HOW DOES ST
AY
FASHION AFLOAT?
by Kendall Shieh
Fashion is a $1.5 trillion dollar industry. High fashion pieces sport price tags of four digits numbers or above. A show during Fashion Month has a cost high in the hundred thousands. How many people do you know that can afford these luxuries? Probably less than you can count on one hand.
The foundation of the fashion industry remained elusive to me until I emailed Hung Tran, a 21-year-old media and communications student from Australia. Hung is well known online for his highly informative and one of a kind blog, Antwerpsex (http://antwerpsex. wordpress.com/). He also has a Tumblr (http://katemess.tumblr.com/).
On
both
of
these
platforms, he shares his vast knowledge of the fashion industry as well as his opinions on today’s fashion. In short - he is an expert. I decided to shoot Hung a quick email with my question on how the fashion industry is a trillion dollar (and growing) industry, when it seems to be one of the most fluctuating and volatile markets possible.
I figured the population of people who can actually afford an entirely designer wardrobe is small and cannot possibly be sustaining the industry singlehandedly. Hung explained to me that designers license out their name to make bags, fragrances, and other products that allow middle-market consumers to buy into the idea of luxury.
This is where the majority of the money comes from. Hung pointed out that “Most people can’t afford a $10,000 Chanel dress, but they can afford $50 Chanel nail polish, or a $200 bottle of perfume”. All those little things add up and then the few rare and elite highend customers even it out with their
gargantuan
purchases.
Without a doubt, fashion works closely with the magazine industry. A one page, coloured ad in any major magazine such as Elle or Vogue runs for a staggering amount of about $150,000 or above. The biggest brands that can afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars can also place their advertisements right at the front of the magazine for optimum exposure. In addition, most of the major brands with advertisements in magazine will feature their clothes and products later on in the issue’s editorials or other articles. This exposure captures the attention of the reader and intrigues them to learn more about the brand and even buy into its products. Not everyone gets to work for Vogue but nearly anyone can pick up the most recent issue at a store and see advertisements from the biggest names in fashion.
“Seems as if the middle-market consumer’s desire for a life of luxury is what truly fuels the money behind fashion..”