Designers today are put into difficult situations when it comes to creating new pieces of apparel for their public's. No designer wants to have the same styled dress as every other designer at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, (which is coming to an end this Thursday). The 2nd designer to showcase a similar dress as some other designer, even if they are not exactly identical, and they are merely a generic brand because they seemingly have brought nothing new to the table. What turns this into such a strenuous feat is the need for innovation. The clothing that designers are creating each season can’t be boring and need to have a distinctive air to it. A lot of the time there is a very thin line between an item of clothing being unique and a little too far out of the box. Most designers occupy a large portion of their time preparing for fashion week in NYC. It is where the best of the best gather to showcase what they have dedicated so many of their hours to. Besides the skills of the designers at fashion week, those in Public Relations are forced to deal with a great amount of work in preparation for such an event.
Those in the field of Fashion PR need to help the designers do thorough amounts of research. Everything from the past needs to be examined --what worked well and more importantly, what did not work well. A careful eye must study the styles that failed last season and the styles that flourished. Clothing certainly cannot be anything like the styles of the previous years, but at the same time it is important to see what the target market of a particular designer likes. In a way it helps to predict what will work for this season’s line. One of the most important aspects to examine are different decades. Many designers stem new ideas from very old ones, albeit with a few up-to-date changes, mostly coming from the trends of over 30 years ago.
Focus groups and interviews are very important when it comes to fashion. Looking at what the fashionista’s of the world like is just as important as examining what is liked by those who don’t necessarily put a great deal of effort or concern into the fashions that they wear. During these studies, the method’s used to conduct them need to be fair. Focus groups cannot be made up of solely female’s who are all from the same area, who shop at all the same stores and share a common taste for certain styles. A diverse group of people need to be studied so that there is a wider view of what those involved in the fashion world's taste is and what they find to be ideal for their wardrobe. Among the same line of whom is participating in the focus group, it is important that when recruiting people for a study you reach out to all different areas and all different environments. You cannot simply stand outside of one specific store at the mall and ask people to be a part of the focus group. It is important that people heading into all different stores are addressed and asked to be part of the study to ensure their is a wide variety of responses.
At the end of the day, research is necessary in every aspect of Public Relations. In Fashion PR, there is no exception. Numbers need to be looked at to see what sells and what does not sell. A designer’s piece can exhibit an immense amount of talent and skill but if it is not showcased the proper way, which is usually the job of those in the PR field, it is not going to be an infamous look that is adored by the public for its creativity.
No comments:
Post a Comment