Until the mid 1980s, success in the fashion industry was based on low cost mass production of standardized styles that did not change frequently due to the design restrictions of the factories, such as Levi's 501 jeans and a man's white shirt, although there were exceptional cases of rapid changing haute couture. Apparently, consumers during that time were less sensitive toward style and fashion, and preferred basic apparel. There was a sudden increase in the import of fashion-oriented apparel for women as compared to the standardized apparel.
This reduced the demand for classic though simple apparel as consumers started becoming more fashion-conscious. For instance, the women's legwear industry introduced colours and textures to basic hosiery to coordinate with every outfit. Unfortunately, this change in fashion oriented apparel contributed to an increase in mark-downs in the market, which became necessary due to the failure to sell fashion apparel during the forecasted season.
As fashion is considered to be a temporary cyclical phenomena adopted by consumers for a particular time, it becomes evident that the life cycle for fashion is quite small. Since the 1980s, a typical life cycle for fashion apparel had four stages: introduction and adoption by fashion leaders; growth and increase in public appearance; mass conformity (maturation); and finally, the decline and obsolescence of fashion. Also, the fashion calendar during this time was primarily based on the fabric exhibitions, fashion shows and trade fairs, that consisted of the basic pattern of Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter ranges which typically resulted in developing a seasonal range in one full year. However, towards the beginning of the 1990s, retailers started focusing on expanding their product range with updated products and faster responsiveness to the 'newness' of the fashion trends; and providing 'refreshing' products instead of only cost efficiencies for manufacturing. In order to increase the variety of fashion apparel in the market, the concept of adding more phases to the existing seasons (that is, the period of time during which fashion products are sold) in a fashion calendar came into existence. The addition of 3 to 5 mid-seasons forced immense pressure on suppliers to deliver fashion apparel in smaller batches with reduced lead time. For instance, Liz Claiborne developed six seasons instead of just two.
These changes to the number of mid-seasons arose partly from the changes in consumers' lifestyles and partly from the need to satisfy consumers' demand for fashion clothing for specific occasions.
Towards the late 1980s, the fashion apparel industry was dominated by several larger retailers which increased the competition levels in the market. In order to survive the competition, other fashion apparel retailers switched from product-driven to buyer-driven chains, developed alliances with suppliers in different markets, and promoted their distinctive brands. This resulted in an increase of profits from unique combinations of research, design, sales and marketing that would allow them and the manufacturers to act strategically by linking with overseas factories. The fashion apparel industry developed an infrastructure around the late 1980s with an emphasis on promoting responsiveness (quick response) through reduced lead times, alongwith maintaining low costs.
This reduced the demand for classic though simple apparel as consumers started becoming more fashion-conscious. For instance, the women's legwear industry introduced colours and textures to basic hosiery to coordinate with every outfit. Unfortunately, this change in fashion oriented apparel contributed to an increase in mark-downs in the market, which became necessary due to the failure to sell fashion apparel during the forecasted season.
As fashion is considered to be a temporary cyclical phenomena adopted by consumers for a particular time, it becomes evident that the life cycle for fashion is quite small. Since the 1980s, a typical life cycle for fashion apparel had four stages: introduction and adoption by fashion leaders; growth and increase in public appearance; mass conformity (maturation); and finally, the decline and obsolescence of fashion. Also, the fashion calendar during this time was primarily based on the fabric exhibitions, fashion shows and trade fairs, that consisted of the basic pattern of Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter ranges which typically resulted in developing a seasonal range in one full year. However, towards the beginning of the 1990s, retailers started focusing on expanding their product range with updated products and faster responsiveness to the 'newness' of the fashion trends; and providing 'refreshing' products instead of only cost efficiencies for manufacturing. In order to increase the variety of fashion apparel in the market, the concept of adding more phases to the existing seasons (that is, the period of time during which fashion products are sold) in a fashion calendar came into existence. The addition of 3 to 5 mid-seasons forced immense pressure on suppliers to deliver fashion apparel in smaller batches with reduced lead time. For instance, Liz Claiborne developed six seasons instead of just two.
These changes to the number of mid-seasons arose partly from the changes in consumers' lifestyles and partly from the need to satisfy consumers' demand for fashion clothing for specific occasions.
Towards the late 1980s, the fashion apparel industry was dominated by several larger retailers which increased the competition levels in the market. In order to survive the competition, other fashion apparel retailers switched from product-driven to buyer-driven chains, developed alliances with suppliers in different markets, and promoted their distinctive brands. This resulted in an increase of profits from unique combinations of research, design, sales and marketing that would allow them and the manufacturers to act strategically by linking with overseas factories. The fashion apparel industry developed an infrastructure around the late 1980s with an emphasis on promoting responsiveness (quick response) through reduced lead times, alongwith maintaining low costs.
| Q.59 Which of the following options best states the central theme of the passage? | |||||||||||||||
| a An attempt to explore the changes in the fashion apparel industry in the past two decades. | |||||||||||||||
| b An attempt to understand how fast fashion emerged to the extent that it is at today. | |||||||||||||||
| c Examine the changes in the fashion apparel industry leading to the evolution of 'throwaway or fast fashion'. | |||||||||||||||
d An attempt to align the research capabilities with market growth potential for fast fashion.
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