Figure 11. “Image from Virtual. ”

image. 97 In physical stores, it usually includes “floor layout, interior design, signage,

in-store promotion, and product mix. ”98 For online apparel websites, visual

merchandising is equally important, since both physical and online stores aim to

attract consumers with the environment. 99 For those online fashion stores whose

customers are mainly young people growing up with the Internet developing fast, it is

even more important to create a virtual space that can show the aesthetics and the

values behind it - values that consumers seek, and that producers profit from. Fashion

is “a site of adornment, display, and desire” depending on the places and spaces it is

created in and worn. 100 In these specific virtual retail spaces, the aesthetics also

contribute to the identity construction of a Y2K wearer.

97 Lea-Greenwood, Gaynor.

“Visual merchandising: a neglected area in UK fashion marketing?” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 26 (8) (1998): 324-329, quoted in Ha, Young; Kwon, Wi-Suk; and Lennon, Sharron J. “Online visual merchandising (VMD) of apparel web sites. ” Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management 11 (4) (2007): 477-493. 98 “Online visual merchandising (VMD) of apparel web sites. ” : 478. 99 “Online visual merchandising (VMD) of apparel web sites. ” 100 Berry, Jess. “Introduction: The House of Fashion. ” : 1.