Fashion Industry: Ready To Face The Future

Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is very complicated. There are no standard fashion companies. They come from a wide spectrum of enterprises working in the apparel, footwear, home textiles, and accessories markets.
The industry is made up of various kinds of companies like retailers, design source and selling companies, companies with their own manufacturing facilities, and other companies that outsource production but retain control over parts of the production process.

Moreover, companies functioning in the high fashion segment often face a different kind of pressure as compared to those functioning with commodity fashion goods.

All of these aspects combine to make the fashion industry one of the most complicated industries. Yet, various issues can be noticeably recognized as common across the industry.

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 Face The Future

Consumers have the power

. Supply chains are complicated

. Product launching and delivery takes time

. Companies must be able to manage a product mix

. Inventory control maintenance is important

. Impact of the latest technology on the fashion industry

. Copyright issues for fashion designs
Consumers have more power

Today's buyers have more purchasing power than ever before and are less tolerant due to increased time pressure in today's lifestyles.

They are more aware of environmental and human rights issues and have superior quality demands. They demand a huge variety and more frequent changes in the choices available to them. Moreover, they also expect immediate availability of a perfect matching set of garments and accessories in their preferred color and size combinations in the same store.

In terms of satisfying the consumer's needs, retailers are the first in line, but all companies in the supply chain are driven by the prerequisite to anticipate the expectations and requirements of their customers. From design to production and to the final sale, all members of the supply chain need to check that stores are stocked with the correct requirements when the consumer needs to buy!

The companies that are quick to respond to consumer requirements are those that will remain profitable in an environment of rapid global competition and increasing material and operational costs.
Supply chains are complicated

Ready To Face The Future (1)

The fashion industry is distinguished by global supply chains and complicated logistics. Labor and transportation costs often determine where production takes place and outsourcing of all or part of production is common. Companies throughout the industry have to deal with global sourcing problems and need to regularly evaluate their sourcing strategies.

Production work is often done across multiple places, which may be also located in different countries. Setting up of cutting, sewing, subcontracting, and transportation, and the synchronization with raw material supply, is a very tedious process.

Product launching and delivery take time

While working through the many pre-production steps, including yarn or fabric selection, garment development, specification, and sampling, the industry takes a long time to introduce a new product to the market.

Ready To Face The Future (2)

The ever-changing seasonal and trend-driven nature of the industry depicts that the product life cycles are too short. Even for cyclic demands where the life cycle may continue further, there are often small changes to design, and color or size combinations may be changed. The logistics of managing a large number of styles and maintaining stock-keeping units is a difficult practice.

Companies must manage a product mix

Besides long lead times, fashion producers are stressed to constantly design and develop new product lines to maintain retailers' interest and increase consumer sales. Producers have noted that in order to maintain this speed, raised flexibility and quickness to satisfy changing customer demand, which is quicker than ever before, it is very challenging for them to judge or come out with such types of products. Gone are the days when a perfect fashion trend direction decided what consumers wore. At present, many styles are available, and with rising globalization, consumers can approach fashion news through the latest media tools.

Fashion products change frequently, from hosiery and basic underwear through medium-priced high street brands, to exclusive high fashion brands. Managing brand awareness and brand loyalty is a serious task in retaining a position in the market. Margins in repetitive basic products are low, so neither a retailer nor a manufacturer can ever afford to be out of stock.

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Fashion of Body Shape

 

The Fashion of Body Shape

How Much Does Popular Media Affect Body Shape?

The American population is heavier now than ever before with more than two-thirds of adults being overweight and almost half of those are clinically obese. Yet, at the same time, the weight loss and diet industry is a multi-billion dollar entity.

Part of the problem is our perception of our body image. Body image is a subjective concept of our physical appearance determined by our cultural group to epitomize beauty. Since early 1900 the popular media have portrayed thin, toned, fit females as having the ideal body image. This trend was briefly interrupted in the 1950s with the reign of Marilyn Monroe as `the perfect woman. However, from the flapper dresses of the 20s, through Twiggy, to the modern-day fashion models, the media has portrayed a very thin body image as the target for young women.

fashion trend

Our ideal body image represents the physical body form that we want to imitate, whether that is a fashion model, celebrity, athlete, or other role models. However, these images are often misleading having often been digitally enhanced or airbrushed prior to printing. The result of this deception is to make the "ideal body shape" unattainable and puts unnecessary psychological pressure on vulnerable young women, pushing many of them into eating disorders by promoting an irrational fear of being fat.

A study done in 2004 found well over three-quarters of ten-year-old girls are afraid of becoming fat and almost half of the girls in the six to ten-year age range stated they wanted to be thinner. A more recent study by the Girl Scouts of America organization found that one-third of the young women surveyed had a distorted body image and two-thirds wanted to lose weight. It has also been noted that girls under the age of 18 were much more influenced by media using thin models than college-age or older women. Also, while white, Hispanic, and black American women have traditionally had different cultural views about their ideal body image, this perception difference is narrowing with the influence of the media.

The upshot of all of this pressure for many of these young women is poor self-image. After trying valiantly to follow the fashion trends, they become disillusioned with themselves and give up, no longer paying attention to the principles of a good diet. Consequently, bad habits set in, and waistlines expand leading to further declines in self-image

body without risk

Understanding the factors influencing the development of a healthy body image is of interest to many, whether struggling with weight management or not. Consider the following steps for re-engineering yourself:

• Acceptance of self - be happy with who you are.
• Stop bending to the power of the media.
• Remove stress - stress has a huge influence over our body's fat storage.
• Introduce relaxation - make time in your day for 15 minutes of relaxation such as yoga.
• Exercise - begin slowly such as a walk after supper and build up from there.
• Eat a balanced diet - avoid processed foods whenever possible.

While this may all seem very obvious, it is amazing to see how many people have trouble adopting this into their lifestyle. Good habits take weeks to develop but only days or even hours to destroy, so remember to begin small to cause the least discomfort and increase activity gradually.

David Jose is the founder of [http://www.weight-management-tips.com/] which is a resource website dedicated to helping people find the information they need to implement good weight management strategies and achieve a healthy lifestyle.

Fashion Industry

engineered print fashion

printing has revolutionized production in many industries. Right from making custom automobile parts to special prosthetics in the medical world, this is a technology that promises new things in years to come. It is also used actively in prototyping and has allowed designers to try new things without spending half of the initial budgets as before. No wonder, the fashion industry has acknowledged the use of 3D printing, and there are a few brands that focus on clothing and accessories created out of this technology. So, is 3D printed fashion the next big thing? Let's take a look at some of the aspects.

Why Printing May Work for The Fashion Industry?

Fashion is one industry that focuses on creative and innovative ideas. In short, designers, labels, and brands try their best to avoid repetition. As such, the whole process of designing needs to be streamlined, and as we focus on art and aesthetics, it is also important to reduce costs and expenses. 3D printing offers that kind of flexibility, for extremely low costs. You can modify, change, and redesign things from scratch and don't need to invest in manufacturing as expected. A large segment of the fashion industry focuses on customized goods and exclusive accessories, which can cost a lot more than the traditional manufacturing process. With 3D printing, even the smaller brands can find a niche and can start production in no time.

Are There Any Hiccups?

Yes. Despite the projected potential, the use of 3D printing in the fashion industry is still limited. Most of the brands have expressed their concerns over the choice of materials, which aren't always right for clothing. 3D printing basically prints products in solids, so you cannot expect the kind of comfort as fabrics. Also, clothing, in particular, can be complicated, as the printed "outfits" will neither absorb moisture nor are breathable, and therefore, the overall comfort is quite compromised.

The New Age of Accessories

While more innovation is needed before we can get complete clothing collections, accessories have taken a leap with this technology. With printed fashion, you can get some amazing products, which are anything but ordinary. In fact, a few brands have created a niche with 3D printing, and they can get customized products for your needs, with all the necessary requirements. Some of these companies are changing the way in which people perceive fashion, and you can only expect more in days to come. No matter whether you are trying to get custom accessories for your brand or want to innovate products for your personal needs, 3D printing can help, and some brands can ensure that your requirements are met.