Innovate Your Fashion!

For centuries individuals or societies have used clothes and other body adornment as a form of nonverbal communication to indicate occupation, rank, gender, sexual availability, locality, class, wealth and group affiliation. Fashion is a form of free speech. It not only embraces clothing, but also accessories. What we wear and how and when we wear it, provides others with a shorthand to subtly read the surface of a social situation.

How we perceive the beauty or ugliness of our bodies is dependant on cultural attitudes to physiognomy. In many cultures, those defining fashion are the cultural icons. This is why newspapers and magazines report on what celebrities and even politicians are wearing.

Examining who is wearing what through print media dates as far back as to even the 1700s. People pored over fashion magazines to see the latest styles. Women and dressmakers outside the French court relied on sketches to see what was going on. The famous French King Louis XIV said that fashion is a mirror. Louis himself was renowned for his style, which tended towards extravagant laces and velvets.

We are constantly being bombarded with new fashion ideas from music, videos, books, and television. Movies also have a big impact on what people wear.

Sociologists believe group affiliation is our prime concern with regard to fashion. As long as some group similarity is identified within the group, our personal fashion whether current or dated can belong to any tribe. It is the sense of belonging marked by how we fashion ourselves that gives us the tribal connection.

At the same time, we as human beings desire differentiation. People are often socially and economically labeled by their clothing or fashion. In history, the Edwardians were socially stratified into those who wore tailor made clothing down to those who wore other people’s cast offs. The poor simply looked poor, because their raiment betrayed them. The rich and nouveau riche displayed their wealth through an iconography of signs and symbols that enhanced their body image in the eyes of those that saw themselves as socially inferior.

Today, the purchase of fashionable clothes, fabrics, or accessories becomes a visual currency and can speak to one’s status. People are so aware of the fact that others make judgments about them through their clothes and accessories that many run up huge debts to appear to belong to a particular lifestyle. Only individuals with a strong sense of self-identity stick their necks out and admit to wearing items that others might consider dubious or passé.

In reality, there are many reasons we wear what we wear.

* Protection from cold, rain and snow: mountain climbers wear high-tech outerwear to avoid frostbite and over-exposure.

* Physical attraction: many styles are worn to inspire “chemistry.”

* Emotions: we dress “up” when we’re happy and “down” when we’re upset.

* Religious expression: Orthodox Jewish men wear long black suits and Islamic women cover every part of their body except their eyes.

* Identification and tradition: judges wear robes, people in the military wear uniforms, brides wear long white dresses.

The fact is, fashion is big business. More people are involved in the buying, selling and production of clothing than any other business in the world. Everyday, millions of workers design, sew, glue, dye, and transport clothing to stores. Ads on buses, billboards and magazines give us ideas about what to wear, consciously, or subconsciously. Choosing what we wear may be more complex in nature to ourselves than we imagined, ask yourself – why determines your fashion?

There are basically 2 ways of approaching the current economic downturn for a Luxury brand:

The Bad way is to compare the current situation vs the development of the category for the past 8 years. The feeling is close to be in front of big cliff with no arm and no leg to climb…Uncomfortable! As everything is relative, 2009 may be a bad year if compared to 2007, but still outstanding whether 2005 would be the reference.

The Good way is most probably to take a Blue Ocean Strategy approach and consider this situation as a great opportunity to innovate. As the market is shrinking, it is critical to find new (or different) sources of growth.

The marketing of Luxury goods is driven mainly by a Pull strategy based on recipes which are considered as “Must Be” but without necessarily a pragmatic performance monitoring. The Ultra-luxury brands will keep their clientele but many others do not have anymore references in a situation where attitudes and behaviors of clients are changing. Innovating in selling high-end goods means challenging the status-quo in some areas such as: making the brand more accessible and enhancing the experience at retail.

Once the quality of products, integrity of brand DNA and rationalization of the portfolio are secured. It remains…the Client.  The most important is to keep the contact with the consumer as the desire to own a Jaeger-Lecoultre watch or a Bulgari accessory has not disappeared!

What could be new ways of interacting with consumers with a positive and friendly attitude?

• Targeted and smart Limited Editions

Beyond the marketing trick to issue 888 units of a specific accessory to appeal Chinese consumers, there are ways of using limited editions as a strategic pillar of a brand. The core proposition of a brand A brand could decide to reverse the paradigm and to use restricted offers as the standard for its portfolio. The brand 20 Limited (designers from different categories commercializing a defined quantity of a product) is a good illustration.

Staying in touch with consumers
The fashion designer Marc Jacobs has launched in Paris in October 2008 his boutique Marc by Marc where limited editions of various accessories can be found in an exclusive environment at very accessible price (starting at 1.- Euro). It can be a clever way to generate proximity if the originality of the offer is still consistent with the brand DNA and the affordable price is not the unique benefit perceived by consumers. It helps to generate traffic in the retail stores and positive buzz for the brand.

• Second hand products

A brand could initiate the commercialization of its second hand products in order to facilitate the access to its world and generate additional sources of revenues: It represents a risk in terms of brand image dilution but it is a business already well established for many brands which are not benefiting from it…whilst being a criteria of success for the category. As an example, the Swedish fashion brand Filippa K has opened a second hand shop in Stockholm in summer 2008.

• Renting is not a shame…anymore

It is becoming trendy to rent as it gives the opportunity to transform the absence of ownership into a positive feeling to renew stuff regularly. It is not perceived anymore as a lack of purchasing power.

Fashion victims addicted to hanbags from Prada, Gucci & Co can now make their life a heaven by renting these precious and prestigious items with Sac de Luxe (French company).

Afficionados of Ferrari and Aston Martin have as well their passion fulfilled with Ecurie 25 which is based on a similar principle.

• A new retail experience

It plays a major role in the perception of the brand and the decision making process to acquire a luxury product. However, the current depressing economic climate is not encouraging consumers to push doors of Place Vendôme’s boutiques. Thus, it is even more critical to transform the contact with the consumer into a unique moment (on and off line).

The service level needs to exceed by far expectations through oustanding “Moments of Thruth” and/or the role given to the experience is to be encompassed into the overall brand proposition.

A fashion retail store in Los Angeles, Fashionlogy LA (already mentioned in a recent post), is transforming the purchase at the boutique into a master piece of the product itself.

The Watch Avenue website provides the potential client of some luxury watchmaking brands with the unique opportunity to experience brands and products on-line.

In a different environment, a wine retailer in Denmark, Gerbola Vin, is using Story Telling in an unconventional location as part of its core offer. This approach could support naturally luxury brands having a rich heritage.

Pop-up stores are a good platform to create a unique retail experience while being able to support other initiatives mentionned above. Vogue Magazine opened a Teen Vogue Holliday Haute Spot at the end of 2008 in a mall in the US. It illustrates unconventional routes of using temporary presence in order to built proximity with a specific target and generate buzz.

If the client is not coming naturally to the brand, it is up to the brand to find sensitive strings to pull in order to feed the desire while staying accessible. It is difficult today to pre-empt what would be the sucessfull recipe for tomorrow. However, one critical factor will be the capability of brands to keep the consumer in the centre of the radar screen while innovating in interacting with him or her.

Fashion is part and parcel of our daily life. Through fashion, one is able to re-establish a new line of the existing culture and helps one invent new ways of redefining oneself. In fact, newer fashion trends have a say in deciding what we wear in a particular season.

Usually, people follow certain practices and norms in the hope to be ‘in’ with the popular styles and trends. Mostly, it is the celebrities who update on the fashion trends, and people follow it. In fact, people judge these celebrities by the dress they wear on different occasions. So, celebrities usually make use of the services of famous designers in the hope to incorporate their attitude and an exclusive sense of style in their dresses.

Hip hop fashion style has been around since the early1980′s. This was when celebrities including Will Smith and Christopher Reid showed the young population the way it should be done. In fact, hip hop is not at all a newcomer to the world of fashion scene. Of course, hip hop as a fashion trend has evolved in the past twenty years. The tastes and styles also have changed a lot in accordance with the cultures of the time.

Regarding the hip hop style in the early 1980′s, many of the major brand names became synonymous with the latest in hip hop fashion trends. Big brands of the likes of Nike and Adidas were sported with leather bomber jackets and brilliantly coloured tracks. Jersey became a hot commodity, and Will Smith would show them off in the hit television show, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. During this period, heavy gold jewellery and big sunglasses came into the fashion scene and created an image of wealth and luxury in the eyes of the connoisseurs of hip hop culture of the time. In the second half of the decade, rappers like MC Hammer introduced new trends in hip hop fashion by wearing baggy pants with baseball caps.

From the Gangsta look of the 1900′s, hip hop fashion trends made its transformation to the Gangsta look of the fashionable Los Angeles Chicago gangsters. This particular style sported baggy pants worn at low waist without a belt. Shirt tails would hang outside the pants and bandanas were worn on the head. In the wake of this new trend, designers were supplying the youth with something that they liked, and the popular brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Polo and Nautica came into this industry. And, hip hop fashion trends made its change over into urban street wear, and big names of the likes of Mecca USA and Rocawear came into the scene.

High end designer Gucci also made its presence during this time. Today, the hip hop style has toned down a little bit. Nowadays, hip hop fashion trends come well tailored, and the trend is mostly embraced by the youth. After more than twenty years of existence on the fashion scene, it seems that the hip hop trend has proven to be more than just another trend.

Well over a century ago, a cornerstone was laid that would become the House of Chanel.  Now, over a hundred years later, Chanel continues to be a leader in fashion innovation for women around the world. Chanel handbags continue to generate revenue and demand for savvy, fashion-conscious women, and share a rich history with the designer spanning three centuries.

Born in 1883 and orphaned in 1889, Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel defied the odds by creating a fashion empire that continues to challenge the concept of high fashion even today.  “Coco” settled on her nickname after a short career as a café singer. Using her relationships with Paris’ up-and-coming men, she launched her first boutique in 1910, selling hats to the women of Paris.  So successful was her business that within a year’s time she was designing and selling women’s garments in the Rue Cambon market. Chanel’s line of clothing started a revolution in Paris, first with design and then with how women dressed and related to their bodies.

The arrival of the little black dress in Paris brought instant fame to the House of Chanel.  Her simple designs appealed to women who had been constricted for decades by corsets and stifling fabrics.  Clingy, easy-moving jersey material brought a sexy-casual feel to even the most elegant suits and dresses. The boxy, traditional style of the “Chanel Suit” set the industry on its heels when it hit the runway in the early 1920s. Coco’s first fragrance, Chanel No. 5, led the way for the development of La Societe des Parfums Chanel in 1924. She also launched a costume jewelry line that would later be heralded as “one of the most revolutionary designs of our time” by Harpers Bazaar.

An employer of over four thousand workers and owner of multiple business sites, Chanel reached her peak in 1935. Just four years later she closed her couture house, but the boutiques continued to sell Chanel perfumes and accessories.  Her retirement wasn’t meant to be, however, and when she came back to the fashion industry, she made a big impact with the stylish and timeless Chanel 2.55 handbag. “Mademoiselle” left a mark on the industry with her signature piece, infused with several personal references from her life.  The designer had to turn away many orders due to the time-consuming and “secret” nature of the process used to create her beautiful Chanel purses. Those techniques are still in use today, in each and every Chanel product. Coco received the Fashion Oscar in 1957, along with the title of “most influential designer of the twentieth century.”

The “classic” Chanel purse has remained an icon throughout fashion history. The design marries a chain strap, woven with leather and the renowned double C logo. The Reissue of the original 2.55 offers a throwback to the era with its “mademoiselle lock” and double-chain strap.

Below are some of the more popular Chanel handbags that continue to generate demand among  today’s chic women:

• The Classic Flap: This timeless Chanel purse is outfitted with classic quilted panels, a gleaming brass double C lock, and a durable chain strap interwoven with leather.

• The Clutch: Perfect for evenings out on the town, this sleek Chanel handbag is designed with the brand’s classic quilting and secure double C clasp.

• The Shopping Bag: You can’t go wrong with this beautifully embossed Chanel handbag, embellished with a double C icon logo and a chain strap interwoven with leather. Variations include leather, woven textiles, and bags with comfort grip handles.

• The Tote: Minimal style is the hallmark of this simple tote bag. Outside, you’ll find an envelope pocket with a brass double C clasp, leather handles, and a durable closure. It’s spacious enough to comfortably hold all your essentials, even a laptop and file folders.

• The Bowling Bag: Great for the woman on the go, this Chanel purse is available in a variety of stylish hues. Classic Chanel quilting, a double C icon, and leather strap handles distinguish this trend-setting Chanel purse.

Want to know more about Chanel Bag? Visit http://www.handbags800.com for more articles on LV,Gucci,Chanel,Hermes and other designer bags.

Visit http://gucci-review.com for latest Gucci Handbags,Pursese and Bags Reviews

Visit http://louis-vuitton-review.com for Latest LVHandbags,Purses and Bags Reviews

I love clothes. For me, clothing is a form of self-expression just like paint on a canvas is a form of expression for an artist. So, over the years Iâ??ve been known to scour the pages of fashion magazines for ideas. Sometimes I buy the magazines in the store, other times I subscribe to them for a year or more. Often times, when I flip through the pages, I get inspiration to combine colors, textures or styles in a way I hadnâ??t thought of in the past.

Iâ??ve known for years that fashion magazines are filled with unrealistic, computer-enhanced images. I know that many models have eating disorders and drug problems and I know that many young women aspire to look like models and therefore become victims of eating disorders, compulsive dieting, body dissatisfaction, drug use, smoking and more. I know because I was one of those girls.

But I figured since I â??know betterâ? now, since Iâ??m smart enough to see beneath the surface, that thereâ??s no harm in looking at the magazine for fashion ideas. It was only this past week, after the mailperson delivered a 500 page copy of one of my favorite fashion magazines that it all began to hit me. I sat at the table eating cereal and flipping through the pages one at a time.

I oogled a $500 purse and a $200 pair of shoes. I saw pictures of $1,000 dollar watches. Page after page was permeated with items that would break my bank if I were to purchase them. I realized that I was literally paying money out of my pocket to be advertised to. I was paying for a 500 page manual which might as well have been titled: 500 pages of things you will never be, do or have.

I realized I was paying to look at and read lies. Even though I â??know betterâ? on a conscious level, there was still a little girl part of me that wanted â??that purseâ?, â??those shoesâ? and â??that watch,â? even if they were all incredibly overpriced and sure to wreak havoc on my financial future and my self-esteem.

On this particular day, looking at the fashion magazine wasnâ??t enjoyable, it was infuriating. I suppose this fury has been working itâ??s way out over the past few months. There was the time when I saw the picture of Madonna in a Versace ad and it hit me: she doesnâ??t have a wrinkle or a smile line or crowâ??s feet. Not one sign of being a mother of two, over 40 and a woman with an incredibly demanding career that spanned several decades. I thought to myself, â??thatâ??s impossible.â? It wasnâ??t a jealous or envious thought, I meant it very literally. It is impossible. Computer enhancement and heavy duty make-up is the only logical explanation for the flawless face I saw.

I decided to put my emotions and judgments in check and get objective about what I saw. I performed an unofficial research project and scanned the pages of this 500 page magazine to get an accurate account of what I had been absorbing mindlessly month after month and year after year. Hereâ??s what I learned: of the 500 pages, 300 were full-page ads. 172 pages were ads that pretended to be fashion advice, party advice and editorial content. Letâ??s get real, when the fashion advice includes the name, phone number and website of the store and the price of the item, it truly is an ad. About 30 pages of the magazine were not technically ads but they were things like: â??This star likes thisâ? or, â??This star does that.â? Three of the pages were public service ads (I believe this is a requirement). So, there you have it, my 500 page contained 472 ads and approximately 30 pages of â??content.â? And Iâ??m the sucker who sent the check in to cover the yearly subscription fee.

Now after this informal research project, I was beginning to get a little steamed up. Then, my friend Cindy e-mails me a link to the Dove website (campaignforrealbeauty.com) I go there and watch a 30-second video that shows a sped up version of all that goes into your typical fashion photo shoot. The 30-second video clip encapsulates the hours of time spent on hair, make-up, lighting, professional photography techniques and computer enhancement that takes place before an ad is published or broadcast. When I say the magazine ads are unrealistic and unattainable, I mean it. Because not even the model looks like the model!

So, Iâ??ve made a decision. I am boycotting all fashion magazines. I will never purchase another one again. I will not spend my money on lies and images that lead to self-hatred, deadly behaviors and oppression for women. I know that money is power and I refuse to spend my money on harmful lies that destroy the lives of many women.

I know that my few dollars will not be a big loss to the mega-rich publishing industry but I think itâ??s important for all women to realize that in a very real way we do not have to buy the hype. I mean that in two ways. We do not have to buy the magazines with our money and we donâ??t have to buy the lies that reside within their pages. We can also decide to support designers and manufacturers that promote positive images for women. We can choose to withhold our dollars from companies that exploit women whether itâ??s the model or the sweat shop worker that sews the clothing.

If a full boycott of fashion magazines is not for you, you always have the power to write advertisers when you see images that are harmful or ridiculous. These letters do make a difference.

Now, as far as my fashion inspiration, I decided that if my clothes truly are to be a form of self-expression then I will decide for myself what textures, colors and styles I want to combine. Iâ??m a grown woman living in a free country. I donâ??t need a magazine to tell me how I should dress.