Fashion Cycle!

The change of fashion process is known as fashion cycle. The act of fashion cycle is similar to product life cycle. Actually, it is very difficult to summarize or categorize fashion cycle without having vast knowledge. Consumers like to wear new styles formed by the fashion designers or launched by the renowned clothing stores every year. Designers are committed to providing lucrative dresses for fashion conscious consumers as it’s their passion. Then designers are frequently going back and forth in time for stimulating creativity. Each year a new edition of the old trend is showing up by modification of few small changes at the line, shape, color impression, fabric etc. in appearance to give different looks. Usually, a fashion cycle accomplished by five various stages like as a bell shaped curve. Those are introduction, rise in popularity, peak in popularity, decline in popularity and dismissal. Let’s find the narrative discussion regarding fashion cycle.

Usually, designers introduce their research and creative ideas by making an appeal or accessories and then launch those new styles to the public. Developers generate new designs by changing basics such as symmetrical and asymmetrical balance, color, fabric, line, shape, trimming etc. and their association to one another. New designs presented to as the “latest fashions” to consumers and might be accepted by the end users. At the initial stage of this cycle, fashion implies only style and freshness. Early stage of this cycle when a new style is launched may or may not be admired by the customers. That time those styles are evaluated by the buyers or consumers at clothing stores or fashion shows. Production in small quantities gives a designer more flexibility, freedom, room for creativity, imagination, and temperament. Most of the time new style comes to market at a high price level because those are produced in a small quantity. Famous designers are admired globally for their talent, activities and get full support to design with very few limitations on creativity, freedom, quality of raw materials or fine workmanship. Usually, production cost will be high at the initial stage and only some people who have enough money to use the resulting garments like haute couture.

2. Growth in Popularity:
When a new lucrative dress introduced by a fashion designer and worn by some choose celebrities and rich guy who has enough money to do an experiment and habituate to get media attention, mass people influenced by it that may draw attention in buyers, press or public. Most designers wish to sell their items at reasonable prices. But at the beginning stage designers have to sell the wearers at the higher price to recover their cost. The price takes a downward slope in the passage of time when the demand and supply go parallel. Eventually, they minimize the price again when the demand graph takes a downward peak. Furthermore, an increase in popularity of a style may depend on copying and modification. Some manufacturers may redesign their style by adding less expensive fabric and sell all the styles at lower prices. Some designers customized their trendy style to outfit the requirements and price range of their regular consumers. Permanent consumers are a die-heart fan of their wearers.

3. Mature of Popularity:
When a fashion or a particular design reaches, the height of its optimum level is called peak or matured stage. It may create much demand that inspires many producers to copy or modifications to drivers it at many price levels. By copying some designers became pleased, but others are indignant. There is a clear distance between modifications and knock-offs. Bulk production demands a possibility of mass acceptance. So, producers suspiciously analyze sales trends and consumer’s feedback before step into mass production because their customers want comfortable, durable and reasonable clothes that are in the mainstream of fashion.

When consumers feel fatigue after using same designed wearers for a long duration, they search for something new. But some consumers still wish to use those old styles in lower price. Besides, every season the popularity of old styles turns down due to the entrance of new collection. That’s why the outlet takes the initiative such as a big
sale. Sometimes outlet declares clearance sale. That time owners fix some sales racks of retail stores contain declining styles to lure customers with lucrative wearers.

5. Dismissal of a Style or Obsolescence:
In the final stage of the fashion cycle when users lost their passion for those design and turned to new trendy dresses is called obsolescence phase. The rejection, discarding, dismissal or disposal of a style occurred just because it is out of fashion or failed to generate customers attraction is also called consumer obsolescence. In these stage manufacturers stop production and retailers lost attraction due to consumers have no more interest. Rabindranath quoted that “fashion is temporary and style is permanent.”

>> Publicity or promotion of the product

>> Development of new fabrics or fibers

>> Social or economic factors

Fashion Cycle Lengths:
But at the current trend fashion cycles have no particular lengths. Because human fashion trends are changing rapidly. But we can assume them with type of acceptance. The fashion cycle is usually represented as a bell-shaped curve with 5 stages.

1) Flop Cycle- No acceptance
2) Fad Cycle- Short acceptance
3) Normal Cycle- Medium acceptance
4) Ford Cycle- Strong acceptance
5) Classic Cycle- Continuing acceptance

Classic: It is remarkable that some style retains its appeal stable in fashion cycle. An example is denim wearers or classic Hawaii shirt. We can consider it as everlasting. The demands of these styles never turn into completely out of date. The attraction might increase or decrease slightly but never decay with the passage of time.

Fad: This is short lived fashion which keeps the interest of the consumers for a short period. The user group is limited and the price is also cheap but users appeal declaims day by day as they feel fatigue. The tenure of this stage is concise and the customer feels monotonous after some short time due to product supply increases in comparison to demand which makes the wearers out of fashion outlet.