Trend analysis: Ruffles - Lucy Bailey

Chloé

Chloé

Chloé

Rodarte

Rodarte

Rodarte

Ruffles Rodarte

Lucy Bailey

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Origins

Ruffles have adorned the catwalk for SS17 for the likes of Rodarte, Alexander McQueen and Chloé (Brett, 2017). The trend dates back to the 16th century when Queen Elizabeth wore “aggressively oversized cartwheel ruffs” according to Schaeffer (2016). Throughout these centuries the ruffle has taken many forms and variations, however the industry has identified it as a major trend to act upon for the upcoming seasons. Ruffles may have started out on the catwalk, but due to the trickle down effect the high street stores have produced their own interpretations for their own consumer (Dillon, 2011). With the rise of technology too, the retailers are latching onto trends even quicker than before which means they can generate a rapid turnover time for their consumer (Grose, 2012).

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Catwalk Alexander McQueen

McQueen’s Scottish heritage provided inspiration for creative director Sarah Burton’s vision of gentle feminity (Ellison, J). The eloquent floral patterns accompanied by the ruffles created a sense of fluidity to reflect the tranquillity of the highlands. Burton took the classic ruffle and gave it the edginess of McQueen which is the strong brand identity that their consumers stay loyal to the brand for. This is a function of psychological process since the consumers stay committed to the brand due to their liking of the brands ethos (Bloemer & Kasper, 1995).

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Audience Alexander McQueen

In order to communicate the trend to their consumer, McQueen uses media such as magazines and social platforms which are heavily used by their target audience. Their Facebook page is full off images of garments to enable close up views to be available since McQueen consumers expect a level of intricacy to garments- this is due to the quality and exclusivity of the brand. Editorials in Vogue and AnOther Magazine are another perfect marketing opportunity since these magazines feature the most luxurious items on the market. Some magazine consumers have instrumental needs according to Consterdine (as cited by Lea-Greenwood, 2013) therefore editors need to provide the latest trends in order to retain readership.

1,891,399 likes

2,899,273 views

1.53M followers

4.1M followers

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High Street H&M

As with all high street brands, the quest to identify the upcoming trends from the catwalk is always on going due to the trickle down effect. According to Grose (2012) “mass-market fashion is increasingly driven by the media and the internet” making it easier than ever for them to access the trend led visuals. However, the retailers are aware that they need to differentiate their products from everyone else’s therefore trend research is analysed as well as catwalks. Instead of just following every trend on the market they need to accustom it to their own target audience by using segmentation methods (Grose, 2012). For this reason H&M have interpreted the trend by adding ruffles to classic styles of garments since their consumers don’t tend to desire bold and out there statement pieces.

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Audience H&M

Sporty romance

The fashion conscious H&M consumers not only want key trend pieces, they also want insight into how to style the garment. The online magazine of H&M provides different looks from sporty romance to juxtapositions to suit the varied styles of their consumers (Norberg, 2016). This encourages purchases since they are exposed to how the garment could look within a finished outfit.

Frill thrill

Layer

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Bibliography Text

Brett, J. (2017). SS17 Fashion Trend Report: Ultimate Guide to Next Season. Retrieved from http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/fashion/ss17-fashion-trend-report-411237 Bloemer, J., & Kasper, H. (1995) The complex relationship between consumer satisfaction and brand loyalty, https://moodle.chester.ac.uk/mod/folder/view.php?id=296807 Dillon, S. (2011). The Fundamentals of Fashion Management. (1st ed.). Casa Postale, Switzerland: AVA Publishing Ellison, J. (2016). Alexander McQueen SS17 show report: Paris Fashion Week. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/f1fe72e2-8a1a-11e6-8aa5-f79f5696c731 Grose, V. (2011). Basics Fashion Management 01: Concept to Customer. (1st ed.). London, United Kingdom: Bloomsbury Lea-Greenwood, G. (2013). Fashion Marketing Communications. (1st ed.). West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Schaeffer, N. (2016). Charting the unlikely history of ruffles, spring’s biggest trend. Retrieved from http://fashionmagazine.com/fashion/history-of-ruffles/

List of illustrations Page 1: Singer, M. (2016). Rodarte Spring 2017 Ready-To-Wear. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/rodarte Pithers, E. (2016). Chloe Spring/Summer Ready-To-Wear. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/spring-summer-2017-ready-to-wear/chloe/ Page 2: WGSN. (2017). Ruffles: Street Style. Retrieved from https://www.wgsn.com/search/search.php#%7B%22start%22%3A%200%2C%20%22limit%22%3A%2050%2C%20%22f_limit%22%3A%205%2C%20%22q%2 2%3A%20%22ruffles%22%2C%20%22facets%5B%5D%22%3A%20%5B%22classif_name%7C20963%22%5D%7D Page 3: Harris, S. (2016). Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer Ready-To-Wear. Retrieved from http://www.vogue.co.uk/shows/spring-summer-2017-ready-to-wear/alexander-mcqueen/ Page 4: Alexander McQueen. (2017). Alexander McQueen Facebook page. Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/AlexanderMcQueen/?fref=ts Page 5: H&M. (2017). Ruffles. Retrieved from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/search-results.html?q=ruffles Page 6: Norberg, E. (2016). How to look cool in ruffles. Retrieved from http://www2.hm.com/en_gb/life/fashion/featured-fashion/how-to-look-cool-in-ruffles-.html