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Why Does Fashion Change Essay

Decent Essays

Why does fashion change?

Human beings have been using clothes throughout history; however as we notice today garments that were worn in the past are not the same that are being worn today. In this essay I will develop the question ‘Why does fashion change?’ and if such changes are due to fashion as such or if there is any external influences such as marketing and media.

Every change in society, including differences between cultures and living styles is reflected in the way people dress and types of accessories being utilized. As a result, it can be seen today how the increase in the number of hours that people spend in leisure activities has generated the need in people to wear a wider range of clothes according to each …show more content…

What is fashionable is imposed by marketing. As Mark Easay says, ‘The ethos of the fashion industry revolves around seasonality’. He also emphasizes on the industry’s mechanism in developing new goods despite the product could already exist in the market. (2002: p 34).

Fashion also changes as a response to variations in markets and economy. Globalization and the possibility of trading opportunities in many countries in the world have induced a decrease in cost which has obliged certain companies to implement different marketing strategies to compete successfully in modern markets. A clear example is Marks and Spencer which started to feel the pressure generated by specialist chains (Benetton and Next) and Tesco and Asda who used to import goods from countries with a lower level cost. To compete, Marks and Spencer felt the need to increase the speed which they used to launch their new collections with changes in style. (Easey 2002).

Continuing with the above, Kawamura also idicates that changes in fashion could be induced mainly by economic and sociologic aspects. She states that a common approach from an economic perspective is that designers and manufacturers influence consumer behaviour to develop the market and increase trade. On the other hand the sociologial aspect idicates that chages in fashion do not obey to the amout spent by

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