Fashion Foundations
(Chapter 1)
(Chapter 1)
High school students across the U.S. start wearing oversized hoodies and Crocs with socks after seeing them on TikTok. Within a few months, the look fades, but during that time it was widely accepted by their peer group as the “in” thing to wear.
What is fashion — a style or behavior temporarily adopted by a social group because it is seen as socially appropriate for a specific time and situation?
Lululemon’s purpose is expressed in the statement on its website: “We elevate human potential by helping people feel their best.”
What is a mission statement?
Fashion brands like Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo all compete in the affordable apparel market, but each offers slightly different styles and brand experiences that attract consumers.
What is monopolistic competition?
Zara designs and produces most of its clothing in-house, controlling everything from design to distribution instead of outsourcing.
What is vertical integration?
Ralph Lauren produces clothing in standard sizes, available each season in stores worldwide. Dior, by contrast, designs exclusive, hand-made pieces created for individual clients and shown on Paris runways.
What is the difference between ready-to-wear and haute couture?
A new streetwear brand sets out to build brand recognition in the global fashion industry.
What is a business goal?
Hermès competes in the fashion industry by relying on exclusivity, extremely high prices, and exceptional craftsmanship to set itself apart from other brands.
What is a competitive strategy?
One retailer offers shopping in stores, online, and through a mobile app, but each channel operates separately. In contrast, another retailer links these channels so customers can browse online, pick up in-store, and return through any channel seamlessly.
What is the difference between multi-channel and omnichannel retailing?
A company launches a new activewear line. As processes in the fashion supply chain, one team analyzes sales data to plan the assortment and set prices, while another promotes the line’s sustainability through social media ads to align with eco-conscious consumer values and needs.
What is the difference between merchandising and marketing?
Nike has set a target to increase its share of the performance footwear market by 10% in the next year, while also directing at least 2% of its prior-year pre-tax income through the Nike Foundation to support employees and future talent, expand youth access to sport, and advance sustainable, responsible supply-chain solutions.
What is the difference between a business objective and a social objective?
A luxury fashion house invests in a logo, packaging, and advertising to signal exclusivity and quality, but customers may perceive the brand differently — for example, as overpriced or outdated.
What is the difference between brand identity and brand image?
Chanel follows a traditional supply chain calendar, designing seasonal collections that are researched and developed far in advance, marketed to buyers months before the selling season, and presented on the runway as Spring, Summer, Fall, Holiday, and Resort lines.
What is the traditional supply chain calendar?
Industry professionals read Women’s Wear Daily for news on fashion business trends, while they join Fashion Group International (FGI) to network and access industry events.
What is the difference between a trade publication and a trade association?
Patagonia operates as a profitable company while giving equal or greater weight to protecting the environment, prioritizing fair labor and equity, and directing profits toward ensuring a thriving Earth for future generations.
What is a social enterprise?
A shopper buys a handbag from Marc by Marc Jacobs for several hundred dollars — less expensive than the Marc Jacobs designer collection, but still positioned above better-priced lines.
What is a diffusion brand/bridge price zone?
Burberry introduced runway collections that were available for purchase immediately after the show, eliminating the usual six-month wait between fashion week and store delivery.
What is see now, buy now?
During the Industrial Revolution, new machinery and social changes like urbanization and women entering the workforce helped fashion shift from custom-made for the elite to clothing produced in standardized sizes for the masses. Today, technology and global demand for quick access to trends are driving a similar shift in the rise of fast fashion.
What is the historical parallel showing how social and technological change drove the progression of ready-to-wear?
Victoria’s Secret long promoted a mission of empowering women through beauty and confidence. At the same time, its leadership resisted inclusive sizing and diverse representation, creating misalignment that contributed to declining sales and reputational backlash.
What is the importance of aligning a company’s business objectives and activities with its mission?
Louis Vuitton works to ensure that its logo, packaging, store design, and advertising communicate rich heritage, exclusivity and status, and superb craftsmanship — and that customers perceive the brand in the same way. This represents the ideal outcome that brands strive to achieve.
What is the alignment between brand identity and brand image?
To prosper long-term, supply chains must avoid depleting human and natural resources. Levi’s builds a profitable supply chain model that serves the common good, reduces reliance on nonrenewables through Water<Less® finishing, supports worker well-being, and promotes denim as part of cultural identity.