Unit 5 Fashion Communication Concept

UNIT 5 FASHION COMMUNICATION CONCEPT

Structure

5.0 Introduction 5.1 Objectives 5.2 Why Study Fashion Communication 5.3 Concept and Definition 5.3.1 Fashion Journalism 5.3.2 Graphic Design for Fashion 5.3.3 Fashion Broadcasting and Fashion Films 5.3.4 Visual Merchandising & Window Display for Fashion 5.3.5 Fashion Styling 5.3.6 Fashion Photography 5.3.7 Fashion Public Relations 5.3.8 Fashion Event Design 5.3.9 Fashion Marketing & Consumer Behaviour 5.3.10 Fashion & Social Media 5.3.11 Cultural Studies and Visual Research for Fashion 5.4 Let Us Sum Up 5.5 Check Your Progress: The Key 5.6 Bibliography

5.0 INTRODUCTION

This is the fifth Unit of this course, and it seeks to introduce and explain various concepts and definitions that have generally been used in fashion communication. Fashion Communication is a means of communicating the message of fashion, culture and lifestyle using various media. It involves applying the communication design strategy to fashion & lifestyle products. Due to the flourishing of fashion industry, it has become important for brands to develop a unique identity for maximum impact and visibility. Areas in fashion communication include graphic design, fashion events & display design, fashion advertising & public relations, fashion journalism, styling, fashion photography, broadcasting, social media and fashion films. Fashion communication thus forms the core of fashion business and is the link between consumers and fashion producers.

5.1 OBJECTIVES

After going through this Unit, you should be able to:

• Understand the basics of fashion communication through media formats such as journalism (print, electronic or new media), events, promotions (public relations and advertising), exhibition design (visual merchandising & window display), styling for fashion and cultural studies for fashion • Relate the fashion communication concepts with fashion reportage in daily lives across various channels • Learn the conceptual framework of fashion business and its relation to the fashion communication process and contextualize influence of media on fashion and vice versa

5.2 WHY STUDY FASHION COMMUNICATION

The basic framework of fashion communication is built around investigation and analysis of the relationship of word to image. With the advent of the Internet and social media in last few decades, information exchange has been democratized. There is now a requirement for professionals who are specialized in the specific area of fashion to communicate the message between fashion designers and customers. Fashion Communication forms a synergy between communication, awareness, historical and theoretical studies. It focuses on the communication & promotion of fashion creatively through different media.

5.3 CONCEPT AND DEFINITION

Since this Unit is concerned with discussing the conceptual foundations of the field of fashion communication, this section has been devoted to basic processes and framework of fashion communication. It discusses the various areas under which this type of specialized communication operates and the skills required to run it. The section also contextualizes the relation between these areas and their relation with reporting on fashion, culture and lifestyle using different media.

5.3.1 Fashion Journalism

Fashion journalism includes reporting on fashion, culture and lifestyle in published fashion media, and involves fashion writers, fashion critics, and fashion reporters. The reportage can appear in as features in magazines, tabloid, journals, newspapers, television and online fashion magazines, websites, and blogs. It includes researching on articles, investigating trends & style, interviewing designers & celebrities, photographers and working with public relations personnel. Knowledge of fashion history, up-to-date knowledge about practices of fashion industry and a keen eye for details in clothing and accessories are of utmost importance to be a fashion journalist. A fashion journalist may work with a publication or a television channel or work independently to publish her blog. It requires one to attend fashion & trade shows, visit stores and cover red-carpet events. Fashion journalists are opinion makers and critique the latest collections of various fashion designers and labels in their articles. It is essential that a fashion journalist have good contacts with people in the fashion industry, including photographers and designers. Through their articles and features, these journalist influence people’s choices by communicating fashion to a vast audience who go through their written or spoken word in various media. Keeping abreast of new trends, attending press conferences writing and editing fashion news stories is part of the job of a fashion journalist. As part of fashion related television shows, fashion journalism also involves writing scripts for shows and edit segments of television programs, which showcase fashion & lifestyle. A fashion editor is the overall in charge of bringing out an issue of a fashion periodical and is responsible for all its content. An editor directs fashion writers, photographers and the graphic designer in implementing the vision of the publication or television program. The editor decides on the theme & topics to be covered, and edits the periodical before releasing it for public consumption. A fashion journalist is required to travel to cover the latest trend and note down all information to accurately portray the news in the publication. They find employment with fashion magazines like Vogue, Glamour, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Femina, Gladrags, Marie Claire or Television channels like FTV, CNN, and BBC or as part of prestigious online magazines and fashion blogs.

5.3.2 Graphic Design for Fashion

Graphic design is the process of visual communication using symbols, words, typography, photography and illustration. Graphic designers use a combination of symbols, words and images to convey a meaning. It is used in print media (e.g. magazines, newspapers), website & social media, outdoor publicity (e.g. billboards), television commercials and mobile applications. The designers use layouts techniques to distribute typography and visual arts to make eye-catching compositions, thus attracting the customers to see the message. The most common uses of graphic design can be seen in corporate design (logos and branding), editorial design (magazines, newspapers and books), advertising, web design, communication design, product packaging and signage. The importance of graphic design for fashion is due to the fact that a fashion product is a recurring purchase. Fashion is dynamic and heavily dependent on trends and preference of the consumer. This leads to new messaging every season depending on the trends of that season. To be able to continue attracting customers to view the brand message, companies have to keep changing their advertisement & publicity material every season. Graphic design for fashion, therefore, involves making a connection with the consumer who has a desire to feel involved with the story of a brand. The principal challenge of a graphic design is that a consumer must be able to relate to the brand and be interested in its product. Fashion, being a fast-changing commodity, it requires the designer to be on her toes all the time by churning out beautiful graphics, which convey the brand values, and yet is different & novel every season. Graphic design creates an image in consumer’s mind, which they identify at some level. Some of the most successful brands carry iconic logos. To be able to understand and appreciate graphic design, it is essential to know about the elements that make up design. These elements include colour, line, shape, texture, size and form. These elements are used along with each other in conjunction or opposition to create designs. Along with these elements, designers also use principals of design, which include balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, variety and unity. A graphic designer must know the optimum usage of elements and principals of design to create visually striking communication solutions. A graphic designer uses sketching books, computer tablets and specialized software such as Photoshop, InDesign and Illustrator to create designs. These tools assist the designer to create illustrations, enhance photographs, stylize text, and synergize all of the elements into the required layout as per the design brief. Graphic design for fashion is therefore an important part of the communication solution for an event, campaign or product.

Graphic design for fashion designer Paul Smith (Source: http://www.100archive.com/article/alan-aboud-paul-smith)

5.3.3 Fashion Broadcasting and Fashion Films

The term 'broadcast media' covers a wide range of different communication methods including television, radio, podcasts, blogs, websites, online-streaming services and digital journalism. Dissemination of programs via audio and video content to a dispersed audience by means of electronic mass communication media is called broadcasting. Initially, it began with radio in the 1920s, before which the electronic communication medium like telephone and telegraph were ‘one-to-one’, with the message exchange happening between only two persons. The term ‘broadcasting’ originated from the agricultural practice of ‘sowing seeds in a field by casting them broadly about’, and was later adopted for describing the widespread distribution of information by printed materials or by telegraph. Initially broadcasting was associated with over- the-air medium, but in recent times, such services are available through cable and Internet. Broadcasting can happen through government funded or managed broadcasting services, community-owned services or privately owned commercial services. Television programs on fashion have utilized broadcasting services in a big way, it has brought information on the latest trends closer to the audience. Unlike a few decades ago, when one had to be a fashion editor or a buyer or a high-profile celebrity, to get a close-up on fashion, this information is now available in anyone with a television and a cable connection. Programming on fashion, live coverage of fashion events and dedicated fashion television channel beaming round-the- clock images of fashion from far corners of the globe revolutionized the dissemination of fashion information to a mass audience. This type of broadcasting has helped brands & fashion labels to market the latest fashion & lifestyle products as well as bring the latest fashion trends in peoples’ home. It has built an enviable cult of personality surrounding fashion designers and models. Besides, the information on fashion, the broadcast of fashion programming has become a source of entertainment, making fashion television into a distinct genre of broadcasting. Fashion reportage from channels such as CNN and BBC has evoked interest in fashion among the audience. It requires a specialized type of camera work, anchoring, interview techniques and investigating besides thorough background knowledge of design, trends, clothes, celebrities and fashion history to construct an informative reportage for fashion broadcasting. High quality reportage in fashion broadcasting has made fashion products popular and has brought high fashion into the homes of millions. These channels have helped fashion information reach variety of consumers and helped making fashion trends a part of mainstream broadcasting. The reach of television has made brands & fashion designers more aware of the possibilities of showcasing products through television broadcasting and has in return improved the quality of runway shows. Boosting the profiles of designers and models, fashion television broadcasting has made them celebrities and influencers.

Invitation poster Fashion film festival (Source: https//nataliebooth.wordpress.com/tag/fashion- film/.jpg)

The high proliferation of television channels, websites and web-channels has given rise to another important aspect, that of fashion films. Films are a medium of communication, which speaks us a story and unlike other mediums like a newspaper or magazines, which requires a person to be literate, even someone who cannot read or write can understand a film. Loosely defined, a film, also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, or photoplay, is a series of still images that, when shown on a screen, create the illusion of moving images. Fashion films as a genre occupy a place between a commercial and a narrative short film. This feature a theme or a collection but don’t explicitly, or traditionally, advertise them. According to ‘The Business of Fashion’, a successful fashion film is “an authentic, standalone piece of storytelling [rather] than a mere marketing exercise.” These films are experimental with a short avant-garde narrative expressing the theme of the latest collection or trends by a designer or brand or a blogger. This hybrid genre of filmmaking takes inspiration from various other types of filmmaking like music video, documentary, and art film resulting in very unique style and expression. Brands and designers are using this medium to promote their brand and merchandise. Although, fashion films have been around for some time, but these are complementary to print campaigns and fashion shows. Filmmaking with mobile phones or other digital devices, being accessible due to availability of high-end cameras & assorted editing applications, makes it feasible to create relatively inexpensive, but high on expression, fashion films. This medium has given greater flexibility and freedom for fashion communicators to creates through filmmaking for fashion.

5.3.4 Visual Merchandising & Window Display for Fashion

The art of displaying products optimally in a store for ease of shopping experience leading to growth of sales is called visual merchandising. Visual merchandising augments the retail design of a store. Visual merchandising consists of mainly the interior (in-store display) and exterior displays (window display). The objective of these displays is to attract the attention of customer, entice them into the store and to keep them in the store as long as possible with the help of a positive store interiors, and influence purchasing decisions. Visual merchandising for fashion requires a sensible display of products in a store depending on the latest trend, arranged aesthetically to attract potential buyers to purchase products. In simpler words, visual merchandising is the art of displaying the merchandise to influence the consumer’s buying behaviour. This requires for a scientific approach to create a positive ambience to the customers for them to enjoy their shopping. Location of the product in the store, assortment according to size & popularity, optimum, lighting, colour of the walls, type of furniture, music, fragrance of the store, signage displaying essential information and thematic display of merchandise are few of the elements which help in increasing the sale of the products. A good visual merchandising display makes for a pleasant shopping experience, thus increasing the sales in the store as well as an increased customer satisfaction. Each fashion store keeps in the mind the brand image and value offered and custom makes the store by giving it a unique image, making it distinct from other stores. Thus, an effective visual merchandising strategy should draw shoppers into the store and keep them in there long enough to buy something. Anything that can be seen by the customer inside and outside a store, including displays, decorations, signs and layout of space is part of visual merchandising. The overall purpose of visual merchandising is to get customers to come into the store and spend money. Visual merchandising includes how merchandise is presented as well as the store's total atmosphere. In a fashion store, it also involves creating dressing mannequins with clothes of the latest fashion and displaying the trends of the season prominently, so that the customer is made aware of the latest products that the store has to offer. Nowadays, sensory inputs (such as smell, touch, and sound), as well as technologies such as digital displays and interactive installations are part of display. The skill set required to be a good visual merchandiser includes knowledge of latest fashion trends, consumer behavior patterns, space design, understanding of signage, colour & patterns and being able to display products artistically according to the required theme to capture the attention and interest of shoppers. Another important aspect of brand & product visibility requires creating stunning display window for the shop. A display window, most commonly called shop window or store window, is a window in a shop displaying items available in the store. This is a direct method to persuade the customer to walk in the store and see the products. A window display is usually the first point of visual contact for a customer and thus it s important that it conveys the theme of the store and brand value faithfully. An attractive window display can either persuade the consumer to walk in the store and try products or to ignore the store and walk by.

Window Display (Source: https://www.davidjones.com/blog/post/7/david-jones-annual-spring- flower-show.html)

5.3.5 Fashion Styling

Fashion styling or styling for fashion involves selection of clothes and accessories for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and any public appearances made by celebrities, models or other public figures. A fashion stylist is part of the creative team which also fashion designer, fashion photographer, hair & makeup artist to put together a thematic visual project. Fashion styling involves selecting appropriate clothing & accessories for a model to appear in a fashion magazine or select clothing for TV personalities and celebrities. Apart from clothing and makeup, the stylist also advises on photography, selection of locations, props, models, and the overall look for image required as per pre-decided theme. These themes must keep in mind the latest fashion trends, personality of the model, requirements of the picture & media and brand or product values that need to be endorsed. Fashion styling requires up-to-date knowledge of fashion trends, fashion history, celebrities and a keen eye to create the desired ‘look’. As a requisite, fashion stylists must have a strong sense of style, color, texture, and creativity. Fashion styling may further be divided into editorial styling, wardrobe styling, commercial styling and merchandise styling respectively. Editorial styling deals conceptualization of shoots for fashion publications, publicity shoots, advertisements, film posters, or music album covers. Commercial fashion styling involves styling of celebrities, actors, models who appear in films, television, advertisements and other publicity material. A wardrobe fashion stylist works with big television or film production houses and is responsible for creating the look for performers. Personal fashion stylists and image managers work with selected clients to enhance their persona in the media or events. Merchandise styling involves working in a fashion retail store to generate a thematic look of the shop or display window. It involves prop and set styling, retail fashion styling, photo styling, and display styling.

5.3.6 Fashion Photography

Fashion photography is a genre of photography. It is dedicated to showing fashion related items like clothes & accessories or themes that involve fashion trends. The main objective of fashion photography is to highlight the apparel or accessories when photographing a model or a mannequin. Over a period of time, fashion photography has made its own unique place as a specialized form of photography with its own language, grammar and aesthetics. This has been further enhanced by use of novel photography techniques, experimental photography methods, exotic locations and storylines. Fashion photographer is part of a creative team, which also includes fashion stylists, hair & makeup artist and fashion designer. The photographer uses her knowledge of lighting, camera techniques, post-production methods and blends it with her knowledge of the latest fashion trends to construct a unique image keeping in mind the brand proposition or theme of the collection. A fashion photographer’s job requires an understanding of light & colour, inter-personal skills to communicate ideas with the team as well as the model and knowledge of visual communication design. An overall understanding of the product placement, theme of the collection, knowledge of fashion trends and idea of graphic design layout where the picture will be placed are extremely important for a fashion photographer. A good fashion photographer will have an exemplary understanding of how to perfectly highlight the features within a photographic scene. This kind of photography requires establishing lighting mood through images, selecting the model for the photo shoot and converting the artistic vision of the fashion collection or theme into an iconic image for communication. Fashion photography may be divided into four distinct categories, namely editorial fashion photography, high-fashion photography, catalogue photography and the street fashion photography respectively. Editorial fashion photography deals with fashion features, which appear, in fashion magazines, tabloids or journals. This is a visual essay, often portraying a thematic storyline, based on the latest fashion trends. High-fashion photography involves pictures published by iconic brands & labels every season for various products. The product in these images can include clothes, accessories or items of brand extension like perfume. Such image creation generally feature supermodels, famous actors and actresses. Catalogue photography is used by companies to market their products via catalogues or e-commerce website. The image created here must have all the product information, which may be required by a customer before she orders it online or offline. Here the model is made to pose against a clean & contrast background so that the product may be seen clearly. Street fashion photography is relatively new compared to the other three categories of fashion photography and has gained much prominence in the last couple of decades. Street fashion is the fashion, which is worn by the people on streets and is said to have emerged outside the confines of studio spaces. It is generally associated with youth culture and can be observed in urban fashion centres around the globe. Major publications have been giving regular space to this kind of fashion photographs in their editorials. Street style fashion photography captures the essence of street fashion.

Fashion photogarphs by Irving Penn (Source: http://www.buro247.com.au/culture- lifestyle/arts/fashion-photographer-irving-penn-to-be-celebrated.html)

Check Your Progress 1

Describe, in about 4 sentences, the role of styling and photography in fashion.

Note: a) Space is given below for writing your answer

b) See section 5.3.5 and 5.3.6 respectively

c) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of the Unit

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5.3.7 Fashion Public Relations

Fashion public relations (PR) involve promotion of fashion & lifestyle products and labels, creating brand awareness and event management through unpaid media. Unlike advertisement and publicity where one has to pay for media usage, PR material appears through earned media channels — including broadcast, print, and online media outlets. A fashion publicist is an image- maker and her job involves creating a positive vibe around the fashion brand. They keep the audience informed about the latest products or event launched by a company and manages fashion campaigns for a positive and persuasive publicity. Fashion PR liaisons with fashion editors, reporters, and writers at influential media outlets, fashion influencers and bloggers on behalf of the fashion designer or label. PR person helps in developing a positive reputation of the fashion brand and assists a client combat negative publicity during crises, which might affect brand value of the designer or company. The main functions of the publicist include cultivating an image, which portrays the brand’s reputation, idea, product, position, or accomplishment in a positive light. This is done by designing fashion campaigns, writing press releases for news, and arranging interviews for the company, acting as an spokesperson for the company, preparing for press conferences, and social media content. PR professionals may also handle customer relations and internal communication of companies. In the present times, one of the biggest challenges for a fashion PR person is to use online social media successfully to create a positive buzz for a fashion brand or a product. This involves roping in celebrities or people who are admired by the public to wear or endorse an item from the fashion collection of the brand and put it on the social media. When a well-known person wears a certain product, the public, by way of fashion publication or online media wants to know about it. The often seen tweets or Instagram posts by celebrities wearing a fashion product is outcome of PR efforts in persuading the celebrity to endorse the featured product. As part of job, fashion PR person is expect to travel and cover fashion shows, red-carpet events and press conferences to make contacts important people in the fashion industry. In a way, a publicist is a coordinator between people inside the company, the industry, the opinion & newsmakers, media and the public. It is her responsibility to keep the brand and its product in the public’s eye and give a sneak peek into the behind the scenes details of the fashion brand. One of the main attractions of the fashion world is its dynamism and the ever-changing trends; the role of a public relations representative is critical in persuading the consumer to keep her focus on it and view the fashion producer and its product in positive light. 5.3.8 Fashion Event Design

Event design is the process of designing an event and includes activities pertaining to create space design and visual appeal of a venue based on a theme. Creating a space design for a fashion related event requires detailed understanding of fashion collections, trends, aesthetics and purpose of the event. Fashion shows, retail store opening of a fashion brand and event as part of a fashion campaign are all examples of event design. Fashion or trade show is an event to showcase the upcoming collection of fashion products. A fashion show could be stand-alone, but is often part of a fashion week, where collections by multiple designers are showcased to a select audience. Fashion week invites fashion editors, critics, photographers, buyers, bloggers, fashion writers and other opinion makers to view the collection. A fashion show is the place where trends of the season are created. A fashion show consists of models walking on the ramp dressed in clothes & accessories created by the designer. Various kinds of lighting & illumination techniques, sound production and dramatics are created to showcase the theme of the collection. The designer decides the order in which each model walks wearing an outfit. The event designer thus creates a visual story in this ambience. Designers nowadays produce their shows as theatrical productions in unusual locations with elaborate sets, live music and other unique installation. To be a successful fashion event designer, one must know major fashion trends and understand the ‘expression of fashion’ as a unique art form. There is an entire language around fashion and it’s essential to understand colour, fabrics and fit and cut. Good interpersonal skills, understanding of space design, material management and keen planner are other required skills of an event designer.

Fashion Show (Source: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/milan-fashion-week- roundup/index.html)

5.3.9 Fashion Marketing & Consumer Behaviour

Fashion marketing is the management of advertising campaigns and promotions to sell fashion brands and products. A fashion designer or a label is in perpetual need to communicate the information of their latest product to the potential customers every season so that people buy them. What makes it unique is that unlike other industries, where the same or similar campaign could be run for many years, in the fashion industry due to its ever-changing trends in every season, it requires to continuously create new campaigns every season. The fickle nature of the fashion industry based on in very short cycles, requires marketers to keep up with the latest trends and continually devise creative ways to advertise their newest products. Fashion marketing is responsible for delivering the creative side of fashion products to the consumer by constructing effective marketing campaigns. It is essential for a fashion marketer to understand fashion trends, product life-cycle as well as consumer behaviour. Depending on the feedback from the market, fashion can also influence design based on business performance and market trends. Market research and media planning, as well as branding, product display, ad creative, and photography all fall within the purview of fashion marketing. As a fashion marketing professional, one must be able to conduct qualitative and quantitative research and be able to delve in behaviour of fashion consumers to implement a fashion campaign. An important part of a fashion marketing campaign is to build a story behind a brand, which the consumers can relate and make a purchase decision based on the emotional appeal of the story. The philosophy and visual story of a fashion brand, which appears in its signage, slogans, symbols, retail store design and the brand story is used as a context to make an effective marketing campaign. Thus fashion marketing involves using market research to effectively and creatively communicate advertisements that resonate with their target audiences. It is also the responsibility of the fashion marketer to analyse and implement a media plan. Media planning involves the process of identifying and selecting media channels to use to communicate with the audience. It is media planners job to evaluate media options, strategize campaigns and develop a coordinated plan for budget, so that the money is spent optimally. A media plan is divided down into four stages, namely market analysis, defining media objectives, media strategy and its implementation, and assessment or feedback of the campaign. Fashion marketing also helps the consumers to connect with the brand and encourages brand loyalty. Nowadays, fashion brands use social and online media to effectively talk with consumers and market the products. Most fashion brands have pages or handles on popular social media platforms like Facebook, twitter and Instagram besides having their own website. They frequently post pictures and information about their newest products, locations of their stores and alerts about their latest offers. Fashion marketing of this sort, which is different than the traditional marketing techniques, is called digital marketing. It involves marketing channels on the Internet as well as other electronic devices such as TVs, mobile phones and electronic billboards. The principal difference between digital marketing and traditional marketing is that digital marketing campaigns are executed exclusively through digital channels. It gives marketers more control, tools and data to analyze the effectiveness of a campaign since digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and company’s website is more focused on individual customer unlike other mass media channels which is targeted towards a broad set of audience. A digital marketing campaign enables an organization to analyse marketing campaigns in real time. Another advantage of digital marketing is that unlike traditional marketing channels, the digital channels are relatively cheap. On the flip side, a digital campaign requires marketers to analyse huge amount of data and make sense of it. Closely associated with marketing activities is the study of consumer behaviour. A fashion marketer must know how individual customers, groups or organizations select, buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to satisfy their needs and wants. Consumer behaviour is a study of emotions, attitude and buying preference of consumers, which forms the basis of any marketing campaign.

5.3.10 Fashion & Social Media

Social media refers to the tools of interactions among people in virtual online communities and networks. People create, share, and exchange information using social media networks. Unlike other media channels, social media allows people to participate in a discussion and respond to many people at the same time. Some of the popular social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and Linkedin. The fashion industry has been at the forefront of using social media to strike a conversation with consumers. One of the biggest advantages of social media has been, that a consumer can now influence fashion by expressing her opinion, which shall be heard by a brand as well as scores of participants. With the advent of this media platform, fashion blogger can influence major designers via social media outlets. Previously the fashion industry had a top-down approach, where a few big names dominated the narrative. Although, television shows like Project Runway have evoked interests of fashion lovers, but it is social media, which has spread the word and made these programs reach millions of viewers. Another big plus of social media is that the conversation between fashion brands and consumers is more intimate and interactive. Social media manager is the person who curates brand’s social media posts, creates & posts shareable information (pictures, video, press releases), and monitors, moderates & responds to audience comments. They are responsible for putting in place a strategy and execute digital marketing campaigns. Social media manager for a fashion label requires one have a keen interest in fashion, understanding of public relations, marketing, and being able to make sense of big data. She is also required to keep monitoring media channels and social media posts to know what’s trending and optimize campaigns based on media analytics. A good understanding of website design, viral marketing methods, lucid writing, research, organizational, technical and developing strong interpersonal relations and being able to handle crisis are few of the skills required to be a good social media manager.

5.3.11 Cultural Studies and Visual Research for Fashion

Cultural studies and visual research in fashion, culture and lifestyle builds a framework to understand theoretical, political, and empirical engagement of the ‘culture of fashion’. It investigates how contemporary cultural practices relate to wider fashion systems. Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field of research with wide variety of subjects like social sciences, literature, sociology, communications studies, history, cultural anthropology, and economics. Such a framework is required to understand why and how we use and interpret fashion. Instead of looking for permanent answers regarding fashion systems, cultural studies allow to develop flexible tools that may adapt to change. Research in cultural studies, tries to analyze the relation between culture seen as a form of expression and culture as a way of life. Communication has a wider meaning and includes forms other than verbal communication. These include art, music, poetry and dance. Taking this definition further, one may consider the body as a tool with which to create, convey and represent messages. Therefore, what one wears or how one applies cosmetics on one’s body or the accessories that selected to be worn along with clothes are representation of symbolic messages that a person wants to convey. This non-verbal language which has been used by people to express personal things such as race, class, gender, ethnicity and religion but also larger social and political movements have their own language. An in-depth study of this language in relation to fashion cultures help in understanding the basis of fashion of contemporary times. A fashion communicator requires an academic study of this subject to understand fashion and create applications based on its outcome. Fashion at any point in time can be used as barometer to understand contemporary social and cultural contexts of a place. Clothes and accessories worn by a group of people in a society is reflective of their lifestyle, moral and aesthetic values, economy and politics. Fashion like any other language has its own grammar and vocabulary. Like any other language, the language of fashion has the power to convey a message. Cultural studies helps us in deciphering this grammar and vocabulary, thus helping us understand social practices linked to fashion of that time. The study of culture in context of contemporary fashion gives a fashion researcher the clues to understand the artistic vision of a designer or the aesthetic meaning behind a fashion product. In a way, understanding fashion through cultural context can reveal the building blocks of fashion, culture and lifestyle of a society. Fashion being a visual language, it is therefore natural that research undertaken in this field incorporates methods, which is visual in nature. Visual research is a methodology, which uses artistic mediums include, but are not limited to film, maps, diagrams, illustrations, video footage, collage, drawings, photography, drawings, paintings, and sculptures. One of the reasons why this method helps understanding culture better than written text, is due to the fact, that, not all participants are able to express themselves verbally. It becomes difficult to describe a visual medium in words accurately; therefore a visual research becomes important tool of researching in the field of fashion. The basic aims of the visual research methodology is to gain clarity in understanding the context of fashion culture and corroborate the evidence present in the written text.

Check Your Progress 2

Describe, in about 4 sentences, the role of social media in fashion.

Note: a) Space is given below for writing your answer

b) See section 5.3.10

c) Compare your answer with the one given at the end of the Unit

5.4 LET US SUM UP

This Unit has attempted to introduce you to the field of Fashion Communication as a means of communicating the message of fashion, culture and lifestyle using various media. Areas in fashion communication include graphic design, fashion events & display design, fashion advertising & public relations, fashion journalism, styling, fashion photography, broadcasting, social media and fashion films. Fashion communication thus forms the core of fashion business and is the link between consumers and fashion producers. With this knowledge you will be able to understand the basics of fashion communication and relate it with fashion reportage across various channels

5.5 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: THE KEY

1.Fashion styling or styling for fashion involves selection of clothes and accessories for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and any public appearances made by celebrities, models or other public figures. Fashion styling involves selecting appropriate clothing & accessories for a model to appear in a fashion magazine or select clothing for TV personalities and celebrities. Fashion photography is a genre of photography dedicated to showing fashion related items like clothes & accessories or themes that involve fashion trends. The main objective of fashion photography is to highlight the apparel or accessories when photographing a model or a mannequin.

2.Social media for fashion refers to the tools of interactions among people in virtual online communities and networks, which discuss fashion, culture or lifestyle. Some of the popular social media platforms used for exchange of fashion information are are Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Vimeo and Flickr. With the advent of this media platform, fashion blogger can influence major designers via social media outlets. A big plus of social media is that the conversation between fashion brands and consumers is more intimate and interactive. Social media manager for a fashion label requires one have a keen interest in fashion, understanding of public relations, marketing, and being able to make sense of big data.

5.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY

• http://www.100archive.com/article/alan-aboud-paul-smith • https-//nataliebooth.wordpress.com/tag/fashion-film/.jpg • https://www.davidjones.com/blog/post/7/david-jones-annual-spring-flower-show.html • http://www.buro247.com.au/culture-lifestyle/arts/fashion-photographer-irving-penn-to- be-celebrated.html • https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/milan-fashion-week-roundup/index.html