The History of Fashion – Understand Fashion of Today!
What Really Constitute Fashion!
Fashion is well acceptable designs, patterns and styles in clothing, handbags, footwear, accessories, lifestyle, hairstyles and makeups. Fashion has a distinguishing characteristics trends in pattern and styles that in most cases represent people personally. Fashion has always presents the newest art-work, creations and designs of tailors, engineers, technologists and design makers. They showcase culture, beliefs and behaviors through their work which often times becomes acceptable and embedded in society.
Development of Fashion!
Fashion industry was first developed in Europe followed by America. It has been an extreme globalized industry transcending beyond one country from start to finish of clothe making process. For example clothing gets designed in one country, sowed or manufactured in another country, finished in another country and shipped to a warehouse in another country from where it gets distributed to worldwide retail stores. Ever since the 21st Century the Fashion industry has remained one of the largest employers of labor in the United States which was negatively affected as fashion manufacturing has moved abroad especially China, India and Vietnam. However, the clothing industry still holds the largest dominance of the world economic share.
Composition of Fashion Industry!
The Fashion Industry is composed or made up of four (4) vital processes, namely:
- Production of the raw materials such as textiles, fur and leather.
- Actual designing or making of fashion goods by fashion creators/ designers, contractors and manufacturers etc.
- Distribution and Retail Sales
- All forms of Promotion and Advertising.
All of these four (4) named sectors are inter-related as they work in synergy from production to manufacturing to distribution and marketing are all geared to fulfilling the demands’ for apparel which creates a good profit returns for each of them.
Source of Fashion Trends!
Fashion Trends have no particular source. Trends origins can be traced to various individuals and groups in street culture, social movements and even TV personalities and movie stars. Fashion trends as well played vital role among politicians, head of states and monarchs as they used fashion to create an outstanding image. Most of them had their favored designs and styles become iconic in the fashion-world. From the 20th century, TV personalities, politicians and movies made people more aware of fashion styles and trends, which saw high increase of the affluent middle class aspiring to look like politicians and TV and film stars. And so, entertainers became fashion influencer till date.
Major Fashion Influences!
-Technological Influences on fashion:
In today’s Fashion world technology has played an extreme vital role in the advancement and development of current and future trendy fashion world. Technologies such as 3D printing technology has so far played a vital role in shaping and printing 3D couture designs. In the olden days fashion makers or fashion designers as we refer them now used to be generally known and referred to as ‘tailors’ and their method of sowing were manual sowing which takes long to get a fabric to a finishing touch unlike now with the existence of industrial sowing machines as you could see on the pictures, mass production of designs could easily be produced in bulk per day.
-Internet influence on fashion:
This is not left out as online retail stores and all other social media platforms has revealed and promoted styles that in most cases would have died without seeing the eyes of consumers whom today heavily patronized them with the help of internet technology.
-Social Influences on fashion:
Cultural and environmental characteristics are played out through fashion. Fashion is showcased in everyday lives as it has being a medium to express tribal or ethnic associations and beliefs and also organizational aspirations. In some places in Asia, England, and Africa one’s sect or country of origin could be identified by the way they dress.
-Consumers Demands Influences on fashion:
Consumer demands’ varies and all these demands’ variation is a potential opportunity for profit making. As the consumers demands’ and desires changes exponentially based on their demographics such as age, gender, affordability and career, it also helps the Fashion retailers and manufacturers figure out how best to serve their consumers better.
-Economic Influences on fashion:
In various times and ages various countries and the world go through economic crashes. The popular slogan especially known in marketing world such as Buy Now! And Think Later! has almost faced out of catch in marketing as consumers now aware of their realities and therefore interested in best durable cheaper options (BDCO). Most of the top earner and billionaires in the society have also limited their material spending desires while doing more to add values to the society. As the rate of changing trends accelerated throughout the 1960’s till date, women who cared about clothes threw off old norms about what was proper — just as much of American society broke loose from restrictions of the past. Art and youth movements made themselves known in the fashion world. But as you aspire and place demands’ for self-expression through Fashion, personalize your own ideal fashion for yourself by yourself.
Thank you for reading, kindly share your thoughts and contributions as we make history memorable…