Definition of Fashion

The make or cut of an item, the forming of its shape. However, over the centuries, the word has acquired a specific association with the design, making, and wearing of clothing. Fashion now implies an awareness of and a desire to be at the forefront of changes in styles of dress and personal appearance. It can be used to suggest an extravagance and frivolity far removed from the mere functional need to clothe the body for reasons of modesty or to offer protection (Oxford University Press, 03).

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"Fashion is one of the greatest forces in present-day life. It pervades every field and reaches every class.… It has always been a factor in human life but never more forceful, never more influential and never wider in scope than in the last decade, and it gives every indication of growing still more important." (Nystrom. P, 1928)

He thought that fashion was more than women and men clothing, it also included; cosmetic/hygiene products, cars, furniture and household appliances

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He highlighted that fashion was more than an individual’s taste, it meant group membership, involvement in current trends. “To be out of fashion, indeed is to be out of this world”. ("1920's Fashion: Overview." American Decades. Ed. Matthew J. Bruccoli and Richard Layman. Gale Group, Inc., 1996. eNotes.com. 2006. 27 May, 2008 <http://www.enotes.com/1920-fashion-american-decades/overview>)

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To some people fashion is an art form, while to others it is a religion. It is used as a method of utilizing clothing, accessories and hair to highlight or conceal something about oneself. It is considered to be the style characteristic of the “social elite”, it is used to transform image & also make social statements (Dictionary.com)

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Haute Couture - French word meaning high fashion. It means one-of-a-kind. These include designers' original designs or clothing that are custom made.

Ready to wear (Pret-a-Porte) - Term used to describe mass produced garments. These include designers' originals manufactured to a certain number for department stores and offered at lower prices.

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Fashion refers distinctly to the forces that impacts dress, such as; social group, gender, age, occupation/income, race, ethnicity, body shape amongst other factors. It asserts a particular political subject-identity, giving the wearer a sense of authenticity, autonomy and claim to progress. Not all fashion are adopted by all individuals...Other important social factors that influence clothing decisions include historical bonds/culture and, in everyday life, the social situation or context one is to enter. (Joanne Entwistle, 2000).

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'fashion' refers to a special system of dress, one that is historically and geographically specific to western modernity (Polhemus & Proctor, 1978)

Feudal Europe did not have a fashion system because it was a closed system (Bell,1976; Braudel,1981)

Barnes and Eicehr (1992), posits that it is erroneous for researchers to postulate that fashion is only coterminous with modern western societies.

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With the advent of Caribbean Fashion Week, Style Week Jamaica, Barbados Fashion Week and St. Kitts Fashion weekend it is evident that geographical spaces such as the Caribbean possess the potential to create a niche in the international industry (Pasley, Forthcoming)

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This system of dress is prominent in capitalist societies characterized by western modernity, where production and consumption are critical to its existence and stratification systems are present. This world system has permeated the entire globe today.

Definition of Fashion Industry

This is a system of interconnected components that constitutes the creation, marketing and sale of styled products that are consumer driven with the aim of making a profit and achieving customer satisfaction. This process entails the designing, manufacturing, marketing/promotion, sale/distribution of the product. These products include;garments, jewellery/accessories, scents/cosmetics, footwear, headwears, luggage, cars and furniture.

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It also involves the expertise of individuals such as models, fashion/hair stylists, make-up artists, photographers, fashion editors/journalist, fashion marketers, advertising agents and organizations such as; modeling agency and fashion magazines (Pasley. R, 2008).

Components of the Fashion Industry

Designing: This aspect of the process is creative driven and it is essentially a representation of the product before it enters the manufacturing/production process. This is usually done in sketches or Computer Aided Design (CAD)

Manufacturing: This is the assembling/making of the product from the blue print, this is done either manually or with technologies such as Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) machines

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Marketing/Promotion: Entails the projection of goods/services in a favourable way to excite prospective consumers with the aim of making a profit from the process (Pasley.R, 2008)

It is a comprehensive function that is concerned with every aspect of the from its conceptualization to when it reaches the consumer, even at this stage it still a necessity to ensure consumer satisfaction (Howard Elvy, 1977)

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Distribution: This is characterized by three main methods; selling to wholesalers, retailers or the consumer (Howard, Elvy; 1977).

Sales: This is the point of the process where the goods/services are exchanged for money.

There are two main ways in which this is achieved; firstly by Point of Sale/Purchase and by the Internet/e-Commerce

Characteristics of Fashion Markets:

1. Short life-cycles – the product is often ephemeral, designed to capture the mood of the moment: consequently, the period in which it will be saleable is likely to be very short and seasonal, measured in months or even weeks.

2.High volatility – demand for these products is rarely stable or linear. It may be influenced by the vagaries of weather, films, or even by pop stars and footballers.

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3.Low predictability – because of the volatility of demand it is extremely difficult to forecast with any accuracy even total demand within a period, let alone week-by-week or item-by-item demand.

4.High impulse purchasing – many buying decisions by consumers for these products are made at the point of purchase. In other words, the shopper when confronted with the product is stimulated to buy it, hence the critical need for ‘availability’.

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(Creating Agile Supply Chains in the Fashion Industry, Martin Christopher, Lowson & Peck; 2004)

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“Prosperity and Good Fortune Await the Clairvoyant Thinker” (Pasley.R; 2007)