The fashion industry is the way that it is because of the innovative people who laid down the foundation. According to Business of Fashion, everything that makes up the fashion industry is “a direct result of the ingenuity, bravery and creative genius of individuals who were in their lifetime’s stylistic and societal visionaries” (Fashion History). These iconic people include Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, Christian Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent. It was actually Chanel who is credited with “rewriting the rulebook” of how trendy women should dress with her innovative and never-before-seen designs (Fashion History). The fashion industry is not only the process of designing clothing, but also “manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, and promotion of all types of apparel” from “haute couture and designer fashions to ordinary everyday clothing” (Major). People involved in the fashion industry actually have a lot of influence over society as they care not just about making the clothes behind the scenes, but they also represent brands and communicate with consumers in order to get them to buy their products. People often wear and buy certain brands due to the brand’s ideals and missions which is why marketing is one of the most important sectors of the fashion industry. In order to have efficient marketing, the brand has to “understand consumer desire and respond with appropriate products. Marketers use sales tracking data, attention to media coverage, focus groups, and other means of ascertaining consumer preferences to provide feedback to designers,” (Major). This communication between the consumer and the designer has been made possible through the use of social media. Before social media marketing, fashion marketing and advertising was in the form of print, usually in publications like Vogue and Elle. Vogue in particular was seen as the bible of the fashion world as it had the power to “transport the reader to a fantasy world of high fashion- in much the same way watching a film offers an escape from the everyday- and is still seen by many as the bastion of high-end style,” (Kay). While some people still cherish these fashion publications, the magazines do not hold as much value as they used to because the industry no longer needs a rulebook. Fashion and trends change each day, as people do not need to wait a month in order to get a magazine laying out the trends. With the addition of social media, these trends can be communicated at the touch of a button.
