Housing crisis affected home fashion retail

With the economy in a recession on the way to a depression everything in
the economy has come to a hault. Consumers are not willing to buy as much as
they did in the past because of the tight money issues. Not only does this
effect the clothing aspect but the home fashion retail. Right now we are in a
housing crisis. Houses are not being sold or bought due to sticky financial
issues arrising. Without new houses people do not need to decorate therefore the
home fashion retail is plummeting. I think that the home fashion is in much more
danger than clothing because even with the recession people need clothes to
wear, however people can hold off on decorating their houses. This is not good
for the home fashion retail. Another reason why I feel the home fashion retail
is plummeting is because home fashion trends change every ten years, where as in
clothing there is a seasonal based trend. This could be another reason why the
home fashion retail segment is losing money as well. I am not looking forward to the
future and to see where the economy will lead the fashion industries.

The Challenges of apparel retail

With the economic recession everything in our economy has paused. I know from experience working at Banana Republic in Charlotte for the past year that a year ago sales were stable and we met our goals each month with banana cards and the merchandise sale was above average. However when I went back a few weeks ago to work they had to let people go and we had not made our monthly goals since I had left. I know that its not only Banana Republic that is suffering from this economic recession. That is one challenge I see of apparel retail. Another one that I have noticed from working in the apparel retail business is that from the end of January to about March there are no customers. During this time I was not scheduled to work which put a damper on my income. I know others in the industry were also tight on cash because of the decline in business. The apparel retail industry will never go out of business but it is constantly fluctuating. These challenges that I mentioned are from my history working at Banana Republic and the things I have noticed throughout my year as an employer there.

sweatshops

The main question that many fashion industries ponder are sweatshops. They are said to be bad and the United States somewhat tries to expose these sweatshops. However on the other hand sweatshops save companies millions of dollars each year by shipping fabrics elsewhere to be sewn and made for the consumer here in the United States. As a merchandising major my opinion would be do whatever to save money especially with the economy right now. Yet in order to write this blog I wanted to learn a little more so I browsed through YouTube to find an actual showing of a sweatshop and how unfair it is for other countries to make far less than they should. Some of the conditions as well are overwhelming. I also remember in high school in my fashion merchandising class I was showed a video of an undercover sweatshop in China and some of the graphics on this video have stuck in my mind. The conditions in a sweatshop are awful. So what is a merchandiser supposed to do in this situation. I think this is why there still are so many sweatshops out there. A recession is on a rise and the United States can not afford to spend any more money. I wish there was some way they could meet in the middle. Maybe by making sweatshops not as harsh and paying more but not as much as we would pay in the United States. I think everyone in the fashion industry needs to work together to eliminate sweatshops and try to keep the prices down as well.

art vs. utility

Everyday we wear clothes and there are always a few people that stand out and make their clothing choices into an art form. When deciphering between fashion as an art or utility it really cannot be determined. As the designer fashion is art. Look at the couture lines, that is art. However most when designers design they sketch which is art and when creating a new piece of clothing that is art. Yet once it gets to the consumer it is wearable. The consumer can then decide if they are going to make it more artsy by adding their own style to it and making it stand out from the rest of the crowd. I consider that art as well. Fashion is art and utility from the beginning of the process to the end one cannot pick out if it is one or the other.

What Inspires Me When Creating Something

Although I am not on the the design side of fashion, I do have my preferences. My style is very classic and I like to be able to wear something that makes me feel better about myself by the way it fits the curves of my body. I have always been a fan of something simple but with a pop of color. I also love dresses so when thinking about something I would like to wear I thought of a dress that could be dressed down for the day and dressed up for night yet is loose and comfortable. These factors play a huge role in the way I dress.

Here in my design I have drawn, not very well because once again I am on the merchandising side of fashion but the dress is simple, with that pop of color. I think the color under the bust helps to break up the body and the low V-neck helps define the bust. I also love the crossed straps in the back because it is fun and flirty this also accentuates the back and the shoulders. During the day I could see someone running errands in this with a pair of flats and a sweater. At night I could see someone wearing heels and going to a nice dinner. Versatility is very important in clothes.

Most of my inspiration comes from my own personal style as well as more of the classic yet modern looks. Oscar de la Renta is one of my favorite designers because he does this throughout his clothes. I also chose red because red will never die. I think red looks good on everyone and can be worn any time of the year. As well as black is a very classic color which goes with everything.

Ethnic influences on Apparel Design

Throughout the world everyone is being influenced in some way or the other. Throughout fashion we influence others, for instance the United States has influenced the dress in many other cultures this is also known as westernization. In Africa the children dress in shorts and a shirt until they hit their teens and are ready to wear traditional African wear of boubou, a long wrap.

Yet other cultures also effect the way we as Americans dress. The main culture that I can think of that has had a huge impact on the design of clothes is the Greek culture. The Greek culture has to also be one of my favorite influences. Their long dresses with amazing drapery help accent a women's body. The Greek also introduced the one shoulder. I think this look is very flattering on most women. It is also very elegant. The dress shown above is hand beaded rope straps and belt on and gives it a real Greek goddess feel. The silk Georgette has a flattering, body skimming effect making for a stunning dress to wear to parties.Versace and Missoni in the past have done a lot with this Greek influence.

Another culture that has influenced the way we dress are the British. England's art colleges have led the fashion world in creating patterns for at least two decades. Today designers continue to update designs with new patterns to match the direction of the recent trends. As we all know the latest trends have been bright and loud patterns on dresses, shirts, and skirts. And the art of Britain has helped with the new inventive looks of these patterns which has carried over into the United States.

These are just a few examples of how other cultures have influenced the way we dress. Dress is a globalization process were we all influence each other in different ways. Many designers get inspiration from different cultures like the Greek drapery and the British patterns are all ways other cultures have influenced the United States

Main Trends of the New York Fashion Week

New York fashion week is one of the biggest fashion events in the United States. After looking through different shows featuring Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Sass & Bide and others I began to notice a few common trends throughout each collection.
The first thing I noticed was the use of floral prints throughout a lot of the collections. I think that is a way of bringing the spring happiness to fall with the play on bright colors. I am not sure how I feel about floral print just because this past season it was popular and a little overwhelming. However I do like the idea of trying to brighten up fall with a plethora of colors, instead of continuing the trend of fall with yellows, greens, and browns.
The second thing I noticed throughout the collections were fabrics with a lot of sequins and luster to them. This trend seems kind of like a costume however there were a few items that looked amazing with the metallic luster look to them because they look very form fitting and fit the body well to accentuate the curves of a women's body. The sequins and fabric all seemed to be more on the dark side to fit the fall colors. This could also be worn at night like the current trends with a play on a few sequins on shirts. However some designers have spread the sequins to fill an entire skirt which is a new trend.
The last main trend I noticed throughout the collections were a more feminine approach to the design of the clothes. Designers are using more lace, ribbon, ruffles, pleating, and bows. The colors very light and flirty with pinks, off whites, and grays. I really like how the designers use this eccentric use of draping fabric and tone it down with subtle colors. This adds to the feminine look the designers are trying to go for. I am excited to continue to watch the runway shows and learn more about the upcoming fashion trends.