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Fashion in recession: Part 1 - The current situation |
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Written by Abigail Keats
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Thursday, 04 December 2008 |
With times of financial difficulty upon us and the looming possibility
of recession, fashion professionals world-wide are wondering what
effects a recession will have on designer collections and consumer
spending.
Although many of the answers are still masked, slowly but surely, much like the economic downturn of the 80’s and 90’s, we see the return of adapting designers and fashion to accommodate consumers in an unbalanced economic environment.
If there’s one thing history has taught us about fashion, it is the fact that there is an extremely close link between trends and the economy. In my opinion, to a large extent, the latest fashion is a painted canvas of the economic environment and consumer behaviors, attitudes and emotions. After several seasons of over-abundance, eccentricity and the triumph of artificial over the natural, due to times of financial security and luxury indulgence, we now see a strong desire to return to a state of equilibrium, reflecting the current world economic climate.
In fashion, we see a gradual movement toward trends that speak of minimal detail and strong functionality while still providing fashionable, quality assured looks at reasonable prices. These trends also adapt an increase in bright colors to sweeten our moods in dire times and place a focus on "recession chic" which is in essence the innovation and revamping of older clothes to look like something new. "In this kind of economy, obviously there's the temptation to shop in your own closet." -Wendy Liebmann
Similarly, in local and international buying trends, the average consumer is more focused on purchasing fashion basics that carry a strong sense of value for money while still catering for their needs without breaking the bank. With this change in motion and adjusted consumer demands, there is now a growing reluctance to purchase high-end fashion goods. The autumn 1930 Sears catalogue declared that, "thrift is the spirit of the day. Reckless spending is a thing of the past”. I believe, without a doubt, this quote will ring true once again in the near future.
With fashion heading in this direction, designers who have positioned themselves in the high fashion bracket, have to now seriously consider creating a plan of action that will ensure their long-term survival in our current economic environment. The solution is 'survival through adaption'. This will be discussed in my next article entitled 'Fashion in recession: Part 2 – Survival through adaption'.
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