Essential Standard: 1.00 Understand the fundamentals of the fashion industry. Indicator: 1.01 Understand the progression of fashion. Part A

What is Fashion? Fashion is the display of the currently popular style of objects or activities. In apparel, a fashion is the prevailing type of clothing that is bought and worn by a large segment of the public at any given time. Fashions consist of the styles, colors, and functionalities that are favored by many people at a particular time. A style does not become a fashion until it gains popular acceptance. It remains a fashion only as long as it is accepted.

Fashion Business Fashion is a multibillion-dollar industry with millions of employees. Fashion-related businesses are crucial to the U.S. economy through the materials and services they buy, produce, and sell, and the wages and taxes they pay. Manufacturers are companies that make goods. Retailers are companies that sell merchandise in small quantities to consumers. Consumers are people who buy and use the finished product, such as apparel.

What is Marketing? Marketing is the total process of finding or creating a profitable market for specific goods or services. The process includes identifying customers, determining those customer’s wants and needs, and providing satisfying products at acceptable prices to those customers. The marketing concept has an overall goal of satisfying customer desires while making a profit for the seller.

Fashion and Business Concepts Promotion is nonpersonal activity that furthers the sale of goods or services to a large audience, rather than one-on- one selling. Merchandising is the process through which products are obtained (designed, developed, or presented for resale) and promoted to the point of sale. Major segment of marketing. Tries to match the products of a company to existing markets to make a profit. Fashion Merchandising involves the activities of planning, buying, and selling apparel and accessories.

Fashion and Business Concepts Designing is the process of creating new versions of garments, accessories, or other items. Design ideas move fashion forward by creating change. The concepts that evolve during the designing process create demand among consumers to buy the new and different looks. Production is the transformation of resources into a form that people need or want. “Conversion Process” that transforms input (materials) into output (finished goods).

Fashion and Business Concepts Visual merchandising is the physical display of goods in the most attractive and appealing ways. The goal is to please customer senses as shoppers enter and move around the store.

Fashion and Business Career Fields Research and development (R&D) is innovation to discover new knowledge, develop new products, and improve old products. People in textile (R&D) careers work for fiber manufacturers, textile mills, and private testing laboratories. Retail buyers select and buy the mix of goods to be sold by a retail company. The job varies with different sizes and types of retail organizations.

Traditional Department Store Structure Department Store Manager Buyer/Dept. manager women’s career wear Buyer/Dept. manager accessories department Buyer/Dept. manager infants & children’s Buyer/Dept. manager men’s apparel Buyer/Dept. manager women’s sportswear With the traditional department store structure, each buyer may be in charge of the merchandise, salespeople, finances, and all other activities of his or her department.

Fashion and Business Career Fields Types of Retail Buyers: Departmental buyer plans and purchases goods for only his or her own department. Also responsible for the sales and profits of the department. Classification buyer specializes in only one category of goods. They plan, choose, purchase, price, and promote one classification for all the branches in a chain or large retail organization.

Fashion and Business Career Fields The Buying Job: Must locate reliable vendors of goods. Go to market several times a year to visit manufacturers’ showrooms. Make sure orders from vendors are delivered on time and ready to sell. Authorize payment for goods or issue instructions for returns, if defective. Make pricing decisions and merchandise finances. Help promote, display, and advertise merchandise.

Fashion and Business Career Fields Fashion Publicist: Helps a company project a specific image through all forms of media using publicity and special events and by anticipating problems and handling complaints. Sales Associate: Retail employees who use more formal or creative selling skills than just ringing up sales; “order getters.”

Fashion and Business Career Fields Fashion Advertising: Try to attract and inform audiences to encourage them to buy products. They may work for retail companies, manufacturers, advertising agencies, or publications. People in advertising must know the merchandise, as well as effective approaches to reach the right customers.

Fashion Advertising Careers Advertising Directors: Work for retail firms, supervising their companies’ ad departments and publications. Account Executive: An advertising agency employee in charge of selling to and handling specific advertising accounts. Media Buyers: Select and buy the best media for clients’ ads.

Fashion Advertising Careers Art Directors: Conceptualize the ads for newspapers, magazines, direct- mail flyers, radio, television, signs, outdoor media, and websites. They try to design the best advertising for the budgeted price.

Entrepreneurship An Entrepreneur is a person who organizes, launches, and directs a new business venture and assumes the financial risks and uncertainties of the enterprise. The business may be run from a person’s home, an office, or a store. It might focus on retail sales, provide a service, or produce a line of goods.