Episode 16: 3 Simple Theories to Learn | Fashion Movement Series, Part 2

0:00 Hey, I'm so glad you came back to hear the second part of the fashion movement. So let's get into talking about this. Today I'm going to go over three theories, three simple theories that you need to know, in order to truly understand the fashion movement. Alright, so this is part two of a three part series. The first part was back in episode 14, when I talked about the phases and the runs of the fashion cycle. Please go listen to that so you'll understand part one. Then we're going to talk about part two theories today. And then next week, we're going to talk about part three. Stay tuned for that one.

0:50 All right. Now, if you haven't already done so, go ahead and go to my link in the description or the show notes. To sign up for CTE month giveaways. I am giving away a resource every Friday, get your name on the list, okay? I would love for you to have a free fashion resource or even a DECA resource, whichever one you choose, okay, and stay to the end. So you can hear about the resources that are available that connect you to the fashion cycle, fashion theories. And then part three, this fashion movement. Alright, let's go.

1:37 You're listening to marketing EdVenture, the hub for business, fashion, marketing and other CTE educators who integrate marketing into the learning experience. I'm your host, Jackie Walker. Each week, I'll cover marketing, education concepts, strategies, tips, trends, frameworks, and other information to equip you to connect your classroom to digital natives while cultivating an engaged learning environment. So come on into the room, where your favorite beverage snacks and even your cell phone are all welcome.

2:17 Alright, so as I stated before, we're going to be talking about the three theories that you need to learn, that your students need to learn. These three theories are called Fashion Theories. What is a fashion theory, you might ask? Well, it is the distribution of fashion across a group of people how fashion moves, how it flows, how it goes from one element of society to another. It's important for marketers, people who are working in the fashion industry, especially like fashion forecasters. To understand how fashion moves, they need to understand the needs of the consumer, they need to understand it by analyzing how fashion makes its way from one group to another consumer group. So they're constantly studying what moves fashion, how ideas or trends spread, how they adapt, you know, what the tastes of the consumers are, what influences the lifestyles, the budgets of the various consumers, and how that affects the way the fashion moves. So what they look at are these theories that are called Fashion theories of how fashion flows. And we're going to talk about these three theories. So they are called the trickle down theory, the trickle up theory, and the trickle across theory. And I'm gonna get into these very simply, I'm not going to spend a whole bunch of time on it, I don't want this to be a prolonged episode. So I'm just going to give you a summary of each theory. And, of course, there's an activity that I have that's tied to the faction theories that you can use with your students.

4:20 Alright, so let's talk about the first one, the trickle down theory. This is the oldest theory that exists. This particular theory states that fashion flows or trends flow from the elite down to the middle class and down to the lower class. So it starts at the top and this is why this is the oldest theory because fashion trends start with the people having the money, right. So as long as fashion has been around, that has been the truth. All right. So at this stage with the trickle down theory, you're looking at innovators. So maybe things that were on the runway during fashion week, or what have you are the things that are immediately available to the people that have the money. Nowadays, that's gonna be your celebrities, that's going to be people who are highly visible, people who are known for whatever it is that they're known for. And it could be nowadays we have social media, it could be the people, you know, who were influencers. So, but I'm gonna stick with the celebrities, because we're talking about trickle down. And so we're talking about the elite, we're talking about people who have the money, so they get access to fashion, a designer, who has created we see it all the time on the red carpet, designers create outfits for celebrities. And so then that particular style or trend trickles down to the next class of people, your middle class, and then it trickles down eventually to the lower class. So this is high end clothing. This is haute couture, this is, you know, kind of one of a kind kind of a thing that somehow gets adapted, mass produced in trickle down to the lower classes. All right. Once this fashion, that the elite that starts with the elite level, once it trickles down to the middle class, the elite move on to something else, because they're not going to be seen in something that everyone else is wearing. Okay, so that is your trickle down theory, it starts with the elite trickles down to the middle class than the lower class.

6:54 Hey, Ventris educator, did you know that CTE Month is in February? Well, in honor of you, I am giving away free fashion marketing resources. Every Friday in February, I will have a drawing. And I will provide a free fashion marketing project or activity to the winner. So go on to my description, or in the show notes and click on giveaway so that you can get your name in the hat. I look forward to all the wonderful winners that we're going to have. Now back to the show. 7:37 The second theory is the trickle up theory. Sometimes it's called the bubble up because you know things bubble up when they bubble they go up. Alright, so the trickle up theory, as you can imagine, what that may mean is that it starts with the lower class, and then it makes his way up to the upper class. So you may think, why would someone in an upper class one wear something from someone from a lower class? Well, let's think about it: ripped jeans, you know, faded jeans, looking like they've been worn a lot. Those are the things that started with the lower class you know, because the street wear, it's made to look urban, you know, worn you know, all those different things, well, then that became something acceptable by the upper class because they wanted to come off as trendy, maybe as youthful or in fashion, you know, they wanted to not necessarily be so designer oriented, they want it to be more like you know, everyday people, but of course we know that it once it hits that upper level, it's surely at a different price point. Then you may find then the more level so, I mean, they may they still shop at their high end stores, but you begin to find those fashion items. In those high end stores look a little bit more urban streetwear worn, youthful, trendy, things of that nature. Now some designers took on this idea of things that were coming from the lower level class level and they put it into their designs. So Chanel is known for creating functional clothing for women. Now we all know Chanel for the classiness of her of their designs right but at She wanted to make clothes more functional for women, not necessarily just, you know, designer, and well put together but functional, comfortable pants, you know, instead of dresses, things of that nature. So, Chanel took from the working level, middle class people function, put it into clothing and made it for women, and still was able to provide their clothing to women who had money. All right, Versace is well known for the safety pin dress. And you know, you wouldn't think of any one that's an elite class, having safety pins on their clothes, because you know, safety pins means that you don't have buttons, your zippers are broken or things of that nature. But he took that idea of using safety pins for clothing that's tattered, and you safety pins in his dresses as a style. And so that became very popular at one point in time. So that's your Trickle Up theory, trans style starting at the lower class level, and working their way up into designer level, elite class level. All right.

11:28 Okay, now the third theory is called trickle across theory. Now, this theory states that when something comes out in fashion, whether it's off the runway, or what have you, is that it hits each class level, relatively at the same time. So there's no one group that takes on that trend, or style. And then it moves from one group to the other, they all kind of pick it up at the same time, from various designers from various manufacturers. So then that style comes out at various price points. It's mass produced, and the leaders from each class level tend to be the innovators with in that particular class group. So people within their own class look to the people who are setting the styles and trending with that particular item. And they look to them, they don't look, they don't look upward to the elite, the elite don't look downward, to see what the lower class and the middle class are doing. They kind of just look to the people that are at their level in their class level, and to see what they're doing with that particular style, or that fashion or that trend. Now, again, I said this is in mass production at this point in time, because you have all the different levels. In this trend at that time, the trends tend to move faster between the groups. And then the designers like I said before, price place these products have their and their various price levels. So you have your high end designers, you have your middle of the road designers and then you just have your manufacturers that are just copycatting and doing mass production. So that is what you have for trickle across theory. And just to sum it up, again, trickle down theory is the oldest theory, and it's from elite, down to middle class down to lower class. Trickle Up theory starts with the lower class and makes his way up to the elite upper class. And your trickle across hits all class levels pretty much at the same time. And that's where you really have mass production in various price levels.

14:04 Alright, so that sums up fashion theories and it gives you just the idea of how fashion forecasters use these fashion theories to understand trends, styles, and how fashion is moving. They really look at these trends to see where they start, how they move, to make determinations and forecast styles coming up in the future or even for buyers who need to purchase for their companies. So it's used at that level of the fashion industry where decisions are being made for purchasing and all of that. I hope that helps you understand the second part of the fashion movement. And next week I'll get into talking about the third part. So come on back. love to have you here to complete out the The fashion movement series. So as I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, I have a little special for you. If you want to teach your class about part one, the fashion cycle, part two, the fashion theories. And part three that's coming up next week, I have a bundle just for you. In this bundle, you have access to three activities in one project that encompass all of the various areas of the fashion movement. So you can click on the link in the description or in the show notes, and you will have access to the information about this very special bundle about the fashion movement. I do want to thank you again for joining me today in this episode, and be sure to go back and listen to episode 14 that talks about the fashion cycle. And stay tuned for next week on episode 17 where we finish off the fashion movement series.

16:04 Thanks for listening to Marketing EdVenture. Remember to subscribe, rate, review and share this episode with someone you think you'd benefit from the information shared here today. If you have any questions or want to connect with me, find me on Instagram and Marketing EdVenture. All links and resources discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes at MarketingEdVenture.com