralph Lauren for examples. A designer could eventually advertise their whole brand, their concept, and their personal world-view through the ambiguous vehicle of the fashion show.
As the decades have progressed, this link between fashion show and almost everything else in the world in addition to selling a group of clothing designs has become ever stronger.
Dopp, reviewing a work by Davis, notes that fashion around the First World War took on the role of dictating to the well off what they should wear (Dopp).
It is useful to remember the role of changes in fashion, promulgated by the fashion press and fashion shows, in freeing women for active helping roles in the First World War.
This would not have been possible without shortened hemlines, and less constrictive undergarments (Thomas, 1914-1920: Towards Dress Reform).
Consider, too, the role of fashion shows in garnering support for the World War II effort. The wartime design pictured here (Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers) was created by the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, which included names such as Molyneux, Hartnell, Stiebel, Delange, Mosca, and Hardy Amies.
The label, CC41, was designed by Reginald Shipp, and stood for the Clothing Control 1941 (Thomas, Rationing and Utility Clothing of the 1940s).
Fashion has not only had a mutual effect with the wider world over time (consider the far-ranging impact of the Flapper styles on womens roles).
It has been affected by innovations and trends in fields as apparently unconnected as chemistry (consider the invention of rayon, nylon and polyester (Routledge 959)), and popular social dances (Legend has it that both the Flapper skirt length and the short jacket of the modern Tuxedo jacket were a response to young peoples desire to dance the Charleston without restrictions.
The author of the recently acclaimed book, Apollos Angels, in a recent interview, noted that ballet was originally a social activity and hobby of the wealthy (for example, the Sun King, Louis XIV, who took daily lessons).
It was later performed for the wealthy by specialist practitioners from the less advantaged classes. It became a favored entertainment of Russian nobility. After the Revolution, ballet was a rare trace of the Tsars ancien regime that the Soviets chose to tolerate.
They even supported it and dragged foreign visitors to see it, especially since it required no shared language. Ballet was always associated with spectacle, whether in the French court, or even in the Soviet era, when tractors were a thematic element (Homans).
In all of its past incarnations, ballet has offered the opportunity for the creation of spectacles and visual inspiration off the stage and outside the theatre2.
It is not surprising, therefore, that the current exhibit on the Ballets Russes at the Victoria and Albert Museum demonstrates its immense impact on fashion at the time of its peak of popularity.
Diaghilev drew the best artists in all fields into his orbit and into ballet because he accorded their participation in performing arts as serious attention and respect as if they were in the fine arts (Harriman Institute). The list of his collaborators over the years is long and prestigious.
Stravinsky wrote music for Diaghilev. Picasso, Matisse, and De Chirico created backdrops and sets. Chanel, Goncharova, Larionov, Bakst, and Roerich designed costumes (Victoria and Albert Museum) ( Irina ).
There were many less well-known artistic names as well: N. Roerikh, G. Yakulov, B. Erdman, A. Ferdinandov, L. Khidekel, T. Bruni, P. Tchelitchev, A. Tishler, N. Akimov, G. Boriskovich, I. Sevastianov (Harriman Institute).
(Victoria and Albert Museum)
The Diaghilev Ballet Russes exhibit certainly fulfills the name of blockbuster. It has the requisite size (over 300 items), the marketing push, and the interdisciplinary tie-ins (for example with the London College of Fashion and the English National Ballet (Fashion Arts).
The VAM showcases costumes, backdrops, photos, and props, demonstrating the copious imagination involved in every production.
Many of the pieces were in the VAMs collection already, the result of some clever purchases at Sothebys in past decades. This represents a clever use of material in the VAMs inventory, and probably a cost savings as well.
The influences of these pieces must have been like visual blast of fresh air. Unlike the Fragonard-style wispy landscapes that we associate with older theatrical backdrops, these were visually arresting on their own.
The Firebird backdrop, with its mounting ranks of onion domes and typically Russian house shapes, is a far cry from the cute or twee.
It works just as well as a fabric design, a scarf, wallpaper, or an advent calendar. It celebrates the idea of Russia, and the best elements in Slavic folk tales. It evokes the Roidina (or homeland) of every Russian expatriates memory.
Consider also the gorgeous boots created for Igor. The elaborate decoration may have inspired generations of leatherworkers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Boots worn by Alicia Markova in Prince Igor. About 1926 Museum no.S.655&A-1983 (Victoria and Albert Museum).
For Europeans and Americans who had never seen real Russian styles, these images, and those of the peasant costumes also featured in the show, must have fueled several generations of Russophiles (Victoria and Albert Museum).
( Irina )
In the same way as Diaghilev and his cohort of artistic geniuses did, fashion designers today have gone far outside the mere selling of clothing. They have undertaken to introduce new ideas, uncomfortable ideas, and even unspeakable, revolutionary ideas.
Caroline Evans book on the edgy, disconcerting design displays of the 1990s has been described as a vision of the dark side of fashion (Tredre).
The themes, locations, models, and finales of the shows she discusses clearly show the designers urge to have an impact far outside the stores where their goods are sold.
As she points out, the theme of a show can be carried consistently through the shows music, hairstyles, jewelry, shoes, swag (complimentary gift) bags, choices of paper and typeface for invitations, programs, and other ephemera (Duggan 4).
Duggan identifies five different categories of these new hybrids of fashion and performance. These are: spectacle, substance, science, structure, and statement. There are examples in fashion shows of the 90s to the present in each of these categories.
In the category of spectacle, Duggan identifies several variables that a designer could modify to create an effect. She lists, the type of model, location, theme, and finale (Duggan 3). Gianni Versace is her pick for an innovator in this type of fashion show.
She points out that he was among the first to exploit the notion of a supermodel. A 1991 Versace show included lip-synching of rock music lyrics by his models, and thus created an enduring connection between the music industry and fashion (Duggan 3).
The late Alexander McQueen, another spectacle-maker described by Duggan, drew on the theme of mental illness, and capitalized on a then-current popular horror film, The Shining for his Spring 2001 show. The location was a transport depot.
It was large enough to contain a mini-set of the wintry isolation of the films setting. This was enclosed within a clear cube. The models are described as having been encouraged to prowl like mental patients (Duggan 4), or perhaps caged werewolves.
What might his messages be?
He could have been drawing our attention to the plight of the mentally ill, the thin line for all of us between fully functionality, our terrible dependence on human contact for safety and sanity, or the artificial barriers that separate those who are out in society versus those behind bars somehow.
All are possible and disturbing interpretations of these images.
In an earlier example of McQueens shows, described by Suzanne Moore, his 1995 show paraded models who appeared to have been abused. This caused a fuss because it seemed to suggest that those women could, or should, be mistreated.
However, the designer took the opportunity to counter this with a message about the need to avert the sort of real domestic abuse McQueen had observed in his own family. He also made a point about Scotlands history of struggle for autonomy and land rights from the English government.
Suzanne Moore defends his un-pretty sensibility and sees it as intimately connected to fashions underpinnings, as follows, For fashion is a brutal, predatory business.
It preys on the bodies of girls and the fingers of the child labourers and the aspirations of all the young designers who will never make a fortune. Still, there are rare people who do more than just make us change our clothes.
They change our minds. (Moore, Alexander McQueen Changed Our Clothes and Our Minds and, Boy, Could He Wear a Kilt)
Another example of spectacle (or anti-spectacle) is the Fall 2000 Galliano show that featured the theme of the homeless. Garbage and garbage bags formed part of the clothes.
This particular show garnered much coverage of the serious press, and of course, the free advertising that this implies (Duggan 4). What was the long-term impact of this show?
We still have homeless people. However, today we routinely use bags and other items made from recycled grocery bags is this somehow related?
In the category of substance, she cites the work of Hussein Chalayan. The Fall 2000 show featured models putting on furniture as clothing. As Duggan points out, this emphasizes the process of creation, rather than a product that someone could wear out on the street.
Chalayan may have been playing with the notions of clothing as a furnishing of our life, and the idea of womens past role as a chattel of men, like furniture.
These are abstract concepts, and while they certainly were expressed in an entertaining way, the impact comes from people talking about, and trying to figure out the meaning of the show.
Of course, the central element in this show, the furniture-clothes are probably un-wearable off the runway.
(Chalayan)
However, it is interesting that a recent invention by a student transforms from a coat to a sleeping bag. Was this inspired by Chalayan? Who can say?
(Green)
Duggan describes the anti-fashion fashion shows of Hussein Chalayan as valuing substance over novelty, and all the nonsense surrounding branding and exclusivity (Duggan 6).
Viktor and Rolf are another example of designers mocking the whole concept of fashion, by, for example, selling perfume with no scent (Duggan 6). They have gained great visibility with their anti-fashion shows through the media hype that erupts over their artistic choices.
In the category of science and performance, Duggan points out the emphasis of Issey Miyake on innovative uses of fabrics. The designer has re-thought silk, pleats, and metallics in marvelous ways (Duggan 8).
His work is always a marriage of traditional craft with the most modern technologies (Paris Voice). In his Fall 1998 collection, his models were clad in foil, reminiscent of a Dr. Who scenario.
While his fans apparently find his designs easy to pack, it seems significant that his work is in so many museums (Muschamp). He has used his fashion shows as a way of exploring the limits of materials.
(Duggan 9)
Duggans category of structure is perhaps the least accessible sort of fashion show performance, at least to non-fashionistas/os. Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons is one of her picks for this type of presentation.
She has been very innovative in fusing fabrics and using padded fabrics (Encyclopedia.com) and pleats in places and applications that are not intuitive.
These designs can seem alarmingly oblivious of the body, when viewed in a flat picture. Is the model wearing the clothes, or are the clothes wearing the model? However, Duggan assures her readers that they look fascinating in motion, like walking sculpture (Duggan 10).
Here again, it is difficult to avoid asking the question, why. For whom does Kawakubo intend these items? What is their function? Duggan provides one answer; some items were used in modern dance performances (Duggan 11).
Kawakubos shows, and those of others who focus on the structure of their clothes, tend to be simple, with the clothes themselves, in motion down the runway, speaking for the designer (Duggan 10).
In fact, in some cases, for example, that of the inscrutable Martin Margiella, the clothes might not ever appear, except as photographs or drawings. This removes all the sex appeal and frenzy from the display of the designs (Duggan 11).
Statement fashion shows include those of Miguel Adrover, who makes fun of the label obsession of the fashion world. His re-purposing of the Burberry look (see below) brought on a lawsuit.
Cleverly recycled garments and materials (some of the fabrics in the 2000 show seem to have been lifted from an upholsterer) and low-key avoidance of glitz characterize their presentations.
However, they cause an uproar nonetheless with their message of disrespect for the fashion establishment.
(Style.com)
This uproar is advantageous to these designers. It reveals a clever manipulation of the media. If a fashion show makes a political or social statement of current interest, the show will receive media coverage from the mainstream press, not just the fashion press.
This is essentially free advertising, and is literally priceless, since it carries the name of the designer into the homes and consciousness of people who would never have even heard of the designer otherwise (Duggan 13).
Whether with disturbing images, or vivid and inspirational ones, fashion has the power to affect many more people than those who wear the styles.
In the same way that the colors, shapes, and images of the Ballet Russes percolated out of the ballet into the wider society, fashion ideas percolate out into peoples awareness.
Even those who will never buy a designer dress, attend a fashion show, or attend a ballet, will be touched by the performance of fashion and art.
Dopp, Bonnie Jo. Review: Classic Chic: Music, Fashion, and Modernism By Mary E. Davis. (California Studies in 20th-century Music, 6.) Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. [xix, 336 p.ISBN-10: 0-5202-4542-3; ISBN 13: 978-0-520-24542-6. Notes 64.2 (2007): 288-91.
Duggan, Ginger Gregg. The Greatest Show on Earth: A Look at Contemporary Fashion Shows and Their Relationship to Performance Art Volume 5 Issue 3. Fashion Theory 5.3 (n.d.).
Encyclopedia.com. Rei Kawakubo. 2010. Encyclopedia.com.
Evans, Caroline. Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity, and Deathliness. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.
Fashion Arts. English National Ballet Photo Shoot. 2010. Fashion Arts. Web.
Green. Coat Transforms into a Sleeping Bag: Warms Homeless in Detroit. 2011. A Green Living. Web.
Harriman Institute. Homage to Diaghilev: Enduring Legacy. 2011. The Harriman Institute. Web.
Homans, Jennifer. The Tutus Tale: A Cultural History of Ballets Angels. Fresh Air. Terry Gross. Philadelphia, 2010.
Tredre, Roger. Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deatlhliness. 2010. UAEGarments. Web.
Victoria and Albert Museum. Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. 2010. Victoria and Albert Museum. Web.
. Diaghilev: The Private View. 2010. Victoria and ALbert Museum. Web.
Footnotes
1 Consider that, in earlier times, for example, in the Classical period, and the medieval era, women had few socially sanctioned outlets for their creative talents. The products of their needles and looms served as their artistic canvases.
In later centuries, fashion served as a vehicle for communication between women, through the sharing of patterns for decorative needlework.
After the widespread availability of printed engravings, detailed drawings of the newest fashions were a way of sharing and disseminating stylistic changes and innovations across great distances.
Jane Austen uses the availability or inaccessibility of fashion drawings or patterns as a marker for how up-to-date a character is ( Vic ). These drawings, even now, are highly sought after for their purely decorative value.
However, the transmission of fashion ideas occurred from one person to another, face to face, and the fashion show was far off in the future. The act of clothing creation was also a person-to-person affair until well into the industrialized 19th century.
2 Even today, a new production of a beloved ballet, such as the recent new Nutcracker at the London Coliseum, is hailed for its spectacular aspects (Swarovski).
To assess the fashion impact of ballet, it is only necessary to observe even the youngest little ladies in attendance at this venerable Christmas event.
Note how many ballet-goers are dressed in faithful imitation of the Sugar Plum Fairy, when ordinarily their mothers would have trouble getting them out of leggings or blue jeans.
The fashion market is regarded to be one of the most changing markets in the world, as the tendencies and trends change every season. On the one hand it provides the essential dynamics for the development of this business sector, thus, only companies with high competitive capacity may survive in this sector. On the other hand, the changes of the trends are often unexpected, so, even consumers become taken aback. (Fields, 2006) This paper aims to analyze a consumers image of the Yumi fashion company, and analyze the presence of the company on the market of womens clothes. The questions, which should be regarded are associated with the wishes and requirements of the customers, their preferences, and reasons, why they may resort to the production of the competitors. The issues of the season spring-summer 2011 will be touched upon. Sizing will be analyzed as one of the central issues of the research.
Yumis Customers
To begin with, there is strong necessity to emphasize that the fashion market, and the segment of customers, which the company orients at have made Yumi the vibrant company in the sphere of casual fashion. The main range of Yumis customers is girls and women aged 16-37. The fact is that this is the age, when women rarely experience troubles with figures, and they are slim enough to show the beauty of their bodies. The main aim of any fashion-oriented company is to produce clothes, which allow women to be original, and which will highlight the merits and conceal the demerits of the figure. As for the range of the sizes, used in the production, it is stated that these are from 10 till 20+. Some collections are produced for sizes 6 and 8, as 10 sizes are often too large for 16 aged customers. The changes to the size distribution of the female population have been very small in 2006. The changes are too small to infer any drastic changes, though it seems like size 12 might now have taken over from size 14 as the biggest share. (Niessen, 2007)
The key reason, why women prefer the production by Yumi is the availability of the brand, simplicity, and originality of the design, and suitability of the clothes for the style and image of the consumers. Originally, these issues are explained by the fact, that clothes by Yumi are regarded to be exclusive enough for the casual wear, thus, ladies prefer the style.
In comparison with the competitors, Yumis strong point is the orientation for ladies with large sizes. The design of the clothes allows the performance in several size variants for slim and for large-sized consumers. Thus, consumers appreciate such an approach, filled with care, and thank the company for purchasing its clothes.
The models, which are used for promoting the Yumi clothes are not skinny fashion girls. In spite of the fact that their parameters are far from the commercial standards (90-60-90), they are slender, and confirm the fact that women with broad shoulders (Jordin Sparks, Tyra Banks), large hips (Whitney Thompson), or any other features of the figure may look perfectly. Thus, the main emphasis is made on sizes 10 and larger.
As for the season spring-summer 2011, it should be stated that the catering of the needs and requirements of the consumers will be based upon studies of the previous trends and processes in the market, and study of the tastes of the consumers. Taking into account this consideration, it should be emphasized that the original necessity to cater to the approaching season is to make its own contribution to the development of the trends and tendencies. In the light of this perspective, there is strong necessity to emphasize that the original value of sizing will be regarded in the context of production diversification, as various sizes, for the consumers of various figures. Thus, the customer care policies and principles will be implemented in providing a wider range of sizes, and not only designs and concepts of the designs, used for producing clothes. (White and Griffiths, 2007)
Marketing Positions
The current marketing position of the Yumi Company may be regarded as the position of the self-confident leader, in the sector, in which the company positions its production. Originally, the advertising strategy is created with an important feature, which makes the clothes particularly exclusive: no one wishes to confess that she has nonstandard figure, nevertheless, when women realize that the clothes emphasize the beauties of their figure, and hide the possible demerits, they give preference to this trademark.
The high position in the rates confirms that the clothes by Yumi are worn by numerous celebrities. The fact is that, the sizes and figures of these celebrities are various, nevertheless, they all look very attractive in the clothes by Yumi. All of the photos, shown on the official webpage (Uttam Direct, 2009)
Alesha Dixon wears Yumi Y224 White Candida DressBow Print Jersey Dress
Bianca Gascoigne wears Yumi Y223 Green Jamika Dress! 2 in 1 Belted Dress featured in Reveal magazine.
Dione Bromfield wears Yumi Y385 Dolly Dress in her new video Mama Said ! Russian Doll print dress with lace trim sleeves
Designs are various, and mainly oriented at ladies who wish to be and feel original, extravagant and courageous, as some of the dresses require real courage to wear. Despite the fact, that the dresses are not tight-fitting, and some are rather loose, it does not mean that they are strict. Most of them are short enough, highlighting legs or shoulders.
AS for the price category, it should be emphasized that the dresses are available enough for the wide range of the audience. The prices range from £40 to £75.
The brand identity is originally closely associated with the product variety, as the consumers are offered the widest range of clothes, dresses, and accessories for satisfying the tastes and needs of the most requiring consumers. The design of the clothes is unique and original, thus, it is difficult not to recognize the Yumi brand, and not to differ it from any other.
3 Main Competitors
Elvi
The companys target customer is the ABC1 female over-50s customer looking for classic clothing with a design twist. This low margin in what was a very benign retail climate suggests a fundamentally weak proposition. This was probably due to a brand image that was too weak to support sales of the product at quite high prices relative to competitors like M&S. Pricing is pitched at upper-middle market levels, with dresses running from £89 to £170, coats at £89 to £120 and trousers from £35 to £69
Evans
Evans covers sizes 14 to 32, with all major product categories from tops, career wear, dresses, knitwear and coats and jackets to jeans, lingerie, hosiery and bridalwear. Evans is pitched slightly below mid-market, with dresses at £40 to £80, jumpers at £15 to £30, workwear jackets at £25 to £45, and jeans at £14 to £35
Long Tall Sally
Long Tall Sally offers a full lifestyle wardrobe for the taller woman, ranging from jeans and tops to suits, dresses, and skirts, as well as maternity wear, accessories, footwear, swimwear and gym wear.
The product is all under the Long Tall Sally brand.
Pricing is pitched in the mid-market, with dresses from £45 to £75, jeans at £39 to £60 and career wear jackets at £69-95.
As for the matters of affecting the target market, it should be emphasized that these companies are successful enough in their performing in the selected segment, nevertheless, it should be stated that Long Tall Sally has the least effective advertising, as some tall women have inferiority over their height. Thus, part of the consumers is lost for this company.
The overall target market is impacted by these three companies in the context of providing casual wear for the particular groups of the target audience. Originally, it is difficult to satisfy the women audience as a whole, thus, each company gives preference to a particular sector or sector.
Consumer and Ultimately Range Decision for 2011
The enlisted trends are regarded to be the leaders in the market segments they belong two. The fact is that the leaders of the market segments tend to form the tendencies of the further market development, instead of forecasting it. Surely, the essential part of the market is defined by customers and their needs, nevertheless, the companies have particular levers for influencing the market, and creating the design trends, which will be popular during the following seasons. In the light of this perspective, it should be stated that the companies represented in this analysis will be regarded as the founders of the fashion trends in 2011 if they preserve their leading positions. Consequently, the Range Decision for 2011 will be defined jointly by the consumers needs, and the attempts by the companies to create the fashion trends, thus, improving the design of the clothes, and providing the other techniques for promoting their product.
As for the sizes, as the key research aspect of the paper, it should be emphasized that the trends, which influence the sizes are beyond the fashion market. On the one hand, the fashion trends make some sizes popular, while the others stay unpopular. Nevertheless, it is the issue of consuming culture in general, thus, the companies will be able only to satisfy the needs of various sizes.
Conclusion
Finally, it should be emphasized that the fashion market and various segments based on the age, height, and size of the consumers are generally regarded as the main aspects of the market development. Originally, there is a strong necessity to satisfy the needs and requirements of the whole audience, nevertheless, the companies are unable to act within such frames, consequently, most fashion clothes companies select particular age and size segments and orient their production for the corresponding audience.
References
Carter, Michael. Fashion Classics from Carlyle to Barthes. Oxford, England: Berg, 2005.
Fields, Jill. Fashion and Its Social Agendas: Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. Journal of Social History 37.2 (2006): 539.
Niessen, Sandra, Ann Marie Leshkowich, and Carla Jones, eds. Re-Orienting Fashion : The Globalization of Asian Dress /. New York: Berg, 2007.
Uttam Direct. Web.
White, Nicola, and Ian Griffiths, eds. The Fashion Business : Theory, Practice, Image /. Oxford: Berg, 2007.
