The fashion offer

Collections are designed and communicated as a range of garments or fashion offer. These tend to include classics, basics and fashion pieces as confirmed by H&M's literature which states that its womenswear range has 'updated classics and fashion basics at good prices and also clothes with a higher fashion content or made of more exclusive materials' (H&M Annual Report, 2002).

These divisions seem to naturally emphasise different lengths of life and rhythms of use (see Figure 4), perhaps allowing these characteristics to be used to develop lower impact garments. Fashion pieces are 'consumed' at a quicker rate than classics, we have called this a fast metabolism. This incorporates a time component - they are 'in' right now and usually connected to certain colours and styles, they have high symbolism and are worn visibly ('on show') for communication with others. When the symbols change, the garment is discarded. In contrast, classics have a slower metabolism. The motive behind purchasing and wearing these garments is both material functionality and stylishness. Working with these categories can perhaps lead to eco service opportunities, the substitution of one material for another, etc.

It is important to remember however that most consumers today, and probably specifically fashion consumers, do not use clothes consistently according to category and are not loyal to one brand or retail form. For example, a confident fashion consumer mixes garments from designer labels, with high street items, cheap outlets and second hand treasures. This emergent complex way of shopping is mimicked in how retailers of different profiles such as Top Shop and Selfridges now offer one-stop eclectic shopping. And when the consumer gets the garment home, fashion interpretation occurs. Consumers may divide their clothes into classic-basic-fashion but it may not be what the designer intended. So rather than rely on general categories, in this project we have chosen find out more about what happens to clothes beyond the point of purchase for four typical garments.

References

Franklin Associates (1993), Resource and Environmental Profile Analysis of a Manufactured Apparel Product: Woman's knit polyester blouse. Washington DC: American Fiber Manufacturers Association.
Uitdenbogerd, D. E., Brouwer, N. M. and Groot-Marcus, J. P. (1998), Domestic energy saving potentials for food and textiles: an empirical study. Wageningen, NL: Wageningen Agricultural University.