Is Global Warming Changing Fashion Trends?
by Jasmin Malik Chua, Jersey City, USA on 09. 4.07
Photo credit: micahe
Wearing white after Labor Day may not be the crime against fashion it used to be. In fact, with the exception of "heavy winter coats and flimsy sundresses," says the Wall Street Journal, climate change may have given seasonal dressing the boot all together.
"There are less extreme differentials between seasons," says Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia University's Center for Climate Systems Research. Spring is sneaking upon us earlier by seven to 10 days, while fall is getting delayed by about a week.
Our indoor, sedentary lifestyles also mean less of a need for bulky sweaters and tweedy woolens. So what will become of fashion, a multibillion-dollar industry that thrives on frequent inventory turnover, seasonal switch-ups, and planned obsolescence?
Liz Claiborne Inc. invited Horton to an informal discussion with 30 executives, where talk ranged from types of fabrics to how seasonal markdowns and retail deliveries should be timed. Target says it uses "weather-related intelligence"—oh, to be a fly on that wall—in planning its collections. (Starting in January, Target will also be selling swimwear all year round.)
Kohls is also said to be working with a meteorological consultant on scheduling seasonal markdowns, while J.C. Penney is shifting from four to 12 retail deliveries a year, so it can fill its 1,048 stores with fashions that "they need month to month, instead of season to season," says a J.C. Penney spokeswoman.
Expect a growing number of fashion houses and brands to produce lighter-weight, seasonless clothing, where color comes more into play than fabrics. "Modern customers don't need heavy flannels and wools," says Andrew Rosen, CEO and co-founder of Theory. He estimates that only 20 percent of Theory's clothing can be worn only in cold weather.
In a word: Layer. ::Wall Street Journal
I'd guess that any changes that are going on now have to do with superficial clothing trends, and larger scale social changes like more indoor sedentary careers and workplaces becoming more casual, which enables layering (and flouting fashion "rules"). Dependence on cars also means that more of our day is spent in climate controlled spaces.
These differences have been taking place gradually over the last 50 years, but as older generations stop shopping as much, consumers will stop making tradition-bound purchases.
I also wonder if it doesn't have to do with parts of the US where populations are growing. More people relocating to the Houston and Atlanta metro areas and the Southwest means lower nationwide sales of heavy winter things, and more year-round swimwear purchases.
Ooh, and I thought of another reason, especially regarding the J.C. Penney's spokesperson talking about increasing new product shifts to 12 from 4, annually.
The reason companies are making more seasonless clothes, and less cold-weather-only clothes is because most people buy just one coat (for example) which is expected to last for a few years. Whereas the idea of semi-disposable tops, skirts, etc. is currently very hot. I have 4 sweaters and something like 20 t-shirts. 2 pairs of jeans, but at least 4 or 5 skirt/dress/shorts combos. This is just a way to get more people buying more, not a change due to global warming.
Fashion is such a fickle, shallow thing - it's pure manipulation of the consumer for the sake of consumption. So often folks look back at what they wore 10 years ago and shudder, yet they believed they were at the height of fashion at the time. I wear the same sorts of clothes all the time, that way I'm either trendy or I'm a trendsetter. No item of clothing is wasted :).
I think what you are seeing particularly with shopping is that consumers are buying more...more often. The industry categorizes stores:
Department Store
and
Discount Store
In the past stores like Macy's and Sax 5th Avenue will have higher priced goods, but will turn over their styles and merchandise fewer times a year (4 times for a department store)...the higher prices make up for the shopper having fewer options since the store only turns its merchandise over 3 to 4 times. Discount Stores like Target, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart try to turn their merchandise over as much as they can. It used to be that Discount Stores would turn their merchandise only 4 times a year and Department Stores would turn their merchandise 2 times a year. As consumerism has grown and people are demanding a larger variety of merchandise, stores have had to turn their merchandise more often. The internet has also contributed to stores needing to have more variety since you can get anything any time on the internet and have it delivered to your home.
So what does this business lesson do...it tells us that we are going to see a more gradual transition of products from month to month as opposed to seeing stores go from Swim Suits in the late spring to Winter coats in the late fall. Things are going to be similar in a gradual shift. Cold Climates still need winter coats in the winter and swim suits are still in demand in tropical climates...that will not change unless people all move to one extreme or another.