Fashion Market Research Articles

Emotion or Information: What Makes Consumers Communicate about Sustainable Apparel Products on Social Media?

This study investigated how sustainability-related messages of cotton textile and apparel products influence consumers’ attitudes toward the message and interaction with other consumers in social media. Three hundred and eighty-eight online survey data of US consumers investigated the effects of perceived information and emotion toward sustainability practice messages on attitude toward and social interaction with other consumers and the effects of attitude on social interaction in social media. The results confirm that emotion is an influential variable, and, specific, positive emotion is an influential variable for attitude, and attitude influences social interaction with other consumers of sustainability practice messages. Negative emotions influence both attitude and social interaction. The information does not influence attitude but directly impacts social interaction, which may bring the purchase intention of sustainable fashion products. Thus, apparel marketers should consider emotionally sustainable promotion messages when tailoring their brand communications on social media. This study helps clarify the relationships between emotion and social interaction for sustainable fashion products. It also contributes to the theoretical foundation and has implications for sustainable fashion marketing and management in social media.

The Influences of Social Value and Emotional Value on the Purchase Intention towards Sportswear in Perlis, Malaysia

Despite the recent economic downturn due to the pandemic Covid-19, sportswear fashion market remains as one of the most profitable industries worldwide. The sales growth of sportswear in emerging economies is promising, which make it as one of the most attractive markets in fashion industry. Majority of sportswear consumers, especially youth are becoming more active in sports, along with initiatives by Ministry of Youth and Sports of Malaysia to uplift the youth to embrace sports as a lifestyle. Although sportswear fashion market is massive, little research has been conducted with regard to the influences of perceived values, specifically; social value and emotional value on the purchase intention towards sportswear. This study takes an initiative to examine the influences of social value and emotional value on the purchase intention towards sportswear among youth in Perlis, Malaysia. The data from a survey of 254 local students in secondary schools around Perlis were gathered and analysed by using Descriptive Analysis, Reliability Analysis, Factor Analysis and Regression Analysis. The analyses reveal that both social value and emotional value significantly influence the purchase intention towards sportswear, whereby emotional value has a stronger influence on purchase intention than social value. In conclusion, the findings of this research have offered additional strength to existing theoretical findings in the previous literature. The results also allow sportswear fashion marketers to create marketing campaigns that depict social value and emotional value, which inadvertently can enhance the purchase intention of youth consumers towards sportswear in Malaysia.

Dickens, Death, and the Dolly Varden Dress

This article traces the emergence of the ‘Dolly Varden’ dress, a brief sartorial craze that rose to prominence shortly after Charles Dickens’s death in 1870 and which remained in vogue until 1873. Inspired by the lively heroine of Dickens’s historical novel Barnaby Rudge (1841), the Dolly Varden dress was a specific type of polonaise. Its appearance on the fashion market thirty years after the text’s initial publication is intriguing, yet only a handful of academic works have considered the significance of this sartorial style. Existing scholarship has tended to focus on the fashion trend’s connection with nostalgia and the expansion of commodity culture in the late nineteenth century. Contrary to these viewpoints, this essay argues that Dickens’s celebrity and his untimely death precipitated the trend for such a gown. Seeking to reframe the dress as a particular form of parasocial interaction, this article aims to reposition the women that wore it as active and autonomous fans. Considering the cultural and sartorial ends to which the Dolly Varden dress has been appropriated is significant, this essay argues, because it illustrates the iterability and enduring popularity of Dickens’s characters, whilst also contributing to our collective understanding of the influence of the death of a celebrity figure in the late nineteenth century.

Sustainability in fashion and luxury marketing: Results, paradoxes and potentialities

ABSTRACT This guest editorial article introduces a special issue devoted to the results, paradoxes, and potentialities emerging from the growing interest within the marketing and management research in the sustainability of fashion and luxury companies. While there has been extensive discussion of the meaning and forms of sustainability in the literature, the consistency of the models and behaviors applied to sustainability adopted by companies, and the results achieved in a field as important as fashion and luxury marketing, have not been verified. The articles in the special issue are briefly discussed, with some conclusions about the main results emerging from the various research studies. The five articles in this special issue seek to contribute to research that systemizes new models and tools that may be useful for practitioners and marketing researchers working in this field.

The Fashioning of Southeast Asian Muslim Women’s Clothing from the Perspective of Social Phenomena and Global Market Changes

Religions are among the most universal and influential social institutions, and they exert significant impacts on the attitudes, values, and behaviors of individuals and societies. Previously quite closed, Muslim women’s fashion has become trendy—a phenomenon most evident among young generations of women in Indonesia and Malaysia. This study examines the background and significance of the dynamic changes in fashioning that have occurred in the clothing of Southeast Asian Muslim women. Simultaneously, it investigates the emergence of Southeast Asian Muslim women consumers as an essential force in the global fashion market and the influencers that exert tremendous power over them. Finally, the study analyzes fashion trends in Southeast Asian Muslim countries. As an expression of individual fashion desires, the fashioning of Southeast Asian Muslim women helps elucidate trends in the current social environment. At the same time, in the midst of a rapidly changing international trade environment, Southeast Asia is attracting global attention as a fashion market.

Fashion entrepreneurial self-efficacy: development and validation of a domain-specific scale

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to develop a multidimensional measurement of fashion domain entrepreneurial self-efficacy (FDESE) based on which fashion entrepreneurs will be able to better develop strategies to gain and sustain success in their business development. The research is crucial to advocate fashion entrepreneurship and will provide direction for fashion business incubation services.Design/methodology/approachThis research included three stages with mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches: conceptualizing construct definition and specifying domain(s) to generate initial items, scale purification and scale validation. This study started with reviewing the literature and individual interviews among 19 fashion entrepreneurs, which generated 72 initial items. An online survey was then conducted with individuals who are running or have the intention to run fashion businesses, yielding 249 useable samples for scale purification, which generated 21 items for the validation phase. Lastly, another online survey was administered to individuals who are currently running fashion businesses which resulted in 258 valid responses included for scale validation.FindingsA measure of FDESE that is both reliable and valid was developed, including 21 items across four distinct dimensions: passion for fashion business (five items), marketing and branding (seven items), financial management (five items) and creativity (four items).Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to develop practical scales measuring self-efficacy that focus on fashion domain entrepreneurship. The newly developed FDESE scale indicates that entrepreneurship not only involves marketing skills, financial knowledge, creativity, leadership, and proactivity but also requires passion and persistence.

Sustainable Fashion Consumption: Advocating Philanthropic and Economic Motives in Clothing Disposal Behaviour

The fast fashion market is becoming popular, escalating and aggravating the throwaway culture phenomenon. Thus, it is valuable to understand the factors that influence sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal pattern among young consumers in developing countries like Malaysia. Data were obtained from the online survey of 324 young adults aged 18 to 35 and were analysed using the Partial Least Square using SmartPLS (v.3.3.3i). The findings indicate that personal norms, social norms and environmental awareness were the key influencing factors of sustainable fashion consumption. Consequently, sustainable fashion consumption exhibited a positive and significant relationship towards philanthropic and economic reasons for clothing disposal behaviour. The insights from this study will assist practitioners, green manufacturers, business owners and policy makers in giving a clearer picture of what motivates sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal behaviour of today’s young adults.

Greenwashing and Bluewashing in Black Friday-Related Sustainable Fashion Marketing on Instagram

Growing awareness of the fashion industry’s negative impact on people and the environment has led to considerable growth of the sustainable fashion market. At the same time, Black Friday purchases increase annually as the sales event develops into a global phenomenon. As sustainable fashion brands are choosing to participate in the event, many communicate their offers via the social media platform Instagram. To gain a competitive advantage and maintain their sustainable corporate images, some brands use greenwashing and/or bluewashing strategies. The first part of this study explores which strategies were employed in Instagram content posted by sustainable brands, using quantitative and qualitative content analysis. We propose a research-based model of nine greenwashing/bluewashing strategies. The second part of the study examines predictive factors for consumer evaluations of Black Friday ads by sustainable brands, using an online survey and a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Findings show that consumers’ critical attitude towards Black Friday and high ad skepticism predict positive evaluations while sustainable purchase behavior predicts negative evaluations. These insights suggest that ‘sustainable’ Black Friday campaigns may appeal to consumers who show a general concern for the environment and issues of social sustainability, but not to those who exhibit actual sustainable behavior.

The Fashion System’s Environmental Impact: Theorizing the Market’s Institutional Actors, Actions, Logics, and Norms

Drawing on institutional theory, we examined New York Times readers’ views on fashion’s environmental impact by analyzing and interpreting comments posted in response to a sustainability and fashion-focused opinion article. Based on our interpretations, we developed a model to think through new opportunities in the mechanics of the organizational field of fashion. Collectively, readers identified multiple actors responsible for fashion market’s environmental footprint: consumers, industry, and governing institutions. Further, readers offered various approaches for addressing the fashion environmental footprint—from conscious consumption practices to industry shifts and governmental regulations. We discovered two fashion logics—the logic of dress codes and the logic of planned obsolescence—that extend our understanding of the fashion system. The two fashion logics operate within the larger, overriding logic of capitalism that defines the behaviors of and relationships between the actors in the fashion marketplace. Recognizing societal norms, or institutional logics, that serve as barriers to a sustainable future of the fashion market has profound implications for realizing this future. We demonstrate how the fashion logics are being challenged for their moral legitimacy as the logics’ materialistic values are at odds with sustainability values and centering environmental justice.

The importance of digital lightening fashion technique in creating innovative fashion marketing

During the later decades of the previous century and the first decade of this century, the global textile market saw considerable changes, in today's market, which is defined by fierce rivalry, understanding and applying marketing principles is critical for achieving great business results in the fashion industry, that is why fashion marketing is becoming more important and playing a significant part in the management of upcoming developments, and Because of the applicability of marketing to fashion products and services, a new discipline of marketing known as fashion marketing has emerged. The development of the market through the history of fashion in the beginning occurred due primarily important inventions, technological innovation, the socially large-scale events and global processes and phenomena in various spheres of life, especially in the field of culture, and politics. Thanks to technological advancements, fashion visual perception aspects, and other factors, modern fashion design has attained average function and performance, they sell as a sign of social and cultural connectedness by demonstrating modern people's sensitivity and readiness to express themselves. This article will attempt to bring together both the practical and conceptual aspects of fashion marketing leading to a set of guidelines which may be used to emphasize the role of digital lightening fashion technique and the conceptual aspects of fashion marketing otherwise, designers of digital lighting clothes do not invent new lighting technologies but dynamically integrate them into developed models. The range of lighting and electronic devices applied in clothes design, is very broad: from tiny light emitting diodes to liquid crystal (LC) screens, from diode lasers to electro fluorescent radiators. Integration of such devices into modern clothes design increases the esthetic, ergonomic, information and biological parameters.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING AND ITS INFLUENCE ON BRAND LOYALTY TOWARDS FAST FASHION BRANDS AMONG VIETNAMESE MILLENNIALS

In an experience-driven world, social media increasingly influences Vietnamese consumers in how they behave, perceive brands, and purchase decision-making, especially millennial consumers. Hence, fast fashion brands have transformed networking sites into an ideal marketing instrument to accelerate their penetration into the Vietnam market. The main purpose of this study is to illuminate the relationship between Social Media Marketing and Brand Loyalty towards fast fashion brands among Vietnamese millennials, underpinned the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model. The secondary purpose is to explore whether Social Media Marketing would be indirectly associated with Brand Loyalty through Brand Trust, Brand Image, and Self-Congruence. This study adopts a quantitative research approach and a cross-sectional research design. Using non-probability sampling, 268 valid responses are obtained from participants aged 26 to 41. As a result, the findings shed light on how social media marketing positively affected brand loyalty through the mediating effect of brand trust, brand image, and self-congruence. It contributes to the existing literature with four critical outcomes, broadening the theoretical scope of online consumer behavior. These findings are beneficial for fast fashion brands, marketers, and practitioners in emerging countries to develop and strengthen millennial customers’ loyalty.

ПОНЯТТЯ АРХЕТИПУ ЗА КАРЛОМ ЮНГОМ У МИСТЕЦЬКОМУ ДИСКУРСІ ТА ВИКОРИСТАННЯ АРХЕТИПІВ У FASHION-ІНДУСТРІЇ

In this article the author study and analyzes archetype concept. There were analyzed: the main archetypes, their reflection in design, fashion art and fast fashion. The scientific novelty of the work is based on an attempt to systematize the main types of archetypes by the nature of their manifestations in the fashion sphere, highlight the dependence of the character and mental characteristics of the person on the internal archetype and its impact on the perception of external archetypes. In addition, the paper analyzes the main archetypes in art and their dependence on current trends and tendencies. The author considered the main vectors of influence of archetypes embodied in fashion on society and its main groups. Also, the methods, tools and patterns used to embody archetypes and their elements in the fashion industry were analyzed. The connection between the use of archetypes in the fashion industry and marketing strategies was analyzed as well. Thus, it was proved that the successful visualization of individual details related to the key archetypes that correspond to the moment of its development, allows you to reach a larger audience and get more than just a response to the fashion as an art. It also directly affects the sales growth and commercial success of individual designers and artists. The analysis of archetypes, their embodiment in fashion and perception by spectators and consumers was carried on the foundation of the appropriate methodological basis. The author also used a wide range of sources of information, which allowed taking into account various factors and make the study more in-depth and thorough. Among such sources, data on the modern fashion performances, shows and collections, in particular, the achievements of Ukrainian designers, are especially important. The work is based on the principles of objectivity, historicity and is considered on the basis of analysis not only of the source base, but also of research achievements of scientists, from Carl Jung himself to his modern followers and opponents.

Automation of a garment sewing department assessment by smart simulation

The textile-garment industry needs great production flexibility to adapt, in terms of sustainability, to the fickle fashion market. This study proposes a new simulation model of manufacturing and production processes, which can be used as design support, performance evaluation and plant management of highly flexible production systems such as those operating in the fashion sector. The proposed simulation model aims to support industries in increasing their reactive flexibility by adjusting the production set-up. It is a distributed discrete event simulator based on the easy re-composition of resources in the production layout and on the availability of intelligent process management and control modules. The simulator has been applied to optimise the production of children's garments. The development was done together with the production manager of an important European industry; the manager enjoyed the intuitive use of the software and the significance and reliability of the information obtained.

Moda Pazarlama Çalışmalarının Metodolojik Bağlamda İncelenmesi

In this study, fashion marketing studies were examined in terms of method in line with the paradigms adopted in the social sciences. Firstly, explanations of the concepts were presented in order to make sense of the nature of positivist, post-positivist paradigms and quantitative, qualitative research. Then, theses written in the field of fashion marketing in The Council of Higher Education (CoHE) National Thesis Center were analyzed by content analysis. These analyzes were carried out to show the distribution of theses by years in terms of paradigm. In addition, the data collection tools, data analysis techniques and research patterns utilized in the studies were examined, and the techniques that were widely adopted and started to be adopted were explained. According to the findings, quantitative studies are widely used in fashion marketing studies and it has been observed that the use of qualitative and mixed studies have increased in recent years. In quantitative studies, questionnaires and statistical analyzes are widely used and causal research is often applied. In qualitative studies, different data collection and analysis methods are adopted in accordance with the characteristics and design of the research. It has been concluded that mixed studies are mostly designed by adopting multiple methods in accordance with the purpose.

리미티드 에디션 스니커즈의 표현 분석

The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of limited edition sneakers of sports brands that have emerged on a large scale in the fashion market. Of this study method and scope of the study was based on 633 photographs from 8 sports brands published in 2000-2020, focusing on theoretical studies through limited edition and research papers, magazines and Internet sites. The results of the study are as follows. First, based on the expression classification of limited edition sneakers, it was aggregated into 8.15% of ‘innovative technology’ according to functional value, 71.91% of ‘symbolism of storytelling’ according to emotional value, and 19.95% of ‘diversity and artistry’. This shows that sneakers have formed fandom and became a cultural status beyond the functional value of sports brands in the past. And this study focused on emotional values based on scarcity. In the specific case analysis of limited edition sneakers, ‘innovative technology’ includes cushioning solutions, ultralightening, material processing, luminescence, and smart technologies, and features ultralight, flexibility, sustainability, durability, safety, sense of ignition, drive, eco-friendly and future orientation. Second, the ‘symbolism of storytelling’ is classified as character, city, country, festival, legend, sneakers, event, anniversary, pop culture content, social and political issue expressions, character, color, number, logo, text message implications and enhanced goods. Third, the diversity and artistry of aesthetic sensibility are new sensibilities, designer or brand trendy sensibilities, rare materials, and colors that are created by collaborating with artists in various fields beyond street genres.

MZ세대 특성이 나타난 패션 브랜드 콜라보레이션 사례 연구

This study aimed to examine cases of collaboration among fashion brands that reflected characteristics of the MZ generation from various angles. Recently, the fashion market has been adjusting to the MZ generation and industries are actively communicating to attract this generation as their customers. The MZ generation is characterized by trends including digital native, funsumer and flex, and using such characteristics, fashion brands are raising social/cultural issues through unique collaboration strategies. Hence, there is the need to analyze related cases and trends. The study identified that fashion brands

An Empirical Analysis of Category Extension in the Online Luxury Fashion Market

The purpose of the present study is to reveal the actual circumstances of brand extension in the luxury fashion market by shedding light on category extensions and their relationship to the pricing strategies of each fashion brand. To perform a comprehensive empirical analysis of luxury fashion products, the study analyzed 308,154 unique products from 2,513 individual brands sold on online platforms. The study further estimated product sales according to brand category and sub-category. The research results reveal how estimated sales for clothing, bags, footwear, accessories, and jewelry confirm the fact that horizontal brand extension for luxury fashion brands result in increased sales. Furthermore, the estimated sales by sub-category reveal a complementary relationship between flagship products and affordable products. These complementary relationships enable a diagonal brand extension that prevents brand dilution and cannibalization. In short, the results reveal how effective brand extension reflects brand equity, which in turn is useful for the growth of emerging brands. Existing studies on the brand extension of luxury fashion products were limited to a consumer-centered approach, but the present study is significant in that it quantitatively analyzes brand extension for luxury brands in the online market.

MONO PRINTING ON CONTEMPORARY WESTERN WEARS

Mono printing is the first printing technique used by younger people in Western countries to create a new surface for painting with the natural colors available and now to create textures on clothing as well. It has no history in India. The present research aims to gather more information about this printing technology and explore its future in the Indian modern fashion market. For this a collection of contemporary western casualwear was designed and developed. The responses of 100 adolescent girls as respondents were collected and analyzed for the awareness of this art form and its viability in the fashion market. The study revealed that the majority of the sample group were unaware of this printing technique but found the design and application of this technology to be highly aesthetic in the quality garments developed. There is a good market potential for the fashion products made by this technology of printing

Influencer fit post vs celebrity fit post: which one engages Instagram users more?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare the effects of the fit between two types of opinion leaders (influencer vs celebrity) and the products promoted in a fashion marketing campaign on user engagement (willingness to like and share the fit posts). Instagram involvement is examined as an applied moderator in the proposed theoretical model of this research. Methodology To test the hypotheses of the research, an experimental study was conducted. The sample was formed by female participants who were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (fit of influencer–product vs fit of celebrity–product). Findings The results showed the superiority of the fit of influencer–product over the fit of celebrity–product on users’ engagement. It also indicates that highly involved Instagram users (vs lowly involved Instagram users) moderate the more prominent effect of the fit of influencer–product post on users‘ engagement. Practical implications The research helps brands to increase their knowledge of marketing campaigns formed through the fit of the opinion leaders with the products promoted. Value This research in addition to highlighting the role of users involved with Instagram contributes to a better understanding of the importance of promotional post fitting.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic upon fashion consumer behavior: focus on mass and luxury products

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused a decline in overall consumption, but luxury sales within offline department stores rose significantly. This study identifies changes in the market environment variable (i.e. pandemics) and their impact on clothing consumption behavior. Moreover, it examines consumer behavior characteristics and provides implications for future fashion marketing and merchandising strategies.Design/methodology/approachThis study analyzed post-pandemic consumption trends by obtaining luxury brand sales data from the Korea National Statistical Office and department stores. Moreover, it investigated luxury consumption fluctuation after the pandemic and statistically analyzed the characteristics of luxury consumers by customer level (CL) that affected sales.FindingsThe results of the study showed that offline (online) clothing consumption at mass markets has decreased (increased) since the pandemic, whereas sales of luxury fashion brands at offline department stores have grown. Moreover, the in-depth analysis showed a significant sales decline (increase) for clothing-centered (leather-centered) luxury brands.Practical implicationsIf such a trend in luxury brand consumption continues, current polarization is expected to be maintained. Therefore, the study’s findings can be used as basic data in strengthening luxury brands and planning products.Originality/valueThis is the first work to undertake a comparative study of fashion consumer behavior, before and after the pandemic, involving the mass and luxury markets in South Korea.