2. 9
Chapter
The Fashion Design Segment

3. Objectives Explain the price market categories of apparel.
Define designer collection showings.
Describe how designers capitalize on their name recognition.
Summarize the designing process for fashions.
continued

4. Objectives Identify the world’s fashion centers and their specialties.
Recognize some influential fashion design names and labels.
Cite U.S. fashion associations and awards.

5. Chapter 9
Fashion Design
Fashion design is the art of combining beauty and function into new clothing and accessory creations
Fashions are designed and produced at various price levels
The designing process is based on needs of the market combined with creative inspiration

6. Fashion Insights
Fashions, particularly women’s garments, are grouped into five main price levels
designer
bridge
better
moderate
budget
Price levels were distinct in the past, but are now blending into one continuum

7. Designer
This price level is the highest, involving a small couture segment that provides original, high-priced fashions for the tiny “class” market
Garments are custom-made and offered at many thousands of dollars
These are prestige fashions created by name designers who need international recognition for success

8. Bridge Bridge lines are “secondary” lines of well-known designers
They sell for many hundreds of dollars
Bridge lines offer the most expensive ready-to-wear apparel produced
Ready-to-wear (RTW) refers to garments produced in factories according to standard sizes, rather than individually custom-made

9. Better Better garments have high quality but more reasonable prices
They are
designed by talented experts who are unnamed on the label
sold in selected specialty and department stores
These RTW garments are more accessible to consumers

10. Moderate
This category includes medium-priced merchandise with well-known brand names
This apparel is widely available and worn by most people
Items are sold through department, chain, or specialty apparel stores
Retailers sell higher volumes of this level and have lower margins (profit per item)

11. Budget Budget is the lowest-priced apparel category
Garments are manufactured inexpensively in large numbers and mostly made overseas
Low-priced chain and discount stores carry this apparel
This category may include downscaled knockoffs, or direct line-for-line duplicates of designs

12. Collection Showings
Garments from a designer or apparel manufacturer shown in a specific seasonal presentation are called a collection
A line is a group of styles and designs produced and sold as a set of new selections for a given season
At the top designer levels, spring and fall showings are glitzy runway extravaganzas
continued

13. Collection Showings
Most of these showings are held for publicity and prestige
To cut costs, top design firms stage their shows at one common site
Designer RTW collection showings are the most important fashion events
Depending on retail orders, only about half the designs of each collection are produced
continued

14. Collection Showings The major showings are held twice a year
Couture collections are shown about three months ahead of the fashion seasons
Ready-to-wear collections are shown earlier to allow time to place and fill orders
The individual showings are spaced so important clients and the press can attend each one

15. Industry Facts
Top fashion designers have specific creative reputations and personal trademarks for which they are known
These give the products a perceived difference, the idea that items stand out from others usually because of image and quality
Designers capitalize on name recognition to make a good profit with ready-to-wear lines

16. Capitalizing on Name Recognition
Each designer strives to have his or her signature, initials, logo, label, or garment type instantly recognized
A logo is a symbol
representing a person, firm, or organization
seen on clasps of purses or embroidered onto chest pockets of shirts
Several ways to promote name recognition are described in the following slides

17. Lower-Priced Lines
Designer secondary lines have almost completely replaced custom-made fashions
Designer RTW (bridge) garments feature top quality fabrics and construction
They are carefully distributed worldwide so only a few items appear in the same consumer market
Some luxury design firms also create lines for discount and chain stores

18. House Boutiques
House boutiques are small retail shops owned by the designers
They are located in fashionable areas of cities
They feature RTW designs as well as high-priced, high-quality accessories
The merchandise is designed by the designer or a design assistant and manufactured by outside producers

19. Licensing
Licensing is a legal arrangement whereby manufacturers are granted the exclusive right to produce and market goods that bear the famous label of a designer
The designer gets a percentage of wholesale sales
For manufacturers, using the status symbol of a designer’s name is very profitable
For retailers, name products sell well
continued

20. Licensing
Smart designers take an active role in assuring the quality of their licensed products
Some well-known designers produce specially licensed goods for low-priced mass merchants
Celebrity licensing links the name of a celebrity to products
Cartoon characters and copyrighted products or logos may also be licensed

21. Franchising
Top designers also supplement their businesses with franchises
Franchising is a contract arrangement in which the designer grants a retailer the right to use his or her famous name and trademarked goods within a particular area
In return, the designer receives a set amount of money or royalty payments
continued

22. Franchising
Franchising allows store owners to get their businesses off the ground quickly with instant name recognition
The designer or firm (franchisor) does not own the franchise or help run the business
The franchisee is the owner (person or group) of the business
Franchise stores of designer fashions are often located in exclusive shopping areas

23. Sewing Patterns
A few designers sell the patterns of some creations to commercial pattern companies
Examples: Vogue, McCalls, Simplicity
These designer patterns are reproduced and featured in pattern catalogs at fabric stores where the patterns are sold
Skilled home sewers can use the patterns to make their own designer clothes

24. The Designing Process
Most designers in the RTW fashion industry are not well-known to the general public
Ready-to-wear designers
work for more moderately-priced manufacturers
plan their company’s lines almost a year before the apparel is bought by consumers
Styles selling well now are modified into fresh interpretations for next season

25. Industry Facts
U.S. firms generally make “safe” decisions with designs that are known to be popular
Most copied designs are “toned down” to have wider appeal and to meet various price ranges
Copying designs saves money for companies and dominates the lower-price markets
Fashion piracy is the stealing of design ideas
The U.S. has no legal protection against it

26. Sources of Inspiration
Forecasting services
Art movements, new stage plays, popular movies and television shows, and celebrities
Fashion-forward styles noticed “in the streets”
Foreign and U.S. fashion magazines and shows
Consumer attitudes and purchasing patterns
Fabric innovations or unusual textiles from other cultures

27. Using Technology in Fashion Design
Traditionally, designers made sketches of their ideas before creating a pattern
Most companies now use CAD systems
Through global networks, digital images can be transmitted anywhere for instant reaction
CAD enhances the creative process and shortens product development time

28. World Fashion Design Centers
Most major cities of the world have several talented, exclusive fashion designers
Countries are eager to export their fashions to other countries and host their own exhibits and trade fairs
Designers and apparel companies have promotional trade offices in major cities
Retail buyers watch trends before buying merchandise to sell in stores

29. Industry Facts
The U.S. has gained worldwide recognition for fashion creativity
New York City is the U.S. fashion capital
Designer fashion shows are held twice a year in Manhattan during periods called fashion week
More than 50 designers spotlight their collections
Other fashion hubs include Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago

30. France The city of Paris is considered the world fashion leader
Haute couture is the name for its high-fashion designer industry
Trade buyers, retailers, and pattern companies must pay a high caution fee to attend French designer showings
Prêt-à-porter is the name of its RTW industry

31. Italy
Italy is known for beautiful fabrics, sportswear, sophisticated prints, knitwear, and menswear
Its high-fashion design industry is called alta moda
It is a fashion leader in the design and manufacture of leather accessories
Fashion collections are often promoted with fashion fairs showing different categories at different times

32. Great Britain London is Britain’s major fashion center
It is famous for custom-made “Savile Row” top-quality menswear and elegant women’s apparel for royalty
Its strengths are high-quality RTW men’s tailored apparel, fine rainwear, and far-out “punk” fashions
Bond Street is now the creative area

33. Other European Fashion Centers
Germany
produces well-made, conservatively styled, high- to moderately-priced RTW for women and men
The Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland
are renowned for woolens
Spain
excels with leather, suede, and beading

34. Canada
Canada’s fashions are mostly at the high-and moderate-price levels
Its fashion industry is centered in Toronto
Besides apparel, especially outerwear and furs, Canadian designers create decorative household linens
The Fashion Design Council of Canada promotes their fashion design industry

35. Central and South America
Governments of these countries market their apparel products to the world
Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Bogota, and other major cities are fashion markets
Some fashion products involve each country’s national ethnic heritage of crafts
Many products are made to North American company specifications at lower production costs

36. Japan Japan sends medium- to high-priced clothing to other countries
Some designers have fashion businesses in Paris
Other Japanese designers make and sell their clothing lines all over the world
Tokyo’s semiannual Japan Fashion Week introduces Japanese designers to buyers, the press, and the public

37. China and Hong Kong
China is a high-volume producer of textiles and lower-priced apparel items sold throughout the U.S.
Hong Kong produces its own designs
It offers exotic fabrics, especially beautiful silks
It is the world’s largest exporter of fashion apparel
Fashion collections are shown during the annual Hong Kong Fashion Week

38. Taiwan
The country is an important source of low-priced apparel for America’s mass retailers
It has textile and apparel factories, especially for making sportswear of manufactured fibers
Recently, Taiwan upgraded its mass-production quality
The industry has organized to showcase Taiwanese products to the rest of the world

39. South Korea
Korea has young designers who create apparel for their country’s fashion-conscious market
Most designers concentrate on RTW
such as volume-priced knitwear, menswear, and sportswear
Most production follows specifications of companies in other countries that are taking advantage of South Korea’s low labor rates

40. Other World Locations
Annual Singapore shows feature the creations of designers from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines
Australia’s fashion industry also has many talented designers
India has cotton and silk textiles and fashions
Eastern Europe and Russia produce apparel through contracts with Western design firms

41. Some Influential Fashion Designers
Most designers and their firms are known for particular specialties
In some cases, well-known names of designers are maintained for the fashion house after that person has died or retired
Examples: Chanel, Dior, Nina Ricci, and Anne Klein
New designers are hired to continue their high-fashion traditions with new creations

42. U.S. Fashion Awards and Associations
The most prestigious U.S. fashion awards were the Coty Awards in 1940s through the 1970s
Many of today’s designers were named to the Coty Hall of Fame, the highest fashion honor of the past
These same awards were continued as the Cutty Sark Awards through the early 1980s, then discontinued
continued

43. U.S. Fashion Awards and Associations
Recently, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has presented the most important fashion awards in several categories
The highest industry honor today is the CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award, which is controlled by CFDA’s member designers
Other awards include VH1 Fashion Awards and MTV awards

44. In Summary New fashions are produced at different price levels
The most important collection showings are held twice a year
Collection showings are very pricey, but important for publicity
Designing for RTW starts about a year before the apparel will be sold to consumers
continued

45. In Summary
Many different inspirations affect designers of today’s fashions
CAD systems streamline the design process
Important fashion centers are Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Milan, London, Tokyo, and other world-class cities
The Council of Fashion Designers of America presents the most important fashion awards