Creativity in Business in connotation to Fashion Design & Management: A study

of Conclusive factors.

Dr. Anupam Saxena, associate Professor,

National Institute of Fashion Technology,
(Ministry of Textiles, Government of India)
Madhya Pradesh Bhoj Open University Campus,
NIFT Block, Kolar Road, Bhopal
Office. 0755-2493385, Mob. No. 09098889660
&
Mr. Manish Saxena, Freelance Marketing Advisor,
85, Mohini Golf Links, Phase-II, Lalghati, Bhopal-462032
Res. 0755- 2666339, Mob. No. 09425005991

Designers have a very important role in the success of expected products from buyers.
Merchandises have to satisfy social & governmental constraints. In today’s world of globalization, the key
to success is a unique, higher product which has a well-defined concept prior to its development. Apart
from all marketing theories and hierarchies, this requires designer’s sensitivity and harmony with
elements like global social, cultural, economic, and political environment where the prospects exist.
Because, not only demographic and economic conditions, as well as Maslow’s theory’s factors affect
buyer’s decision, but also, creativity and design elements are playing imperative role in this process.
Thus the hypotheses are that design elements – Colour, Texture, and Form influence the buyer
behaviour. In this research paper, we have tried to establish the creative strategies applied majorly by
present day designers taking care of customized requirements and demands of consumer to enhance the
movement of product among the consumer groups. In fact, Sales is merely a part of a complete
marketing process, in which creative marketing strategies and attractive visibility of product also plays a
pivotal role, where a designer’s contribution cannot be overlooked.

Key Words-

Colour, Form, Colour Psychology, Texture, Customization, Gorilla Marketing, Eco- Fashion,
Ethical design, Trend, New media.

1.
“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being…creativity requires passion and
commitment…It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life…”

- Rollo May, The courage to create

Consumer’s buyer behaviour is influenced by four major factors:

1) Cultural

2) Social

3) Personal

4) Psychological

These factors cause consumers to influence developing product and brand preferences. Although many
of these factors cannot be directly controlled by Companies and Entrepreneurs but there are ‘Micro
Factors’ which influence the product development and promotion highly.

What makes a raw material into a successful designer product is the value addition of a designer. This
value addition must be unique, original, comfortable, affordable by the mass and suitable to the market
requirements.

An expensive fashion design for the high class (Termed as “couture”) has the limitation of customized
prospects, whereas; low production with high production cost and limited profits, which even can’t match
to the sales and expense ratio.

Designs should be made for the masses that walk down on the streets with the priority of uniqueness as
well as affordability. This is known as “street fashion” where designer will have unlimited prospects, bulk
production with low production cost, low margin but with huge customer base.

Differentiation between couture and fashion streets can’t be defined because it is not possible to satisfy
requirements of all the masses in the same manner, but sometimes it may happen that rich classes can
search for a product which they can use as daily wear in “street fashion” market. It may also be possible
that upper middle/middle classes can go for “couture” products.

How to design such a product which can appeal to the targeted market?

 Rollo May (1909-1994) was an influential existential psychologist and the author of Love and Will, The Courage to Create,
and The Discovery of Being.

2.
First we have to understand features of fashion products; they can be termed as “core feature” and
“tangible feature”.

Core features are related to the basic needs of clothing, which may be protection, decency or adornment.
Every garment offers these functions to a higher or lower degree. Consumers always look for the product
which satisfies maximum set of need. Whatever products you are designing, it will automatically generate
sales once the public has learnt about what is on offer.

Tangible features are the presentation of creator’s idea using four basics of fashion design i.e. “colour”,
“pattern or texture”, “form” and “over all look” which makes a final product. Psychologically, one or two or
all of these factors influence buying decision of a consumer. Higher level of visibility of design creates
higher number of consumers with increasing interest in offerings, which will lead to a higher interest for
product procurement.

While we understand that “Clothes stand for knowledge, language, art and love, time and death, the
creative, struggling state of man.”- Anne Hollander

We will now see how these conclusive factors affect consumer and finally affect the production process.
The study is a product of detailed collection of interviews, literature review- newspaper articles, books and
websites.

Colour

Colour is a form of Visual Communication and a basic property of light. Form and Colour are two basic
elements in Visual Communication:-

 Form affect the intellect and

 Colour affects the Emotion. According to the studies, people believe that colours give impressive
quality presentation to an image which attracts customer and help in remembrance of
presentation.

"Colour is life, for a world without colour seems dead. As a flame produces light, light produces colour. As
1
intonation lends colour to the spoken word, colour lends spiritually realized sound to form."

Colour is the first thing other people notice about product, and its impact is immediate and long-lasting.
Colour choices of a designer portray his customer how they feel about themselves. If too many colours
are used, the spectator will be visually confused and will reject the product. But very limited colours create
monotony.

 Johannes Itten. Author: The Art of Colour, Dec. 1, 1997, defines the subjective and objective colour principles.

3.
Figure 1: 95% companies use only 1 or 2 colours as brand colour. Only 05% companies use more
than two colours.

Figure 2: 70% purchase of buyers is affected by Brand Colour.

Marketing Psychology states-

Colour accounts for the 60% of the acceptance or rejection of what a person sees.

 Colour can sway thinking, change actions, and cause reactions the colours used for a product,
website, business card, or logo cause powerful reactions.
 Decisions about colour are a critical factor in success of any visual experience.
 Colour combinations can attract or distract. The right colour combinations can be as important as
the individual colours.
 92% people believe that colours give impressive quality presentation to an image.
 90% people believe that colour of the product attracts customer.
 90% people believe that remembrance of brand presentation depends upon colours.
 83% people believe that colours are important for brand success.

Actually, the designers and the merchandisers or the creative heads must be aware of the application of
colour in the varying meanings and emotions that a particular audience can assign to colour. Even though
there are attempts to classify consumer response to different colours, everyone perceives colour

4.
differently. The physiological and emotional effect of colour in each person is influenced by several
factors such as past experiences, culture, religion, natural environment, gender, race, and nationality.
When making colour decisions, it is important to determine the target audience in order to convey the
right message. Colour decisions can influence both direct messages and secondary brand values and
attributes in any communication. Colour should be carefully selected to align with the key message and
emotions being conveyed in a piece.

Research on the effects of colour on product preference and marketing shows that product colour could
affect consumer preference and hence purchasing culture. Most results show that it is not a specific
colour that attracts all audiences, but that certain colours are deemed appropriate for certain products.
Since colour is an important factor in the visual appearance of products, colour psychology has become
important to fashion designers.

According to CCI COLOR - Institute for Color Research, the average person makes a subconscious
judgement about a product, another person, or the environment within 90 seconds. Between 62% and
2
90% of that judgement is based on colour alone. So, we know colour is a key factor.

Colour is used as a means to attract consumer attention to a product that then influences buying
behaviour. Consumers use colour to identify for known brands or search for new alternatives. Variety
seekers look for non-typical colours when selecting new brands. And attractive colour packaging receives
more consumer attention than unattractive colour packaging, which can then influence buying behaviour.

Colours used by designers/ entrepreneursfor branding-

40 BLUE
33%
20
0
Based on top 100 brands logo

Figure 3: Colours used by companies for branding

Texture

As customer enters in to an apparel shop, texture is an element which plays an important role in design
merchandising, he/she starts feeling the design in two ways which can be defined by two aspects-

 CCI- Institute for Color Research, 1972, colour merchandising and product technology.
5.
  Visual Texture that can be seen (shiny, dull, matte)
 Tactile Texture that can be felt by touch (feel/ hand)

Texture is a surface quality related closely to his/her senses of touch or sight. The entire things buyer see
around him feel differently when buyer touches the surface of the object. Textures that are smoothing,
pleasant draw him to them, other than abrasive, unpleasant and repelling.

This is a very important for a Designer, if want to manage their products in fashion stores because:

 It may increase as well decrease the appearance of body size and may draw added attention to
designs.
 Shiny or glossy (reflect more light); thick, bulky, shaggy, fuzzy, wrinkled may look increasing the
appearance of body size.
 Dull (because they absorb light), thin to mid-weight, Smooth, flat surfaces may decrease the
appearance of body size.

Being a part of the fashion industry, a designer have to understand that competition is so strong that it is
very difficult to have loyal customers. You can get only one chance for the presentations; it is solely
customers’ decision to grab it or leave it. An entrepreneur has to make a customer loyal to bring business.
Every customer expects value for the money he/she is spending. As a proper management of brand
image a designer should also keep following in to consideration other than design.

 The texture of a fabric is also determined by the fibre, yarn, structure (weave, knit, etc.), and
finish. Fibres are the smallest components of a fabric, but their characteristics strongly influence
texture. For example, wool usually gives soft textures while linen gives crisp textures.
 Fabric structure may be woven, knit, non-woven or other construction such as felt or lace. The
way the yarns are combined into the fabric structure determines aspects of texture such as the
weight, flexibility, firmness or compressibility, and stability or stretchiness characteristics of the
fabric.
 The most durable fabrics are generally those with tightly twisted smooth yarns combined to make
a closely woven or knit fabric (such as woven gingham, gabardine, and smooth double knits).
 Clothing that will receive frequent wear is usually constructed from durable textures while special
occasion clothing provides variety in less durable textures.

The fabric's weight and the flexibility or stiffness determines the silhouette and the shaping of the fabric to
the body. Many patterns suggest the type of fabric suitable for that pattern. Over the counter fabric stores
may label fabrics according to the type of garment suggested, but many times you must make the
decision about the suitability for a garment or item.

6.
It is suggested for designer to always be in touch of sales/marketing department. Nobody can utter one’s
creations unless until he/she is the benchmark for the industry.

Form and over all look

Definition of form can be “external appearance of a clearly defined area, as distinguished from colour or
material”.

Although, fashion is not a pure art form as other art forms are, such as Painting, Poetry, Dance, Drama
and many more which all have their own aesthetic values and processes. Yet it is a form of aesthetic
expression in itself….

“Fashion is an aesthetic practice even if that aesthetic is less about lofty ideals of ‘beauty’ but driven by
fluctuating attributes bestowed on certain styles of clothing. Cassirer’s point about aesthetic forms is
relevant here: fashion has its own formal mechanism of expression- its own lines and contours-even
when they ae continually reinterpreted or fluctuating. The aesthetic expression, as the ability to translate
sensory experience can be extended to understand something of the ways of encountering and knowing
central to fashion buying and provide the basis for a more expensive definition of economic knowledge.
That expressive ways of knowing in fashion are linked closely to ‘sense perception and bodily awareness’
3
is evident in the ways in which buyers encounter the clothing they buy.”

Now there are a few questions need to be answered-

 How forms influence the perception of others?

 What impact does the form of a dress creates on the behaviour of self and others?

The major function of is to modify the body form and secondly- the medium of communication. As a
means of communication, all of us normally assign meaning to form of clothing and try to depict our
personality through our attire, which is subject to continuous change, modification and refinement. As far
as the social psychology of clothing is concern, self and other’s behaviour is also affected. Researchers
consider the following features -

 Individual’s perception regarding clothing form.

 Impact of form as a mode of interaction
 Impact of form on groups
Since form of clothing sets the stage of successful social interaction as a part of social position
and identity, we may state the following-

Individual’s perception and a mode of interaction- Attitude, belief, values, behaviours! How people link
with any dress or form has its own relevance. In 1990, researcher Mary Lynn Dam horst conducted a

7.
research of 109 impression formation studies to determine the kind of information that were
communicated by form, and they were:- personality, competence, power, intelligence (81%), and
character, sociability and mood (67%). Many studies have been conducted to establish the fact that form
has a significant effect on human behaviour, environ and the other people in contact. Studies say that ‘if
you look good, you work good’. Thus, form creates self-confidence, attentiveness and care.

Effect upon others behaviour: formal and informal- Sharron J. Lennon & Leslie Daris (1989)
conducted a field study in two Department stores to observe the behaviour of sales persons. They found
that sales people provided faster services to the customer wearing high status clothing. One’s thought
process, choice, sex, behaviour, social status, power are a few facts which are directly related to their
impact upon others. Societies define their own forms to represent their status, establishment of rules, and
values. We may find evidences throughout the history, for example- Opulent Baroque Fashion, Airy and
aristocrat Rococo, Classic vintage, Soft and curvy Art Noveau and Sharp- Bold Art Deco. Style and
innovations have remained the key factors of fashionable forms. Many times, people choose to state
themselves differ from established norms, such as they like to be dressed up as ‘Priestly’, ‘Gothic’,
‘Methodist’, ‘Punk’, ‘Hippy’ and so on. It is a designer’s creativity to create forms which may satisfy the
emotional, social characteristics of individuals and groups.

As a designer, one must always be careful about the form of the apparel. Innovation and newness is
always welcomed but Form is obviously followed by function. It means that comfortability including cost
effectiveness is a major fact which must be taken care. If form or overall appearance touches the thought
process and social status of mass, it must be a major element to be taken care by marketers also
because territorial customs and trends influence people. In spite of all the globalization and forecast
trends, masses follow their own customs which finally be demonstrated in their buying behaviour.

. “People are always ready for new or better or more sophisticated experiences — digital and
4
physical….The role of the designer is to make them simple and meaningful.”

Marketing

You know that marketing plays an extremely vital role in designer business. It contributes greatly to the
success of a designer as final products and their distribution relies majorly on marketing. Marketing can
alternatively be known as availability, display and visibility of products in market place.

Marketing covers a number of areas such as promotions, public relations, and sales. Marketing is the
process used when introducing and promoting a product in a market, which leads to encouraging sales
from consumer buying. Marketing is the presentation of the products and making them available to the
customers with the goal of generating profits.

8.
Sales and Marketing are completely different, although both are closely coordinated. Sales is the output
of marketing implementations, which are when the act of purchasing takes place, that final step that you
need to take to really convince the buyer to part with their money for the product or service being
provided. As a design marketer, you must be extremely creative and innovative in marketing ideas and
activities. Your focus must be the customer and his/her requirements. Having a worthwhile and quality
product is essential, to convince consumer into buying. If you target the needs and wants of the consumer
public they will come back time and time again and they will then bring with them new recruits as
followers of your product. If it happens then you will get “word of Mouth” which is one of the best forms of
advertisement. Not one single penny’s worth of money needs to be invested in this marketing tool; the
only effective payment is excellent customer satisfaction. A constant proactive approach towards your
customer base builds good relationships. They will then tell their friends and people they know about your
designs, and how you are willing to go that extra mile. This effortless process will then increase your
customers, which turns into a successful designer.

A vital part of marketing within any business is creating brand name recognition. Forecasting companies
are engaged together with market analyses teams to establish the substantial understanding of
customer’s attachment to product as well as brand. In fact, Emotional Responses to the product also work
in this process. Now a days, entrepreneurs are carrying out the research on how consumers emotionally
engage with their products. It includes form, colour, finishes, comfort level and final artefact.

Once a designer manages to reach the stage where they have created an established their designs within
industry, the business can continue to grow and expand with ease. This is because the uniqueness of the
design they have created, the more customers they will attract, and the more profit they will make.

All in all when it comes to design success, you must know that everything comes with a risk, even
investing money into a new design is a risk, because nothing is ever at a guarantee to succeed.
However… the designer who does not take the risk will be at a risk of losing their business because they
lack public attention.

So to sum up, a designer MUST invest in numerous design activities to advance against the stiff
competition that exists in industries. Marketing is there to introduce your products and services to the
potential consumer market that will keep you afloat, and is therefore a vital factor in any business.

“You can always find an interesting way to tell your story. If you really think about who your clients are
and what makes your product special, there’s a unique twist you can employ to move the needle. Turn
your thought process upside down and get down to its core. Then, rally your team around a creative
5
solution to market your service to the world – the world is waiting to see what you come up with!”

9.
Customization

‘Customization is king’…. Consumers are increasingly looking for custom-made solutions that fit their
specific needs, becoming more engaged in product creation. Many companies are expanding their
product lines to better address consumer preferences. Others have developed “mass customization”
techniques, which deliver tailor- made solutions at prices and lead times that match traditional mass-
6
produced products….”

Mass-produced products had defined the 20th-century industrial revolution. They are increasingly looking
for custom-made solutions that fit their specific needs and becoming more engaged in product creation
which suits to customer need, comfort and of course, money. According to research, in 2013, nearly
three-quarters of consumers claimed to want personalized products and services, with personalization
deemed to be the most influential factor in determining value for money. Personalization can raise a
product’s value proposition and promote higher brand loyalty, which in turn increases profit margins. DIY
concept with Customization provides Customers with the option to purchase designs as it is or make the
design their own. Different fabric, sleeve, colour, pattern, hem, appliqué, button, trim, , strap, and pocket,
tassels- lots many options are available for customers to mix and match and to create the design of their
own. In fact, these way designers are forced to create designs to cater to their specific customers.

Emergence of New Media-Online consumer reviews, Ethical and environmental features,

Understand market and focus on the right channels

How the Internet has reshaped the customer’s decision-making process

“The redefined path toward consumer purchasing”) can help SMEs develop an effective online
strategy.The right choice of multi-platform channels will enable the company to tailor its approach to the
new purchasing reality. A good starting point is to leverage online channels (e.g., targeted ads, relevant
social media efforts) to build awareness and complement traditional marketing tools. Businesses can also
help the customer form an opinion about a product during the consideration phase by providing additional
product information and monitoring opinion-shaping sources, such as user review sites. Ultimately, the
goal is to offer the customer flexible acquisition options that make the purchase experience seamless,
whether it occurs online or offline (e.g., giving detailed business information on multiple platforms such as
7
Google Maps or dynamically displaying inventory levels).”

New media has laid to greater opportunity and transparency to the customer. It is providing more and
more options, comparative rates, and this way creating competition among brands. Social media is
providing feedback on trends and advice; thus become an important part of design process. Designer
Marc Jacobs is well known for experimenting with social media and using it in innovative ways to promote

10.
his product line. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Mail services and many blogs are providing such solutions
to the consumer. This is another matter of fact that the role of journalists in fashion industry has been
greatly reduced and blogs and social media have taken place of these traditional experts.

Fast fashion is a new term used to describe clothing collections that are based on the most recent
fashion trends. It emerges in the framework of the fashion cycle which is now moving faster than ever
before. Driven by Internet, technological innovation and globalization, the up-dated rate of fashion
becomes rapid, and then converts to establish new market which
is relatively different from the conventional fashion market. Fast fashion also has its cycle but has shorter
cycle because it grows and consumes faster.

Sustainable fashion-
There are brands that started their business without causing any harm to the environment and using the
Recycle, Reuse theories, Famous global brands such as Victoria’s Secret and Zara have assured to
detox their production practices. H&M has launched an eco-friendly Conscious Collection. Several well-
known brands large or small, mass market and niche, are paying attention to the ecological and ethical
use of resource and its impact on society, and similarly the consumers. Its’ true that, fashion production is
extremely complicated, and making eco-friendly shopping choices is an almost unapproachable task even
than companies and designer are trying to make it possible taking care of cost of raw material, production
cost and of course the innovative and creative part of it being the significantly important in the fashion
business.
An international journal Fashion Theory (Bloomsbury), in the year 2008 released a special issue which
was dedicated to Eco- Fashion, included researches from scholars around the world. This issue
discussed the complex conditions of eco-friendly fashion business. In 2011, an ethical and sustainable
magazine, ‘SIX’ was launched to celebrate the creativity of designers and independent brands that are
creating ethical sustainable future of fashion industry. Websites like www.ethicalfashionforum.com and
www.fashion-conscience.com have thrived to understand and establish the combination of sustainable
practise and commercial success and different interpretation of ethical practices in fashion industry.
Use of organic cotton, jute, bamboo, hem, banana fibre, silk, wool and other natural materials flourished
opportunities in the field of eco-ethical fashion industry, as well as has provided a range of eco-friendly
products to aware consumer. Indian handloom and handicraft industry is catering towards the need of
the time in a very successful manner in spite of a lot of constraints. Fashion is becoming green!

Being Highly Creative-Gurilla marketing: an unique way to promote/ Attract/ expand business- As
creative thinkers we have to think of new and exciting ways to grab people’s attention every day.
Sometimes it is by going bigger. Perhaps it’s by coming up with a better marketing strategy.

11.
“This alternative advertising style relies heavily on unconventional marketing strategy, high energy and
imagination. Guerrilla Marketing is about taking the consumer by surprise, make an indelible impression
and create copious amounts of social buzz. Guerrilla marketing is said to make a far more valuable
impression with consumers in comparison to more traditional forms of advertising and marketing. This is
due to the fact that most guerrilla marketing campaigns aim to strike the consumer at a more personal
8
and memorable level.”

Gorilla marketing’s unique feature is not only providing innovative and exiting ways of visibility, but also to
provide better post sales service to the consumers. This is the key fact behind the success of Gorilla
Marketing.

Conclusion-

Fashion is an ever changing business. Setting standards is likely to be an impossible task. It is an

unconventional trade in which, a designer and entrepreneur is always expected to create something new,
innovative and cater to the market with one’s full creativity. Through this study, it is proved that the key
factors which dictate the fashion businesses are very individualistic (personal choices in regards to
colours, textures, forms, seems, cuts, embellishments), psychological, driven by cultural and social
customs also. In spite of all forecast and trends researches, all these factors majorly set the standards of
design and marketing. Fashion always looks back to get the inspiration, analyse the previous one, adopt
new developments and create a new trend which cannot be totally independent and indifferent from the
older version of it.

According to Katherine F. Gerould:-

“The principle of fashion is the kaleidoscope. A new year can only bring us a new combination of the
same elements; and about once in so often we go back and began again.”

Now days, increasing concern for the sustainable, eco-friendly, organic products, and space designs
concepts have also become the major trend setter in design world. Talking about the development of
fashion business strategy, it is made complex by the presence of several variables which have to be
considered before the final plan and campaign are executed. Most important are below facts:

 Deferring needs of buyers in different markets

 Byer’s perception for the design attributes in different markets.
 Cultural differences.
 Economic constraints such as rate of economic growth, level of education, Psychological traits,
political climate.
 Global Ethical and moral standards.

12.
  Regulations and restriction of design.
 Restriction can be “use of specific material, ownership, political, legal (economic, nationalistic,
cultural, consumer protection considerations) and trade restrictions.
 Advertisement trends.
 Visual imagery.

As soon as the customer enters in a fashion store, his first choice would obviously be colour, then comes
the texture, form or overall look, comfort, trend, then cost and in the end comes the brand. Therefore,
cross cultural research studies in relation to trends, values, social and psychological aspects need to be
undertaken before formulating a strategy. It requires costs and time in developing separate strategies for
each market, and ideal approach to complement developing a standardized strategy based on the
research, and then fine tune the production to satisfy individual market.

13.
References:

1. Johannes Itten. Author: The Art of Colour

2. www.entrepreneur.com/article/233843
3. The aesthetic economy of fashion: Markets and value in clothing and modelling, by Joanne
Entwistle
4. Kara Johnson, a material scientist at the IDEO design group.
5. www.forbes.com/sites/joshlinkner/2013/05/30/5-creative-marketing-moves/
6. Mapping your future growth, 5 game changing consumer trends, page 3, BDC Report, Oct.2013,
Canada
7. Same, pg. 13
8. In 1984, marketer Jay Conrad Levinson introduced the formal term in his book called, “Guerrilla
Marketing.”

See Also:

9. www.bergfashionliberary.com/page/The%20Social%Dress
10. The social psychology of dress: A bibliographic guide- Kim K.P. Johnson and Sharon Bennon
11. Ardis W. Koester, Extension textiles and clothing specialist, Oregon State University
12. Johannes Itten. (Author: The Art of Color)
13. Fashion Marketing, by Mike Easey
14. National Geographic fashion by Cathy Newman
15. Alice Rawsthorn, director of the Design Museum
16. “The principle of fashion is the kaleidoscope. A new year can only bring us a new combination of
the same elements; and about once in so often we go back and began again.”- Katherine F.
Gerould
17. A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th and 21st Centuries: From Catwalk ...By Bonnie English

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------

14.