A Glimpse into the Fashion Industry

I've been thinking lately of creating more posts about fashion, not a typical outfit-ideas-type of posts, more like information about the culture, business and academic of the industry. So I am publishing this post first to give you an idea of how this fashion world twirls.

Fashion Levels:

1. The highest level of fashion is Haute Couture. It is the most advanced form of clothing, where every piece takes a lot of craftsmanship and many hours(sometimes 6000hrs) of work. It is definitely the most expensive(100,00$ and up) and the most scarce. Haute Couture focuses mainly on reflecting the artistic and innovative side of each brand.

        There is certain rules Haute Couture houses have to follow. Some of the Haute Couture brands are Elie Saab, Chanel, Christian Dior, Maison Margiela, Ralph and Russo..

                                        Zuhair Murad Fall Couture 2018

     2. Second level comes as Pret-a-porter, or Ready-to-wear(RTW). It is a more wearable and available to people. It is still considered luxury. Pret-a-porter is the most profitable for a brand, because it is more selling and less costable. 

     Pret-a-porter brands are much more than haute couture ones ex: Saint Laurent,  Isabel Marant, Off-White... Some Haute Couture brands produces RTW also like Chanel, Elie Saab,  Versace , Christian Dior.

 

Elie Saab Ready-to-wear  Spring Summer 2019

     3. High end high street/Premium  and Diffusion Brands. Diffusion Brands for example Marc by Marc Jacobs,  Mosccino Cheap and Chic are developed by luxury brands but are cheaper for people to buy. High end high street (Coast, Ted Baker, Reiss... ) have a defined style and a more premium quality. Affordable but of a higher price than high street.

 








Ted Baker

Reiss

       4. High-street and mass market , this is the most affordable level. With brands like Zara, H&M, Top shop, ASOS... These brands in general focuses on producing as much as possible to as many people as possible. Pieces are produced in factories usually by machines. Quality is sometimes sacrificed due to more affordable price tags. 

Fashion Calendar:

Haute Couture brands showcase their pieces in January and July of each year in Paris which is why it's called Paris Fashion Week (PFW).

   July is when they show the following Fall/winter collection, and January is when they show the following Spring/Summer collection.

Pret-a-porter brands showcase their Fall/Winter collection in March and their Spring/Summer collection in the end of September. RTW fashion shows happens in New York, London, Milan, Paris.

So if you love fashion and want to stay up to date with the shows, look up for these 4 months.

From the runway to your closet:

The Fashion shows are usually the hub where designers set trends for upcoming seasons. High street brand sends their people "Fashion Buyers" to identify trends so that they can create something similar or inspired by the runway and display in stores.

For example, animal print was seen multiple times in Ready-to-wear  F/W 2018 shows,

Victoria Beckham F/W 2018

 
Dolce and Gabanna F/W 2018

If you go now(Fall 2018) to stores like Mango, Zara, H&M, Bershka... You will spot many pieces that are animal print and it is not a coincidence.

  Zara Fall 2018

Bloggers and fashion magazines always state the trends for each season and translate them into affordable options.

So there you have it, a small insight into the giant world of today's fashion.

(Photo sources:InstahauteCouture/ Vogue.com /Zara.com)