Androgynous Fashion by Wen Lee

Acknowledgment

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the following people that supported me throughout the year:

Supervisor Julian Fraser Wing Course Leader Yvonne Trew Cover photo model Hsu Hsi Ting Designer Zih Chen Chan

All participants of my study Lecturers and Staff of NTU All Professor of fashion marketing Friends and family 3

he purpose of this article is to discover

the background of androgynous fashion, y u p p i e s t y l e, c o n s u m e r b e h a v i o u r a n d t h e c o f f e e i n d u s t r y i n Ta i wa n . A l s o, t h i s t h e s i s aims to create a fashion concept store, which combines androgynous fashion designer brands with a coffee shop in Taiwan. In addition, this dissertation makes an analysis of the market and creates a business plan for a start-up business in Taiwan’s market to be named ‘Homonym’. This paper indicates the background knowledge in the introduction about the market location, and why it is an ideal time to promote androgynous fashion in Taiwan right now. After discovering more details about androgynous fashion history and Taiwanese consumer behaviour the findings are that fashion is a mirror that presents people’s thinking, behaviour and culture during that period of time.

A 4

This study used focus group and interview methods to collect information from young Taiwanese. Those findings show that despite the traditional thinking from older generations in Taiwan, most people are accepting of androgynous fashion and new fashion trends. According to this result, the investigation points to the potential to establish a fashion concept store in Taiwan as being very positive.

K e y

w o r d s :

c o n c e p t

a n d r o g y n o u s

s t o r e

a n d

f a s h i o n ,

c o f f e e

s h o p .

T 5

C o n Acknowledgment 2-3 Abstract

4-5

Content 6-7 Introduction 10-15 Androgynous fashion 16-23 A History of Androgyny: Before 1950 The 1980s Current Trends in Androgynous Fashion Androgyny in Taiwan

Yuppie style 24-31 A Definition of Yuppie Yuppie in 1980s: The Ideal Time to Promote Yuppie Style in Taiwan

Gay and lesbian culture in Taiwan 32-37 Influence from Japan Development after 1950 The attitude towards homosexuality of Taiwanese

Consumer Behaviour 38-49 Consumer perception of gender Lifestyle in Taiwan: Cafe culture in Taiwan 6

t e n t Methodology 50-61 Approach Data collection Data analysis

Finding 62-73 Opinions of androgynous fashion Opinions on cafes

Discussion 74-81 Business Plan 82-127 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Generally company description Products and services The Marketing plan Organization plan Financial plan

Conclusion 128-131

References 123-135

Bibliography 136-137

Appendices 138-145

Introduction

The elucidating comments above were the inspiration that informed the research questions and research design for the study of an investigation into how to create an androgynous designer brand – a yuppie style combined with coffee shop in Taiwan. The introduction that follows will explain why the timing is idea right now to doing this project.

Background of Taiwan: Taiwan is an island, which has for all practical purposes been independent since 1950. It is a dynamic multi-party democracy that has developed a modern market economy with a large service sector and according to The Heritage foundation, Taiwan maintains a well-developed legal and commercial infrastructure in the private sector. In addition, with emphasis on services and high-technology manufacturing, Taiwan’s economy is one of the richest in Asia. Under the key resource of cautious macroeconomic policy within a stable legal and monetary environment, the levels of economic freedom in Taiwan were increased over the past five years. In 2013, against the background of a slow global recovery, Taiwan’s economy registered steady growth; the growth rate in the first quarter of 2013 stood at 1.44%, and during the second quarter at 2.69%. The growth rate in the third quarter stood at 1.31% and the fourth quarter a growth rate of 2.88% was realized thanks to greater demand for electronic products. Along with the increasing rates of growth of the economy, private investment and consumer confidence both picking up. For the total of 2013, the GDP growth rate was 2.09 % (Taipei Representative Office, Brussels), while in Taiwan has achieved its highest score ever in the 2015 Index (Economic Freedom, 2015). The Wall Street Journal mentioned in 2014 that Taipei, which is the capital city of Taiwan, had the best quarter of Taiwan’s economy for almost two years with the higher income coming from electronics exports and the tourism industry. 10

It is also interesting to note that the Taiwan Beverage Industries Association 103-04 Reports from the Department of Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that there was a significant increase in the coffee market in the past five years. In addition, in recent years, the consumption of coffee has been increasing every year in Taiwan since 2000 (Customer Administration, Ministry of Finance), and the coffee retail sector earned nearly ten billion New Taiwan dollars (NT), while caf?s also earned NT$8 billion in 2012. On top of that, the consumer market for the coffee business, which includes retail figures and caf? sales, has been growing between 2 percent and 4 percent annually in the whole market, and this number shows that the consumption of coffee is a growing trend in Taiwan. Therefore, it is an interesting idea to create a completely new business plan of a combined fashion shop and caf? in Taiwan. However, only creating a fashion caf? is not enough to attract the customer. The idea to combine two shops comes from America’s barbershop. “I think there were two reasons why we felt pairing the barbershop with a coffee shop worked,” says co-founder Jeff Laub. “ To us, a barbershop wasn’t just a spot to get a cut. Meeting up with some friends and kicking around some ideas is just as natural while sipping an espresso as it is while sitting in the chair and getting a fade.” According to Deleon, in the past few years, the emergence of coffee in the men’s lifestyle realm has boomed. Furthermore, New York City provides fertile ground for the coffee-as-lifestyle boom. For better or worse, it’s a place where what you wear, eat, and drink become shorthand for who you are. Therefore, Taipei as the capital city of Taiwan has a special culture and lifestyle to create fashion coffee shops for people to get involved in fashion and their daily lives. 11

What is androgynous fashion?

"Whether you were Patti Smith, Lauren Hutton, Audrey Hepburn, Coco Chanel, androgyny has always been with us, it's much more than a style, there's an attitude." says McIlroy.

Gender-neutral has been one of the defining issues in the fashion industry around the world in recent years. The trend is already heading for the next level, as more and more designers are now investigating the idea of unisex, claims Lauren Cochrane, fashion writer of the Guardian. Emine (2013) mentioned that this moment is the perfect time for androgyny as we've seen this and tomboy become big stories on the catwalks. Furthermore, this trend is moving beyond symbolizing its wearersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; identity or sexuality. It is now being accepted by the mainstream as both a look on the catwalk and the high street (Ferrier, 2014). According to Elaine (1990), a style is a characteristic or distinctive artistic expression or presentation. Although style shows up and passes off in terms of acceptance, a specific style always remains a style, whether it is currently in fashion or not. Over the past century since the First World War, androgynous toned fashions became a trend and peaked high in the fashion industry from 1960s to middle 1970s (Gottdiener Mark, 1997). Furthermore, in the seventies the styles of dress communicated gender equality by their unisex or androgynous appeal. Therefore, as androgynous fashion can be found as a style and has played a role in the history of Western fashion (Davis Fred, 1992). It is the ideal time to promote it for Taiwanese. The reason is, according to Euromonitor in 2014, it was found that young Taiwanese are showing that they are far more aware of global fashion than older generations and they are also fast adopting different garment styles.

Why yuppie style? According to the Oxford Dictionary the definition of a ‘yuppie’ is “a fashionable young middle-class person with a well-paid job”. In addition, stereotypical 1980s yuppies obsessed with material objects and financial success. However, Susan (who is a human resources expert and a member of the Society for Human Resource Management) asserts that the term yuppie, has come to represent: people who purchase items just because they are expensive; people who pay less attention to family life and place more emphasis on “showing off new toys” while entertaining friends, and working more, to the neglect of other priorities, to make even more money. Obviously then, the term yuppie has both positive and negative connotations at the same time. Yet, according to Elaine (1990), fashions are not based solely on price. Just because something is expensive it does not follow that it will be successful. So, in this report “yuppie” means the positive implications for style and the attitude of life, it is a word to describe Taiwanese young generation who is successful in their work and more economy capacity. Based on this idea, the “yuppie” is associated with the dress for success. Since the 1970s, the cultural linkage has come to mean work, career, profession and authority. The result was that the dress for success phenomenon showed up in that period of time for women too, such as powerful shoulder padding and trousers – the female equivalent elements for dress for success (Davis Fred, 1992). Women were trying to climb up the corporate ladder rather than the social one. They adopted the conservative business suits to present a visual businesslike credibility for people (Gini Stephens Frings, 2005) which could conceivably move in a unisex direction that is avowedly neither masculine nor feminine. As a result, there is a relationship between androgynous fashion and “yuppie style” for female. Due to dress for success, women needs to wear more powerful suit and present their professional ability makes them have more capacity with male. For male, as The New York Times reported that spiritual androgyny delivers to men “a kind of freedom” denied to those locked in the old stereotype. According to Allan (1995) mentioned, there are not two sexes, but rather “a spectrum of individual proclivities more or less male and more or less female.”

To sum up, in light of the background research of androgynous fashion, yuppie style and information of Taiwan for this project found that now is the ideal time to create a coffee shop, which combines androgynous fashion and yuppie style. These two elements can make the cafe more appealing to a niche market in Taiwan. As Lorna (1986) claimed, fashion can provide something totally different, and it is just as Cheryl and Hilary (2002) pointed out that creativity is the key point of fashion, which is an important part for images of modernity. However, in this case it is not just in order to build a modern image, but also for the

articulation of gender and to identify a different class of people. Innovative ideas have already become more attractive to younger people in Taiwan in recent years. Although younger generations are just a part of the population of Taiwan, as Elaine (1990) claimed in Fashion Merchandising: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fashion is a style that is accepted and used by the majority of a group at any one time, no matter how small that group.â&#x20AC;?

Research

aims:

* C r e a t e a c o n c e p t c o f f e e s h o p, w h i ch i n c l u d e s f a s h i o n e l e m e n t s i n Ta i w a n * Design an appropriate business plan for Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market

Research objectives:

* To gain an insight into Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coffee culture and market * To

discover

lifestyle

i n Ta i p e i , Ta i w a n

* To recognise the consumer behaviour for different genders * To understand androgynous fashion from a global perspective * To a n a l y s e t h e a n d r o g y n y i s s u e i n Ta i w a n * To discuss the acceptance for androgynous fashion of Taiwanese

Androgynous fashion

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Androgyny is not trying to manage the relationship between the opposites; it is simply f l o w in g b e t w e e n th em . " - J u n e S i n g er ( 2 0 0 0 )

Before H ollander (1994) has found

that it was in 1380, 1680, and again in 1850 those are the periods that saw extreme separation of male and female styles in fashion. In those times, both men and women wanted to have a very clear sense of distance from the other sex. Nevertheless, after having sharply divided the two genders for centuries, fashion is again beginning to bring the sexes closer together. In the late Middle Ages, d u r i n g t h e 1 4 t h c e n t u r y, something people called fashion started to emerge. The distinction between men’s wear and women’s wear was not clear while new clothing styles was developed for both sexes at that time (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). Additionally, according to Lehnert (1990), men and women’s clothing actually started to become closer in style between the 17th

and 18th centuries, which was the absolutist period of time. Furthermore, according to Lehnert (1990), the First World War made a sharply changed in political and social condition in Europe. Many women, lived in that period without their h u s b a n d s, w e r e f o r c e d t o become independent and were reluctant to give this autonomy up when the war ended. Women were more frequently seen alone in public place. In addition, there was a great deal of concern at the time that war was making women more ‘masculine’ as they took on modes of behavior more typical of men – becoming independent and self-reliant, working outside the home, and managing their own finances (Cheryl Buckley and Hilary Fawceet, 2002). Elaine (1990) also claims that fashion is a mirror of the times reflecting the activities i n w h i ch p e o p l e o f a n e r a participate. Therefore, in that period of time the pattern of women’s suit and coats followed

the style of men’s uniforms (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). The most noticeable designer in 1930’s is Coco Chanel. According to Jone (who is the writer for women’s history), Chanel replaced the corset with comfortable and casual elegance, while her fashion themes included simple suits and dresses, as well as women’s trousers. She was inspired more by contemporary men’s clothing, but instead of imitating it, she modified it into an independent feminine style. She believed that fashion must meet the needs of modern life, give women freedom of m ove m e n t , a n d h e l p t h e m bring their ’natural’ beauty to the forefront (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). The classic clothes of Coco Chanel is the “little black jacket”, which was dreamed up in 1954 and followed the Chanel Signatures such as the hip-length, boxy, and collarless silhouette. The metal chain that runs along the silk lining to weigh the hem so that it hangs flawlessly on the body,

1950 and the braided trim, remain i n t a c t ( S t y l e. C o m e, 2 0 1 2 ) . Furthermore, fashion designers of the time tried to use the precepts of male clothing to conflate functional grace into wo m e n ’s f a s h i o n , h oweve r they did not merely imitate. Rather, they created something absolutely new in both look and style (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). In 1918, Vogue magazine claimed that women have started to work, and the g a r m e n t t h a t wo m e n we a r to work required elegance a n d s o c i a l s t a t u s. H e n c e, women’s fashion began to look more masculine than before. There were areas of cultural production in which women subverted the stereotype of feminine glamour. This was the period notable for its theatrical cross-dressing, the most famous example of which was Vesta Tilley. According to Victoria and the Albert Museum, Vesta Tilley was a male impersonator from the music halls who first wore male clothes on stage when she was just five years old. Later she

became bored with her song and impressions acts declaring, ‘I felt that I could express myself better if I were dressed as a boy’. She impersonated dandies and fops and her dress was so immaculate that she even became a fashion icon for men in the 19th century. Moreover, there was one woman named George Sand, who was an icon of a period when sexual separateness was very intense. She wore a complete men’s suit, yet looked even more feminine in her tailored jacked and trousers, not masculinewhich was considered even sexier (Anne Hollander, 1994). According to Ewing (1986), 1950s was the decade in which young people and sub-cultures began to lead the fashion trends. Moreover, young generations followed the styles, which famous people presented on TV programs, and the popular garment for both genders in that time was jeans. This opened the start of unisex style and the first time that both genders could wear the same pattern. Furthermore, jeans began to conquer the

world in the 1950s. After that in the sixties, jeans finally became all-purpose pants that could be worn on any occasion and for different genders. Fashion, in this year became more androgynous and it broke the stereotype cognition of men and women’s wear (Laver, 1995). It is interesting to see that in fact androgynous fashion started quite a long time ago, and is n o t a n ew c o m p l e t e l y n ew concept in the fashion industry.

According to Elaine (1990), humans are social animals that usually like to communicate with other people, and clothing is very much a social statement used to this end. By looking at the way a person dresses, you can often make good guesses about his or her social and business standing, sex-role identification, political orientation, ethnicity, lifestyle, and aesthetic priorities. In addition, Kate (1995) also mentioned that fashion is an announcement or performance of identity hence, fashion will continue to be important as long as identities are important. The link between fashion and identity begins to get really interesting in the case of people who do not fall clearly into a culturally recognized identity. Thus, Giorgio Armani said: Fashion has been overcharging its ideas in recent year. It has become too much s h ow b i z . S o m e h ow c l o t h e s h ave b e c o m e t o o i n t r u s i ve a n d we a r e r ’s p e r s o n a l i t y disappears behind them. It is time to return to the basic principles of stylish dressing. I was aiming for simplicit y and purity while very careful ly avoiding banality. (1983)

The 1980s In October of 1983, Armani showed his collection in Milan for the following spring; he decided to move towards androgynous dressing to be more emphatic and substituted many of his original designs with outfits from his menswear collection (Brenda Polan, 1984). Meanwhile, Gianni Versace said, “ my ambition is to give women a wardrobe which works in the way a man’s does. In addition, women should be able, like men, to add something fresh and beautiful each season, something, which extends the possibilities of their wardrobe without cancelling the usefulness of the rest of it.” In the same year, according to Lorna (1984) the plethora of menswear looks had fashion writers leafing desperately through their thesauruses to come up with more synonyms for “man-styled” (Saville Row-inspired, boyish, man-tailored, mannish, masculine-feminine, and, of course, what quickly became the most overused word in the fashion language: androgynous) the key element of the New York collection. There can be no doubt that over the centuries dress has been used, as James Laver first explained, for two main functions: to express status and power and to express sexuality and sexual availability or otherwise (Brenda Polan, 1984).

Current Trends in Androgynous F a s h i o n “Fashions are shaped by the forces of an era, they in turn reflect the way we think and live.”-Elaine Stone (1990)

According to Ferrier (2014), from men in wigs in 1700, to David Bowie, Diane Keaton and Annie Hall in the 1970s, fashion has usually relative to gender boundaries. But this coming season, a new trend of gender-flouting suggests the next phase will be less about men in skirts, and more about men and women sharing skirts. This trend is now being accepted by the mainstream as more of a look both on the catwalk and the high street. Even Selfridges, which is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom has plans to expand into unisexwear in 2015 (Eleanor Robinson, 2014). Eleanor (2014) also mentioned, there is a growing trend of women buying into menswear, looking to degender their style. In addition, there are some female customers looking for more masculine products and male customers seeking women’s wear and accessories. Both sexes play changing games today, because for the first time in centuries men are learning clothing habits from women, instead of the other way around (Anne Hollander, 1994). As Angelo (2015) has pointed out, it is very strange that both the recent Gucci and Prada shows, although dramatically different, had a lot in common. They both pointed clearly, though in opposite manners, toward genderless fashion, resolutely blurring the masculine-feminine divides with neutral clothing. And they both enforced the message by sending men and women together down the catwalk, dressed more or less in the same way in Milan fashion week. Furthermore, Giorgio Armani, who has powerful influences on the subject of sartorial androgyny, also mixed menswear with women’s wear. Therefore, people should get ready for the fourth sex trend, which has been on the runway in London for several seasons now, which is going to get massive (Angelo Flaccavento, 2015). Lauren (2015) demanded that this situation is not new for the fashion industry. Labels from Prada to JW Anderson have dabbled in such gender blurring recently, and it felt edgy on the Gucci catwalk. As stated by Dean Kissick, who is a style writer, everyone is interested in what the feeling is to be girl and boy, thus it is natural that different gender people want to wear the other sex’s clothes. Fashion is always about trying new looks and sensations. Indeed, according to the information from current trends of fashion, androgynous fashion is no longer a taboo.

L eona (2014) claimed, androgyny is a trend that is currently seen in Hollywood; celebrities who have adopted the pixie hairstyle, singers, actors and models who have been showcasing their androgynous features for decades – a craze that may have started with David Bowie. For instance, according to fashion pages of the Guardian, Lady Gaga made headlines by manning up in a suit as her alter-ego Jo Calderone for Japanese magazine Vogue Homme. Additionally, Leona (2014) as points out, Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton is one of Hollywood’s most interesting and talented celebrities who has unearthly facial and body features that can either make her be incredibly beautiful or freakishly ugly. “I would rather be handsome, as he is, for an hour than

p r e t t y fo r a we e k ,” Ti l d a o n c e r e m a r ke d ( E l e n a G o r g a n , 2 0 1 1 ) . It is interesting to note that in 1977, Hyde et al. already found that 51percent of the adult women in their study identified themselves as childhood tomboys, moreover Plumb and Cowan (1984) claimed, more than 50 percent of an age-mixed sample (fourth and tenth graders and adult community college sample) stated that they were or had been tomboys. As a consequence, some psychological researchers believe that tomboy is a positive situation, which leads to androgyny (Shawn & A. Kathleen & Shirley, 2010). Recently, Boyish girls, people called tomboy is turning into a movement (Emine Saner, 2014). It is obvious to see new waves of boyish girl models are appearing at the men's shows and in men's fashion magazines (Lauren Cochrane, 2013). Amber Butchart, a fashion historian, agrees: "There is a movement at the moment around fashion playing with the idea of gender – the gender boundaries are becoming more fluid.” A noticeable example of this at the moment is Casey Legle, who is a bequiffed 35-year-old woman with a cheerful gaptoothed grin and razor-sharp cheekbones – to model menswear. More and more androgynous style celebrities are appearing in fashion these days.

In recent years, fashion in Taiwan has been dominated by imported trends ranging from California casual to the ultra-modern Tokyo style. The mainstream Taiwanese fashion reflects the regionally popular casual wear influenced largely by fashion from the US, with the socalled ‘preppy’ or ‘academic’ look proving most popular amongst casual fashionistas of all ages. Yet, people are becoming more open to accepting a wider range of fashion trends from Europe, South Korea and Hong Kong. A trend towards androgyny is evident amongst workers in most Taiwanese offices, with sensible footwear and suits favored by a growing class of educated professional women in the workplace (Euromonitor International, 2014). ROC Ministry of the Interior statistics show that by year-end, women will account for over half of Taiwan’s population. This number takes on added significance when viewed in terms of its impact on the country’s labor market and national competitiveness, as women are playing an increasingly important role in sustaining these two key areas. The country’s female labor participation rate stood at 50.19 percent last year, and the percentage of female military recruits increased to 11.81 percent in 2013 from 9.58 percent five years prior, while the number of females passing the national police examination jumped 45.8 percent to 4,097 between 2008 and 2012.

Androgyny in Taiwan

These changes led Taiwan Today journal (2013) to claim that these developments show that the workplace gender gap in Taiwan is shrinking. Since gender equality is becoming more important, the public and private sector efforts are helping the nation make great strides in equality promotion and women’s rights protection. At the same time, the tender male, which means being caring, sensitive, and fairly androgynous, is seen as an ideal in Taiwan, and in many ways it is a far more common version of manhood than other models among the middle and upper class (Marc L. Moskowitz, 2010). To sum up, a Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics assessment based on a U.N. gender development study, ranks the ROC second among 149 countries, trailing only the Netherlands in the gender equality index. Much remains to be done, however, there are few relevant articles that are directly related to androgynous fashion in Taiwan. Nevertheless, today, male androgyny in East Asian pop culture has become predominant in film, fashion, music, and animation industries—so much so that critics in these fields commonly say that, “androgyny is the key to success.” There have even been attempts in such as in films like The King’s Men to further exploit androgyny by linking it to homosexuality or bisexuality (Jeff, 2007).

Y U P P I E

“Fashion changes, but style endures” – Coco Chanel.

S T Y L E

Y uppies

D D

arrived in the early 1980s, in a period of time when economic prosperity and technological progress were prevalent in many developed markets (Andler Jerry, 1984).

By most definitions, yuppies represent the top-earning 3.5 million baby boomers whose personal incomes average $51,000 a year; they are welleducated college graduates, o f t e n w i t h a ye a r o r s o o f postgraduate study (Rice, 1989).

According to Richard (1991), the term yuppie received considerable attention in the popular media from between 1984 to 1987. Yet, before 1980s yuppies already appeared in political theory from the 1960s.

D E F I N I

D D T I O N

The quintessential yuppie is an upwardly mobile professional in his or her twenties or thirties who has abandoned the protest politics of the 1960s and 1970s i n f avo r o f a c o n s e r va t i ve, don’t–rock-the-boat lifestyle (Errol T. Louis, 1985). Although

the term ‘yuppie’ generally defines a young person age between 21 and early 40s who is very successful and highly educated, ‘yuppies’ in this report refer to the style for both males and females, and specifically the positive a t t i t u d e o f t h e i r l i f e s t y l e.

Coco Chanel’s is quoted as saying, “Fashion is not something that

exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening”. In the 1980s, fashion style was more focused on personal accomplishment and how successful the wearers were rather than presenting their personality. Therefore, dress for success reached an unprecedented level of importance for that period of time (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). Men and women alike began dressing like rich and successful people; designer suits and professional clothing became a popular choice among the "yuppie" class (Elyse James). As a result, yuppie became a style for both genders in fashion trends, so that the person who was a yuppie always spent money on expensive products after long hours of work. Moreover, they have good taste in products and the style of yuppie always sought upscale (Sonntag, 2010), while also adopting their own style in fashion (Jamie Fox). As the “Yuppie Handbook” states, regardless of male or female

yuppies, they wear the appropriate uniform for their social status. For female yuppies, in accordance with the dress for success phenomenon, ‘the powerful woman’ became a trend of style for females. Business women wore powerful styles like men because of the culture linkage of “male = work, career, skill mastery, authority” (Fred Davis, 1992). This, no doubt, underlies the outfit for women’s “dress for success” attitudes (John Molloy, 1997). As a result, padded-shoulder suits with trousers as well as skirts were used to emphasize the wearer's confidence and condescension and it became the mainstay “power-dressing” wardrobe for the professional woman (James Laver, 2002). Furthermore, they made the unfortunate fashion choice to pair power suits with running shoes and big glasses, big eyebrows and most importantly, big hair; finished work for the day, they could head straight to aerobics class before stopping off to grab some sushi to go (Christine Pillman). This is demonstrated in the soap opera “Dynasty”, which was produced by American TV(Gertrud Lehnert, 1990).

On the other hand, men also followed Nino Cerutti (who is an actor in “Dynasty”) dressing in suits from Armani or Hugo Boss. Along with the suit came waistcoats, which informed the wearer as a man who could afford a three-piece suit because in the early 1980s, a three-piece suit would cost around 800 pounds. Examples like Lois Fenton’s Dress for Excellence gave the belief to men that everyone can dress like a “ Master of the Universe” (Maria Costantino, 1997). Thus, as Maria (1997) states, the 1980s was a decade when men became true fashion consumers. There was under 8 percent of couturiers’ direct profits in 1975, yet by 1985 the percentage of it had gone up nearly 20 percent. Likewise, there is a good example of male yuppie looks in the movie “Wall Street”: Gekko embodied the look of the yuppie, with dark power suits and slicked-back hair. Under those suits, the typical yuppie wore neatly pressed shirts, either white or light blue with a white collar, with a tie and suspenders and polished black shoes. Wall Street (1998), became the sartorial symbol of the yuppie traders on the world’s stock exchange (Maria Costantino, 1997).

Meanwhile, for the casual yuppie the look was khaki trousers and an Izod Lacoste or Ralph Lauren polo shirt in a pastel color, wrapping a sweater around their shoulders and wearing deck shoes without socks (Jamie fox). Furthermore, these business professionals wore tailored suits and ties to work (Elyse James). Consequently, plainly the male suit was no longer universal for men (Anne Hollander, 1994). This change in fashion also influenced social attitudes. The new social attitude was geared toward the idea of success in the workplace, and dressing professionally was a means to this end (Elyse James), just as Joseph Ettedgui said:

“Fashion was as much to do with where you went and how you organized your life as with the clothes you wore.” 29

T a i wa n ,

as a stated in the Euromonitor report (2015), because of recent empowerment amongst working women and the wider arc of global popular media, has begun to see a shift in traditional norms. Nowadays, more Taiwanese women take ownership of what they regard as beautiful. It is interesting to note that 57.2 per cent of Taiwanese women who are under 40 have a higher education degree, as compared to 53.3 per cent of men (Chen, 2008). Liao et al. (2005) suggest that these women who have higher education and a sense of economic independence, feel more entitled to buy higher-quality, fashionable products for themselves by virtue of their own status and achievements. Indeed,

they are thought to have gained more individuality and agency ove r t h e l a s t f ew d e c a d e s, because of the improvement in womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rights and the increase in disposable income, so young women have been embracing n ew fo r m s o f i d e n t i t y a n d consumption values, and these m o d e r n Ta i w a n e s e w o m e n see themselves as confident individuals in fashion and value their self-determined quality of life (Ming-Chun Hong, 2013).

O Y

M U

In addition, according to Ming-Chun Hong’s observations in 2013, the young women of Taipei seem to be marked by three salient characteristics – they are highly mobile, highly sentimental and highly individualistic. These young and unmarried individuals spend more money on themselves and enjoy more disposable income than their mothers were able to. At the same time, males also spend more time to consider their style. Moreover, men’s magazines are boosting fashion and grooming content, and despite tightening budgets, advertisers are still beating a path to the doors of top-selling local titles such as Bang, Cool, Esquire, FHM, GQ, M’S and Men’s Uno (John Scott, 2011). According to The Magazine Business Association of Taipei (MBAT), there was a significant growth of the ‘new, urban, young male’ market in Taiwan and it subsequently proclaimed the men’s fashion magazine to be a distinct genre and market of its own. Furthermore, “More than a few men have always been interested in taking care of their appearances,” said Su Pao-hsiung, associate sales manager at Sogo’s Fuxing store in Taipei. “This number has steadily increased over the past 30 years as male consumers become more aware of their images.” Lien Zong-wang, CEO of Deous International Co. Ltd, agrees: “Men are taking better care of their bodies and want the right garments to show off their hard work in the gym. Appearance is very important.”

M P

Consequently, both genders are also becoming more comfortable with realizing a unique Taiwanese style and paying more attention to their style in daily life. (Euromonitor International, 2015). It is important to mention that in recent years, there has been one defining fashion event which occurs in Taipei, Taiwan, namely the Suit Walk. According to the official website of the event, Suit Walk is the premier outside event, inviting both genders who love fashion related to gentleman and yuppie styles in their daily lives; this is the second year it has taken place in Taiwan. Obviously, the style in Taiwan is more flexible for younger generations and this is reflected in the increasing number of fashion blogs, which teach Taiwanese how to dress like a yuppie, such as “Yuppies Taipei” and “ Plain-me”. Those websites are influenced by both Western fashion and Japanese fashion, which has merged into a Taiwanese street style according to claims from PINCH website in 2011.

G a y a n d l e s b i a n culture in T a i w a n

The

roots of studying homosexuality in the world can be found in 1869, when a generation of medical doctors established the profession of sexology, the medical and supposedly scientific study of sex (Bonnie Zimmerman, 2000). John (2014) has said that even now there are remarkable developments regarding homosexuality’s legality and acceptability; there are still large parts of the world where regimes and cultural practices exist that are hostile to or forbid homosexuality. Tsang and Ho (2007) claimed that the term ‘tongxinlian’ (homosexuality) first appeared in Chinese academic literature around the 1930’s. Nevertheless, according to John (2014), homosexual acts were never criminalised in Taiwan because of its colonisation by Japan. As a Japanese colony, its moral and cultural ecology was never influenced by the strongly homophobic Judeo-Christian tradition. Like Chinese culture, Japanese culture did not historically conceive of a “normative connection between gender and sexual preferences because all men, whether samurai, priest, or commoner, were able to engage in both same- and opposite-sex affairs” (Mark & Katsuhiko, 2009). In Japanese history it is recorded that performance of personal sexual practice was ignored by both government and religious authorities. Furthermore, joining the Second World War actually created many opportunities for greater intimacy between Japanese men who, because of the military draft, were placed in an environment privileging homo-social brotherhood for the purposes of inspiring valiant and selfless military exploits. Notably, as Allan (2010) points out, unlike in other countries, homosexuality was not perceived as an enervation or an aberration by the Japanese military. This background helps explain why Taiwan never had laws explicitly targeting same-sex relations (John Cheo, 2010).

I n f l u e n c e

f r o m

J a p a n

D e v e l o p m e n t

a f t e r

1 9 5 0

T aiwan was occupied by the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1949. Jens (2005) claims that ‘heterosexualized’ could be a description of Taiwanese society between 1950s and 1960s. People followed the rule of Confucian and Chinese traditional family values and so public discourses on same-sex desire were almost non-existent. During the 1990s Taiwanese rapidly change their authoritarian political system to become one of the most democratic countries in Asia (George E, 2000). In the resulting social upheaval, there were two authors in particular who challenged the prevalent medical discourse named Er Dong and Hu Yiyin. These two authors made homosexuals themselves the subjects of their articles, creating a "human touch" by quoting "real" persons (Jens Damm, 2005). In the late nineties, social changes became more acceptable, and in particular, more individual freedom and personal expression was gained. Since martial law was lifted in 1987, Taiwan has moved actively to improve the value of human rights. Notably, in 1986, the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) as Taiwan’s first major opposition party and one that today still enjoys the support of the rapidly proliferating civil society groups. According to Terry (2000), when Chen Shui-Bian, a member of the DPP who became the first non-KMT President of Taiwan, it was an ‘historic’ episode for the island’s democracy. President Chen promoted “frequent references to human rights” which were encouraging signs for gay and lesbian groups, one of which — the Taiwan Gay Hotline — became, during Chen’s administration, “the first national group to register legally with the Ministry of Interior” ( Jens Damm, 2005). In November 2003, Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan became the first land in Asia to host a state-sanctioned gay pride parade. The Taipei Mayor Ma Ying Jeou was quoted as saying: “I want to tell our homosexual friends: If you live in Taipei, you won’t be discriminated against” (Cindy Friedman, 2003).

According to the International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), there were some 76 countries that continued to treat private, consensual same-sex acts between adults as a crime as of May 2013. It is interesting to note that the bulk of them are in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Indeed, as a stated in the Tribune Business News in 2010, gay people are not necessarily welcomed in many societies, and most of homosexuals hide their sexuality from their relatives. However, there is almost no organized opposition to "the gay lifestyle" in Taiwan as there is in many nations. In addition, Taipei’s annual gay pride parade, which draws people from other countries to experience Taiwan’s hospitable culture, is still going strong after 12 years of running, and it is already the biggest event in Asia. George (2000) also mentioned Taiwan has the most openly gay life in the Chinese world. As a stated by Taipei Times, there is an example from wedding cake company Isabelle Taiwan Co, which launched a series of commercials with the theme “everyone is equal in love”. One commercial told the story of a Taiwanese gay couple, who have been together for almost 30 years.

In recent years, with socio-economic developments and the transnational transfer of values, same-sex marriage have already become an inescapable global social issue (Ko, Chyong-fang). According to an Agence France Press report, the government of Taiwan has proposed to legitimize gay marriages and recognize the right of homosexual couples to adopt children. Indeed, in 2012, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights conducted a campaign entitled “Diverse Family Formation, I Support!”, which garnered a million signatures, and successfully tabled the proposed bill of Civil Code for Diverse Family Formation (2013) to the Legislative Yuan of Taiwan’s parliament. However, the campaign has proven controversial, as the bill, which covers same-sex marriage, a civil partnership system, a system of multiple-person families and revisions to the adoption system, will strongly affect the traditional monogamous family system and ethics in Taiwan (Ko, Chyong-fang).

A nalysis conducted by the 2005-2008 " Wo r l d Va l u e s " s u r vey, i n a b e t we e n 1 (homosexuality totally unacceptable) to 10(totally accept homosexuality) attitude scale, the average Taiwanese people surveyed was 3.8. However, there is no exact number of how many homosexual people there are in Taiwan, according to The IEAS Public Policy Forum. According to the "Taiwan Social Change Survey" in 2012, the results show that only five people in 2072 samples considered themselves homosexual; 36 people think they are bisexual; 52 people are not sure about their sexual orientation; and another 2 people of the samples said they did not know. Using a more general definition, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersexual and asexual were all categorised as ‘homosexual’, making up 4.4% of the respondents, while there was 94% of people who were involved in the survey that considered themselves to be ‘heterosexual’ (Gay and Academic Research, 2013).

T h e a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s homosexuality of Taiwanese

B. o

C o n s u m e r p e r c e p t i o n o f g e n d e r

“The right consumers can be identified according to their needs and wants in products or services because consumers look for something to meet their desires and buy for what they perceive the merchandise will do for them.” –Grace l. Kunz (2010).

S tephens

(2005) claimed that the buying decision from consumers for fashion marketing is influenced by their income and also demands constant availability, convenience and a pleasant shopping experience. However, many products are sex-typed; they take on masculine or feminine attributes, and consumers often associate them with one sex or another (Kathleen, Easwar, 1986). Thus, sexual identity is a very considerable element of a consumer’s self-concept. On the other hand, gender identity is a state of mind as well as body. A person’s biological sex does not totally determine whether he or she will exhibit sex-typed traits, or characteristics that are stereotypically associated with one sex or the other. Additionally, the terms sex and gender are often used in same context; nevertheless, they do have different significance. Sex refers to the biological differences between men and women, while gender is a social construct that stands for the different social expectations of men and women. People often correspond to these expectations about how they should act, dress, and communicate, and yet these guidelines differ radically across societies and change over time (Gini Stephens Frings, 2005).

Females and males have different expectations of fashion products because gender has a strong influence on many attributes of lifestyle (Maria, Lynne, David, 2005). It is interesting to note that some researchers, like Bem (1974), found in their studies of US students that most products are perceived to have gender, and that most products have sex-typed identities as masculine or feminine, but not as androgynous or undifferentiated. Finding similar results as Bem, Milner and Fodness (1993) also claimed that many products were perceived as sex-typed.

However, according to Dotson, Hyatt and Thompson (2009), to young, urban and trendy early-adopters of fashion products, non-traditional and androgynous images would likely be considered very favourably. According to Michael and Nancy (2004), masculinity and femininity are not opposite ends of the same dimension. Researchers make a distinction between sex-typed people, who are stereotypically masculine a n d f e m i n i n e, w h e r e a s a n d r o g y n o u s people have a mixture of feminine and masculine characteristics which allows them to function well in a variety of social situations. As androgynous images may influence marketing, the issue of gender is quite important since how the products and gender are linked in the consumer’s minds determines the product’s respective position. Consciously or unconsciously, it is the first segmentation variable that marketers apply. This is a rational response since, from a consumer’s perspective, men and women want to know that the product is “theirs” (Laura and Dale, 1996).

Seock and Bailey (2008) found that men and women differed significantly in the following shopping orientations: shopping enjoyment, brand and fashion-consciousness, convenience? time-consciousness, and shopping confidence. Furthermore, compared with men, women tend to buy and wear new fashions and persuade others to buy and wear new fashions (Cho & Workman, 2011), are more conscious of brand names (Beaudoin & La- chance, 2006), and have higher recreational orientation and higher price-consciousness (Hansen & Jensen, 2009; Seock & Chen-Yu, 2007). On the other hand, men are more time-conscious, place a higher value on convenience, and enjoy purchasing products online. (Noble et al., 2006; Zhang, Prybutok, & Strutton, 2007). Moreover, it is easier for men to discuss the looks they do not want to adopt. When men describe their clothes, they do not focus on masculinity, but rather they tend to describe the meanings of clothes in terms of achievement. When asked about their least favourite clothing, men seem most to use references as too much of anything, such as too trendy or too dressy (N.K.Denzin, 1993).

As a result, since the quality and price of clothing are concerns for both male and female consumers, they are motivated by the brand names of fashion products in the pre-purchase process, and have a tendency to buy impulsively (Workam, Cho, 2011). Additionally, Zeithaml (1998) and Schiffman and Kanuk (2009) found that after consumers created perceived value, t h e i r p u r ch a s e i n t e n t i o n o f t e n depended on the benefits and value they believed would be obtained. Therefore, gender orientation of the roles refers to the adoption of male and female characteristics on certain occasions. Gender becomes a variable of personality and can be regarded as the “total f ilter t h r o u g h w h i ch t h e i n d i v i d u a l s discover their social environment” (BRISTOR, FISCHER, 1993).

’lifestyle’ is something located at a junction between ‘styles of living’ and ‘living conditions’ (Johanne and Madeleine, 2013). Therefore, this section will be separated into three parts: general living conditions, young adults and middle-youth lifestyle and consumer coffee culture in Taiwan. When talking about living conditions in Taiwan it must be understood that Taiwan, which is only a small island just over fifty percent larger than Wales, had a population of 23.3 million at the end of 2013 and a GDP of 1,021 billion US dollars. In addition, Taiwan is quite flexible in accepting different cultures, with a creativity that absorbs and combines features of other cultures to create a unique Taiwanese one (Kao, Ming-Hung, 2011). As stated in the Euromonitor report (2015), the regional trend towards income inequality is increasingly becoming a part of the Taiwanese consumer economy, and there are many ways in which this trend is affecting consumer behaviour on the island. For instance, the issue of income difference is a serious problem for the new graduates (Kao, MingHung, 2011). According to the statistics of Taiwan Council of Labor Affairs, the average fixed wage of college graduates in 2011 was NT$26.577 per month (Taiwan dollar 1NT$=2.9yen). The result is that nowadays, the current economic reality for many younger Taiwanese is that they are unable to purchase homes of their own (Euromonitor, 2015).

Greater Taipei, including the capital city and the adjoining municipality, has an estimated metropolitan population of 6.9 million people as of 2013. A veritable thriving metropolis, the urban infrastructure is constantly being improved and the Taipei citizens are creating new living needs while they try to maintain their traditional sense of values; consequently establishing very new lifestyles for Taipei’s citizens. As a result, the city has become more comfortable to live in with better urban functions (Kao, Ming-Hung, 2011). The general shopping habits for Taiwanese involve traditional distribution channels such as specialist retailers and department stores when shopping for personal items. In addition, brand-owned stores are increasingly popular amongst consumers in both the mass market and luxury segments. However, Taiwan’s younger and more fashionc o n s c i o u s c o n s u m e r s h ave a l s o

embraced retailers offerings of designer-inspired clothing at High-Street prices over recent years. Therefore, department stores and own-brand retailers are popular amongst consumers looking for luxury cosmetics and personal care items (Euromonitor, 2015). The most notable trend in recent years is online shopping, as indicated by President Ma at a 2013 e-commerce industry forum when he said â&#x20AC;&#x153;The market is forecast to expand to NT$1 trillion annually by 2015 [...] The nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s e-commerce market grew by 30%, 22% and 17% in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, and is now valued at NT$660 billionâ&#x20AC;?.

Young adults are the most diverse of all age brackets, owing in large part to the various life options available to Taiwanese when they are in their late teens and twenties. The first and most obvious of these options is perhaps higher education (Euromonitor, 2015). More than 1.35 million students are enrolled in universities and colleges across Taiwan, according to 2012 Ministry of Education statistics. In an era of stagnant wages and decreasing levels of real disposable income, home ownership has become increasingly difficult for firsttime buyers and this has prompted many consumers, particularly young adults, to look for other ways to spend their money. Pastimes such as learning to surf or to paint, visiting other countries or even setting aside time to run a private business associated with a learned skill such as baking or photography, are the current popular life choices for twentysomething Taiwanese (Euromonitor, 2015).

The other stage is the middle-youth group, which makes up one of the two largest age segments in Taiwan. Generally, older members of this group are more positive in their financial outlook. This is perhaps not surprising due to higher levels of disposable income and relatively stable job security, factors not experienced widely by many twentysomethings. Higher levels of home ownership and more traditional views of family by older middle youth also buttress the divide between members of this age bracket. It is younger members of this age segment that tend to be the most comfortable using online resources such as social networks and e-commerce. Furthermore, luxury goods and services are important for this group of people, for instance products like top-end video games and computer systems, designer running shoes and imported sports cars (Euromonitor, 2015).

tyle

i f e

In recent years, drinking coffee has become common behaviour in Taiwanese society. In fact the coffee consumer population has increased sharply as more and more Taiwanese have become coffee drinkers (Chan Jui Jan, Lin Tung Long and Huang Stanley, 2013). According to Customs statistics, in 1999 Taiwan imported 4,794 metric tons of coffee. By 2010, that number had exploded to 17,885 tons. In terms of cups of coffee consumed, the ratio is 480 million in 1999 (21 cups per person) versus 1.79 billion cups in 2010 (78 cups per person). That coffee consumption has seen such sharp growth in the past 12 years shows that the average Taiwanese has come to rely on coffee as a daily beverage (Josh, 2012). As the China Times mentioned in 2014, coffee drinkers in Taiwan consumed 2.17 billion cups of freshly brewed coffee a year, and the amount of imported coffee beans has nearly doubled in the past five years. It is interesting to note that many people in Taiwan start their day with a cup of coffee, and may find it difficult to maintain focus on work without coffee (Josh, 2012). Therefore, for Taiwanese, drinking coffee offers a kind of freedom, symbolizing a reprieve from the pressures of daily life.

“The history of coffee in Taiwan is a mirror reflecting how cultural identity and subjectivity were defined and redefined violently by local political powers and global orders. “- River Wu (2007)

stated in the historical record, the first transplanted coffee tree was imported from Southeast Asia by British men, yet it was not successful at that time (River Wu, 2007). Until 1895, Taiwan was occupied by Japan and the colonial government established coffee plantations and coffee shops on Taiwan because Japanese wanted to create a modern city like found in European countries (YiPing Shih and Cheng-Heng Chang, 2010). Moreover, it is notable that Japanese were the only ones who transplanted coffee trees en masse successfully. According to Chen (2005), the earliest coffeehouse was opened in 1913 by a Japanese owner Shinozuka. In 1928, the City Business Index listed more than 22 coffeehouses in Taipei, which was by then the largest city in Taiwan (Shen, 2005). In that period, the ability to consume coffee represented a person’s status as a member of the upper class because coffee beans were extremely expensive. Many of these coffee houses were decorated with modern artifacts and technology, such as western furniture, record players, platters, and even air conditioning. The colonial coffeehouses thus fulfilled people’s desire for western culture (YiPing Shih and Cheng-Heng Chang, 2010). River Wu (2007) has also pointed out that coffee shops in that period of time were the symbol of modern life; people who usually went to coffee shops more accepting of western culture. Have received a huge influence by the Japanese; the Taiwanese gradually started to think that coffee was related associated to avant-garde and modern civilisation (Silverberg, 1998). Consequently, Taiwanese businessmen created their own coffee shops (e.g., Bolero and Werther) and their coffeehouses, which provided classical music, became the agora for local writers, musicians, and artists. In addition, coffee shops also exhibited western paintings and gave information about western culture in Taipei (Shen, 2005). As reported in the 1934 Taiwan Daily News, “Lots of coffee houses and theaters show the significant modernization of Daitotei” (River Wu, 2007). While most coffeehouses in 1930s Taipei were named in the Japanese style, some owners named their coffee shops after famous European artworks in imperial European languages (Yi-Ping Shih and Cheng-Heng Chang, 2010). As the example of Bolero and Werther coffeehouse, it shows that although Taiwanese received the outside world’s information from the Japanese, some artists developed their own understanding of western culture by themselves (Huang, 2007). 48

After 1945, Japanese coffee culture faded away while American and Shanghai style coffee culture grew sharply because Taiwan was occupied by another authority named the Kuomintang from the mainland (Phillips, 2003). In the 1960s, as Taiwan was aided by the U.S., the American soldiers boosted the Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic and leisure industries, such as discos, bar and coffee shops (River Wu, 2007). However, in the late 1960s in Taipei city, the coffee culture of Japanese colonization had been almost completely replaced by American style coffee shops (Shen, 2005). According to Yi-Ping Shih and Cheng-Heng Chang (2010), coffee culture in Taiwan suffered a series of problems in 1971, which was when Taiwan was forced to quit the United Nations and the U.S. severed official diplomatic ties. Thus, coffee shops, which by this time were associated with western culture, became a scapegoat rejected by some Taiwanese. In 1992, the first coffee chains appeared in Taiwan (Josh, 2012), and since the late 1990s, local chains and transnational chains of coffee shop have appeared all over Taiwan (Chen, 1994). Although coffee was never part of the traditional diet in Taiwan, the consumption of coffee has come to represent a certain quality of modernity (Chen, 1994). Nowadays, according to Euromonitor (2014), because of the coffee drinking culture flourishing in Taiwan, coffee shops all look for a creative edge in an increasingly competitive environment. Coffee is becoming a part of Taiwanese life and developed into different forms such as take-away coffee franchises, creative coffee shops and diversified coffee shops (Chan Jui Jan, Lin Tung Long and Huang Stanley, 2013). Additionally, some specialist coffee shops have even tried selling the beans directly, hoping to further spread coffee culture to Taiwanese (Euromoniter, 2014). Notably, coffee in Taiwan increased by 2% in 2013 in total volume terms as coffee drinkers increased significantly in recent years, thus still providing business opportunities for an expanding coffee industry (Chan Jui Jan, Lin Tung Long and Huang Stanley, 2013). According to River Wu (2007), the coffee shop is a place where people can find their self-identity and show off their personalities.

M From the previous chapter of literature review, we can understand that androgyny is becoming a trend of the fashion industry and Taiwan society. In addition, some paragraphs presented useful information about the current trend of yuppie style and the expanding business of the caf? industry in Taiwan. However, at this time there is no direct information about combining those elements. This chapter will reveal how this study was conducted and which methods are used in obtaining the results of Taiwanese opinion.

ethod 50

ology 51

A p p r

Qualitative study is a technique associated with an

interpretive philosophy (Denzin and Lincoln 2005), and often used to collect any data or data analysis procedure that generates or uses non- numerical data (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). The reason that qualitative is interpretive is that researchers are required to make sense of subjective and socially constructed meanings expressed about the environment studied. According to John (2011), the aim of qualitative research methods is to provide a deep understanding and interpretation for when people used it to gain a result. Qualitative methods are usually require to provided rich data about peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real life and situations, and are therefore also are more able to describe and understand the wider context of behaviour (Vaus, 2002). Thus, in this current study, the research aim was to create a new concept of the caf?, combining androgynous and yuppie styles, which required gathering data which is related to peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lives in Taiwan, and is consequently very useful to the study. As stated by William (2005), qualitative data collection methods can express human feelings and emotions better than traditional quantitative data collection methods. Furthermore, a range of insights have been revealed into the advanced debate of mixed methods research offered by qualitative approach, especially as it relates to arguments concerning the mixing of research paradigms, issues of power, and authority inside and outside the research process. On the other hand, the qualitative method provides a different view of the nuances of social reality, which does not privilege the interests of those who occupy a position of authority and power within

oA c h 52

a given society (Hesse-Biber, 2010). According to Howe (2004), in reality qualitative research promotes a deep listening between the researcher and the researched, gaining â&#x20AC;&#x153;deeper and more genuine expressions of beliefs and values that emerge through dialogue [and] foster a more accurate description of views heldâ&#x20AC;?. Moreover, qualitative approaches try to reveal new information â&#x20AC;&#x201D; they are less confirmatory (hypothesis testing) than exploratory and theory generating. Monette et al (2005) have claimed, abstraction and generalization are the acknowledgement of qualitative methods. Moreover, categorized vision, images, forms and structures in various media, spoken, printed word and recorded sound are all included in qualitative data collection methods (Polonsky and Waller, 2005). The most popular methods of qualitative research include interviews, case studies, observation, focus groups and questionnaires with open ended-questions (John, 2011).

Yet, in recent year there has been increased number of multiple methods research design development and it is helpful to consider their characteristics (e.g. Tashakkori and Teddlie 2010). This new option is accepted by business and management research (Bryman, 2006). The reason that multiple methods became popular is they can solve the disadvantages of using only one method, in addition to providing scope for a richer approach to data collection, analysis and interpretation (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). Moreover, the multi-method qualitative approach is one that focuses on the complexities of context, experience and meanings, but does not reject other ways of knowing (Hesse-Biber, 2010). Multiple methods are in turn divided between multi-method research and mixed methods research, whereby multi-method research does not mix quantitative and qualitative research. In short, a qualitatively driven mixed-methods approach can be very useful to study multifaceted social phenomena (Jori and Katherine, 2011). Therefore, as androgyny is a new trend in Taiwan society at the moment and also not everyone in Taiwan likes to drink coffee, those situations are related to personal choices and reality, so using the qualitative method to collect the information about them from Taiwanese directly is more suitable for this project. Additionally, multi-method qualitative research was chosen for this project including in-depth interviews and focus groups.

A ccording

to Cunliffe (2010), the approach to e t h n o g r a p hy i n c l u d e s researchers living amongst those whom they studied, to observe and have conversations with them in order to produce detailed cultural accounts of their shared beliefs, behaviours, interactions, l a n g u a g e, r i t u a l s a n d t h e eve n t s t h a t s h a p e t h e i r l i v e s. L i k e w i s e, using the language of current writing of cultural accounts can

adopt more interpretive and naturalistic of e t h n o g r a p hy ( G e e r t z , 1988). Therefore, ethnography is divided into the three aspects of realist ethnography, impressionist or interpretive ethnography and critical ethnography (Cunliffe, 2010). However, this project used only interpretive ethnography, since interpretive ethnography is more focused on subjective impressions than on objectivity. Understanding meanings is the key point of interpretive

Strategy: Ethnography

e t h n o g r a p h y, w i t h those being observed treated as participants rather than subjects (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). It is called the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;observation of participationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; mentioned by Tedlock in 2005. As a result, this research report reflects the participation of the researcher and people who are observed (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012).

According to Saunders, Lewis and

Thornhill (2012), non-probability sampling offers different techniques to select samples, the majority of which include an element of subjective judgment. In addition, the issue of sample size is ambiguous and there are no rules, so is usually used to develop interview schedules and other research instruments (Gilbert, 1992). Non-probability methods contribute more to internal validity than external validity. In purposive sampling, the result of interpretation is limited to the population. To be valid over a

greater realm or to form the basis for a theory, the study may be repeated for confirmation in a different population, still using a non-probability method (Bernard 2002). Notably, it does not mislead people into inferring general conclusions when the result is analysed and interpreted (Bernard 2002, Godambe 1982, Snedecor 1939). Consequently, the non-probability method was chosen for this research to select participants. According to Patton (2002), sample size is dependent on the research question and

D objectives; specifically what does research want to find, what will be useful, will it be credible and what can be done within the constraints of the available resources. Considering some facts like the limit of timeline and the location we were studying, the technique of non-probability was semi-structure interviews, w h i ch a r e n o n - s t a n d a r d i z e d and often related to qualitative research interview (King, 2004). Additionally, we offered the opportunity to probe answers that were explained by interviewees

(Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). The sample size for semi-structure is around five to twenty-five, and since it was able to be used to finish the study on time, it was used in this project, the research question and objective of which are to create a new idea and promote a new trend in Taiwan.

Participants

As the research place was Ta i w a n , t h e s e l e c t i o n o f participants for interviews and focus group only selected Taiwanese. In addition, for interviews and focus groups on the androgyny issue included participants from both genders, aged between 20 and 35. The reason for the age setting was 20-35 ages group is the new generation i n Ta i w a n t h a t h a s t h e greatest economic capacity. Specifically 12 people who came from Taiwan were my participants in this research. In addition, 10 people were the participants for focus groups; all of whom were students in Nottingham Trent University in the UK, studying art and design and marketing. On the other hand, there were two participants involved in the

individual interviews. The first person was a Taiwanese girl who worked for a public relations company in the fashion industry in the UK. The second one was a Taiwanese student who is studying at the University of Goldsmith in London. The reason that they were chosen to be involved is that the first participant could provide information and opinions of the current trends in the fashion industry. Moreover, the second participant lives in London nowadays, so she could offer insightful comparisons between Ta i p e i a n d L o n d o n , a c i t y famous city for its global fashion.

The typical focus groups involved four to 12 participants, however, the exact number of participants depends on the topic and the skill of the interviewer (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). Usually, the focus group is used when the topic is very clearly and precisely defined, and a recording is made of the interactive conversations between participants (Carson et al. 2001; Krueger and Casey 2009; Box 10.16). According to Krueger and Casey (2009), many group interviewsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; purpose is to gain a great deal of insight from the specific individuals, with such participants being information rich. In addition, the focus group is a group interview that focuses on a particular topic, product, service or issue by have a

conversation with participants and sharing of opinion in an open environment (Krueger and Casey 2009). A focused interview is one in which the interviewer exercises greater direction over the interview while allowing the intervieweeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinions to emerge as participants respond to the questions of the researcher (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008; Ghauri and Gr?nhaug 2010; Robson 2011). Therefore, two focus groups were set up for this research, with each group consisting of five people, which were mixed males and females. The reason that the focus group was suitable for this research is because the aims of the project already had a specific topic to observe. The question for the focus group used open questions, which allowed participants to define and describe a condition and event. This is designed to encourage the interviewees to reply as they wish (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill 2012). An open question is likely to start with or include why, what and how. Therefore, examples of this the questions of this research were as follows:

* W h a t i s y o u r o p i n i o n o f a n d r o g y n y ? * What do people in Taiwan think about androgynous fashion? * If a caf? were combined with a clothing shop would you like it? Why? * What do you think of the promotion of yuppie style for Taiwanese?

Once some key responses had been gleaned from the focus groups, interviews for this research focused on asking deeper questions of the two participants. According to Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2012), the use of certain questions may also depend on the flow of the conversation. In this case, the research questions and objectives required exploring additional questions. Moreover, audio recordings and note-taking were conducted to collect the data from the conversation. In addition to containing the list of themes and questions to be covered, the interview schedule for this type of interview contained some comments to open the discussion, with examples of points provided as further boosts to the conversation, closing it by giving some summary comments. The semi-structured interview is no doubt the most advantageous approach to try to collect data in the some circumstances, such as a large of number of questions to be answered (Easterby-Smith et al. 2008; Jankowicz 2005). The noteworthy thing for interviewers was the level of knowledge before having a conversation with participants (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2012). The example question for interview were as such: * W h a t i s t h e c u r r e n t t r e n androgynous fashion around the g * C o m p a r i n g Ta i p e i a n d L o n d o n , d o y o u t h i n k will accept an androgynous fashion concept

d o f lobe? Ta i w a n store?

Bernard and Ryan (1998) provide a useful t y p o l o g y fo r u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e r a n g e o f qualitative data showing that it can divided into three basic types â&#x20AC;&#x201D; text, images, and sound. Additionally, most qualitative data collected or available is in the form of free-flowing text, which is by far the most common form of qualitative data analysed in the social and health sciences. Data from sources such as focus groups and in-depth interviews is the most common method for qualitative data collected. The rich data that is collected by interview and focus group shows certain patterns that, once organized, are called themes (Flynn and Foster 2009) and include coding, categorizing, and sorting, called thematic analysis. In addition, according to Kumar (2011), identifying main themes is one of the basic strategies in analysing qualitative data. According to Greg (2012), thematic analysis is used in grounded theory and the development of cultural models; and requires more involvement and interpretation f r o m t h e r e s e a r ch e r. M o r e ove r, i t m ove s beyond counting explicit words or phrases and focuses on identifying and describing both implicit and explicit ideas within the data is what thematic analysis strives to achieve.

Thematic analysis is the most useful in capturing the complexities of meaning within a textual data set. It is also the most commonly used method of analysis in qualitative research. Therefore, as this project used interview and focus groups to collect the data and presented it by text form, thematic analysis is the most appropriate method to use. For this study, the process was by conducted using interview and focus groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transcriptions to identify main themes and then a description of coding, attaching names and keywords to them, which were taken from the literature review. This indicated that parts of the previous research were involved and can be discussed further. According to Flynn and Foster (2009), categorizing the data, which has the same meaning for each topic, was the next appropriate stage. Furthermore, the created categories were sorted and put in order to facilitate further writing. Lastly, by comparing the data and previous theories, it will be possible to further develop the research of this project (Flynn and Foster 2009).

Data analysis: 61

gnidnif

ind In

this section the results of the primary research are presented and analysed. The findings of two focus groups and two interviews are analysed in a separate part. The questions for the focus groups were generally framed around the topic, yet the actual questions for interviews were directed to link participantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; backgrounds with the topic. There were ten Taiwanese respondents aged 24 to 35 engaged in focus groups, which were separated into a male group and female group and asked to share their points of view about androgynous fashion and caf?s. Moreover, two female Taiwanese participants aged 25 and living in London were engaged in face-to-face interviews for this project. In the first individual interview with Archives PR assistant Houng, the respondent, working in the fashion industry in London, gave several insightful ideas which are related to this project. In the second interview with a student named Chen, who is studying in marketing communication at Westminster University, the interviewee provided comparisons between the androgynous style phenomenon in London and Taiwan. The relevant information from different group was recorded and compared with each other in order to find out how they relate to the central theory of this research. Some of the results correlated to the literature review and some of them raised new issues to consider. All the questions in the focus group and interview were conducted in Chinese and then translated from the original Chinese verbal answer to English in the following section.

finding

Fin

Opinions of androgynous fashion

T he

collated responses from the girl’s focus group found that all of them considered the androgyny phenomenon as being widespread in Taiwan in recent years, and yet for the older generation like their parents, it appears to be a challenge to accept it. Not only their parents, but also they often connect androgynous style to homosexual people. However, they still think androgynous fashion can be acceptable for Taiwanese younger generation as well as them, because Taiwan has a high degree of acceptance of gay and lesbian culture.

Notably, in their definition of androgynous fashion it involves women who dress like men or men who are more focused on grooming. Additionally, they said that they might buy androgynous clothes if the style is attractive to them. On the other hand, for the boy’s group, only one participant thought androgyny is between masculine and feminine, whereas the other four males said, “ In our opinion, androgyny is a word to be partially masculine”. Moreover, they have the same ideas as the girl’s group about buying androgynous clothes. Yet, one boy said, “ I might buy it when I really like the design of clothes, even the clothes is marked as womenswear”. In addition, the boy who has more perceptive of androgynous fashion will wear it without any additional condition.

In contrast, Houng’s interview revealed different results, since Houng has been working in the fashion industry for almost three years, and is more comfortable and possesses more recourses to describe her opinion about androgynous fashion. She stated, “Androgynous fashion is a grey area including masculine and feminine elements, in which menswear and womenswear are overlapping. There is no certain standard, people can dress however they want”. In addition, Houng is fond of androgynous style; the first time she recognized androgynous was

when she wanted to buy pants which were labelled as menswear. She mentioned there are two reasons why she loves androgynous fashion: firstly, she finds that the clothes which tailor to females are too feminine for her. Secondly, using androgynous elements can create a new style different from other girls. When asked about whether or not she links androgynous fashion with gay and lesbian people, she asserted: “No, it is not the same thing, androgynous fashion is a style in which people wear and present their self-image, which is not the same meaning as he or she being homosexual”. Likewise, Chen also said that “androgynous fashion is a trend nowadays; more and more people can accept this style, specifically those who are the same generation as me ”. She claimed that androgynous clothes or accessories are a part of her style, although androgynous style is not her favourite type.

When asked the question whether or not it the ideal time to create a designer brand of androgynous fashion in Taiwan , the male group said,” Taiwan is a free country that has a high degree of acceptance to new ideas, but we are not sure whether we follow the trend”, and the female group shared basically the same opinion. This was in contrast to the two interview participants, who believe it is the ideal time to create an androgynous brand in Taiwan. However, Chen noted: “Because it is a designer brand and new idea, the price will be the main issue for customers”. In addition, Houng also mentioned, “Although I think it can be a business in Taiwan, it still needs to be promoted for a while to help people to become more comfortable with and then adopt androgynous fashion. The reason for this is Taiwanese do not get access to enough fashion resources. Moreover, selling only androgynous clothes might be a challenge in Taiwan in the coming few years. As a result, creating a lifestyle of androgynous fashion is likely the best method for attracting Taiwanese consumers.” 63

gyny The findings of the 12 participants’ opinions show that everyone has

their own views on androgynous fashion. Most of the reactions appear related to their personal backgrounds or environment. Although all of them are Taiwanese, the influences from culture and media still lead to many unique differences of opinions. When the girl’s focus group was asked the reason why males wear androgynous clothes and pay so much more attention to grooming in recent years in Taiwan, one girl answered: ”Taiwanese always follow the style from celebrities and the media, so we can see more males attaching importance to their dress and appearance”. Another respondent said: “Due to society and culture not being the same as before, Taiwanese have unconsciously become more open-minded and have developed a higher degree of acceptable for new styles”. It is interesting to note that all of them said most of Taiwanese would link the people who wear androgynous style as gay or lesbian groups. Moreover, they think Taiwan is a country highly accepting of gays and lesbians, so it is not a problem for young generations to accept androgynous fashion, although they did point out that “ androgyny, gay and lesbian issues are not easily accepted by older generations”, noting that Taiwan’s culture has a significant conflict between traditional values and modern forces for change.

Noting a similar conflict, Chen also claimed that: Cultural change is the most important influence for the androgyny issue. For instance, nowadays I receive more information to understand and accept androgyny and androgynous fashion. In the past, I might connect gay and lesbian people with androgynous fashion, yet it later became a fashionable trend and style for me. Thus, the word of androgyny is more attractive than before for most Taiwanese. Additionally, the Internet is a significant method through which we can receive more fashion options in Taiwan.

C u l t u r e

a n d

f a s h i o n

r e s o u r c e s

Houng’s view echoed similar sentiments and further e x p a n d e d u p o n t h e i n f l u e n c e s o n f a s h i o n a n d s t y l e i n Ta i w a n :

“Every country has different cultures that influence their citizen’s cognition of fashion styles. Style is part of the culture in every country even if it is not the main trend for the fashion industry; for example when males wear very short shorts or tailored pants which are too feminine for me, it is still a fashionable style for some countries. In addition, Taiwan, a Far Eastern marketing region for some global luxury brands, does not access enough resources and this is the main problem for the fashion industry in Taiwan. It is reflected in the acceptance of fashion styles like androgynous, and also influences job opportunities in the art and design fields. I would also like to mention that Taiwanese seldom have their own style or special ideas for dress; they always just follow the media or famous people. There is a strange lining phenomenon for Taiwan society, where people like to line for some global brands, such as UNIQLO, GAP, and H&M. However, those brands have similar brands like COS in Europe”. concluded that, because of the lack of fashion options, not enough fashion information is reaching Taiwanese consumers or influencing their judgment or their behaviour. She

andr 65

It is interesting to mention that when participants were asked whether or not they would wear androgynous clothes, all of them said they would try if the design was appealing enough. Nevertheless, four boys in the group raised concerns about how people will think or talk about them if they wore those clothes. They said that if the clothes were not too feminine and people did not see them as gay, they would be willing. For the girl’s group, they believe that young people in Taiwan will follow the popular style more than let themselves or most of their dress be affected by peers’ opinions. Although this view contrasts with what respondent Chen pointed out: “There are some pressure which come from the office, like my job requires me to wear the style between causal and formal and my boss likes women to wear more feminine styles.” Moreover, Houng claimed that “Taiwanese are not confident to present their personality by wearing the style they like. Lots of people are concerned about other people’s opinions.” Pressure

T he

findings of the two focus groups indicates that consumer behaviour has some differences between males and females. When the question was asked about how often you go shopping to the girl’s group, the shopping average for them was once a week. Most females said that “they do not have a set time for shopping, so they can shopping anytime or even go shopping online”. Interviewee Chen shared similar views on shopping habits but differed on shopping times, saying that: “I have my routines for shopping, I will buy clothes not just in stores but also shopping online”. For Houng, she thinks shopping is the best way to release her pressure, so she always buys some products when she feels stressful at work. These responses are all in stark contrast to the average frequency of shopping for boy’s group, which was stated as once a month. They mentioned that: “it is not necessary to go shopping all the time, we go shopping when we need something”. On the one hand a girl stated that: “We will go window-shopping when we are outside”, while on the other hand, a boy responded: “Usually, we do not spend too much time to find products, and we shop in the specific store that sells the products we are looking for”. Furthermore, Houng talking about her experience at work claimed: “Although we can see menswear in fashion shows, it is not easy to see males either in Asia or Europe wearing the same menswear as is shown on the catwalk in their daily lives, except for some very fashionable people. However, the women’s dress pattern on the street is simply to identify which fashion brands of clothes that she wears”. She believes this situation is due to different consumer behaviour between the two genders. In further support of this, the girl’s group mentioned, “We will follow the fashion blog or magazine or celebrities when we want to buy new clothes”. Being women, both Chen and Houng have the same behaviour as the members of the girl’s group. Predictably, a male said, “We do not look at fashion blogs or magazines; we follow our own style or are affected by peers”.

Shopping behaviour for males and females 67

is interesting to note that the results of participant’s opinions are very different regarding coffee shops. When participants were asked about the reasons that make them go to coffee shops, males and females had varied answers. For girls, they said, “Usually we will go to coffee shops when we meeting up with our friends.” Chen said, “I like to stay in coffee shops reading or just relaxing”, while Houng said, “I go to coffee shops for different reasons, such as working, relaxing or waiting for someone”. On the other hand, the boy’s group said, “We always go to coffee shops to hang out with our girlfriends”. Thus, the main reasons that attract them to make decisions about which coffee shops they choose is the main point of discussion in this part. These are broadly classified into the three considerations of decoration, environment and quality of food.

Opinions Decoration

Talking about the decoration of coffee shops, the majority of respondents said that decoration is the most important point for choosing the location. Exemplifying this one participant said: “A coffee shop which has special decorations is very attractive to me. For example, some coffee shops might use different collections from other countries to decorate the shop”. Five participants including both males and females said, “We like cafes that have a loft, as it is a style that we do not commonly see in a normal building. Therefore, having a cup of coffee with a loft interior design is a special experience for us”. In addition, five people said, “Skandia style is our favourite decoration for a coffee shop since that kind of design makes people feel relaxed. Moreover, this interior design makes for a better-lit atmosphere for customers”. According to participant’s opinions, they prefer to visit independent coffee shops than chains, since independent coffee shops are usually decorated with distinguishing features to give the store a unique character. However, notably, boys said, “A chain’s coffee shop like Starbucks might be our choice if we need to go to coffee shop with another guy”.

Environment “Decoration of the store is not very important for me, the environment of the shop is more of attractive to me. For example, in contrast to special decorations, clean and comfortable equipment is a major point that I consider” said one male participant. However, the majority of participants believe the environment to be as important as the decoration. One female respondent said, “Both of them are important for me, because I like coffee shops which have a quiet, comfortable environment, with house music and a cosy space. That’s because, these types of store always provide a great atmosphere”. Her point of view is supported by several participants who mentioned that a “quiet environment with nice music causes us to spend more time in the store”. However, as Houng pointed out: “it depends what on what we are looking for that day. For instance, if I need to work or have a meeting, I might choose a quiet environment”. Other girls said that: “When we meet up with friends, neither a quiet environment or music are the points”. Multiple interviewees in the boy’s group stated that: “Normally the only requirement for us is comfortable environment, such as comfy sofa and air-conditioning”.

on cafes Quality of food and coffee The finding of this part shows that there are people in both the male and female groups who agree that the quality of food and coffee are important elements when they choose a coffee shop. The girl’s group claimed, “We might do the research on a website before we choose a coffee shop”. In addition, Houng and Chen both said, ”We would not choose a caf? which provides awful food or coffee, even if the decoration and atmosphere are attractive to us”. Most boys had the same opinions as girls in that they believe that unique food and coffee could attract customers back to the store again. To sum up, the majority of participants think these three elements are significant, and they might consider all of them in their decisions when choosing a cafe.

Combined concept store

for coffee and clothes

The findings of this part are separated into two parts when asking about the idea of a combined caf? with fashion brand shop. The majority of female participants said, “It is a very interesting idea in Taiwan, it could be a unique selling point of the brand. Although we cannot be sure that the coffee will attract us, it will be a new type of store in Taiwan”. Houng also mentioned that “Clothes are the way in which people present their identities, so a concept shop is what we need. My purchasing behaviour might be positively influenced if I am fond of some of the brands”. On the other hand, there are two male participants who think this idea is not attractive to them, as they prefer independent shops more than concept stores. In addition, other males noted: ”The idea of a concept store is great; yet, we might be fond of the coffee shop more than the clothes because it sounds too commercial for us”.

o m p a r i s o n between London and Taipei

When asking the two London-based participants about the differences between London and Taipei in the fashion and coffee industries, Chen said, ”People in London are comfortable to wear various styles. They know how to dress themselves without follow other people’s opinions. Moreover, they usually use black in their styles, which is seldom seen in Taiwan”. Houng agreed with Chen’s idea and she added: “People in London are always connected with fashion since they can obtain a variety of information about fashion in this city. Therefore we can see everyone dress in their own style, which is still fashionable. In addition, the life in London is very different from Taipei, everything is tied in to fashion, such as clothes, buildings, people and shops”. Both of them said, “Taipei’s citizens always follow the trends from Korea or Japan, they do not have cognition of fashion”. When commenting on coffee shops, Houng mentioned that: “There are huge differences between Taipei and London in the coffee industry. For example, the coffee shops in Taipei provide a place where people might spend time and visit frequently, whereas people in London seldom sit in a coffee shop as they prefer to buy a take-away coffee”. She believes due to cultural diversity and lifestyle differences, the coffee culture is very different in London and Taipei.

DISCUSS T he

findings of this study can be divided into three general conclusions, starting with the discovery that androgynous fashion has already become a trend in the lives of Taiwanese, and people unconsciously accept unisex styles based on gender stereotypes in Taiwan. Secondly, combining a coffee shop with a brand might be appealing to Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market, and it is the decoration of the coffee shop which is absolutely critical for attracting customers. Finally, the effects of gender on consumer behaviour are an essential part, both of the androgynous fashion phenomenon, and the coffee market in Taiwan. Consequently an evaluation of the data collected from respondent interviews and focus groups in the results section, when compared to the current literature review of this project, demonstrates supporting evidence in favour of androgynous fashion in Taiwan, despite a lack of mainstream acceptance. It is important to note that due to the lack of established norms for this fashion, on top of the findings that directly indicate androgynous fashion has only become a rare trend in Taiwan, it has been very challenging for the author of this study to discover further academic evidence specifically in support of these results. It is for this reason that the two sets of data were threaded together to generate conclusions regarding three related points of view: the acceptability of androgynous fashion; how different genders might affect consumer behaviour; and when is the ideal time for a fashion concept coffee shop in Taiwan. All of these are related to the research questions, objectives and aims.

SION

The first point of view is that people are more accepting of androgyny issue and androgynous fashion in recent years. More and more people dress in androgynous style, which is a grey area for both gender, as found by Eleanor (2014), who concluded that there is a growing trend of women buying into menswear, looking for unisex designer brands. Indeed, both genders are trying to get involved in the androgynous fashion trend by combining femininity and masculinity at the same time. This is not the first time that androgynous styles have shown up in the fashion industry, yet there are several factors which point to androgynous fashion having a more widespread impact this time around. Certainly, the majority of participants of this project believe androgynous fashion could be adopted globally, as well as in Taiwan’s society. However, the result also indicated that consumer behaviour and people’s cognition of androgyny issues might be different due to diverse reasons, such as the changing times, culture and fashion resources and different genders.

According to previous research, androgynous fashion has been a trend for a long time in western countries, particularly since the First World War (Gertrud Lehnert, 1990). At that time there was an increasing number of female employees who joined the workforce during and after the war because of the social upheaval affecting all conditions of life and culture. Furthermore, this situation led women to wear more independent styles to show that their capacity of work was the same as men’s working ability. For example, women wore trousers with a suit which was more convenient for work, and the big padded shoulders of the suit jacket represented power at the time. This is consistent with the finding that androgyny is becoming a more accepted style for females around the world and in Taiwan, as both culture and time change. It is interesting to note that female participants in this study agreed that androgynous clothes have crept into their choice of daily style. Moreover, there are several reasons that attract them to wear unisex clothes, such as presenting their personalities, following fashion trends, as well as being convenient to work in and looking more professional.

Yet, not only women praise androgynous fashion, as men are also wearing more stylish clothes in their daily lives. According to a previous literature review, the tender male, which means being caring, sensitive, and fairly androgynous, is seen as an ideal in Taiwan (Marc L. Moskowitz, 2010). Notably, the reasons that males accepted unisex are because they, unlike women, are influenced by the change of life conditions in the past century; male accepted androgynous fashion without any obviously influencing social factors. At the same time, male’s perceptions of androgynous fashion are also affected by their friends, social media and celebrities in the fashion and movie industries just the same as for females. However, most of them admitted that they might be subject to criticism from their peers when they wear unisex clothes.

People around the world have unconsciously become more open-minded of androgynous style during the past century, which we can see reflected in pop idols such as David Bowie in the past or Tilda Swinton nowadays acting as fashion icons for everyone. Both genders embrace androgynous fashion as a normal change of the world, which according to participant’s opinions, cultural change is the most important reason that people adopt androgynous fashion in their lives. Due to different generations with distinctive cultural backgrounds, people’s cognition of the androgyny issue or unisex fashion is not on the same level. Clearly, androgynous fashion has become a trend in recent years because people are changing their way of thinking, behaviour and their lifestyles nowadays. This phenomenon was also commented on by Elaine Stone in 1990 when she stated that “fashions are shaped by the forces of the period, they in turn reflect the way we think and live”. Therefore, androgynous fashion is a style and a current trend for young generations who are familiar with fashion either locally in Taiwan or globally. Yet androgyny is still a contentious issue for the older generations of Taiwan, partly owing to a lack of understanding or information relating to the impact of fashion on traditional cultures. Additionally, Taiwan is not a priority location for the global fashion market, and consequently people receive mostly second-hand fashion information from the nearest neighbouring countries, like Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. As a result, fashion recourses in Taiwan are much more limited than in other countries, since they are not only impacted by the lack fashion information, but are also affected by traditional culture. Older people in Taiwan are restricted by their traditional culture; they have strongly-ingrained stereotyped images of people who wear androgynous styles. The findings of this current study show that lots of people link androgyny with gay and lesbian groups in Taiwan, as found by Jeff (2007), and there have even been attempts in such as films like The King’s Men to further exploit androgyny by linking it to homosexuality or bisexuality.

To sum up, for the majority of people around the world the androgynous look is a style of fashion and an attitude to life. People wear unisex clothes to present their personality and a sense of fashion. Obviously, this condition has already existed in western countries for a while, yet it is still a novel idea in some Asia countries. Discussing the research questions about the possibility of promoting gender-neutral clothes in Taiwan revealed that androgynous style might be a challenge for Taiwanese society and could impact the traditional culture in the short term. However, for the long term, it could develop into a trend of fashion and personal identity for young Taiwanese. Notably, providing and promoting the same knowledge of fashion as is available in London, Milan, Paris and New York is seemingly the best method to educate Taiwanese more quickly to accept different fashion trends from around the globe, such as androgynous fashion.

secon The second point covered by the research is questioning what the ideal time for a fashion concept caf? in Taiwan is. As previous research showed that the coffee retail earned nearly ten billion New Taiwan dollars and the caf? shop also got 8 billion NT in 2012(Taiwan beverage industries association 103-04 reports), clearly there has been a significant increase in the coffee market in recent years in Taiwan. According to the result, coffee drinking culture has become an integral part of Taiwanese life; people visit coffee shops for many reasons, such as to attend meetings, when studying, to relax, when waiting for someone, and when chatting with friends. Additionally, coffee shops provide a space that is now strongly associated with local people’s lives in Taiwan; people like coffee shops because everything happens there. Therefore, even though the market seems as though it is already quite saturated at the moment, it is still providing business opportunities through an expanding coffee industry. Moreover, different types of coffee shop like take-away coffee franchises, creative coffee shops and diversified coffee shops occupy their own customers and market (Chan Jui Jan, Lin Tung Long and Huang Stanley, 2013).

On the other hand, independent shops and designer brands have been increasing sharply in number in Taiwan recently. The most significant point for designer brands is the attitude of the brand. Normally, people in Taiwan follow the famous brands which are already widely recognised around the world, such as H&M, GAP, UNQLO and some other luxury brands. However, some customers prefer to buy designer brand’s products more than famous brand’s clothes. Moreover, those designer brands usually establish an independent shop, which could introduce the brand’s characteristic and their attitude. In addition, the image of an independent shop might draw more customers in to visit. Thus, this is an ideal time to create an independent shop in Taiwan, Taipei. One of the aims for this project is to establish an independent shop that offers shopping and relaxing areas to customers in the same space; combining designer clothes with a coffee shop in one brand. As to the findings, it is an interesting idea for Taiwanese people who love to spend their time in coffee shop. Additionally, independent stores that have attractive history and new ideas always stick in customers’ minds. The results also indicate that people might choose creative coffee shops more frequently than the franchise stores in Taiwan.

d point Indeed, independent shops could provide a special environment, which franchise coffee shops could not offer. Because of the saturation of the coffee market in Taiwan, normal coffee shops do not easily attract people to visit to them. Therefore, creating a new brand which is seldom seen in Taiwan is a great idea for the coffee market at the moment. Additionally, the other reason that points to it being the ideal time of create a concept caf? store is that the times are changing, leading to younger generations receiving more information from around the globe than older generations. People have more basic knowledge of fashion and feel more confident to wear different styles. Therefore, customers are more fond of western style shops than the traditional shop; they prefer to have an interesting shopping experience. The idea of combining a coffee shop and clothes brand is to present the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude of life. This position is consistent with previous research from River Wu (2007), finding that a coffee shop is a place that people could find their self-identity and show their personalities, as people could be their self in a familiar store. In addition, this kind of shop might attract different customers is more likely in the current conditions of the coffee market and clothes market in recent years in Taiwan.

The final viewpoint is consumer behaviour

is affected by different genders. The consumer behaviour of different genders is the absolutely critical part of this study, as the project investigated gender-neutral designer brands in Taiwan. The results point to an interesting trend that males and females have different behaviour, considerations and requirements when they need to buy some products. This and past research has found that females and males have different expectations of fashion products because gender has a strong influence on many attributes of lifestyle (Maria, Lynne, David, 2005). For example, Taiwan is a patriarchal society; people have stereotyped images of gender behaviour. Therefore, the results show that androgynous styles have different meanings for both genders in Taiwan. According to a patriarchal societyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s values, males in Taiwan have been educated to present their masculinity, such as dressing in suits or pants, cutting hair short and exuding power in their lives. The effect of traditional culture leads male to only accept androgynous styles that make them as masculine as possible. In addition, they are afraid to wear unisex clothes that might cause arguments from other people which is consistent with the findings of previous research which discovered that people often correspond to these expectations about how they should act, dress, and communicate (Gini Stephens Frings, 2005). Despite peer pressure, practicability and the value of the product are the primary considerations for male consumers. The results point out males usually shop for several reasons, such as living needs or to pass the time.

t h

While females are also restricted by the traditional expectations of gender the same as males, they are more accepting and understanding of androgynous fashion. In particular, females have more fashionconsciousness as this studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s literature review found; women are more conscious of brand names, and attempt to buy and wear new fashions (Cho & Workman, 2011). This is closely associated with the findings that female participants are more familiar with fashion brands and like to purchase products of those brands. Actually, not only buying fashion brands, they also look for cheaper priced products online. In addition, female customers are usually not like male consumers buying for needs; they have different factors which affect their consumer behaviour. For instance, some women believe shopping is an effective way to release their stress; some females like window-shopping more than buying products; some of them purchase items without any reasons. It is also interesting to note that female customers are more emotional in their buying behaviour compared with male customers. The results of this paragraph correlate with previous research that females and males have difference considerations in consumer behaviour.

i R d 79

CONCEPT

Presented by: WEN HSUAN LEE DATE (08 / 2015)

BuSINeSS STORE

p l a n 81

XECUTIVE

UMMARY

Homonym concept store is an androgynous fashion designer

brand combined with a coffee shop. This type of shop is easy to find in global fashion hotspots such as the Gucci fashion coffee shop in Milan. As Taiwanese are familiar with both the coffee industry and fashion style, it is an ideal time to establish the concept store in the capital city of Taiwan, Taipei. In addition, the ideas of androgynous fashion have become more acceptable around the world, including in Taipei and therefore, this fashion style will attract more customers and markets in Taipei in the coming years. Homonym concept store is planning to promote androgynous fashion style to Taiwanese and by doing so intends to become a fashion platform for the Taiwan fashion industry, encouraging both genders to dress in a new style to present their personalities. At the same time, due to Homonym concept store being influenced by a 80â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yuppie attitude of living life in a positive way and requiring quality products, we also require high standard of our products to create Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude of life. .

Customer: As Homonym are focused on androgynous fashion as well as coffee, our potential customer range is bigger than other clothes and coffee shops. In addition to generally targeting males and females, coffee-drinkers, gays, lesbians, as well as fashionable and powerful people who aged between 25 and 40 are our predicted customer base.

Location: Homonym concept store will be located in the heart of Ta i p e i , Ta i wa n a l t h o u g h we are still currently looking for the most ideal space at the moment. The east area that is heart of Taipei city offers a large amount of customers and convenient transport, which are attractive points leading us to strongly consider creating our first concept store in this area.

BACKGROUND OF COMPANY’S NAME AND LOGO:

Homonym is the name of a start-up business concept store in Taiwan. The definition of ‘homonym’ from the dictionary is a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning. This is consistent with the idea of a concept store where people could present their own unique personality but by wearing the same style of clothes and hence Homonym was born as a brand name for an androgynous fashion concept store. Additionally, the reason for choosing the coffee flower to be part of the logo is that the coffee flower is an androgynous plant which fittingly relates to the idea of a coffee shop, the meaning of Homonym and androgyny all at the same time. It is the unique link between these three elements that led designers to choose the coffee flower to be combined with the logo.

Mission Statement: Homonym will be the first fashion concept store, which is both an androgynous style designer brand combined with coffee shop – a company that will require the best standard of quality of products while also providing a great resource of fashion information in Taiwan. In line with the company’s attitude of fashion that every style could be fashionable no matter whether it is feminism or masculine, gender equality is the most important aim of this brand.

ENERAL COMPANY DESCRIPTION 83

Company

Goals and Objectives:

Short-term As a start-up business with almost 1,300,000 NT dollars of capital and depending on market conditions, creating the reputation of company and establish Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude of lifestyle to the market and customers are the priority objectives for the short-term. Therefore, Homonym will offer reasonable rules and regulations of company and welfare, bonuses and training systems for employees, the details of which are outlined in the organization plan. As a result, all of these objectives could improve the customer services and the images of Homonym, leading to the company realising the overall goal of succeeding as a famous fashion concept store and expanding from one branch within three years in Taipei.

Long-term After Homonym expands to multiple stores in Taipei, the objectives will focus on increasing profit for the company and promoting androgynous fashion to Taiwanese by collaborating with other local famous designer brands, as well as through holding exhibitions and other promotional events in Homonym coffee shops. For the profits, Homonym hopes the net profits of the company will increase steadily every year for five years, just as is predicted in the following line chart: 84

Moreover, Homonym is developed to be a fashion exchange platform between Taiwan and the globe. Therefore, the method to turn Homonym into a well-known brand is collaboration with global brands, which have androgynous style garments such as Chanel, Armani and JW Anderson. Becoming a model of concept stores in Taiwan and further expanding branches to other countries in ten years is the ultimate goal for the long-term.

Business The following sections will show different parts of the business philosophy of Homonym: * For products: Homonym believes that products should not be limited by any sexual i s s u e s. A t t h e s a m e t i m e, w e a r e n o t s t r i v i n g f o r l u x u r y p r o d u c t s, b u t l o o k i n g f o r h i g h q u a l i t y a n d u n i q u e p r o d u c t s t h a t a r e s u i t a b l e f o r u s. * For customers and the company: Customer service is always a priority issue of Homonym. We expect our employees to treat them like friends. In addition to this, Homonym believes that a good company should respect gender equality, human rights and the environment. * For attitude: Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attitude of life standard is everything in our daily lives is related to fashion. People have the right to present their personality by wearing different styles of clothes and accessories even if the style is not worn by the majority of people. In addition, we believe that people should have strong ambitions in their lives and require high quality products when they can afford it. This attitude is influenced by 1980â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yuppies.

As to business philosophies, the company hopes to be a fashion p l a t f o r m a n d a n i c o n f o r t h e f a s h i o n i n d u s t r y i n Ta i w a n .

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Due to the coffee and fashion industry offering a great amount of commercial opportunities at the moment, Homonym will focus on these two target markets by create a fashion concept shop that provides shopping and a relaxing area in the same space. As fashion is one of the target market, Taipei, which can offer significant commercial benefits and multiple resources, is the best location for the Homonym concept store. In addition, Taipei as the capital city of Taiwan might receive more fashion resources and the citizens might also be more accepting of the new ideas than other locations in Taiwan. However, setting the concept store in Taipei is not only to obtain a diversity of resources, but also for access to abundant customers. The target consumer group for the short-term will focus on people who are aged between 20 and 35, have strong personalities and are open to androgynous style. For the longterm, as Homonym believes that most people might unconsciously have at least one androgynous product, the company will promote

ARKET TARGET AND INDUSTRY DESCRIPTION:

androgynous fashion to Taiwanese to expand to more consumers. Independent coffee shops and fashion retailing are the industries that Homonym is going to be involved in, and as Euromonitor reports, there was a steady growth of business for both of them in recent years. It is interesting to note that specialist coffee shops and fashion brands have become popular for younger generations who are more brand-conscious and highly accepting of new ideas in Taiwan. However, as there is an increasing number of coffee shops and brands, Homonym foresees that customers might lose interest in a shop that does not offer the same service as they expect. In addition, this condition might affect the low profits

Key customers:

The following list shows the target customers: * Women / men aged 25-40 *Gays / lesbians * Patrons interested in fashion * Customers curious about androgynous style * Powerful and successful women * Consumers keen on coffee

Company strengths and core competencies:

Considering the mass market, Homonym will be using different forms of store in order to bring interesting issues to attract customers and increase companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s competitive strengths, yet it is not enough to just compete with other companies in this way. Therefore, Homonym will also focus on the internal workings of the company such as employee training, benefits and working environment. In addition, Homonym believes that an excellent marketing strategy, attractive promotion skills, appropriate location, reasonable company rules and understanding of the industry are the reasons that make a company succeed. The core competencies for Homonym are spread across at least two markets and therefore attracts a larger customer base than other shops, creating an interesting shop style to provide new consumer behaviour.

Following are several factors which might make the Homonym concept store succeed:

* Novelty * High Performance * Outstanding customer service * Designer brands * Sought-after status * Accessibility * Convenience * Quality of products/ coffee * Effective employee training * Rewarding promotion system * Gender equality working environment * Good location and relaxing, upscale interior design * Ongoing, aggressive marketing * Dynamic website with online salesÂ

Company Ownership: The setting of company ownership for Homonym is a business partnership. It will be registered in Taiwan as a business partnership, with ownership shared by entrepreneurs and designers.

Competitive strengths:

* Homonym aims to be the first fashion brand in Taiwan which focuses on androgynous style and encourages people to dress it in their daily lives. So there is less limitation on customer groups, Homonym is targeting unisex, meaning everyone can wear it. * The costs of clothes production of H o m o ny m m i g h t b e l owe r t h a n o t h e r designer brands because the aim of the company is to promote both genders to wear the same clothes. * Homonym establishes a place that offers fashion resources, products and good quality coffee. This concept might be the attractive point of Homonym compared with other shops, as it might interest people to visit to meet different demands.

PRODUCTS A N D SERVICES

Productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s description: Homonym concept store will offer a comprehensive line of casual and formal androgynous fashion products and high quality foods for the coffee shop. The key products for androgynous fashion store can be separated into two items; one section is apparel, which includes T-shirts, shirts, trousers, shorts and jackets; the other section is accessories, which contains hats, shoes and socks. Since customers are more focused on the quality and uniqueness of products, we will offer small production runs to maintain the productsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; high standards of quality and remain special. The following pie chart indicates the percentage of importance for key products in a visual way:

On the other hand, the key products of coffee shop is to sell high-quality specialty coffee beverages, tea, juice, water, soft drinks, pastries and snacks. Although the coffee shop is part of the concept store, Homonym will still offer a high class and special atmosphere like other independent coffee shops in Taiwan, such as Gabee or Aromaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coffee shops. The pie chart below showing the popular ranks of products from 1 to 10 of the coffee shop:

Prices of products: The prices of each item in the Homonym concept store have been determined after a thorough analysis of all products. Despite Homonym being a concept store, we will still be focusing on the uniqueness and quality of products. Therefore, our prices of androgynous fashion products are in line with the leading fast fashion brands like Zara and H&M. Additionally, we also provide the best quality of coffee, snacks and environment for our customers and their friends, hence the prices of coffee shop products are the same as the general prices of other independent coffee shops in Taipei. The following bar charts will shows the different prices of products for clothes shop and coffee shop:

Key services:

* Personal style assistance - These services will be offered to every customer who likes to wear androgynous fashion style. Our staff will share their androgynous dressing experience and provide tailored advice for customers.

* Online services - We will provide an off icial website for those customers who are more familiar with online shopping.

* Regular exhibitions - The Homonym concept store will provide an exhibition related to fashion once a month.

* Next-day delivery/ Free delivery - Homonym will offer different delivery options to all customers. Free delivery is providing for all customers, which will take 5-7 days to process. However, we understand the majority of people like to receive their products as soon as possible, so Homonym will also provide next-day delivery services. In addition, next-day delivery service is the free service for our members, but it will cost NT200-250 dollars for normal customers.

* Shopping on the table - Our coffee shop will provide an iPAD for each table, which is used to order food or browse and purchase the products in our clothes shop.

* App system - As the majority of people are using smartphones in their daily lives, we will create an app system for customers. This appâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s functions will include tracking parcels, online chat with staff for dressing questions, online shopping at the website, fashion information and sharing experiences of daily looks.

K * Membership system and services Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s member system can be separated into two groups: white card and black card. Customers who accumulate a purchasing history of NT 6000 dollars can become a white card member for two years; for NT 12000 dollars they can become a black card member for five years. For white card members, we will offer 10% discount for all products and provide a cup of coffee when they go back to the store, even just for window shopping members. For black card members, we will provide 20% discount for all products of the Homonym concept store including the coffee shop and also offer a free coffee and cake for black members. In addition, Homonym will provide home delivery services for personal style assistance for both member types.

* Waiting area - We notice that most of people go shopping with their friends, so Homonym is going to create a waiting area for those people who need to wait for our customers.

* Range updates - Homonym will offer new products twice a month.

* Update fashion resources frequently for customers - We will update the global fashion information frequently and send it to every memberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mailbox or email inbox.

Competition:

* Offering a new type of store form * Offering new ideas for dressing for both genders * Offering high quality food * Providing personal assistance to attract customers * Providing a platform for sharing dressing experiences * Providing acceptable prices for people who want to buy a designer brand clothes

Homonym concept store will have clear advantages over its primary competitors, the coffee shops and clothes brands located in Taipei:

THE MARKE

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TING PLAN As Homonym is a combination shop of clothes shop and coffee shop, we are looking at two marketsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; research in this section.

For the coffee industry: The Department of Statistics of the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan showed that there was a significant expansion of the coffee market in the past five years in Taiwan. According to the report from the International Coffee Organization in 2014, coffee consumption in Taiwan has averaged around 362,000 bags per year since 2000; per capita consumption has also increased significantly, from 0.4kg per person in 1990 to over 1kg in 2012. Taiwan has a relatively well-developed coffee culture; the number of cups consumed quadrupled between 1999 and 2010, and the number of coffee establishments increased to over 10,000. On top of that, the consumer market for the coffee business, which includes retail figures and cafe sales, has been growing between 2% and 4% annually in the whole market, and this number shows that the consumption of coffee is a growing trend in Taiwan. Taiwan also has an increasingly urbanized population, with one of the highest population densities in the world, which is conducive to further growth in the market.

As the coffee drinking culture in Taiwan continued to boom, more cafes were opened and impacted overall coffee sales. As Euromonitor reported (2014), specialist coffee shops, the fastest growing area, has benefitted from the growing coffee-drinking culture and fast expansion by chained specialist coffee shops, which accounted for approximately 74% of sales in 2013, predominantly coming from Starbucks. However, as primary research indicates that most of young Taiwanese prefer to visit independent coffee shops which have strong characteristics and their own history, cafes continued to experience steady growth in 2013 in both value and outlet terms. In addition, the coffee market in Taiwan was expected to exceed US$2 billion in 2013 and continues to grow now, as reported by WANT CHINA TIME newspaper. There are two line charts below from the Ministry of Economic Affairsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; statistics in Taiwan that show the increasing number of cafes and the total sales of coffee shops from 2010 to 2014:

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For fashion industry: According to a Euromonitor report (2014), apparel specialist retailers grew by 2% in value sales, reaching NT$163 billion in 2014.

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In addition, domestic brands appeal to consumers with cheap offerings whilst international brands introduce fashion styles with premium prices. On the other hand, expansion of luxury retailers is still mainly within major cities where consumers have higher disposable incomes. Luxury brands usually cluster together in the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s busiest areas where more white-collar workers and richer tourists frequent. According to primary research, younger generations mention that they prefer to shop for designer brands and some international brands such as GAP, ZARA and H&M than traditional retailer shops in Taiwan. Additionally, they believe that the fashion industry in Taiwan is a growing business for the future. Furthermore, as the Ministry of Finance of Taiwan (2014) has stated, the fashion design industry relies upon the designer's guidance for product creation and manufacturing, selling and providing of goods, and services provided to clients, and defined more narrowly: brand name fashion designs includes clothing, accessories, cosmetics, leather goods, shoes, and textiles. Taiwan's textile technology and fabric manufacturing are both advanced and diverse. With the gradual maturity of the industry, open market, diverse culture, rise of educational standards, and influence from western fashion trends, more and more local designers are beginning to develop their own brands.

T h e t a b l e b e l ow g i ve s i n fo r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e fashion design companies in Taiwan and the business volume from 2010 to 2012:

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segmentation:

Market research has indicated that the coffee market has provided many business opportunities in recent years. In addition, people prefer to visit independent coffee shop more than chain stores. However, it also gives information that the coffee market have been very competitive. On the other hand, the data shows that the fashion industry also offers many business opportunities in Taiwan. More and more international fashion companies are planning to expand their stores in Taiwan. Therefore, the Homonym concept store will focus its marketing activities on reaching these two markets and the relative customers. The main target market for the Homonym concept store can be separated into four groups by using demographic, behavioural and psychographic approach:

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* Fa s h i o n a b l e p e o p l e As both genders that are aged between 25 and 40 in Taiwan demand to receive more fashion products and information recently, people have become more conscious of fashion. Those people are more accepting of new ideas and usually have strong personalities and high levels of confidence. Therefore, the increasing number of fashion consumers is our target market and we predict that it will be our target for designer brands.

* High economic capacity peopleAs the general prices of products are around NT2000 to NT3000 dollars and require customers to purchase at least NT6000 for membership, both males and females who have stable occupations or high economic capacity are our target for the long-term. Those people are able to purchase more products and are likely to return to the Homonym concept store more frequently. .

* C o f f e e d r i n k e r s As research found that the consumption of coffee increased sharply since 2000, we forecast that younger generation in both genders who are addicted to coffee or usually visit coffee shops once a week might be our target for the coffee shop. However, the most significant target of coffee drinkers is people who prefer independent cafes to coffee chain stores like Starbucks.

* G a y s a n d l e s b i a n s As Homonym specialises in androgynous fashion products, we predict that this type of group aged from 25 to 40 might be our main market. At the beginning when androgynous fashion has not quite caught on they might be our main targets due to Taiwanese linking gays and lesbians to androgynous style. However, this target will maintain the main market for the long-term as we are going to provide fashion products that they usually wear in their daily lives.

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Competition analysis:

According to market research the following shows the forecast of the main competition for the Homonym concept store: * Global brands such as Gap, Zara and H&M As Homonym is a start-up shop in 2015, it will require more competitive strengths to compete with some global brands that have opened stores in Taiwan recently. Customers prefer to shop for global brands than for new designer brands because established brands already have developed a good reputation around the globe and provide a stable supply of quality products. They also provide reasonable prices for the majority of people. In addition, global brands usually utilise celebrity endorsement to attract customers. * Independent coffee shop As a concept store is not a usual form of shop style in Taiwan, people might link Homonym with independent coffee shop, which have unique characteristics and high competitive strengths. As the concept store style might be appealing for customers, it is kind of a special point and attraction that Homonym offers. * High reputation coffee chain store Despite not being the primary competition for us, famous chain store coffee shops might also be a threat from the market. For example Starbucks, which has a solid global reputation, might attract some consumers who require take-away coffee to visit their store instead of ours.

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Value proposition: For both genders looking for fashion products to present their personality, Homonym concept store offers our customers new experience of dressing and shopping. Unlike traditional shops which only offer one service or which are only directed at one gender, Homonym focuses on providing the same style clothes to both males and females. In addition, the concept store form of shop makes Homonym attract more customers and share a t l e a s t t wo m a r ke t s.

Products features & benefits: The major products and services that the Homonym concept store offers include garments, foods and a great shop atmosphere. The most important feature of Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products and services is that we provide each item for every gender and the new experience of shopping, dressing and attitude. In more detail, Homonym offers androgynous fashion style to Taiwanese and at the same time promotes the idea of gender equality. On the other hand, customers might receive other benefits from purchasing our products. For example, people might improve their fashion knowledge by shopping in Homonym or observing different fashion styles in our coffee shops. We will also provide some after-sales services for our customers as listed below: * Delivery * Warranty * Service contracts * Support * Consulting * Follow up * Returns policy 107

Our marketing strategy will focus on the five sections that are described in the following section:

* Customer service Homonym believes that excellent customer service can help their company obtain three benefits; firstly in maintaining the number of customers and attract more customers; secondly by increasing the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reputation; and thirdly by increasing profits for the company. Therefore, providing the best customer service is one of our strategies.

* Promotion As Taiwanese are not familiar with androgynous fashion at the moment, Homonym will offer regular exhibitions in our concept store to promote androgynous fashion and the marketing promotions will consistent with our mission statement and aims. The other promotions will be asking celebrities to wear Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s products which is a quick method to attract customers when the company is a start-up business. Moreover, Homonym offers 10% off discount for special product once a month and cooperation with other famous brands to further increase our reputation. On the other hand, social media is the other method to promote our business. Homonym will focus on Facebook and Instagram users, creating an official account to update every dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s news, new products and sharing daily dressing by our customers or staff.

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strategy: * Pricing The Homonym concept store will combine both flexible and fixed pricing strategies. To simplify billing to customers, Homonym will classify the products into different types of pricing. In more detail, some products such as socks, hats and food will be classified as fixed pricing for customers; the products price like clothes and shoes will have flexible pricing depending on the productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quality and production method.

* Location Homonym will be located in the heart of Taipei, which is actually in the east area of the city. It is the first choose of place when people want to shop, and also has our target customers, wealthy 25 to 40 year-olds. Moreover, this location provides convenient transportation for all customers. * Channels The main channel will be our concept store, which offers all products for customers and provides personal assistance. However, Homonym will also offer different channels to our customers to attract a bigger market share, such as on the official website for people who like online shopping and an app system for people who only have limited time to make purchases.

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Strengths · Designer brand · Locate in Taipei · Concept store · Androgynous style · Practical products · Personal assistance · Free deliver · High Quality of products Opportunities · Androgynous fashion style · Concept store · Fashion plateform · · Threats · Low reputation · Too many competition · Traditional Culture ·

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Weaknesses · Androgynous style · Location · High Prices

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Organization Business operation:

* Production process - As Homonym is an androgynous fashion designer brand for Taiwanese, we i n s i s t t h a t a l l o f t h e products are made in Taiwan. Therefore, it will be easier for us to control the quality of the products. In addition, we will only cooperate with the manufacturers that are able to offer high quality materials that meet or exceed Homonymâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expectations. The main people who might be involved in the production process are our designers and owners. On the other hand, the production process fo r t h e c o f f e e s h o p w i l l be operated by our chef. All foods will made by our coffee shop apart from the raw materials, such as coffee beans.

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* Key Suppliers - Food suppliers - Manufacturers of clothes - Textile suppliers - Delivery company - Interior design company - Advertising company * Warranties & refunds - Homonym guarantees our customer the 7 days for a refund after they purchase a product. * Communication channels - Shop - Telephone - E-mail - Online website - Social media channel

plan * Inventory Homonym will hold the finished goods like clothes, shoes and raw materials like coffee beans in our stock. The following shows the forecast of stocks funds for three years:

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Company regulations:

* Equal gender opportunity * Healthy and safe working environment * Dressed with androgynous style * Customers are always the priority * No personal time during work hours * Employee welfare - Free meals on work days - Free product each month - Bonus when profits achieve the monthly goal - Employees trips * Employees have 8 days off work per month * Employees working over one year can have an additional 3 days holiday

Personnel: The list below shows the key employees that Homonym requires and the salary that we offer: * Chef/ NT 25000 per month * Waiters/ NT 17500 per month * Designer/ NT 25000 per month * PR person/ NT 22000 per month * Shop staff/ NT 18000 per month * Clerk/ NT 15000 per month 114

Skill requirements of employees: * Effective communication skills * Warehouse management experience * Marketing skills * Merchandise presentation experience * Cooking ability * Customer service * Passionate about the service industry * Basic ability of English * In touch with the fashion industry

Training methods:

In accordance with the aims and objectives of the Homonym concept store, we will offer some special training for all employees as follows: * Fashion knowledge lessons once a month * Marketing and promoting skills training * Experience sharing once a month * Optional English lessons (company will support part of the fees) * Personal skills improvement (ex. Cooking skill, design skill) * Customer service lessons

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Decoration Homonym

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the

concept store

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Fina

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ncial

plan 119

Pro forma profit and loss:

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Cash flow for three years:

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Break-even analysis:

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Sensitivity analysis: When it only sells 70% of forecast, Homonym will not be able to employ a chef or designer. The following shows the cash flow of selling only 70%:

ncial 123

ancial The cash flow when selling 125%:

fin fin

fina 124

nancial ancial financial

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T he

purpose of this dissertation was to gain deeper insight and understanding of androgynous fashion, yuppie style and coffee culture in Taiwanese society while also discussing the consumer behaviour and homosexual situation in Taiwan in recent years. The underlying reason for this research is to investigate the potential for creating a fashion concept store in Taiwan.

onclusi

According to the findings presented in the literature review and the secondary research, it is clear to see that androgynous fashion has already influenced the global fashion industry for a long time. However, there was no direct data related to androgynous fashion in Taiwan in recent years, even though Taiwan is a gender-friendly and mostly gender-equal country. Combining two results from different studies it can be concluded that Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s younger generations are flexible when accepting new ideas like androgynous, yet most issues take time to become general currency and conventional to everyone. This is the condition of androgynous fashion in Taiwan at the moment; eventually it will become a trend in Taiwan not just for younger generations. On the other hand, it seems that at the moment in Taiwan it is the perfect time to promote the yuppie style because of the condition of the economy for younger generations in the middle classes, since the way of thinking for both genders is already different compared with older generations. 126

Based on the findings, gender, which is the main point of this dissertation and the androgynous fashion in Taiwan, absolutely has significant influences on consumers when they make purchases. However, recently male Taiwanese have become more focused on grooming and dress, so this might be the reason that they are more open to androgynous fashion. In contrast, Taiwanese women want to more powerfully project their personalities by wearing masculine products. Moreover, consumer behaviour in Taiwan also has connections with economic conditions, thus we find that it probably the right time to create a new fashion concept store idea according to the significant rising trend of coffee drinkers and acceptable of androgynous style in recent years.

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Considering every element of the market, Homonym concept store could be the first brand to offer androgynous products and a coffee shop together. Although the coffee market in Taiwan is already shared by thousands of shops, it still offers ample business opportunities for start-up stores to establish themselves w i t h n ew fo r m s o f s t o r e s or by offering interesting ideas. From different points of this dissertation, it looks like the idea of creating a fashion concept store is a potentially lucrative one in Taiwan in the coming years.

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However, according to the current market conditions of Taiwan, the idea will require an interesting promotional strategy and could take a long time to attract people. At the same time, there have some been potential limitations unearthed by this research. One such example is the barrier presented by conservative traditional thinking in Taiwan from older generations. In addition, traditional thinking might affect some young generations or negatively influence other peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behaviour. There is no shortcut method to changing their thinking, yet the conditions will improve with the increased dissemination of more fashion resources. Additionally, there is also the concern that there are already too many coffee shops in Taipei city at the moment. As for this concern, the shop needs to be unique and maintain a high quality of products to increase its competitiveness.

To sum up, despite some limitations, the idea of the Homonym concept store might be very popular in Taiwanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s market. It will be positive to see the shop not only focus on profit, but also promote fashion s t y l e s a n d g e n d e r e q u a l i t y i n Ta i w a n e s e s o c i e t y. 129

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