How the Fashion Brands Are Making Way to the Internet
Posted in Slip On on June 29th, 2010The downturn in the economy has made us rethink our fashion statements. It’s been well remarked that the downturn in the economy has heavily impacted the fashion industry. Although downturns in the economy come and go, this recent recession we’re in is going to have a prolonged impact on what we think of fashion. We are living in a very practical period now. Before these pragmatic times, we delighted in the frivolity of fashion - nothing was outrageous or too costly - you only worried about being charged with being too dreary. It’s different today though : the catwalks and labels are copping bad publicity. Even if you look at the mid-range brands, they’re suddenly criticised for sweatshop factories. Is it that everybody has become so unbelievably hard to please now?
First of all, fashion ain’t dead. As a matter of fact, looking online there is stiff competition between online shop traders (e.g. looking for clutch bags) - a sign there is still a great need for fashion. It’s the old way we thought of that is dying its death - being told what’s now cool by the established fashiong brands. In reality, fashion has always looked at the public instead of the other way around, and today many factors are turning us off big fashion brands. For a start, people are a lot more aware of globalization, and flaunting your clothing labels makes you look egotistical and inconsiderate in certain circles. Second, it’s the economy, stupid! Fashion has invariably been a luxury, not a necessity. In an economic downturn, luxury items get hit the worst. Finally, individuals express themselves a lot more individually these days -we don’t want to be told what to wear or how to act, the era of huge TV show ratings are through, and fashion needs that sort of herd-like thinking to trade in numbers.
So what does this mean for the fashion industry? As ever, they need to adapt to exist - create a broader range of clothing lines to supply to more corners of the marketplace. If you’re a small store selling individual clothing at a cheap cost, you have a strong business model in spite of the subdued economic months we are experiencing. These days, people are combining their styles, buying from markets and smaller, bargain-priced fashion stores.