Fashion Merchandising

I read an article in the Buffalo News from February about the new fall fashion in New York City’s Fashion Week. This is the time for retailers to see what kind of styles and clothes they want to sell at their stores. This time around, it is hard for designers to get their clothes in the stores because retailers are becoming more concerned and involved about what they want to put in the stores. Due to intense competition, market saturation, a low valued dollar, and bleak economy, it is difficult for designers to sell their clothes in retail stores. There are so many designers to choose from, so it is hard for retailers to choose. It is most likely that the retailers would want the merchandise that they can get for a cheap price to sell at their stores. This is tough for designers because they probably want to sell to retailers at a high price so they can make a profit.

Also, these days, retailers are more interested in clothes that will give them an emotional feeling. Therefore, they want to be excited and moved about the new merchandise. Of course, retailers still sell all the timeless classics, but they get bored by those. That is why they are always looking for new clothes that are unique, different, and gives them a sense of emotion. Michael Fink, who works for Saks Fifth Avenue, was quoted saying, “It’s got to be emotion. A lot of that luxury product leaves me cold. It’s not anti-style; that’s not the right word but it becomes eternally classic and that appeals to a very small percentage of the population.” Therefore, designers are creating clothes that are emotional. Herve Leger is using nostalgia in the new clothes to move the people. This label popularized bandage dresses which creates emphasis on the woman’s assets. These were a huge deal in the 1980’s and were worn by actresses and Amazonian supermodels. Max Azria, entrepreneur of BCBG, will take use of the bandage dresses from Herve Leger and sell them at the BCBG stores because he is passionate about more femininity and the emphasis on a woman’s figure.


http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/F2008RTW/complete/thumb/HLEGER?trend=&page=4

From reading this article, I learned that retail stores are becoming more interested in what types of clothes they want to sell. Not only do they want to sell clothes that will entice their customers, but they also want to have a deep connection with these clothes.

Posted by Katie C. at 01:35 PM |