Margaret GalanteFashion Journal

Intro to Fashion BusinessFall 2013

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Table of Contents

#1 – Cosmetics Industry – Pgs 3-8

#2 – Business Article – Pgs 9-13

#3 – Vogue Archives – Pg 14

#4 – Fashion Observations – Pg 15

#5 – Crossover Trends – Pg 16

#6 – WGSN Support – Pgs 17 & 18

#7 – Fabrics & Colors – Pg 19

#8 – Forecasted Trends – Pg 20

#9 – Window Displays – Pg 21

#10 – New TV Show/Movie Influence – Pg 22

#11 – FirstView.com – Pg 23

#12 – Job Descriptions – Pg 24

#13 – Fashion Don’ts – Pg 25

#14 – Career Choices – Pg 26

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Entry #1 - Women’s Wear Daily – October 11, 2013

Article

WWD.com/beauty-industry-news/retailing/amazons-bold-beauty-play-7217919

October 11, 2013 Amazon's Bold Beauty Play By JENNY B. FINE

With the launch on Thursday of the Luxury Beauty Store, Amazon.com hopes to revolutionize

how — and as importantly, where — prestige beauty products are sold.

The e-commerce giant has made no secret of its desire to conquer the prestige beauty

category, an effort that thus far has been met with skepticism by many brands accustomed to

the more rarified — and nondiscounted — confines of traditional distribution channels like

department and specialty stores.

Amazon hopes that the curated environ of the Luxury Beauty Store, coupled with a more

attractive visual presentation and the technological prowess for which it is renowned, will

change that perception. It also has committed to selling the products at full price, or not

going below the prices charged by brick-and-mortar

stores.

“We have luxury shoppers,” said Chance Wales, Amazon’s director of beauty and health &

personal care. “What we have been lacking is luxury brands, and we hope this is the first step

to marry our customers’ needs with what brands expect in terms of displaying and selling

their luxury [products].”

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For the launch of Luxury Beauty, Amazon has signed on 24 brands. They include Nars, Stila

and Vincent Longo in the makeup arena; skin care from Ahava, StriVectin, Dr. Brandt, Clark’s

Botanicals and DDF; Burberry fragrances and Jack Black men’s grooming products, plus

L’Occitane and Sabon, the vertical retailers.

The shop, which will be featured on the home page of Amazon’s main navigation bar, is a

marked departure from the more commoditized areas of the Web site. The pages are cleaner

and more visual than a standard Amazon page, and the products — all of which have been

photographed in-house — are larger.

“We all knew there would be a moment in time when the desire on the part of Amazon to

showcase more luxury in beauty, as they are doing in fashion, would be so important, they

would be willing to make some concessions,” said Wendy Liebmann, chief executive officer of

WSL Strategic Retail.

Amazon.com's Luxury Beauty Store. Photo By Courtesy Photo

Customers can shop by three main avenues: by content, brand or category. In all, there are

six categories: Skin Care, Makeup, Fragrance, Hair Care, Men’s and On Trend, which is based

on content and trends created by a team of 12 editors.

“For the design, we focused on the customer experience,” said Margot Johnson, Amazon’s

senior marketing manager of beauty. “It has a different look and feel, rich visuals and clear

navigation.”

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The Luxury Beauty Store features Amazon’s most popular widgets, such as “Customers who

viewed this also viewed that,” and a robust review area, but the site also features new

functionality, such as “Complete the Look” in the makeup pages or “Complete the Regimen”

in the skin-care section.

For example, if a shopper is buying nail polish, the site will recommend three complementary

products chosen by the editorial team, such as a nail fortifier, top coat and base coat.

But the biggest lure by far for many brands is the control it gives them on Amazon.com, the

world’s largest online retailer, which often resembles a grand bazaar of every conceivable

product imaginable.

“This site is much more premium,” said Stephane Colleu, president and chief executive officer

of Dr. Brandt Skincare. “A mass brand is not going to be sold within this platform, which is

why it’s very attractive.”

As to the reaction that Colleu is expecting from his current retail partners, such as Sephora,

the executive was realistic. “I’m sure they won’t be thrilled,” he said, “but I didn’t want to

miss this opportunity because we know how powerful the Amazon platform is today. I am a

niche brand, in the sense that my distribution is limited in the U.S., and Amazon gives me the

visibility and awareness that I don’t have today with my current partners.”

Crucially, Amazon is also working with brands to control their presence on other areas of the

site, particularly regarding pricing and the Amazon Marketplace, where products are sold by

third-party vendors.

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The company has reportedly addressed brand’s concerns regarding discounting. When asked

if products would be discounted, Wales replied, “We reserve the right to set our pricing.” But

brands indicate that as long as other authorized retailers are not discounting products,

Amazon won’t either.

In terms of the Marketplace, Amazon has also shown itself willing to exert more control over

where the brands in the Luxury Beauty Store will be available on the site. “We are working

with brands to make sure we’re presenting their products in an optimal environment,” said

Wales.

That holds immense appeal for companies engaged in the war against diverted products. “As

part of being on the site, they will allow the brand to gate out what other retailers can sell

our brand,” said Curran Dandurand, chief

WWD Copyright © 2013 Fairchild Fashion Media. All rights reserved.

executive officer and cofounder of Jack Black. “We gave them a list of authorized retailers,

and if a reseller is not on the list, Amazon takes them off the site.”

She added, “Allowing us to have better control of the retailers who are selling Jack Black was

very appealing. Heretofore, it was the Wild Wild West.”

“This is a huge upside of us working with them,” agreed Elana Drell-Szyfer, ceo of Ahava Dead

Sea Laboratories, where e-commerce constitutes 25 percent of sales.

Abby Whitmer, Ahava’s senior director of global digital marketing, also applauded Amazon’s

openness to work with brands on content creation. “They have been terrific at helping us

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determine what content will be attractive to their audience,” she said. “They are looking to

get a higher-spending audience and are catering to those who are already paying for their

services like Prime Membership. So the type of content they’re compiling are tips, brand

stories and imagery for people to see the product in motion. They’re trying to upgrade the

image of the luxury beauty sector to be friendlier for both brands and consumers.”

Be that as it may, Liebmann says the key to Amazon’s success in the sector will be its ability

to maintain the exclusivity of the subsite. “Amazon is going to have to be really willing to

hold the line,” she said. “The moment they start discounting or let the Marketplace come into

play, these brands are going to go running for the corners.”

Wales insisted that Amazon is in it for the long haul, fully committed to winning in the

category. “The launch is Day One and it is our goal to aggressively add selection over time,”

he said. “We want to be able to offer every luxury brand consumers are searching for, and

they are looking for all of the top brands [on Amazon],” he continued, declining to reveal the

most-searched beauty brands.

“For every business we go into, we want to be the place for consumers to discover and buy

whatever they are looking for,” he concluded. “It’s true in books, in automotive, in beauty. In

beauty, we recognize we want to push the boundaries to innovate the look and feel. And that

was the piece that was missing before.”

This article outlines the launch of Amazon’s new retail section specializing in higher end

beauty products. Where, before, you could only really find the occasional Covergirl mascara

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being resold or a set of Revlon nail polishes on special, the mass e-retailer now wanted luxury

brand beauty products to be available at the click of a button – and eligible for super-saver

shipping! To hit the high points, the agreement between Amazon and multiple major beauty

brands gave the brands security that individuals wouldn’t be selling their products on Amazon

without permit and helped these luxury brands break into the homes of the customers they

may have been missing. Before agreements such as this one, it was nearly impossible to, for

example, buy brands like Burberry Body and NARS online, but this meant that these companies

alongside Amazon had realized that niches of the market were thus far untapped and this was

the way to do it.

I think that this was a fantastic decision both on the part of Amazon and on the parts of

all of the agreeable retailers. As the article points out, this is opening up these products to a

different part of the market that wouldn’t have necessarily looked at them before – even if

solely for the reason that the customer had no desire to shop in the types of places that sell the

products. I know that I can personally say, if it weren’t for Amazon and sites with similar

agreements, my mother would not wear Gucci Guilty perfume. She’s one of those pieces of the

market that smelled it in a magazine, loved it, but had zero desire to visit her local Macy’s – and

that’s how Amazon comes in to the picture! Having seen this type of behavior first-hand helped

me really understand how beneficial this type of step can be for an online retailer. Another

example of a similar situation would be Ulta or Sephora. Both sell luxury beauty brands online,

at no discount, and help their customers avoid long lines and crowded malls.

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Entry #2 – The New York Times – November 20, 2013

Article

Thanksgiving Openings Take Sales From Black Friday By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS Shoppers who

braved the sales on Black Friday may have wondered at the size of the crowds. Did they seem

a bit smaller than in years past?

That’s because, according to one major research firm, they were.

More large retailers were open on Thanksgiving Day this year, and for more hours than in

years past. And it appears those openings nibbled away not only at the holiday, but at the

sales the day after, too.

“The Thursday store openings did well,” said Bill Martin, founder of the research firm

ShopperTrak. “But a lot of it was at the expense of Black Friday.”

Collectively, sales on Thursday and Friday were up 2.3 percent in brick-and-mortar stores

over the same two days last year, according to ShopperTrak.

But foot traffic on Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, was down

more than 11 perfect over last year. Sales were off even more, down 13.2 percent.

The holiday season generally accounts for 20 to 40 percent of a retailer’s annual sales,

according to the National Retail Federation, and Thanksgiving weekend alone typically

represents about 10 to 15 percent of those holiday sales.

This year, however, there is an unusually short window between Thanksgiving and Christmas,

and retailers tried hard to encourage people to shop early. Deals were offered weeks in

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advance, and ads pushed the idea that shoppers should get an early start. And many did.

According to the retail federation, 53.8 percent of shoppers surveyed in the first week of

November said they had already started their shopping, drawn by early sales.

Mr. Martin said that over all, he expected November sales figures to be stronger than last

year’s. By Saturday evening, ShopperTrak had not yet completed its data for Thanksgiving

Day, but Mr. Martin said he expected sales to be up “dramatically.”

Many major retailers have been bracing for a lackluster holiday season. Walmart and Target

both trimmed their yearly forecasts recently, citing major economic factors like slow wage

growth, consumer confidence and unemployment. And executives at Best Buy warned that

intense price competition on certain items during the holiday season was likely to affect their

bottom line, despite its improved earnings performance of late.

While sales increased on Thursday and Friday, there are additional costs associated with

being open on Thanksgiving Day, like holiday pay for employees.

“Thursday is going to be a tough day to make any profit,” Mr. Martin said.

The data from ShopperTrak addresses only brick-and-mortar stores.

Shopping online, however, grew substantially on Thanksgiving and Black Friday this year.

Online sales on Thursday were up nearly 20 percent over last year, according to IBM Digital

Analytics Benchmark, which tracks about 800 retail websites in the United States. Online

sales on Friday were up almost 19 percent.

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Another major surge came from mobile traffic, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of all

online traffic on Friday, said Jay Henderson, strategy director for IBM Smarter Commerce.

“That’s pretty staggering,” he said. “You hear a lot about the year of mobile, and this is

probably the fifth annual year of mobile. But 40 percent of all traffic feels like a tipping

point.”

Mobile sales grew to about 26 percent of total online sales on Thursday and nearly 22 percent

on Friday. On both days, the company saw a late surge in online shopping, presumably, as

people finished spending time with their families and snuggled up on the couch with their

credit cards.

Much of online traffic came from smartphones, which accounted for about 25 percent of

online traffic on Friday, as opposed to over 14 percent from tablets. But actual purchasing

came predominantly from elsewhere. Tablets made up about 14 percent of online sales,

double that of smartphones which accounted for only about 7 percent.

Traffic and sales at Target.com on Thursday were among the highest the site has ever had on

a single day. Walmart.com had nearly 400 million page views that day, including mobile

traffic.

There was also a small decline in IBM’s online numbers. Though online sales were up on

Thursday, the average order value decreased 2.5 percent, Mr. Henderson said.

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“I think the lesson there is that maybe since the idea of shopping on Thanksgiving Day is

new,” Mr. Henderson said, retailers offered, “slightly better deals to try to drive people to

shop earlier.”

Those numbers bounced back on Friday, he said, with the average order value increasing 2.2

percent over the previous year.

Despite all this growth, online purchases remain a very small portion of retail sales. Mr.

Martin of ShopperTrak said that over 90 percent of all United States retail commerce still

takes place in physical stores.

Retailers opening on Thanksgiving day to the public is a relatively new idea for us. Black

Friday has been around for quite a while and got its name because it was the day that pushed

retailers from the red back into the black. However, this year more stores were open, and many

open longer, on Thanksgiving day than ever before. This actually ended up taking away from

Black Friday! Though sales for the combined days were up from last year, with a higher

percentage coming in on Thanksgiving, the profit margin isn’t quite as high – with many

corporations paying holiday pay, overtime pay, and throwing in perks like free lunch or coffee,

it costs more to run a business on Thanksgiving day than it does on Black Friday. Online sales

were also up this year – particularly coming from mobile devices. Forty percent of online sales

Thursday and Friday came from mobile devices which is much higher than anyone anticipated.

The statistics outlined in this article really show how much holiday shopping –

particularly at the absolute busiest time of the year. A big question is will this always be the

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case? Will the statistics be similar to this next year? Or is this year special because of the

incredible short span of time between Thanksgiving or Christmas? Honestly, I feel like retailers

beginning to put more of an emphasis on Thanksgiving isn’t such a great idea. Sales are taken

from black Friday, and wages are much higher. Having some personal experience, I can tellyou

the Banana Republic paid me holiday pay when I didn’t work, bought lunch and coffee for

everyone working, and paid those working time and a half. This just seems like an incredible

amount of money to deal out just to be open on the holiday. Granted, a lot of money was made

that wouldn’t have been made otherwise, however, we definitely saw the dig in to the black

Friday sales.

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Entry #3 – Vogue Archives – October 2013

This article briefly discusses high fashion designers and labels really dipping into the

‘eco’ trend in production. The Green Carpet Challenge is an initiative led by Livia Firth that

strives to connect these high end labels to sustainable resources in manufacturing and

production. Not only are more commonly known eco materials available, like organic silk, but

designers can also make use of things like recycled plastic bottles. The article also points out

that these ‘green’ materials and productions methods are more widespread than people may

realize – some mills were using the materials and methods and the designers were totally

unaware until recently.

Though this is not the type of ‘trend’ I was considering for his entry, when I came across

it I was excited by it. I really enjoy the fact that so many designers and labels are getting so

invested in eco-friendly ways of manufacturing and in organic and ‘green’ materials. I think that

it says a lot about a brand and about the wearer – just as a specific style may say something

about a person’s style, their affinity for something that is safer for the environment says

something about the way that they live their life.

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Entry #4 – Fashion Observations

The biggest thing that I notice this season in both men’s and women’s fashions – but

predominantly women’s – is the presence of such vivid colors. Typically, during the autumn and

winter seasons, collection stick to darker colors and a lot of jewel tones. Usually a couple or a

few bright colors are worked in with the richer, deeper shades but not much more than that.

This year, however, I notice a lot of pieces either consist of a wide variety of colors or are

offered in a variety. It’s pretty easy to find pieces that are cooler weather styles in colors we

typically associate with spring and summer and I think that that’s really exciting! It brightens up

the cold days and I think it makes the fashions and possibilities much more fun and playful.

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Entry #5 - Five Trends that Cross-Over

1. Tartan prints – Tartan shows up in various textures and fabrics and is popular in many

places from typical shirt made of flannel to bags and coats.

2. Floral-type prints – There were a surprising number of prints that at least resembled

florals. Some were more abstract or understated and all were altered to be made

season-appropriate, but nonetheless an interesting thing to find.

3. Midi-length skirts – skirts that hit somewhere between just below the knee and just

above the ankle seem to be making an appearance in many collections and price-points.

This style is being paired with a number of various prints and other trends to make them

even more of the moment.

4. Punk style – in many cases, the punk-type styles that are showing themselves are paired

down with the above-mentioned tartan as well as more pops of color than one would

think. The style isn’t over the top, mostly just details here and there alluding to it.

5. Pink – in various hues, pink is popular this autumn/winter. It seems to be commonly

shown either in a monochromatic way or paired with black and white. It shows up in all

sorts of garments, a multitude of styles and in all types of fabrics like wool and silk.

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Entry #6 – WGSN Support

http://www.wgsn.com.emils.lib.colum.edu/content/report/Whats_in_Store/

Analysis_by_delivery/2013/November/women-s-accessories--a-w-13-14-deliveries/.html

This article supports both the strong presence of tartan as an on-trend pattern for A/W

13/14 and also makes note of the popularity of the color ‘berry’, supporting the pink trend.

http://www.wgsn.com.emils.lib.colum.edu/content/report/Catwalk_Shows/Key_Items/SS14/

Womens/s_s_14_w_key_items/skirts.html#The_summer_midi

This report does not necessarily support the trendy-ness of the midi currently. However,

I’m including it anyway because it does point out the anticipated popularity S/S 14, which

would definitely explain why it would start to be introduced right now. Mini lengths have been

so popular, it would make sense that we would need to transition into the longer hem.

Pinks such as these show up in macro trend

images fairly regularly showing how integrated

pink is.

Somewhat unconventional and darkened florals make more than one appearance in the

reports.

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http://www.wgsn.com.emils.lib.colum.edu/content/report/Whats_in_Store/

Analysis_by_delivery/2013/October/Denim/denim--a-w-13-14-womenswear-deliveries.html

This report specifically points out the presence of the punk trend in denim. Others can

be found regarding other specific pieces (for instance, boots).

Entry #7 – Fabrics & Colors

Though this jacquard isn’t the best pattern, nonetheless jacquard is a

popular fabric this autumn/winter.

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Romeo Jacquard. Made of a polyester, rayon and lycra blend.

Wool Blend Tweed

57% Acetate, 22% Wool, 17% Nylon, 4% Polyester

Wool Blend Boucle

66% Wool, 31% Viscose, 3% Nylon Boucle

The tweed and boucle are both shown in on-trend colors for the season – burgundy and berry.

Entry #8 - Forecasted Trends

1. Midi-Length Skirts & Dresses – Midis are starting to show up in collections and bode

really well for spring and summer of 2014. The 1950’s style seems to be coming back in

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to fashion with conservative lengths and, possibly, patterns and A-line and fuller, circle-

skirted silhouettes. Trend reports for S/S 14 support this and show exciting ideas and

pieces that will lend details to great new pieces!

2. Peplum – the peplum has been a fun and constantly evolving detail in many tops and

dresses this year and, from what I can tell, does not seem to be slowing down. I think

that the style of the peplum and patterns used will keep it an exciting detail on many

upcoming pieces.

3. Shirtdress – going back to the 50’s style, dresses with collars and high necks seem to be

something that could become widely seen and loved next year. The Collars and slightly

structured tops make for interesting opportunities for details – for example a

contrasting colored collar.

http://www.wgsn.com.emils.lib.colum.edu/content/report/Trend_Analysis/Womenswear/

2013/November/ss14skirtsdresses_womens_street_roundup1.html

Entry #9 – Window Displays

Banana Republic Flagship – N. Michigan Ave

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I think the number one thing that I like so much about this specific display is that the first things

I see are the outfits on the icons. In a lot of displays, it’s easy to get distracted by all of the extra

bits and pieces but this display focuses on the product. That being said, the window is not so

simple that it is boring – the reflective background, disco balls, and various pieces on the chairs

keep it from looking too empty or unoriginal.

Ralph Lauren – N. Michigan Ave.

First of all, my sincerest apologies about

this picture! I just couldn’t get it from an

angle that you could really see the

display. However, my favorite thing

about this display is something that

Ralph Lauren consistently does in their

windows so hopefully you will understand my point – I love that the display is not only about

the product, it is about the lifestyle that comes with it. The display creates an atmosphere that

gives the customer an idea of what a RL life is really all about.

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Entry #10 - New TV Show/Movie

Mad Men

Granted, Mad Men is not a new TV show. However, in recent seasons, the show has

transitioned from the 50s to the 60s in both era and fashions. Though I do see that fifties

fashions are still having/will have a pretty profound impact on trends, I think it is also going to

be evident that sixties fashions will start to show themselves as well. Shift dresses are popular

at the moment and the vivid colors that were so present seem to be sneaking in to places

thatwe wouldn’t normally expect to see them such as winter collections. I believe that we could

start to see a mixture of influences from the two eras that will create some fun pieces that

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make work wardrobes particularly exciting. An example of something I see is a shift dress with a

shorter length and a shirtdress-type feel in detailing such as a collar or long sleeves with cuffs.

Entry #11 – Acquastudio – Women, Sao Paolo – Spring/Summer 2014

I imagine at least a few of these pieces working in a

retail location such as Saks. They are dynamic and

creative and would clearly be at a high price point, but I

could see running in to some of them downtown near a

large gala or fundraiser. I really love that the colors are

so simple, but that the textures and the shapes create

visually stimulating pieces. The dominance of white and

the presence of a lot of laces and sheer fabrics gives a

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lot of the collection a feminine and soft feel, but bold moments such as ruffles piped in jet black

and cobalt lips make the collection more daring and more fresh and modern.

Entry #12 – Job Descriptions

Fashion Designer – A fashion designer must research trends and information about any

inspiration they may have. They must create collaborative collections that accurately convey

their ideas and maintain a cohesion while still make many pieces that have their individuality.

They must also work with things like choosing fabrics and overseeing production so that pieces

are put together correctly and are made to the desired quality. They also must work in

collaboration with marketers and/or merchandisers to make sure that pieces are going to

stores where the pieces will fit and to make sure that they are shown in a way that flatters the

collection the most.

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Buyer – Main responsibility is to buy fashions to sell in stores. A buyer must choose fashions

that work together in the same environment and must work in collaboration with

merchandisers in order to make sure pieces can be represented well and to make sure that

pieces ordered together can be shown in a cohesive message. They mustmake sure that the

correct number of pieces are ordered, that they are delivered in a timely manner and that the

prices are reasonable and within the budget of the company.

Product Development Manager - The product development manager oversees the entire

process of creation of fashions – from conceptualization all the way to shipping it out to the

stores, the product development manager makes sure that the pieces of the puzzles fall into

place so that the clothing can make a seamless transition from one stage of its life to another.

Entry #13 – Fashion Don’t

One of the BIGGEST fashion don’ts is an article of clothing that is too

small for the wearer. When buttons pull like this, or when the back is

so tight you can see underwear lines, it’s impossible to look past the

fact that the clothing is just too small. It always makes the wearer

look larger than they actually are.

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Another big one, in my opinion, is classic fit blazers and button down

shirts for men. Not necessarily all the time, but from what I can tell,

mostly men look much better in tailored fits. Whenever someone buys a classic fit off the rack,

it always looks a lot like he’s wearing something that he got from someone else’s closet to me.

I’ll admit this picture is an extreme, but I think there is a time and a place

for high platforms. Whenever I see a woman wearing a platform like this

during the day or with a suit, I cringe! I think it is a huge don’t and can make

an outfit seem unprofessional.

Without even mentioning the fact that this guy is wearing

athletic shoes with dress pants… he is wearing pleated dress

pants. Similar to the situation with the boxy jackets above, I

think that in 99% of cases, pleated men’s dress pants just do

not do any good. They always tend to look far too big and can

make a man seem much heavier than he actually is.

Entry #14 – Career Choices

1. Visual Merchandiser – I love implementing visual displays and laying out various

displays in the retail setting. I really like that there’s a high level of creative freedom, but

that the creativity does come out of an inspiration from the collections and pieces. I also

like that merchandising constantly changes based on sell-through and popularity so the

projects are ever-changing.

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2. Buyer – I know that buyers work pretty closely with merchandisers – from what I know

there’s a pretty collaborative effort between the two in regards to the visual piece of a

store. I would really love to be the one making the decisions on what types of pieces we

use in a certain season and what he feel of a store will be.

3. Marketing/Advertising – I also think it would be really interesting to be one of the

people making the calls on what images are used in ads and what signage will make its

way into the store. The first thing people see of a collection or even a brand is usually an

ad of some sort or an image in a window and I think it would be great to be the one

making that impression.

As you can tell, I’ve got kind of a pointed area I want to work in. I’ve been working in visuals and

merchandising in retail for 3 years now and not only do I greatly enjoy it, but I think that my

skills are pretty good. Obviously nowhere near where they’d need to be for any of these jobs

yet, but I love what I do so that pushes me to learn more and be better.

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