Fashion Concepts

What Is Fashion?

In simple terms, fashion may be understood as a style that is popular in the present or a set of trends that have been accepted by the larger society. Fashion is a complex subject that can be linked to society, culture and commerce. It draws from a range of disciplines including psychology, anthropology, art, history, and communication studies. Fashion derives from the Latin Facere which means “To Make” or “To Do“. While fashion includes clothing, it goes beyond the function of clothing as protection from weather. Fashion is not merely dress or costume, but is, in fact, a lifestyle that encompasses not only the styles of dressing in the current time but involves human interaction to signify individual and group identity, aspiration, taste and wealth. The Oxford dictionary defines it as a “popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behavior.” According to renowned fashion scholar and writer Valerie Steele, fashion includes “all forms of self-fashioning, including street styles, as well as so-called high fashion created by designers and couturiers.”

Fashion has varying significance for different people. Fashion can be someone’s passion and a focused career choice. For those employed in the fashion industry, it can be a source of income; for others with entrepreneurial ability it is an opportunity to express their signature style of design. For the fashion media professionals, blogs and the social media offer routes to keep up, spread and even influence fashion trends. For fashion enthusiasts, each season brings with it a sense of excitement to explore the latest fashion trends, what is “in” or “out” and to be the earliest to adopt the latest styles.

Fashion is not constant; it goes through periodic cycles of change under the influence of prevailing or anticipated changes in the society. This continuous evolution is the stimulus for fashion influencers to adopt new styles for the season quite early. This is then adopted by the fashion followers who comprise a larger segment of society. The so-called rules or dress codes are set only to be repeatedly broken and reset in a series of seasonal fashion cycles.

Fashion and style are often used synonymously, but they are not the same. Fashion refers to a “set of trends that are popular in the present and have been accepted by a larger audience.” Style is defined as “a distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed.” Fashion is associated with change, acceptance and adoption of what is “out there” in the stores in terms of clothes, related accessories and lifestyle products. Style is a particular look, shape or type of apparel. Style is also about self-identity, and personal choices of how the individual wants to present oneself and be perceived through clothing choices. Style may involve adaptation of current fashion or even a choice of not subscribing to fashion trends at all. In addition to practical considerations, style emerges from the particular traits that the individual possesses, associates with, and expresses through clothing choices made repeatedly. Style has an emotional quotient that the wearer relates to it, as seen in the classic style of actor Simi Grewal who always wears white.

The designer known as the couturier who is usually the Creative Director of couture fashion houses such as Chanel, Christian Dior, Armani, Givenchy and others creates one-of-a-kind, iconic, “high fashion”. These are very expensive and therefore very few can afford it. These designs are then re-interpreted into more affordable styles for the larger market. The media plays an important role in disseminating these trends through fashion magazines, social media and promotional shows on television.

 

Basic Fashion Terminology

It is important to know the vocabulary and use the appropriate terminology of fashion. As a fashion design student and later as a professional it is important to use this language at the work place. Some of the fashion terminology being French origin, it is essential to know their meaning and correct pronunciation.

Fashion Apparel

The fashion system in any country is a part of the global fashion industry. The domestic retail segment and the export business have their production systems and target markets. The hierarchy of different segments of the fashion industry is discussed below.

Couture [Haute Couture]

Couture or Haute Couture is a French Term that translates literally as “High Dressmaking” which actually refers to high quality standards of apparel construction or needlework techniques for custom clothing. While couture includes clothing, jewelry and accessories, haute couture refers to one-of-a-kind garment. It uses high quality, expensive, and exclusive fabrics and is constructed with extreme attention to detail by the most experienced and skilled tailors and drapers, often using highly time-consuming, hand-executed techniques from start to finish. An haute couture garment is often made for a client, tailored specifically to the wearer’s measurements. Considering the amount of time, money, and skilled personnel allocated to each garment, haute couture is beyond the limitations of budget constraint. Some famous French couture houses are Christian Dior, Chanel, Saint Laurent. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora and Rahul Mishra are Indian designers who participate in Paris Fashion Week and are globally famous for their contribution to promoting Indian couture.

Designer Pret-A-Porter

Designer Prêt-A-Porter is commonly known as ready-to-wear, abbreviated as RTW meaning “Off-The-Rack” clothes. The term refers to factory-made clothing produced in standardized sizes in factories as differentiated from customized or made-to-measure/bespoke clothing tailored to the specific measurements of the individual client. However, due care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric as well as the sewing quality. As the clothes are made in limited quantities, there is still an amount of exclusivity and therefore they are high priced. International fashion houses present RTW collections each season at the event known as Fashion Week. This usually takes place in specific cities in certain countries or fashion capitals, twice a year. Fashion Weeks are bi-annual for the Spring/Summer (S/S), Autumn/Winter (A/W) seasons. The themes are targeted at market segments such as resort wear, high street, active sportswear, smart casuals etc. International brands such as Miu Miu by Miuccia Prada and Polo by Ralph Lauren, and Indian brands such as AND by Anita Dongre and Label by Ritu Kumar, are examples of designer prêt-à-porter labels.

Mass Fashion

The mass market caters for a wide range of customers, producing large volumes of RTW. In this market segment, the in-house design team makes volume-selling merchandise that may be adapted from higher priced merchandise and is moderately priced. To produce their own versions of the original styles at lower cost, the brand may use cheaper fabrics and faster production processes which makes it possible for the collection to be sold at lower prices. However, there is a possibility that the quality may be compromised. Occasionally a limited range of apparel may be designed by famous names e.g. supermodel Kate Moss for Topshop (UK) and supermodel Gigi Hadid and Tommy Hilfiger collaboration for Gigi x Tommy (USA). International mass fashion brands are Zara (Spain) and H&M (Sweden), Shopper’s Stop and Big Bazaar (India).

Avant Garde

The French Avant-Garde means “Advance Guard” and refers to experimental and radical work that pushes the boundaries of widely-accepted design. The Avant-Garde approach is seen in art, music, architecture, literature, performing arts, cinema and significantly, fashion. Avant-Garde Fashion defies the existing norms and consciously deviates from convention to chart an unprecedented path of unorthodox innovation that questions and opposes mainstream aesthetics. Avant-Garde Fashion designers have experimented with unconventional designs, new forms and structures to radically redefine the way in which people perceive and wear clothes and accessories. This is seen in the designs of Barbara Gongini [Scandinavia], Yohji Yamamoto [Japan], Carol Christian Poell [Austria], Amit Aggarwal [India] and others.

Knock Off

Knock-off is a close copy with strong resemblance with another brand but may not carry the original label. Counterfeit is a replica of clothing, footwear or accessories that is made with the motivation of deceiving the consumer into thinking that it is genuine product of a particular company or brand. Knock-offs are illegal because they are unauthorized products manufactured to replicate the original product. Both knock-offs larger quantities, they are sold at cheaper prices as compared to the originals. An example is a knock-off of a Louis Vuitton handbag with a fake logo.

Bespoke

Bespoke clothing is reserved for individually patterned and crafted men’s clothing. The term “Bespoke” is derived from the fact that an order is given for it to be made. In other words, it is booked i.e. “spoken for“. Bespoke clothing is traditionally cut from a pattern drafted from scratch for the customer. While ready to wear clothing that is manufactured and finished in a factory and available in standardized sizes, bespoke menswear is customized for the individual client with keen attention to high quality of construction and is more expensive. Savile Row in London is the acknowledged place for the best bespoke tailoring in the world and is the byword for unequalled quality.

In Vogue

A particular style is said to be In Vogue or En Vogue [French] when it is currently in trend or in style. The Cambridge dictionary defines vogue as “the state of being popular or fashionable for a period of time“. Therefore, keeping up with fashion trends will inform you of what is predicted to be in vogue for a particular future season.

Fashion Forward

Fashion-forward styles are modern designs that are anticipated or likely to become fashionable in the near future.

Ensemble

Ensemble [French] is defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as “a complete costume of harmonizing or complementary clothing and accessories“. A fashion ensemble refers to a complete outfit where the clothes are coordinated with matching accessories and jewelry.

Silhouette

Silhouette refers to the image or overall shape of a garment. The outline is represented in a solid color, usually black so that the focus is on the garment outline and not on the design details on the space. Different silhouettes of dresses are developed through patternmaking or draping with the purpose of flattering different body types, as discussed below:

• • A-Line: This silhouette is usually of a one-piece garment that flares out gently from the waist or hips, thus resembling the alphabet “A“.
  • Empire Line: This silhouette features a fitted bodice ending just below the bust, giving a high-waisted appearance to the dress. Irrespective of the skirt length, it skims the hips. This silhouette gives a youthful look.
  • Mermaid: This silhouette is fitted from the neck and shoulders over the bust and hips down to the knee from where it flares out dramatically. It is particularly suitable for those with petite figures.
  • H-Line: This silhouette is usually a one-piece rectangular dress dropping straight from shoulder to the hip. The waist often has a belt or another accent detail resembling the bar of the letter “H“.
  • Sheath: This silhouette is long, narrow and column-like slim-fitting dress starting from the neckline, subtly accentuating the natural contours of the body.
  • Shift: This is a knee-length dress with a body-skimming silhouette that has more ease at the bust, waist and hips.
  • Y-Line: This narrow silhouette is the inverted version of the A-line. It has shoulder accents which can vary from a wide collar to large shoulder pads, and a fitted body.

Garment Components

The garment components are parts or sections of clothing with one or more separate pieces to be assembled as a unit. Garment components include the top front, top back, bottom front, bottom back, sleeve, collar/neckline treatment, sleeve/cuff treatment, placket, pocket, and waistline treatment. Hems may be completed as a part of a component or as part of final assembly. Stitching, shaping with darts and seams, and fusing techniques are used to assemble components of the final garment structure.

 

Fashion Business

• • Fashion Seasons: Fashion collections are developed and presented at Fashion Weeks for two main seasons namely Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter, also known as Autumn/Winter. The Spring/Summer starts in January and runs until around June, and Fall/Winter goes from July to December. These can be further extended into four seasons namely Spring/Summer, Fall/Winter, Resort and Pre-Fall. Resort collections may overlap the first two seasons and are offered around late October to December. Pre-Fall collections appear in stores slightly before Fall/Winter collections come in.

• • The collections are presented in the Fashion Weeks held in the Global Fashion Capitals of Paris, Milan, London and New York twice a year. Industry professionals from all over the world come together to see what the designers have planned for the coming season. These are showcased well ahead of the actual season to allow for enough time for subsequent activities. After attending shows, the buyers decide what will be sold in their own stores. The brands also need time to produce them and then get them to the different retail stores. The retailers also need to prepare for the new arrivals in terms of photo-shoots, marketing and other related activities.

• • Fashion Forecasting: Fashion forecasting is a process of highly professionalized system of predicting upcoming trends for different fashion and lifestyle industries such as apparel, home furnishings, leather goods, accessories, automobiles and even food. Fashion forecasting agencies are mostly based in developed Western countries. Some of the widely-referred trend forecasting agencies are WGSN and Doneger [New York], Promostyl, Peclers, René Derhy, Nelly Rodi [Paris], Trendstop [London]. Fashion forecasting agencies cater to apparel categories particularly for ready-to-wear and mass markets. These are responsible for anticipating and predicting trends that help retail and export businesses for the upcoming seasons. They publish trend books to illustrate their forecasts about eighteen months ahead of the fashion season. The books include color chips, textile samples, fashion sketches and photographs to explain the trends.

 

Fashion Consumers

• • Fashion Leaders/Influencers: The process of fashion adoption by wider society is usually started by a small group of opinion leaders referred to as Fashion Change Agents, also known as Fashion Leaders, and Fashion Influencers. Fashion leaders are persons who are early adopters of new fashion style, and are acknowledged as fashion leaders because of their interest in fashion and boldness to experiment with their clothing choices and appearance. Fashion influencers are in a position to inspire, influence and affect the opinions and purchasing decisions of others in the group. A fashion influencer may be a celebrity from different professions – a cinema star, music star, supermodel, sportsperson, politician, fashion editor and blogger, fashion designer, artist or even a socialite who has large number of followers on social media. Actor Sonam Kapoor is an early adopter and fashion leader whose style is imitated by many.

• • Fashion Followers: Those who follow the fashion leaders and adopt particular styles only after it is worn by a fashion influencer and becomes a popular trend, are called Fashion Followers. This includes the majority of adopters as they are not interested in creating their own unique style identity and are content to wear similar styles. This particular consumer segment being the largest group, is targeted by fashion brand retailers for promotional activities to induce buying on a large scale.

• • Fashion Victims: Fashion Victims are those who slavishly follow current fashions without due consideration whether it suits them or not. Therefore, irrespective of their personal style and fit, they may wear clothes that may cross the boundaries of fashion and style.

 

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