Fashion adoption theories

There are three primary theories of fashion adoption: trickle-down, trickle-across and trickle-up.
However, no one theory is adequate to discuss fashion theory or explain how fashion moves
through society. In addition to these theories, there is an alternate populist model of fashion
adoption, which applies to some situations that identify fashion distribution as moving through
social groups rather than socioeconomic classes.
Trickle-Down Theory

The traditional fashion adoption theory is also called the downward-flow or trickle-down theory.
This theory coined by economist Thorstein Veblen in 1889. This trickle-down theory of the fashion
evolvement was identified and accepted by the 19th century economists. This is the oldest theory
of fashion adoption. It maintains that in order to be identified as a true fashion, a style must first
be adopted by people of the top social level. Centuries ago the setters of fashion were the royal
families. The upper class copied the royalty and they in turn were copied by the middle class. At
this time the lower class were prohibited by law from copying the styles. In time, royalty was
replaced by the fashion leadership families who are business-men and who have climbed to the
top of the economic and social ladder. It became important for others in business to adopt the dress,
activities and appearances of the fashion leaders. People who were spread along the socio
economic level found it safe to copy the fashion leaders rather than to experiment fashion. Thus,
fashion trickled down from higher fashion leaders to the lower strata of people. Eager
manufacturers quickly mass-produce lower-priced copies that many consumers can afford. As
these new fashions are adopted by the lower stratum, new styles are introduced at the top level. It
is during this period that the couture is in its most outstanding position. The trickle-down theory
of fashion adoption assumes that fashion begins in the upper echelon of society. Styles worn by
the wealthy change, and those changes are gradually adopted by the middle and lower classes.
When those styles have been assimilated by the lower classes, the wealthy, in turn, change their
style and attire. This theory assumes that the lower classes want to emulate the upper classes and
is the oldest theory of fashion adoption. It is applicable historically, particularly prior to World
War II. Styles from the white blouses of the Gibson Girl era to the shorter hemlines of the 1920's
began in the upper classes.

Trickle-Across Theory

The mass dissemination theory as the trickle-across, horizontal-flow or collective selection theory.
This theory claims that fashions move horizontally between groups on similar social levels rather
than vertically from one level to another.
First developed in the late 1950's, the trickle-across theory assumes that fashion moves across
socioeconomic levels relatively rapidly. Clothing styles do not trickle down but appear at all price
points at approximately the same time. Mass communications and popular media support the
existence of this theory, providing pictures and details about new styles, as does the modern retail
world. Many designers show similar styles in a variety of lines, ranging from high-end designer
clothing to lower-end affordable pieces. Once a design appears on the runway, a variety of
companies produce similar garments, allowing widespread access to fashion. As the twentieth
century progressed, fashion no longer was created by any specific social or economic class. Heroes
and heroines from all walks of life became the fashion leaders. Movie stars, television
personalities, campus celebrities, folk heroes sport stars and other figures captured the public’s
fancy and gave a thrust to fashion. The trickle-across theory of fashion was proposed by Charles
W King in1963. He acknowledged that each group or segment of society has its own leader or
Fashion and Apparel Designing leaders of fashion. The approval of these local leaders is required
before a fashion can be adopted by the group. Hence there is no longer one channel of fashion
diffusion. Many separate markets have developed for various age ranges, lifestyles and tastes.
Various designer and manufacturer labels called the attention of various groups at different price
points. Paris fashions for example, are now bought and copied for mass distribution sometimes
even before the originals are available to the more affluent markets. Some other examples of
trickle-across theory include the jogging suits for athletes, bell bottom wear and kurta style tops.
Fashions are accepted by few before they are accepted by many. This has to be noticed and taken
care of as it is an important step in forecasting. The fashion forecasters should identify and keep a
track of these few fashion leaders and their preferences. This helps in predicting the correct styles
which may turn into classics rather than fading out as fads.

Trickle-Up Theory
The reverse adoption theory is known as the trickle-up, upward flow, or subcultural leadership
theory
The trickle-up theory of fashion adoption reflects changing styles and practices in fashion.
According to the theory, styles may begin with youth or street fashion and move progressively up
the fashion ladder until they are favored and worn by older and wealthier consumers. Coco Chanel
was the first to adopt this theory when she integrated military fabrics and attire into fashion
following World War II. The classic T-shirt began as an undergarment in the working classes and
is now a fundamental piece of the everyday wardrobe. Once the styles have been adopted by more
traditional consumers, the street or youth culture may adopt a new style.
This theory attempts to explain the process of fashion adoption which is relatively new. The
bottom-up theory explains that the fashions filter up from youth to aged and from lower to upper
socioeconomic groups. It holds that young - particularly those of low income families and those
in higher-income groups who can adopt low income lifestyles are quicker to create or adopt new
and different fashions. The idea behind this theory is that lower income youth have little social
position and thus have fewer inhibitions. They are free to create new dress patterns. Those from
upper socio economic groups are safe in their positions and feel free to adopt new dress patterns
.Those in the middle socio economic groups are often more traditional but can accept clothing
styles emerging from lower and upper socio economic groups. One such example is the T-shirts
& jeans of the earliest “hippies” which swept the world, and became the uniform of the young and
would-be young all over the world. Other examples include the denim, glitter tops, metal shine
garments etc.

Atelier:
The French word for a designer's workshop. The term ‘flou’ is used for soft dressmaking and
‘tailleur’ for suits and coats.
Classic:
A fashion that is long lasting. A classic style or design will be accepted as an example of good
taste for a long time. It is characterised by a simplicity of design, and never has an exaggerated
shape and style. Examples of classics are the cardigan sweater, shirtwaist dresses, court shoes and
men's button-down shirts.
Collection:
A designer's or manufacturer's group of garments for a specific season. Moderately or lower-priced
collections are called lines
Couture:
The French word for sewing, it is sometimes applied to fashion businesses that make clothes to
order. By right it can only be used by those dressmakers or seamstresses that use couture
techniques.
Custom-made
Apparel made to the order of individual customers, cut and fitted to individual measurements, as
opposed to ready-to-wear.
Haute couture:
Those dressmaking houses in Paris that belong to the Chambre Syndicale of the Federation Fran
Faise de la Couture and meet the criteria laid down by the Chambre Syndicale.
High fashion:
The newest fashion designs worn by fashion leaders. High fashion is generally introduced,
produced, and sold in small quantities at relatively high prices in exclusive shops.

Fashion Leaders - Fashion leaders dare to be different and grab a lot of attention of the public.
They look for new fashion and wear it before it is acceptable by the mass. Fashion Leaders are
very small in percentages and are usually celebrities and media favorite people who require to grab
a lot of attention to maintain their popularity. Usually they fall in two categories named fashion
innovators and fashion models. They are confident and have stylist to advice. They dare to be
different, attracting the attention of others. Before the fashion is generally accepted by the general
public, these are those people who pick up the trend or style and wear it.
Fashion Innovators- Some Fashion Leaders create new fashion as they are confident of their taste
and are least concern about approval form others. They constantly hunt for new styles, fabrics and
way to accessorize their clothes. They aggressively looking for interesting new style, colours,
fabrics and ways to accessorize. They may be referred as fashion forward
Example: Madonna & Lady Gaga are true Fashion Leaders creating new fashion.
Fashion Motivators or Role Models- are those who have beauty to carry every look graciously
or have wealth to become role fashion models. Fashion Role models are few, known for their
talent, beauty, status, wealth become very popular among the public. Mostly these people are in
media, including royalty, politicians, TV and film stars, rock stars and super models. Young people
find their Fashion Role Models on supermodel, rock stars, and television stars. Example: Jackie
Onassis and Princess Diana both were the most powerful icon and Fashion Role model of their
time.
Fashion Followers- These people imitate others only after they are sure of fashion trends. They
lack time, money and interest to devote to fashion leadership. Dressing fashionably takes time and
energy. They are busy with their jobs and families and think that fashion is unimportant thus
picking up the most worn style around. They want more acceptance to what they are wearing thus
they encourage bigger network of fashion followers in their family and friends. Imitating people
they admire. Fashion needs followers or it would not exist.
Fashion Victim-s – Those have too much money to spend on designer brands thus becoming brand
slaves with no creativity of their own. Fashion victims are people who blindly follow a brand
without any analysis.
Casual wear
Casual wear refers to the clothes we use for everyday wear. This style emphasizes on comfort,
relaxation, and informality. It includes a wide range of clothes and styles. Casual dressing gives
first place to personal expression and comfort over formality and conformity.
Tee-shirts (polo shirts, turtlenecks, etc.), jeans, jackets, khakis, hoodies, summer dresses, skirts,
sneakers, loafers and sandals are examples for casual wear.
 Casual is everyday wear.
 Casual wear is worn for informal and relaxed occasions such as trips, shopping, meeting
friends, etc.
 Materials such as cotton, jersey, denim, polyester and flannel are used to make casual
wear clothing.
Formal wear
Formal wear refers to clothing that is suitable for formal events such as ceremonial events,
weddings, balls, formal dinners, etc. Formal wear is nowadays mostly worn at formal dances, high
school prom dances, and entertainment industry award programs.
Although most people associate black tie with formal wear, the satirically proper dress code for
formal wear is white tie for evening and morning dress for daytime. Women are supposed to wear
ball gowns or formal evening (floor length) gowns.
 Formal wear is worn for formal events.
 Formal wear is worn for formal events such as ceremonial events, weddings, state
dinners, etc.
 Materials such as satin, velvet, silk, brocade, etc. are used to make formal wear clothing.

Ethnic dress
Ethnic dress ranges from a single piece to a whole ensemble of items that identify an individual
with a specific ethnic group. An ethnic group refers to people who share a cultural heritage or
historical tradition, usually connected to a geographical location or a language background; it may
sometimes overlap religious or occupational groups. Ethnicity refers to the common heritage of an
ethnic group. Members of an ethnic group often distinguish themselves from others by using items
of dress to symbolize their ethnicity and display group solidarity.
Factors affecting Fashion trend forecasting
Fashion trend forecasting resources help predict trends in the fashion industry. Fashion & trend
forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer at particular
time of season. It is no longer a question of finding your markets or consumers by age, geography
or income, but looking into how and what they buy, based on their culture, mood, beliefs, occasion
& geographic locations, it is also dependent on fashion cycle and plays a major role in introductory
phase of recurring fashion cycles.

Fashion trend forecast calculates as following:

Understanding fashion trends forecast is one of the most arduous and calculative work for all, I
know most of top business houses around the world totally rely on designers for understanding the
same, but on the other side there are others who don’t believe in it at all. In current times when we
look at technology we know nothing is by chance and there are people who are working behind
the scenes, day and night to make things appear easy and affordable to us. Question which often
comes to our mind is which trend forecast to use and how we can understand it better. Many
technological forecasting methods have been reported in various forecast related books &
mentioned in literature of many countries, and they have been successfully applied widely. As
trend forecasting results are mainly influenced by the forecasting method used by the end user, it
is of utmost importance to determine the method that will be most appropriate to a business model
you adopt. Let’s identify the main factors affecting Fashion trend forecasting:

Seasons:

Each season, the design and merchandising departments worldwide are waiting what’s in trend for
coming seasons. They rely heavily on creating a new line using these valuable data collected by
professional agencies. Trend forecasts are based on seasons Spring, Summer, Fall &Winter like
we connect certain colors with holiday and seasons, they expect to see earthy tones in fall season,
jeweled colors for holidays, the pastels of flowers in early spring, and refreshing white for the
summer. All the manufacturers include some of these standard colors in there line or collection
planning. Work on new line normally begins six months before the selling season (A flowery dress
to be worn in may should be in design section starting December). The manufacturers must
produce four or five seasonal lines a year. Targeting delivery ahead a month is providing
consumers with continual fresh merchandise each season.
Market Intelligence:

In recent years, world growth has slowed and markets have matured or become more protective.
It is evident that the only way for many small & big companies to grow is at the expense of their
competitors. Many large companies in Asia are turning to market intelligence for input into their
strategic management system and decision making. Conventional marketing research is
increasingly viewed as being too narrowly focused on tactical and operational issues. The large
retail & export companies around world are now looking up to role of the Internet in market
intelligence for inputs into their strategic management system and decision making. It helps them
determine their product acceptance in market; if acceptance is there market is there as world
renowned designer Karl Lagerfeld remarked, there is no fashion if nobody buys it. Acceptance by
large no of people makes market important.

The marketing intelligence cycle whether its apparel or other business houses typically consists of
directing, collecting, compiling, cataloguing, analyzing and form filled up data by consumers
therefore making it easier for industry to create product which is market based.

Consumer Research:

The agencies & Manufacturers may ask consumers directly about their buying preferences or can
look in to their buying habits over a period of time. Consumer reactions are recorded and
documented to find preferences for certain garments or accessories, sizes or colors and so on ,or
products to fit specific consumer tastes. Surveys, by phones, mail or customer feedback forms are
conducted by publication and market research companies for manufacturers and retailers. These
surveys include questions about life-style, fashion preference, income, and shopping habits.
Customers are usually selected by the research firm to meet with manufacturers or retailers.
Informal interview with consumer can help researchers obtain information by simply asking
customers, what they would like to buy, what styles they prefer that are currently available and
what changes in merchandise they want, but cannot find. Owners of small stores can often do this
most effectively, because of their close contact with their customers.

The industry overall has one purpose, i.e. to provide a desirable and appealing product to satisfy
customer needs, demands or aspire to have. When successful, this chain results in a sale, because
this chain is the integral part of entire process. Every forecast begins with the consumer, by
observing the consumer's needs to the marketplace and in the unexpected ways the consumer
adjusts the market place to his lifestyle and preferences. Consumer research figures are critical &
of utmost importance in decisions about product development, marketing and retailing.
Factors for Textile or Clothing Selection:
1) Social factor:
In social factor we consider following things & those are
A) Place where person live (urban or ruler).
B) Cultural background of person.
C) Gender
D) Occupation
E) Occasion
F) Social states
A) Place where person live (urban or rural):

Depending upon the area and place where a person lives the pattern, shape, style of clothing
changes. In urban areas because of very close cultural interaction between the various sections of
people. The pattern & style of clothing is cosmopolitan in nature. But in other hand in rural area
the human clothing is influenced by regional factors.
B) Cultural background of person:

The second factor which influenced on selection of clothing is cultural background of person and
upbringing of a person.
C) Gender:

The modern society not believe in gender biasness & strongly oppose this, but we all are still
comfortable in maintaining difference in male & female
D) Occupation:

Humans select clothing depends upon his occupation. Because of this reasons only we find the
difference in a police man and a common man and also we find the difference in Army man and a
common man.
E) Occasion:

Generally human select clothing depends upon the occasion namely formal wear and casual wear.
In office people wear formal dress & in leisure stripe be wear casual wear.
F) Social status:

The human being always interested to show his social status through clothing, hence in past king
always wearing a royal clothing.

2) Economic Factors:
In economics factors the important components are economic condition of society economic status
of individual & availability of technology & raw material. If there is change in economic condition
of society than it reflects on clothing. We know that the pattern of poor & rich peoples are different
some people select clothing depends on affordability, & some people selects clothing to show his
economic status.

3) Environmental Factors:
In environmental factors condition includes like too cold, too hot, raining, chilling wind etc. We
select cloth to take protection from extreme environment, unusual places (space or under water).
The selection of clothing changes as the environment condition is change. In this factor one person
will not use same clothing in different climatic condition. Depends upon climatic temperature the
garments are broadly divided into two categories winter wear clothing & summer wear clothing.

4) Physiological factor:
This factor includes age, condition of age of person, body structure, physiological response of
body, activity level etc. The clothing patterns are changes with age of the person due to
physiological & physiological changes with time Ex- A small child required different types of
cloth & an aged person required different type of cloth. Clothing selection also depends on physical
health of person, the person who have a special build of body required a different kind of cloth.