Week 9 Chapter 8 InFashion: Fun! Fame! Fortune!

2nd Edition by Elaine Stone Part Three The Secondary LevelThe Producers of Fashion Fashion Apparel: Womens, Mens, Childrens, and Teens Slide 4 Key Concepts Categories, size ranges, and price zones of womens, mens, childrens, and teens fashion apparel Roles of brand and designer names in the marketing of womens, mens, childrens, and teens fashion apparel Advertising and promotional activities in the marketing of womens, mens, childrens, and teens fashion apparel Slide 5 You might say the only constant in fashion is change. Womens Apparel Evening wear styles from Giorgio Armani on the left and Oscar de la Renta on the right hand side of your slide. The fashion business has long been an important one but the way that it is organized has changed. Organization and Operation Specialization by Product This is not something that would be apparent to the average consumer. Guess what? You guys are no longer the average consumer! : ) Companies that produce apparel have usually been specialists. For example the company that produces childrens clothing would not typically also produce mens pants although the factories they use might be very capable of making the garments. Even within the categories there is specialization. One of the first companies I worked for made womens coats. The second company I worked for made womens coats but also had a girls coat division and a division that made sportswear. By creating divisions within a larger company they could become a big company but also specialize in certain areas. When national brands and licensed goods cover a variety of categories it is not evident that these items may not all be developed and manufactured by the same company or that divisions might be in place all making goods under the same name.

The Role of Designers It is important to recognize that no designer can be everything to everyone. Designers no matter what price point are creating items for a target audience. The big name designers influence the designers of lower priced styles.

Slide 6 Womens Apparel Categories in Womens Apparel Outerwear Suits Dresses Blouses The categories above have been part of womens ready to wear (RTW) industry from the beginning.

The following link will take you to a page of general information about the shirtwaist http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/triangle-shirtwaist/

Sportswear Separates The 2 listed above came into importance in the 1940s.

Sewing pattern for sportswear separates 1942 Jeans Have their own category due to the importance in our wardrobes. How many pairs do you have?

Activewear Clothing for participating in sports or just looking like you do.

Formal Wear Prom, evening gowns and special occasion wear. You may also hear it called after- 5 or cocktail. This is the category that gets the most media attention ~ think about all of the award shows and all the coverage they have. A.B.S. is a company that is known for copying or knocking off designer creations

Red Carpet Copies: Not Just From A.B.S.

02.03.09 By Najwa Moses A.B.S. is definitely the king of the red carpet knock-off game, but Vera Wang, as well as Badgley Mischka and Carmen Marc Valvo, and several other designers make affordable versions of the couture gowns they design for celebs to strut the red carpet in too.

Anne Hathaway accepted the Best Actress Critics Choice award in this colorblock dress; A.B.S. toned down the silhouette to create a sleeker version of the Phantom of the Opera effect. Click link or Continue reading to see more [all photos courtesy of Getty Images] (more) Tags: Designers, Double Vision, Star Style

Bridal Wear In addition to the bride this category covers attendants, mother of the bride (MOB) and the groom

Maternity While this is a specific category within this category you will find all of the others.

Slide 7 is the same chart as you have in your book on page 177. You will notice that you have items listed under uniforms and aprons that are not setting any fashion trends but are a category of womens clothing Slide 8 Womens Apparel Size Ranges Misses - sizes 4-20 These sizes are only even numbered and sometimes will include sizes 0-2 and tall sizes Juniors -sizes 5- 17 These sizes are only odd numbered and may include petites Petites -misses sizes 2P -16P and junior sizes 1P-15P Womens and Womens Petites -These are even sizes 26- 52 , XL to 5X and petites 12WP to 26WP Seems pretty straightforward right? Until you go shopping and realize that every company can decide on their own spec measurements. For example size 10 Michael Kors might fit you perfectly while another brand size 10 will not. Generally the designer brands will allow you to fit into a smaller size due to how the fit is numbered. The link below is the size charts for Bloomingdales department store. It is just to give you an idea of sizing and how it is presented to the consumer. http://www1.bloomingdales.com/about/shopping/sizecharts/women.jsp#Contemporary Major Price Zones for womens ready to wear this does not include couture. Designer Signature This is the highest price zone. Examples below:

Jean Paul Gaultier

Donna Karan Bridge Bridge merchandise costs 1/3-1/2 of designer prices. Some of the designers may also produce bridge lines.

DKNY Donna Karans bridge line Contemporary Designers are often younger designers who offer designer-quality lines using lessexpensive fabric selling their lines at lower prices.

Cynthia Rowley

Vivian Tam Better apparel is medium to high in price and offers fashionable clothes at affordable prices.

Jones New York Moderate includes lines that have high visibility but less prestige than designer appealing to middle-class customers.

Guess, Esprit, Jantzen and Levi Strauss are in this Price zone Budget you will also hear it called mass market or promotional. Examples would be Arizona jeans at JC Penneys, Sears Canyon River Blues and Jaclyn Smith, Thalia, and Sofia Vergara at Kmart.

Sofia Vergara

Jaclyn Smith line at Kmart

Slide 9 Womens Apparel Multiple Price Zones Some businesses offer merchandise in several price zones to try and capture more market share. Gap stores include Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy on the low end. This is also a way to capture customers as their budgets increase. Designers get in the act here also by introducing lower priced lines. Private Labels Private label is big business as stores look to promote their own labels. I worked for one private label company that did 90 million dollars per year making items for other companies. The companies may also rely on experienced manufacturers to help build their business. Macys Charter Club is shown below.

Merchandising and Marketing by the apparel producers is aimed at retail stores and the consumer via advertising, publicity, and sales promotions. The more media coverage you can attract the better Fashion Shows, Press Weeks, and Trade Shows The one you have probably heard the most hype about is the Mercedes Benz Fashion week where 250 designers showcase their work in NYC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqitYDLq8wU This is the Rachel Zoe fashion show it runs about 10 minutes so if you dont have time to watch it now you can come back to it. Trade shows include MAGIC in Las Vegas and B.A.T.WOMAN specifically for plus and tall women. There are many other international shows Trunk Shows

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7gfEQkaTRw Vera Wang trunk show at Erin Cole Couture These are usually win win- win for everyone. As you saw in the video the customers get to see and touch the clothing and it is exciting to go to an event. Treats! Often some type of refreshment is served. Sometimes the designers are present but if not someone is there representing them. Michael Kors Mom has been the representative for him at a local Sacramento trunk show. Retailers have people coming in to see the event who might not normally frequent their store. The designer gets to meet the customers in person and hear their response to the merchandise. Industry Trends More manufacturers are becoming retailers Licensing is important We continue to see more offshore production Supply chain management is important as companies look to streamline and implement cost savings along the way. As is every industry increased reliance on computers and the Internet. Slide 10 Mens Apparel Organization and Operation Size and Location of Manufacturers The menswear business has been ruled by large companies at the manufacturing level. Big names that you might see are Levi Strauss, Phillips Van Heusen Corp. Even among these there is a great deal of diversification in order to try and capture more business. Designer Names the name game is a big deal and designers may have their own boutique within a store. The Designers are more visible in the media which boosts the value of their name as they are recognizable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-pBkzVgABE Versace menswear show Spring Summer 2014

Market Segments Tailored clothing, sportswear, activewear, contemporary apparel and bridge apparel. What do these consist of?

Tailored Clothing includes suits, overcoats, topcoats, sport coats, formal and separate trousers. You might picture these as garments with some structure that are 3 dimensional even without a body inside them and that is because they have structure and support built into them.

If this is a topic you are interested in this video shows you How to create a tailored jacket. This is not required viewing but may be of interest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGB7EwAAVZU Mens clothing has a more standardized fit based on specific measurements. The chest measurement is the basis of fit for tailored clothing and the waist and inseam measurement for pants. Suit Separates are sport coats and trousers and as the name suggests they are sold separately. Tailored suits, matching jackets and pants and sometimes a vest in the case of a 3 piece suit are much less in demand than they used to be as society has become more informal. What has increased in popularity is the separates. Your book mentions an industry expert who finds men who wear separates

to be more fashion aware as they put their looks together rather than relying on the head to toe look of tailored clothing. Mitch one of the salesmen that used to sell raw materials to me in NYC always looked so well put together so one day I commented on how he always looked so nice. He said, Let me show you something. I am actually color blind and my wife marks all of my clothes with numbers so I know what goes together. He showed me his tie had a number 1 on it as did his jacket and his pants and shirts. With everything in his closet labeled he could easily match up his clothes and always look great. Sportswear is not structured and will follow the shape of the person wearing it. You might think of it as softer dressing. This category includes unconstructed jackets, knit and woven sport shirts, slacks, shorts and coordinated tops and bottoms. Think casual! Activewear Just as the womens category this is for men who are participating in the sports or those who like to look they are. Contemporary Apparel = fashion + quality Bridge Apparel fills the gap between young mens and mens and is priced under designer prices. The age range is approximately 25-40 years. It is important to note that there is some blurring of lines between market segments. You could have a handmade suit separate jacket in luxurious fabric that would be quite costly. Slide 11 Mens Apparel Merchandising and Marketing is important either paid advertising or the kind of publicity generated by having a celebrity seen wearing your clothes. Fashion followers will look to emulate the looks of celebrities they admire. Industry Trends many of these relate to the lifestyle shift to a more informal culture in the U.S. Even with this informality customers are still looking for quality construction and fabric. Slide 12 Childrens, Tweens, and Teens Apparel Organization and Operation Much of the childrens wear produced in the United States is produced by small family owned businesses. We also have giant companies, like Health-tex, Carters, and OshKosh BGosh who have major advertising campaigns. With childrens wear accounting for 20% of the U.S. retail apparel industry it is no wonder adult apparel designers are open to adding childrens wear to their mix.

Price categories are budget, moderate, better and designer. Gift and grandparent purchases tend to be in the better and designer price merchandise. Parents are often more practical buying clothes in the lower price ranges for kids that may not fit in those clothes next month. Size Categories The high rate of obesity in children and teens at 16.9 % has some retailers and vendor offering plus size childrens clothing. JCPenneys recognized this at least 10 years ago and offers this consistently. In some cases the sizing may be the same for girls and preteen girls and boys and prep/student/ teen but the styling is different. Since children come in all sizes a very tall 10 year may not be appropriately dressed in trendy teen styled clothing or a petite 14 year may find the childrens clothing too babyish. This results in some overlap in the sizing to be sure there are age appropriate offerings. Product Specialization Childrens wear manufacturers often specialize by product for example boys sportswear or girls dresses. They may make this product in a range of sizes from toddler through kids. The Role of Fashion in Childrens, Tweens, and Teens Wear Fashion is important to children and especially to tweens and teens who want to dress like their friends or dress like those older. Fads are important to this age group. See the moustache fad from 2013.

Slide 13 This size chart is also featured in your book on page 189. Slide 14 Childrens, Tweens, and Teens Apparel Merchandising and Marketing Bonpoint kids show 2013 Paris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2H2JYBp6CU The firms that produce budget and moderate priced clothing do not spend a great deal on advertising leaving this to the retailers. They do advertise to the trade via trade publications such as Earnshaws Infants and Girls and Boys Wear Review.

Earnshaws Infants

Childrens Club Trade show

Trade Shows are important to all categories with Kid being not exception. KIDS ON 6 is held at the California Market Center in Los Angeles and the MAGIC show in Las Vegas includes childrens clothing also. The picture on the right shows the Childrens Club trade show in NYC. Designer Labels Ralph Lauren book or is it a catalogue? http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-magically-magnificent-school-adventure-ralph-laurenchildrenswear/1104688642?ean=9780594036999 Your slide also shows Little Marc Jacobs. Many other designers have added childrens wear to their mix. Licensing Character Licensing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1JHUPCvLTI Disneys Jessie Fashion Show Did you know that the first licensed cartoon character was Buster Brown way back in 1904?

Children like to dress like their favorite character or have clothing and accessories portraying the character. Disney, Warner Brothers and Sesame Street have all been important licenses. It doesn t seem that the demand for this merchandise is slowing down at all.

Sports Licensing is also huge arena (no pun intended ; )) due to the high visibility and instant recognition. No team loyalty intended here I happened to find an example that combined character and sports licensing in one garment.

Industry Trends Specialty Retail Outlets The store within a store and the infant and toddlers departments are set up as separate outlets.

Separate Stores Examples include GapKids, and Baby Gap where they have the same type of mix and presentation but for the smaller sizes.

Catalogs

J Crew kids catalogue Crew cuts too cute! The lower picture on the slide is also from Crew Cuts Benetton also sells miniversions of the adult offerings Resale of Childrens wear This might fall under our category of being green by not creating the demand for everything new. It certainly makes sense since kids grow so fast. Many of these businesses are franchised businesses. A friend of mine has a franchised Childrens Orchard business and it did so well that she opened her own womens store based on the model resale model. If you have never been inside a resale store you might be surprised that they can be very nice

and appealing. They often mix in some new accessories to round out the assortment and create impulse purchases.

Slide 15 Trade Talk activewear custom-made price zones ready-to-wear masstige suit separates tailored clothing trunk show

One of our local childrens stores.