The market levels of fashion

The market levels of fashion

The fashion market levels. These are the very foundations of the fashion industry, separating not only garments and accessories on quality and price, but consumers too, from the elite at the top to us mere mortals right down at the bottom. 

So, let's start at the top. Couture fashion, the very pinnacle of luxury, is designed and hand-crafted by extremely skilled workers using the finest quality materials, threads, finishes and embellishment. This therefore explains why the price point is so high. At a starting point of £4/5000 for a couture dress, no wonder only film stars and millionaires can only afford to even sometimes loan a dress out to wear for red carpet events!  However, most of the money for these brands come in from perfume and makeup sales. The photo worthy images from the catwalk draw people into the brand, and the lower price point of makeup and perfume allows everyday consumers to buy into the brand. Couture brands include; Chanel, Yves St Laurent, Prada, Dior and Gucci, just to name a few. 

Luxury fashion is very much similar to couture, however at a slightly lower price point, and store are found on famous streets, such as: Bond Street and Sloane Street in London. 

Now we come to bridge brands and diffusion lines. These are very similar to each other, in the way that higher end bands produce secondary lines that are more accessible for the public to purchase. These products create a link between the designer and younger demographic, and items may be slightly edgier than classic couture products. These diffusion brands include Polo by Ralph Lauren, Simply Vera and DKNY by Donna Karan.

Next is traditional high street fashion, which all consumers will know and recognise. High street designs include Debenhams, Jack Wills, House of Fraser and Oasis. The designs for these brands filter down from catwalk shows and are made more accessible for the average consumer as they have a much lower price point but are still good quality garments. Fast fashion retailers also use designs from catwalks, however with a much quicker turn around time. Take Zara for Example.They can 

adapt catwalk garments and have them in their stores within two weeks. Talk about fast fashion! 

  

And finally, at last but very not least (drum roll please) ... it's economy fashion! Examples are George, F&F, and TU. These cheaper brands are sold at supermarkets, making them accessible for busy mums especially, and they sell everything from underwear to school shirts. How convenient? 

Until next time
Anna xx

Image references:
https://www.retail-week.com/sectors/grocery/asdas-george-boss-fiona-lambert-to-step-down-from-the-grocer/7004004.article
https://www.forbes.chttp://shop.davidjones.com.au/djs/en/davidjones/polo-ralph-lauren-homepageom/companies/zara/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanel
http://www.fenwick.co.uk/brands/dior/