What is the Fashion

This term does not just define all the latest or the most popular or the most famous clothes. In reality this social phenomenon involves more importance. In some way fashion helps us to show who we are and depict our personality in the terms of visual information. In the way we choosing clothes we show our attitude to world and other people. It is also some kind of communication. We put some of our personality at everything, how we behave at different situations, what we eat and which style of clothes we choose at shops. All the parts of it build the main stream of fashion. But in spite of our personality every person at the world have something in common. Even if its the smallest thing. All over the world there are a lot of people who have the same tastes, who choose the same food and trousers of the same kind. There are a lot of traits which build the fashion of today. Nowadays the global industrial revolution and the modern enhancements create trends which we call fashion. And the trends influence our life. All tends which influence us show which social group we belong to. It is called common replete identical life style. The most representative trend is wearing the latest and getting things which considered to be fashionable. Modern society create fashion on branding. There are not companies and manufactures anymore. Customers think in the terms of brands. Entrepreneurs are able to occupy niche and communicate to their target market offering people of a definite life style what they want and need, Or even create a demand by themselves. Watches, shoes, jewelry, sun glasses. Fashion creates styles of everything we wear. The same is true t the attitude of cuisines. They have their own identity. French people and those who love French cuisine eat Coq au van. Fans of Chenese food prefer chicken corn soup, etc.

But you should not inhibit the true meaning of modern fashion. What is the essential sense of fashion? It is all about how society feels itself mentally. Fake fashion has not life. There is not any chances to survive for it. People and societies create fashion and make it the standard of life. Thats why modern trends represent the condition of society and carry what we call an environment. Fashion is the representative of modern ethics also. If you do not like the modern fashion you do not like the condition of modern society.

Indian fashion industry

Indian Fashion Industry is at its infancy at the moment and has great potential to make the mark on the world stage. Fashion in India has thousands of years of tradition behind it. India has a rich and varied textile heritage where each region of India has its own native dress and traditional costumes. Fashion Industry is growing at a rapid pace with international developments, such as the India Fashion Week gaining popularity and annual shows by fashion designers held in major cities of India. In Indian culture, the body is invested with various meanings and reflected in its rich sculptural tradition decorating the body is yet another way of conveying meaning and personality. In Indian history, the kinds of costumes and accessories worn can be seen to fulfil two criteria: simplicity and opulence. In either of the instances, the choice of clothing is dependent on the person's status, wealth and religious orientation. In ancient India the information about fashion is available from the sculptures as very few examples of costumes, textiles and jewelery have survived. In the Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3000-1500 BC), clothing tended to be simple where men wore loin-clothes while women were bare to the waist. Their Status was reflected in the kind of jewelery they wore; high-ranking women sometimes covered their bosoms themselves with jewels. It was because of Aryans that India had more complicated clothing consisting of the upper and lower garments was introduced, to which a cloak was added later. Generally pieces of cloth draped over the body in a style seen in many Indian costumes today. Indian Dhoti, the Scarf or Utterly, and the popular Turban are still visible and continue to be part of Indian fashion. After the independence, Indian Fashion industry witnessed the effects of globalization. Due to this, changes occurred in the dressing style of Indians, which even led to the fusion of Indian and western dresses. Wearing kurtis on jeans, spaghetti withsarees are the examples showing the effect of western culture on Indian. The work of Indian designers is highly appreciated all over the world. Western brands are also coming to participate in Indian fashion weeks, as they see a lot of potential in our market. Fashion in India is a fastly growing industry with international events such as the India Fashion Week and annual shows by fashion designers in the major cities of the country There are victories of a number of Indian beauty queens in International events such as Miss World and Miss Universe contests which have made Indian models recognized worldwide. Fashion designers such as Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal, Muzaffar Ali, Satya Paul,

Abraham and Thakore, Tarun Tahiliani, JJ Valaya and Manish Malhotra are some of the well known fashion designers in India. India Fashion Industry covers a whole range of clothing from ornate clothes designed for wedding ceremonies to prt lines, sports and casual wear. It even includes the traditional Indian techniques of embroidery like chikhan, crewel and zardosi. These traditional weaves and fabrics are used by Indian designers to create Indo-western clothing in a fusion of the best of East and West. sarees are woven in silk, cotton and artificial fibres. Kanjivaram, Mysore, Paithani, Pochampalli, Jamdani, Balucheri, Benarasi, Sambalpuri, Bandhini are some varieties of beautiful sarees from different regions of India. In Rajasthan and Gujarat men wrap and twist a length of cloth in the form of a dhoti around their lower limbs and a shirt-like kurta. Colorful turbans complete the picture of theIndian people. In urban India, the women commonly wear salwar kameez and the churidar kameez, is worn by women who go to work and thesaree is worn on formal occasions. Men wear kurtas and pajamas, or a sherwani for formal wear. Western wear such as shirts and trousers are commonly worn by men across India. Jeans, T-shirts, capris, bermudas are the kind of casual clothing worn by the young and the young at heart, who are the trendsetters of fashion in India. Since the last decade the Indian fashion industry has moved from the embryonic stage to a blossoming take-off. Fashion designers have contributed immensely to the spread of fashion as a driving force, both among Indian consumers and select segments of Western markets. India can now boast of dozens of leading fashion designers, who can match any European fashion designer in their concepts, styles and designs. Ritu Beri, Rohit Bal, Ritu Kumar, Abraham and Thakore, Deepika Govind, Gitanjali Kashyap, Indira Broker, J.J.Valaya, Lina Tipnis, Manoviraj Khosla, Pavan Aswani, Payal Jain, Ravi Bajaj, Rina Dhaka, Sharon Leong and Chandrajit Adhikari, Shaina NC, Sonali and Himanshu, Wendell Rodricks, Anna Singh, Ashish Soni, Jatin Kochar, Madhu Jain, Manish Malhotra, Ravi Bajaj, Salim Asgarally and Tarun Tahlliani top the growing list of reputed fashion designers in India.

Market Capitalization
A report on Indian Fashion Industry recently stated that this Industry can increase from its net worth of Rs 200 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in the next five to ten years. Currently, the

worldwide market for designer wear is amounted at $35 billion, with a 9% growth rate, with the Indian fashion industry creating hardly 0.1% of the international industry's net worth. According to approximations, the total market in India is calculated to be about Rs 20,000 crore. The branded Fashion market's size is nearly one fourth of this or Rs 5,000 crore. Designer wear, in turn, covers nearly about 0.2 % of the branded apparel market. Today the largest sales turnover within the designer wear segment is about Rs 25 crore, with other wellknown names having less turnovers of Rs10-15 crore.

Domestic and Export Share

India Fashion Industry is a very big exporter of Fabrics and accessories for the global fashion industry. Indian ethnic designs are considered as a significant facet for the fashion houses and garment manufacturers all over the world. India also plays a vital role as one of the biggest players in the international fashion arena for fabrics, while sourcing for fashion wear. India's strengths are due to its tradition, but even its raw materials. India is the third largest producer of cotton, the second largest producer of silk and the fifth largest producer of man-made fibers all over the world.

Employment opportunities
There has been growing consciousness among the Indian men and women towards the fashion, styles and designs of the dresses since long times. There are several institutes like National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Indian Institute of Fashion Technology (IIFT) and other fashion academies which have been established where the students are taught to translate their creativity into dresses and fabric designs. The media has also played an important role in the fashion boom by providing good coverage to the fashion world and even several magazines are specifically devoted only to the fashion scene. The proliferation of fashion-based programmers on the satellite television channels has increased the consciousness of the average Indian masses about the changing trends in the global fashion. This industry is also generating a lot of business and becoming a booming industry for generating a lot of jobs for people. More and more fashion training institutes and fashion corporations are cropping up. Many national and international brands are establishing themselves in Indian market. The mall culture has immensely helped in the growth of our

fashion industry. Thus, globalization has completely changed the face of our Indian fashion industry.

Latest developments

The organized market for designer apparel is about Rs 250 crore and designer wear calculates to less than 1 % of the apparel market. The global market for designer wear is 5 % of total apparel market and the global market for designer wear industry is largely dependent on the small-scale sector. Consumers for designer wear have a yearly household income of Rs 10 lakh-plus. There are 3 lakh such households developing at 40-45 %. Designer wear industry is projected to increase to Rs 1,000 crore by 2015. More than 81 % of the population below 45 years of the age is fashion conscious

Today the fashion designers and management experts foresee an average growth of about 10-12 % for the Indian fashion industry in the coming years.

Though, the growth rate could be more than 15%, if infrastructural and other logistical bottlenecks and drawbacks are over come, Indian fashion design industry is expected to grow much faster than projected (Rs. 500 cr.) and likely to touch Rs.750 cr. by 2012 from the current level of Rs.270 cr. because Indian companies are heavily investing big sums in the industry, consumers are increasingly shifting focus towards designer wear, exposure to western media and readily available of designer wear in the shopping malls, according to The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).

What is visual merchandising? Visual merchandising is the activity and profession of developing the floor plans and
three-dimensional displays in order to maximise sales. Both goods or services can be displayed to highlight their features and benefits. The purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage and motivate the customer towards making a purchase. Visual merchandising commonly occurs in retail spaces such as retail stores and trade shows. Visual Merchandising is the art of displaying merchandise in a manner that is appealing to the eyes of the customer. It sets the context of the merchandise in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, presenting them in a way that would convert the window shoppers into prospects and ultimately buyers of the product. A creative and talented retailer can use this upcoming art to breathe in new life into his store products. Passion for design and creativity are essential to be a good visual merchandiser. A perfect design process and the ability to create ideas that are different are required. Awareness of happenings in fashion world is needed so as to keep upto-date with the dynamics of the market constantly.

Visual merchandising includes window displays, signs, interior displays, cosmetic promotions and any other special sales promotions taking place.

Components of Visual Merchandising:

There are certain things which a retailer needs to take care while proceeding with the process of displaying his products. These components when combined together in a proper ratio will make a successful outcome.

Make merchandise the focal point:

The main goal of display is to showcase the products within the overall display area. Customers give three to five seconds of their attention to window display. The retailers visual message should be conveyed to the customer in that short period of time. It should not be like an unsuccessful TV advertisement, where the product is forgotten altogether and only the concept of the commercial remains in the mind of the viewer. The arrangement of

window display should go with the product and should not suppress them to make it discernable to the eye.

Right choice of colors is vital:

Color is one of the most powerful tools in the Visual Merchandising segment. It is a visual perceptual property. Colors can be associated with emotions, special occasions and gender. It attracts attention and pulls more customers into the store. A retailer has to focus on the right choice of color that would match with the theme of display. It is not possible to satisfy everyone all the time, but it is possible to cultivate the taste of customers gradually and purposefully. A right choice of colors in the display items can turn walkers into stoppers and significantly convert them into customers. It is therefore mandatory to choose the right color for the right theme of display. A Halloween display would require black color in the display theme. Valentines theme should be ruled by red color supplemented with pink and white. A display of babys accessories should reflect light shades of pink and blue colors. A Christmas display should contain colors of red, green, gold and silver.

Display themes to appropriately support the product:

A theme is a display of sale items of similar categories e.g. a display of kitchen accessories. Its essential to have themes for all retail displays. They can be romantic, wild, or capricious, and capture peoples imaginations.

A good theme will lure the customer with a shopping mood into the store. Themes mainly depend upon the retailers imagination and creativity. Focusing on the right theme rather than creating a display with expensive raw materials is the key to successful window display. A shoe store theme can be a group of elves buying shoes. A theme for display of casual wears can be a group of mannequins sitting casually at a get together in different poses. Related themes will tug the heartstring of the customers and will pay off.

Display should complement the retailers other strategies:

The content of the display should complement the in store environment and other marketing strategies of the retailer. If the retailer has a specific logo, the colors of the display can reflect the same color of the logo. For e.g. MacDonalds display, the clown is of the same color, red and yellow as in their logo.

Cleanliness:
Neat and clean arrangement is the foundation of an inviting a successful visual display. A beautiful display can be ruined by a cracked sign holder or an unclean display environment. Effective cleaning schedule of showcases and display fixtures is required.

Change the display settings in frequent intervals:

Changing the arrangement of the displays in regular intervals will initiate new interest about the products in the minds of the customer. By designing a plan-o-gram and activating changes frequently one can thus be a proactive retailer.

With globalization and the retail boom, visual merchandising is growing in leaps and bounds. It is not simply concerned about decorating a store beautifully; but must also symbolise the brand keeping the target audience in mind.

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