Topic: Fashion shapes and defines consumer culture and patterns in the world today.

Acknowledgements
Undertaking a research project is a daunting task. I am grateful for all the help and support I have received in this venture to conduct findings and combine them to present this research paper. It would not have been possible to write this paper without some people whom I would like to specifically mention here. Above all, I would like to thank my professor for giving me this opportunity to write this paper. I would like to thank her for her constant guidance throughout the course of writing this paper. I would also like to thank my friends and family for aiding me constantly and supporting me patiently. Finally, I would like to thank the staff of Usha Pravin Gandhi College of Management for providing me with the necessary literature and data to help me supplement my research paper. For any errors or inadequacies that may remain in this work, of course, the responsibility is entirely my own.

Abstract
Fashion consumerism is a new-age phenomena. Fashion, through media, controls buyer behavior and has changed the purchasing trends and patterns across the world today. Media, through fashion, dictates what the consumer will purchase by product placement, appropriate branding and imagery and by the use of celebrities and fashion icons. A fast-paced consumer market has emerged. The focus on saving has steadily decreased as people spend more on luxuries and accessories they think they must have because its fashionable or because the media says so. In the Indian context, Bollywood is a driving force in deciding what consumers buy. Products endorsed by Bollywood actors instantly become fashionable and everybody wants to own them. Cost price is slowly becoming a secondary factor as the market becomes a fast-paced consumer market. A quantitative and qualitative survey was conducted in Mumbai (India) and several semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of age groups. The findings suggest that following fashion has become a norm for most ages. Wearing what is in is important and people buy what they believe is fashionable; as suggested by the media in its various forms. Of these forms of media, Bollywood influences on fashion and buyer behavior was found to be the stronges .

Objective and Background

Fashion is global and unavoidable whether youre a student or a working woman; a shop-keeper or a librarian. Everybody is influenced by fashion and what is perceived to be fashionable. It is due to this global and all-encompassing reach of fashion that I have chosen this topic. It is of relevance to the generation I belong to since our fast-paced consumerism is what is changing the markets today. The relevance we give to fashion in our day to day lives and how we let fashion determine our preferences has made the economy a consumer driven one. Personally, it was beneficial since I could relate to the topic and provide a lot of inputs while creating a research design. Thus, I picked a topic that spoke of fashion and combined it with current relevance to formulate an apt research topic for my paper.

Introduction
Globalization, privatization and liberalization are all relatively new concepts. Theyve given birth to a new range of cultures and concepts springing up in the world today. Consumerism is one such culture a culture affecting all spheres of society and countries. Another concept is that of fashion whats trendy, whats in and whats not. Combine these two abstracts and we have a culture called Fashion Consumerism. Briefly put, this paper deals with how fashion and ever-changing fashion trends are a major cause of consumer patterns in the world today. How fashion shapes and determines what the consumer will want to purchase. The paper also looks into how the media is the driver behind putting fashion at a global pedestal and opening the market to become consumer oriented. Fashion determines what is in and what is not while media brings this out for the world to see. Consequently, the world is influenced by what fashion says they must look like or what they must be like and changes its consumption patterns and purchasing trends to fall in accordance with the current fashion trend. Movies, television shows, the internet including social networking sites, the radio, magazines and newspapers media connects everything. It acts like the linkage or the middleman between the seller and the consumer. It influences and determines our likes and dislikes through constant media messages. With the current internet age, people are more liberal and giving with their personal preferences. This makes it easier for the media market and for corporations to target them. A more personal selling is done which is a lot more effective. But what determines what the media showcases? Fashion or what is fashionable is what the media portrays. Today, fashion is consumption, materialism, commercialization and marketing. In the consumer society we organize our ideas about fashion around commerce and consumerism and end up becoming dependent on them. The crux of the paper revolves around the idea that fashion is one is a very subtle yet overt system in our society. It functions so well in our society that one does not even notice when it comes into contact with them every moment in their lives when they pick out a shirt and jeans to wear in the morning as well as

going to a store and buying new shoes or whatever. Even those who dont think of themselves as caring about fashion, or consider themselves at all fashionable, there can be no denying that your personal aesthetic shines through even if you decide to wear a certain shirt just because it is comfortable- you might decide to wear the black one because it doesnt stand out a much and it matches with everything; even that decision for the black shirt is a conscious fashion choice. Our society easily sells into the assumption that we must look somewhat presentable to be seen, and how much you put into that assumption falls onto a spectrum of choice. And this psychological change, mainly due to media messaging, has changed consumer behavior in a big way. The society has seen a gradual change from being minimalistic in terms of consumption to extravagant in their expenditure. Fashion is a deciding factor in our daily life expenses today and will decide the producer-consumer relationship in a big way.

Hypothesis
Material abundance has swept the world today closets are over-flowing, garages have more than one car and garbage bins show remains of a Dominoes or Pizza Hut meal almost every day. As fashion changes, so does consumer behavior. Fashion has become the driving force for people to purchase. Bollywood fashion and the Indian consumer change is fashion patterns with respect to consumers after release of certain movies

History

Understanding consumerism Consumerism began as a convenience measure for people a car for everyone and inevitable erosion of mass transit; growing technological wonders that, a few decades earlier, were unimaginable. With this, there became available consumer credit, over-dependence on devices that were labour-saving and luxurious, necessity to bring home a bigger pay-package, the importance of cheaper goods and the gradual decline of service work. This phenomenon grew to mammoth proportions and gave us consumerism. Consumerism and Society Consumerism is economically manifested in the chronic purchasing of new good and services, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin or the environmental consequence of manufacture and disposal. Consumerism is driven by huge sums spent on advertising designed to create both a desire to follow trends, and the resultant personal self-reward system based on acquisition. Materialism is the end result of consumerism. Consumerism sets each person against themself in an endless quest for the attainment of material things or the imaginary world conjured up and made possible by things yet to be purchased. Weight training, diet centers, breast reduction, breast enhancement, cosmetic surgery, permanent eye make-up, liposuction, collagen injections, these are some examples of people turning themselves into human consumer goods more suited for the "marketplace" than living in a healthy balanced society. Consumerism and Economy The more consumerism spreads, the weaker is the incentive to manufacture long-lasting, quality products, and the greater the likelihood that cheaply made products will instead be

imported from the lowest-wage, environmentally unregulated overseas manufacturer that mobile capital, ever seeking the highest return, can find. An excerpt from The Economic Times India's reform agenda, which began as an effort to unshackle private enterprise, also led to the realignment of the economic structure - with agriculture playing a much smaller role in terms of contribution to the net domestic product. Trade, hospitality, transport, storage, communication and financial services emerged as major employment generators, leading to significant growth in per-capita incomes and the purchasing power of Indian households. The chief of Morgan Stanley's Asia operations, Stephen S Roach, wrote in 2005 that India's transition to a 7% growth path in recent years is very much an outgrowth of the emerging consumerism of the world's youngest populations. The merging of the persona of consumer and citizen is an ongoing process in India. It's time the dynamics of this process is understood through empirical findings. (Shukla Rajesh (2010), Consumption and Consumerism, The Economic Times, Pg. No. 10) It is now established that consumerism is a growing and rampant occurrence. The topic this paper looks to elucidate is fashion consumerism how fashion trends and fashion influences the society to purchase more and also changes their consumption patterns. The cycle of fashion Fashion is fuelled by conversion. Designers continually persuade the public that their new ideas, however shocking they may seem, are in fact everything that a stylish wardrobe requires. Next season, the same designers convince everyone to give up their allegiance to such out-modish designs and embrace instead the innovative visual trends of the latest collections. The same garments are successively dubbed outlandish, in fashion and out-dated according to the apparent vagaries of prevailing fashionable sensibilities. The idea that fashion in dress follows a cyclical phase structure is not new. The sociologist, Quentin Bell made such an observation over fifty years ago in his book, On Human Finery. Moreover, his observation was based on accumulated evidence of an uninterrupted cyclical flow in dress change in Western society since at least the thirteenth century. The sociologist, Ingrid Brenninkmeyer describes this flow by comparing it to the rolling of waves in the sea. As one fashion gains popularity, crests and dissipates, another stylistic wave is already forming behind it. Further extensions of this metaphor liken different stylistic features to variations in the waves themselves. For example, just as different wave patterns form on the basis of their force, size or length, so also different overlapping patterns can be traced in changes of fashionable hem length, silhouette, fabric, dcolletage and colour. Mere descriptions of the fashion cycle however do little to explain exactly why successful designers ideas typically rise and fall in popularity. What is the motivating force behind such changes in fashion? What causes the cycle to move from one phase to the next? These questions cannot be answered simply. Perhaps sheer boredom inspires the continual search for something new. Or can novelty be related to ideas of sexual allure and attraction? Do competing market interests in the fashion industry play a role in animating the cycle? Or could changes in dress function as markers of class differentiation?

Long waves in which a single style dominates for a season and is replaced in the next are no longer the norm. There are no modern equivalents of the crinoline, the bustle, the flapper dress, Diors New Look or the three-piece single-breasted mans suit. The journalist Holly Brubach captures the current pace and diversity of the fashion cycle in an article written for the New Yorker on December 31st, 1990: Fashion as its presented on the runways is nowhere near as unanimous as it used to be, but coverage of it in the press still focuses on hemlines and colours and items on what the collections have in common The truth is that these days you can find practically anything in somebodys collection somewhere. Fashion Worlds (2004) http://fashionworlds.blogspot.in/2000_01_20_fashionworlds_archive.html (accessed 8/12/2011) The apparently random, rapid overlapping of new fashions is not restricted to changes in dress, but can also be noted in areas of modern culture as diverse as painting, music, architecture, entertainment and systems of health care. In Western societys media-based culture of mass consumerism and against a background of globalization, fashion appears to serve reactionary purposes that both structure and affirm the identities of groups and individuals. From surfers and students to alienated middle-class youths and married working women, weekly changes in fad like styles give a sense of belonging whilst also distinguishing them from the masses. Consumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. Consumerism is used to describe the tendency of people to identify strongly with products or services they consume, especially those with brand names (such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci) and perceived status-symbolism appeala luxury automobile such as a BMW, designer clothing from Ralph Lauren, or expensive jewelry from Cartier. A culture that is permeated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture or a market culture.

Bollywood, fashion and consumerism

Churning out nearly 1,000 films a year, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world. Now, aided by technological advancements, the industry is set to take a further leap across production, exhibition and marketing. In such a scenario, product placement in mainstream films deserves a renewed focus because as a marketing communication tool, it is fast emerging as the medium with maximum potential to capture and covert audiences to potential consumers. This is especially relevant in a world where traditional media vehicles are increasingly failing to reach the consumers for various reasons. Emulation is also a core component of consumerism in the 21st century. As a general trend, regular consumers seek to emulate those who are above them on the social hierarchy. The poor strive to imitate the affluent and the affluent tend to imitate celebrities and other icons. One needs to look no further than the celebrity endorsement of products to dissuade the notion that the world population makes its own decisions and models itself as a group of individualists. A number of youngsters were seen wearing long chains and knee-length shorts after Katrina Kaif, a famous Bollywood actress, wore them in a movie New York in 2009. Similarly, when Deepika Padukone in Break

Ke Baad and Sonam Kapoor in Aisha both owned and rode a yellow Volkswagen Beetle in the respective movies, a growing number of the car was seen on the road in Mumbai. Apart from clothes and cars, even celebrity lifestyles are aped by people today. Movies, today, are endorsing a lot of protagonists partying late into the night and drinking and smoking. This has been translated into real life too by people who watch and are influenced by these movies. Clubbing and pubbing are becoming norms and people are spending a lot more money today on night outs and on alcohol. Blogs and fashion experts sometimes call themselves the Bollywood Fashion Police. These agencies criticize and ridicule the fashion sense and style of a particular actor or celebrity. They endorse and highlight the fact that some clothes are not in fashion or not cool. They set in mind prejudices about maybe a particular colour, style, cut or make. When a buyer sees these critiques, it fixes itself in the buyers mind and they consequently avoid wearing such clothes even if they do like them for fear of being not accepted or ridiculed. This culture has been developing the statement made is based on the survey interviews taken for the research study. In the blogging world, a number of fashion bloggers write sections on how to look like your favourite star. They provide tutorials on makeup, guides on where to purchase clothes and shoes from and even what all to carry in your bag. Excerpt: 1. It's a unique look that always makes an impact. Want to know how to look like a Bollywood star? Never fear. As always, VideoJug has the answers. They teamed up with Naveeda, award winning Bollywood makeup artist, to bring you this guide to how to get the look. The video demonstrates complete full-face makeup application, including eyeshadow, blush, and foundation application. 2. Hailed as the most beautiful woman in the world, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai has eyes that every woman wants. VideoJug teamed up with Naveeda, award winning Bollywood makeup artist, to show you how to get them. 3. Bipasha is the Brand Ambassador of Sugar Free Gold. In the advertisement Bipasha advices to take the stairs instead of lift and take the first step towards fitness by using Sugar Free Gold instead of Sugar to cut down the unwanted calories. 4. Shilpa Shettys fitness secret revealed start your day with Aloe Vera juice, do a power yoga workout for at least 20 minutes every day, regulate your diet and try replacing white sugar and bread with the brown variety. Such articles online push people to trying tricks into looking like their favourite stars. Following Shilpa Shettys tryst on international television in Big Brother, a number of people began following her and switching their diet to match hers. (Source survey undertaken) So, in conclusion, there is no doubt that Bollywood the Indian society to a large extent. What Bollywood does, people follow even if it means changing their consumption patterns. Byrne, A., Whitehead, M. & Breen, S. (2003) The Naked Truth of Celebrity Endorsement, British Food Journal, Vol. 105 Issue 4/5.

Literature Review
A large volume of literature has been written and data has been collated with regard to fashion shaping consumer behavior. A lot of researchers have put together their findings in papers and books that talk about fashion in the world today and its role in creating a buyers market.

1. To Die For Is Fashion Wearing Out the World? By: Lucy Siegle Introduction: The book begins with The change of consumer habits over the past 20 years, and how this shows in the present in our shopping habits, and not the least the look and feel of our wardrobe content. Siegle talks about the fast fashion phenomena. Fast fashion is a process in which fashion moves from the ramp to the stores extremely fast in order to reap maximum benefits from consumer. This is a contemporary concept and these trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower price. The concept is very product-driven and works on a quick-response method. Seigle goes on the talk about the ethical negatives of the fashion industry in terms of labour conditions and environmental consequences. She elucidates sustainable fashion to create a safer environment for fashion, consumer and environment to flourish. Analysis: Lucy Siegle talks about the worlds mania with big names and labels and cheap fashion. The global banking crisis has put the consumer at a crossroads: when money is tight should we embrace cheap fast fashion to prop up an already engorged wardrobe, or should we reject this as the ultimate false economy and advocate a return to real fashion, bolstered by the principles of individualism and style pedigree? Siegle analyses the global epidemic of unsustainable fashion, taking stock of our economic health and moral accountabilities to expose the pitfalls of fast fashion. Refocusing the debate squarely back on the importance of basic consumer rights, Siegle reveals the truth behind cut price, bulk fashion and the importance of your purchasing decisions, advocating the case for a new sustainable design era where we are assured of value for money: ethically, morally and in real terms. The book mainly deals with the ecological impact of the worlds crazy obsession for fashion. She brushes across the topic of consumer behavior change in the 21st century. Siegles book does a thorough analysis of the global economics of fashion production and consumption that takes a deep and interesting look at the impact of global value chains and fast logistics on sustainability. The final argument remains however squarely situated in a firm belief in the power of individual activism. Quite paradoxically, given the amount of what sociologist s call structural analysis that she has done, Siegle believes that you as a consumer, by making informed choices has the power to change things. Also discussed in the book how cheap fashion reinforces our throw away culture. Gone are the days of mending and preserving our clothes instead we are prone to hysterical panic buying frenzies at the sight of a new Primark store opening or a new H&M designer collaboration. Using the Primark London, Oxford Street store opening as an example, Siegle, writes of a witness account where a shopper was forced to abandon shopping bags on the side of the road as she had bought more than she could carry. Interestingly Siegle manages to connect our culture of over consuming fashion with the relaxed attitude the middle class have adopted towards fashion. The concept is cheapskating (not a term coined by Siegle), the practice of shopping for cheap clothes but splurging on designer accessories such as the It bag or shoes. This mixing of high street and designer fashion has lifted the stigma once associated with shopping at Primark and Peacocks. Another factor in understanding our over consumption of fashion is the idea of keeping up with the Joneses or celebrities. In the book Siegle introduces us to university graduate Lucy, who had

amassed large amounts of debit keeping her wardrobe up to date in the latest fashion worn by celebrities; many of which would be worn once then discarded. 2. Consumer Experiences with Fashion Magazine Images By: Deniz ATIK Introduction: The paper by Deniz Atik explores consumer experiences with fashion magazines and to explain how the imagery with its placement and presentation influences their consumption desires. Most of the paper research was based in Italy with working women in a mass consumption setting. The findings suggest that while fashion magazines can be inspirational for consumers idealized images of self in life, and they can be instructional for constructing their styles, consumers also experience some tensions, coping with the images presented in these magazines. The paper stresses that the consumer is not a passive audience but is, in fact, an active agent in the cycle of fashion. They find meanings by selecting fashion statements that align them with specific cultural values and subject positions in reference to their life style preferences, personal history, life goals, localized context, or material conditions of everyday life; this is socially situated consumer as interpreter. On one hand, the analysis highlights the tensions and paradoxes experienced by consumers reacting to these images, and on the other hand, it shows how, despite the struggles, the advertised images can still be influential on their consumption desires. Analysis: The paper adds research to the debate of whether fashion magazines influence consumer choices. The findings conclude that fashion magazines can be influential on consumption desires, presenting idealized images of self in life. In a more psychological sense, the paper analyzes how women who adhere to these fashion magazines suffer from lower selfesteems since they do not look like the advertised models. This brings out an ethical concern about fashion as an institution working not necessarily for the well-being of consumers, making them feel good about themselves, but instead working on the perpetual recreation of these insatiable desires for the systems own economic well-being. 3. The Tyranny of Trends By: Charty Durrant Introduction: The tyranny of trends is an article by Charty Durrant. Charty Durrant is a former Fashion Editor of The Sunday Times, The Observer and British Vogue and is a Lecturer in Contemporary Communication at The London College of Fashion. The paper deals with self-imagery, fashion, making fashion, appearances and many other facets of fashion and its effects on our society. Human identity is now defined by what one owns rather than whom one is. Our looks have never been so important celebrity-obsession and self-obsession reveal a new cultural neurosis. The vast majority of the world now spends its leisure time shopping for fashion and considers it an important part of life. But, at what cost? We are obsessed with our appearance. Due to sophisticated technological advancement it is now very hard to tell whether teeth, breasts, lips and hair are our own; whether the suit I am wearing is Prada or Primark; and, in a good light, whether I am twenty-four or forty. What marks this phase in humanity now is our dedication to self.

Our self-image is distorted and it is now an indisputable fact that our collective psyche is in deep pain. Thirty years ago divorce, pornography, underage sex, drug addiction and teenage suicide were rare. Today they are pretty much the norm. Analysis: Durrant speaks about how with evolution, we have seen mans innate need to embellish and adorn whether with feathers or leaves or with animal skin and bones. And now, with the 21st century underway, we are fraught with an over-consumption in the fashion industry. Human identity is now defined by what one owns rather than whom one is. This lust for shopping, consuming and indulging in style has led us into an entirely new arena of culture. Durrant goes on to talk about how fashion of an era has always served as a cultural barometer right from the Victorian ages to retro and classics up until today. Quoting from the article, The consumer is now tyrannized by trends. The market is saturated and people are beguiled, bedazzled and bewildered by choice. The irony of the situation is that in reality we have very little consumer choice at all. But for a tiny design flourish here or colour option there, most fashionable shops, cafs, coats, dresses, cars and magazines all look the same: the consumer equivalent of a monoculture. Following new-age culture, twenty-four hour internet shopping and fierce marketing, consumerism has exploded the charts and boosted fashion retail to a multi-national sport. RESEARCH DESIGN SURVEY ANALYSIS Methodology An independent survey was conducted for people in the city of Mumbai (India) in January 2012. A qualitative and quantitative survey was conducted for fifty people regarding the role of fashion trends and its influence on their consumption patterns. Most of the survey group consisted of students with no income of their own but those who received an allowance from their parents in the range of Rs. 2000 to Rs. 4000. Their fashion consumption decisions were not influenced by financial constraints. The rest of the group consisted of working class people with good income packages belonging to the middle class and the upper middle class. Age-wise breakdown of survey group: 18-25 26 25-35 16 35-50 8 Gender-wise breakdown of survey group: Male 22 Female 28 Transgender 0

The survey sheets mostly consisted of objective questions with a simple yes or no answer. A few subjective and thematic questions were asked which required the participant to relay an expressive answer. The interview guides were organized with respect both to a thematic (relevance for the research theme) and the dynamic dimensions, motivating subjects to talk about their experiences, fantasies, and feelings.

Interview questions were open ended as Are you okay with the way you look have you ever considered cosmetic surgery? and Why do you try imitating a particular celebrity in the way you dress? The findings of the survey have been computed. The objective questions have been depicted in a graphical format while the subjective and thematic questions have been quoted and summarized. The results of the survey have been collated and analyzed to present the current trends prevalent amongst people of this area. Similar trends have been noticeable across the country and even across the globe. Findings
Money spent on clothes/accessories in a month (in Series 1,rupees) Above 1000, 26

Series 1, 500 1000, 17

Series 1, Less than 500, 7

The amount of money spent on purchasing accessories and clothes in a month by an average person has increased drastically through ages. As purchasing power has shot up, a lot more money is spent in clothes, shoes, accessories, eating out, cars, cell phones and other such commodities. In the age group of 25 to 35 where a lot of young married couple is seen without children, a lot of money is spent of luxuries as their expenditure on house is comparatively less. Students, within the age bracket of 18 to 25 years spend a lot of money on clothes and eating out. This age group has the maximum expenditure on clothes and accessories compared to the other age brackets. In accordance with gender differentiation, it is seen on analyzing this survey that both males and females spend almost the same amount of money. Not much disparity is seen in terms of gender differentiation for this particular question.

Series 1, look for in a product? What do you Brand, 27

Series 1, Utility, 23

Brands and big names have become a fashion statement in todays world. One would rather have an Apple product instead of a Samsung. Or eat at a KFC or a Subway rather than at a Jumbo King. A Prada or a Gucci bag is more coveted than an unbranded bag which may be an identical copy of the branded one. Companies spend big bucks every year to up their brand value and create a better niche in the market better the brand name, more the consumers you attract. In an article by Soren Steen Olsen, she says, The great brands become more and more powerful and increasingly take control of the lives of ordinary people. In the new global economy, brands represent an increasing part of the value of corporations and are their greatest source of profit. Hence, corporations go from making product to marketing hopes, images and lifestyles. (Olsen. Soren Steen (2001), Brands and Consumers: Who Controls Who?,The Economist, Pg. No.23) A lot of people are caught up in this brand culture today. In the survey undertaken, 27 out of 50 people said they would rather buy a branded product than one that had more utility value. For these, the name mattered more than the products usability. For 23 out of 50 people, the products usability and utility played a bigger role in determining whether they would or would not purchase the product. In conclusion, based on this survey, a brand is more important than utility. The reason behind the upping of this brand culture can be attributed to cinema, books, the internet and basically, the media in a whole. Glamour and stardom has been associated with big names and big brands and fed to the consumer through movies and other forms of media. Constant bombardment of brand value and importance has led to people believing that a bigger brand is better. Media has mainly been responsible for creating this brand culture and causing big names in fashion to grow. When people see thir favourite star wearing a particular brands clothes or driving a particular brands car or even eating a particular brands food, their desire and want to own or to do the same increases and eventually leads them, in most cases, to ape these stars and purchase those brands.

Where do you purchase most of your clothes from?

Sales, Branded Retail Outlets, 23, 46%

Supermarkets/Malls Sales, Designer Boutiques Supermarkets/M alls, 19, 38% Fashion Shows/Exhibitions Branded Retail Outlets

Sales, Fashion Shows/Exhibition s, 2, 4%

Sales, Designer Boutiques, 6, 12%

Following the question of brand over utility, the survey followed with a question on clothes specifically where do you purchase most of your clothes from? The answers in figures were as follows: Branded Retail Outlets and Malls 23 Supermarkets 19 Designer Boutiques 6 Fashion Shows and Exhibitions 2 As seen, most would choose a branded article of clothing rather than something bought from a supermarket even though the latter is comparatively cheaper in price and more easily available in terms of accessibility. In comparison, only 12% or 6 people said they would buy something from a designer boutique while 4% or 2 people said they would purchase off an exhibition or a fashion show. Again, it is seen that a bigger label is more sought after.

Are you affected by fashion Female Male trends? Male, Yes, 7

Female , Yes, 26 Male, No, 15

Female , No, 2

In the above question are you affected by fashion trends? The answers were sorted according to gender. 26 out of 28 females said yes, they were affected by fashion trends. While 15 out of 22 males said fashion trends did not affect them. A large disparity was seen in this question in terms of male-female replies. While a majority of females seem to be influenced by changing trends in fashion, males seem comparatively unaffected by trends and change in trends.

Would you purchase a product if you saw it in a movie?, Maybe, 12, 24%

Yes Chart NoTitleMaybe

Would you purchase a product if you saw it in a movie?, No, 16, 32%

Would you purchase a product if you saw it in a movie?, Yes, 22, 44%

As has been already established in this paper, movies, especially from Bollywood in the Indian context, play a major role in determining fashion choices of people. This survey question result only further exemplifies this result. A majority of people said that they would purchase a product if they saw it in a movie. i. If I like something that I see in a movie like a bag or even a shade of lipstick, I go out and try it myself and often end up buying it. 32% people (16 out of 50) said they wouldnt purchase a product solely because they saw it in a movie and 24% (12 out of 50) people said they might depending on the price, the product and the star of the movie. ii. Yes, sometimes you see nice things in a movie. Maybe a car you like o r a shirt that looked good on the star. These products come into the market very soon. I may buy it depending on how expensive it is. I probably wouldnt buy a car but if I see the shirt, try it on and like it, I may just buy it. But I may choose not to buy it either. It has been seen that the taste and kind of clothing has changed according to cinema too. Earlier, actresses wore very little Western clothes in Bollywood they stuck to sarees and kurtas. This trend was subsequently seen in the people too. Now, a lot of skirts, shorts, pants, dresses and Westernized attire are seen on the actors on-screen. People today too are changing their style of clothes to match this. This, to an extent, is due to globalization. But this globalization has only been further endorsed by cinema and movies.

Do you try imitating a celebrity, fashion icon in your fashion choice?, No, 16, 32%

Chart Yes Title No

Do you try imitating a celebrity, fashion icon in your fashion choice?, Yes, 34, 68%

A clear majority of people replied in the positive in this question. 68% people, which is 34 out of 50 people, said that they do try looking like their favourite actor or celebrity or fashion icon. iii. I dont see any harm in trying to look like an actor. I got my six pack abs after I saw Hrithik Roshan in a movie. He motivated me to work on my body too and Ive become a fitter person. Yes, I did try to look like him and I even joined a gym to do that. I also try wearing clothes like his because I think it looks cool. iv. Whenever I go to shop, I keep in mind my favourite fashion icon Sonam Kapoor. I love the way she dresses. Her clothes and accessories are so chic and I want to look just like her. This blind imitation of fashion icons by people has led to a steady increase in the bulk of buying. Every time a new movie comes out, people rush to buy clothes like the actor/actress even if their closets are full already. Consumerism increases and excessive spending is seen in the market. Close to 32% people (16 out of 50) said they dont try imitating a celebrity: i. I buy and wear what I like and what makes me feel comfortable. It doesnt matter if its fashionable or not. I decide my own wardrobe. The number of people who disagreed with imitating a celebrity was clearly over-powered by those who agreed re-instating the fact that our society today leans towards a psychological stance of belonging or fitting in by changing their fashion preferences to those accepted or regarded highly by societal norms.

Media influences

A number of thematic or subjective questions were also thrown at the people in a semi-structured interview. Their answers helped the area of study of this paper gain an in-depth analysis into the thinking that goes on in a consumers mind while purchasing products and how their media influences begin to play a determining factor in their preferences. i. A celebrity embodies what the cool thing to wear or do is. I imitate them so that I fit in well with my friends. This clearly showcases buyers preferences in buying clothes, accessories or even in where they choose to eat will be determined by what the media portrayal of their favourite fashion icon is.

If cosmetic surgery improves the way I look and feel about me, I would definitely consider it. Everybody is doing botox and minor breast enhancements and tummy tucks these days. Theres no big deal. All the big actors in Bollywood are also doing it. If they can then we can too. It just makes you feel better about yourself and if you can afford it, then why not! Consumers are caught up in a major celebrity-mania today. Whatever a celebrity does, wears or even talks about becomes the fashionable thing to do. If a Shahid Kapur is wearing a white vest and blue jeans in his next movie, the probability is that most young men will imitate this and purchase those very things. If a Vidya Balan says that a particular lounge is her favourite, most people would want to try it out too. This blind aping of actors and celebrities today has created a market for sellers to sell these celeb-endorsed products which consumers readily purchase. (When asked if they refer to a fashion magazine for advice) Yes, fashion magazines like Cosmopolitan and Vogue tell us what is the right thing to wear in makeup and clothes to look right for the season. If they tell me its the season for polka-dots, I would wear them. Or if they say avoid neon colours, I would. This is because they know what is fashionable and what is not. And since following them helps me look more fashionable, I do. ii. I buy my clothes according to a fashion magazine (Femina India). Im not very good at dressing uo myself and picking the right clothes so these help in making me choose the right clothes and accessories. In summary, it is clear from the analysis that fashion magazines are certainly inspirational for consumers idealized images of self in life; these images are often related to socially and institutionally constructed beauty ideals. Consumers also use fashion magazines as a guide for constructing a style. Thus, institutions like fashion advertising have a crucial role in shaping consumer desires and influencing purchase decisions. i.

ii.

Conclusion
Based on the findings of the survey undertaken it is clear that people today are in most ways influenced by fashion trends in their consumer choices. A subjective question asked them if they imitated a celebrity in the way they dressed or shopped. 68% people answered in the positive. Big fashion outlets like Zara, Forever New and eateries like Dominoes use celebrities for endorsements for this very reason. Since celebrities are considered the embodiment of fashion, people follow them blindly and that makes the Medias work simpler and more effective. Another subjective question asked said if a person would purchase a product because they saw it in a movie. Again, a majority of people 54% said that they would. This answer has been exemplified many times in the past as has been noted in the paper. Culture consists of norms, roles, beliefs, values, customs, rituals, artifacts. Fashion is a big element of culture. This translates into consumer behavior as people may just use products because they think that they have to. The psychology of how the consumer is influenced by his or her environment which today has been altered by the media into that driven by fashion. The main reason behind fashion shaping consumer behavior can be attributed to consumer psyche. Throughout the long history of consumer research, there has been much interest regarding how consumers choose which brand to buy and why they continue to purchase those brands. Self-branding describes the process in which consumers match their own self-concept with the images of a certain brand media has a large role to play in this. The subjects of branding and product placement all arise from the simple fact that fashion influences buyer behavior and the media is the vehicle on which fashion is brought to glory.

The hypothesis which said that material abundance has swept the world today was proved correct. Society has become material-centered where fashion plays a centric role. The amount of purchasing has risen a majority of people own more than one car per household, eat out regularly and spend a large amount of their income in buying luxuries. The second hypothesis stated - as fashion changes, so does consumer behavior. Fashion has become the driving force for people to purchase. This statement also holds true as summarized in the paper. People refer to fashion magazines for guidance before shopping. The need to stay in fashion is of utmost importance. Trends change according to season and most people change their wardrobes according to the latest trend which is being followed. The last hypothesis about the influence of Bollywood on the Indian consumer is correct. Change is fashion patterns with respect to consumers are seen after release of certain movies. Bollywood stars influence fashion choices. This is mainly because the media plays a big role in creating hype about fashion. People are influenced by these media tactics and techniques into believing that movies are the guidelines to what they should and shouldnt be wearing. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy (stuff) we don't need. From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk

Reference
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