This study aims to analyze consumer perceptions of the metaverse platform and luxury fashion brands in relation to consumer lifestyles, thereby providing foundational data for future marketing strategies of fashion brands using the metaverse. A survey on the lifestyle and perceptions of the metaverse, as well as on luxury fashion brands, was conducted among 300 men and women between their 20s and 40s. Statistical analyses included frequency analysis, cross-tabulation, chi-square (χ2) analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, one-way ANOVA, and Duncan’s post-hoc test. Factor analysis of the participants’ lifestyles revealed five distinct types: “Indifferent,” “Social, individual, and leisure-oriented,” “Trend-leading and brand-oriented,” “Appearance and fashion-oriented,” and “Self-improvement-focused and individualistic” types. The analysis of luxury fashion brand perceptions based on lifestyle types showed that the “Trend-leading and brand-oriented” type had higher awareness and preference for brands such as Gucci, Burberry, and Balenciaga, while the “Indifferent” type showed lower levels of awareness and preference. Regarding brand perception related to luxury fashion brand content experiences within the metaverse, Gucci, Burberry, and Balenciaga showed consistent results across all types. Specifically individuals classified under the “Trend-leading and brand-oriented” category exhibited higher awareness and preference for these brands within metaverse experiences, while those categorized as “Indifferent” displayed comparatively lower levels. Therefore, digital marketing strategies targeting consumers under the “Trend-leading and brandoriented” category are expected to be highly effective for luxury fashion brands. This study is poised to contribute to the expansion of the marketing landscape within the metaverse virtual world for fashion.
With the digitalization of production and consumption environments, consumers are no longer merely targets of marketing, but key players in creating value jointly with companies by participating in various decision-making processes. Much virtual content in particular, such as fashion shows, exhibitions, games, social activities, and shopping, which fashion brands implement in virtual worlds, cannot be completed without consumers’ active engagement and interaction. Thus, this study considers consumers’ participation in virtual content provided by fashion brands as value co-creation in virtual worlds. This study aims to examine how consumer (i.e., consumer smartness) and fashion firm (i.e., perceived intellectual capital) factors influence value co-creation behavior intention in virtual worlds. Data were collected from 410 consumers in their 20s nationwide through an online survey, and a higher-order structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the research model. The results showed that both consumer smartness and perceived intellectual capital positively influenced customer participation behavior and citizenship behavior intentions. Specifically, perceived intellectual capital had a greater impact on value co-creation behavior in the virtual world than consumer smartness. The findings provide empirical evidence that the fashion firms’ intangible assets and consumers’ competence in the digital shopping environment encourage their intentions to co-create value in virtual worlds.
In the context of a globalized society where diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) have emerged as pivotal values, the fashion industry is undergoing scrutiny for its practices related to body DE&I. This study examines the nature of the discourse surrounding body DE&I within the fashion industry, focusing on how such discussions are shaped, disseminated, and manifested in both the industry and broader society. Critical discourse analysis is applied by utilizing, content from the New York Times and leveraging Fairclough’s analytical framework encompassing textual, discursive, and social practices. The findings indicate that the New York Times emphasizes diversity, with a significant focus on the shapes and sizes of women’s bodies, developing a narrative centered around women’s bodies through visible and representative domains. The analysis suggests conflicted discourse, with prevailing critiques against the fashion industry’s standardization of beauty and superficial inclusivity efforts. Moreover, the industry’s adaptation to social demands for body DE&I is observed as sporadic, often leveraging non-normative bodies as a marketing strategy rather than genuinely embracing diversity. This study highlights the importance of continuous, in-depth discourse and social practices regarding DE&I within the fashion industry, as well as the need for systemic changes and policies that genuinely reflect societal demands for inclusivity. The findings provide a foundation for future investigations into the multifaceted relationship between fashion discourse, DE&I, and social practices, advocating for a more inclusive and critically aware fashion industry.
Fashion stress is a pertinent aspect of modern consumer culture that has been underexplored in academic research. This study developed a conceptual framework of fashion stress and a multidimensional scale to measure consumers’ fashion stress. The qualitative study included literature reviews on consumption stress, shopping stress, and consumer behavior, as well as focus group interviews to gain insight into various dimensions of fashion stress. NVivo 12.0 was used to analyze the qualitative data and identify core categories following the grounded theory methodology. The quantitative study involved a preliminary and a primary surveys to verify the validity and reliability of the fashion stress scale. A total of 220 questionnaires were used for data analysis. The results show that fashion stress consists of eight factors: care, shopping, fit, brand, financial, closet, style, and disposal. Choice difficulty plays a significant role in all factors of fashion stress. Moreover, shopping stress had a negative impact on impulse buying, while other factors such as fit, brand, closet, and disposal stress had a positive impact on impulse buying. Thus, fashion stress is a potential antecedent of impulsive consumer behavior. The results also confirm the validity and reliability of the scale. The fashion stress scale developed in this study offers researchers a valuable tool for assessing and understanding consumer experiences.
Until now, research on consumers’ purchasing behavior has primarily focused on psychological aspects or depended on consumer surveys. However, there may be a gap between consumers’ self-reported perceptions and their observable actions. In response, this study aimed to investigate consumer purchasing behavior utilizing a big data approach. To this end, this study investigated the purchasing patterns of fashion items, both online and in retail stores, from a data-driven perspective. We also investigated whether individual consumers switched between online websites and retail establishments for making purchases. Data on 516,474 purchases were obtained from fashion companies. We used association rule analysis and K-means clustering to identify purchase patterns that were influenced by customer loyalty. Furthermore, sequential pattern analysis was applied to investigate the usage patterns of online and offline channels by consumers. The results showed that high-loyalty consumers mainly purchased infrequently bought items in the brand line, as well as high-priced items, and that these purchase patterns were similar both online and in stores. In contrast, the low-loyalty group showed different purchasing behaviors for online versus in-store purchases. In physical environments, the low-loyalty consumers tended to purchase less popular or more expensive items from the brand line, whereas in online environments, their purchases centered around items with relatively high sales volumes. Finally, we found that both high and low loyalty groups exclusively used a single preferred channel, either online or in-store. The findings help companies better understand consumer purchase patterns and build future marketing strategies around items with high brand centrality.
The changing media landscape has diversified how and what is discussed about fashion. This study aims to examine expert discussions about fashion shows on social media from the perspective of fashion criticism. To achieve this goal objectively, a text mining program, Leximancer, was used. In total, 58 videos were collected from the panel discussion section of Showstudio from S/S 21 to S/S 24, and the results of text mining on 24,080 collected texts after refinement are detailed here. First, the researchers examined the frequency of keywords by season. This revealed that in 2021–2022, digital transformation, diversity, and fashion films are now commonly used to promote fashion collections, often replacing traditional catwalk shows. From 2023, sustainability and virtuality appeared more frequently, and fashion brands focused on storytelling to communicate seasonal concepts. In S/S 2024, the rise of luxury brand keywords and an increased focus on consumption has been evident. This suggests that it is influenced by social and cultural phenomena. Second, the overall keywords were analyzed and categorized into five concepts: formal descriptions and explanations of the collection’s outfits, sociocultural evaluations of fashion shows and designers, assessments of the commerciality and sustainability of the current fashion industry, interpretations of fashion presentations, and discussions of the role of fashion shows in the future. The significance of this study lies in its identification of the specificity of contemporary fashion criticism and its objective approach to critical research.
This study examines options to revitalize a B2B textile trading platform, exploring user satisfaction and perceptions of the importance of several website features. Between June 8 and June 21, 2023, fashion studies majors and domestic fashion brand product planners were asked to use the website of an open B2B textile platform for 30 minutes and then evaluate its features by responding to a survey. The final sample for analysis wad comprised of 150 questionnaires. To analyze the key textile website features, a paired t-test, Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA), and multiple regression analysis were utilized. The analysis classified the key textile website features related to user importance and satisfaction into the following categories: convenience, appearance, product information, and uniqueness. An analysis investigation of the differences in importance and satisfaction for each website evaluation attribute found significant differences in 12 attributes. The IPA analysis revealed that attributes such as product reliability, quality, a convenient search function, and convenient page movement are highly important to users and garner high user satisfaction; these findings demonstrate the importance of maintaining these elements. Images on the main screen, the latest trend information, and product prominence attributes also garner high importance ratings, but result in low user satisfaction, which signifies extensive revision is required. Finally, user evaluation of the convenience, appearance, and product information of the website was found to affect user recommendation intention.
This study assessed the effectiveness of brand image communication on consumer perceptions of cruelty-free fashion brands. Brand messaging data were gathered from postings on the official Instagram accounts of three cruelty-free fashion brands and consumer perception data were gathered from Tweets containing keywords related to each brand. Web crawling and natural language processing were performed using Python and sentiment analysis was conducted using the BERT model. By analyzing Instagram content from Stella McCartney, Patagonia, and Freitag from their inception until 2021, this study found these brands all emphasize environmental aspects but with differing focuses: Stella McCartney on ecological conservation, Patagonia on an active outdoor image, and Freitag on upcycled products. Keyword analysis further indicated consumers perceive these brands in line with their brand messaging: Stella McCartney as high-end and eco-friendly, Patagonia as active and environmentally conscious, and Freitag as centered on recycling. Results based on the assessment of the alignment between brand-driven images and consumer-perceived images and the sentiment evaluation of the brand confirmed the outcomes of brand communication performance. The study revealed a correlation between brand image and positive consumer evaluations, indicating that higher alignment of ethical values leads to more positive consumer assessments. Given that consumers tend to prioritize search keywords over brand concepts, it’s important for brands to focus on using visual imagery and promotions to effectively convey brand communication information. These findings highlight the importance of brand communication by emphasizing the connection between ethical brand images and consumer perceptions.
This study investigates consumer experiences and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions in luxury brand pop-up stores, including standalone and department store setups. Grounded in experience economy theory, this study examines the experiential elements based on the types of pop-up stores and the relationships among consumer experience, pop-up store image, and WOM intentions for each type. Data were collected from 300 visitors to luxury brand pop-up stores between January and July 2023 and analyzed using Smart PLS 4.0. The findings reveal several key insights. First, standalone pop-up stores offer educational and escapist experiences, while pop-ups within department stores have a single identified factor of consumer experience. Second, regardless of the store type, luxury pop-up store experiences significantly influence pop-up image perceptions. Third, luxury pop-up store image drives WOM intentions for both standalone and department store pop-ups. Notably, the unique image significantly impacts solely department store pop-ups and does not influence standalone pop-ups. Moreover, image perceptions in both pop-up store types do not significantly affect brand WOM intentions. Finally, WOM intentions for pop-up stores significantly influence WOM intentions for brands. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of consumer experiences in luxury pop-up stores, providing practical insights for stakeholders in the luxury brand industry to enhance pop-up store image perceptions and WOM intentions.
Clothing is intimately intertwined with daily lives as every individual relies on it. The pervasive issue of plagiarism in the fashion industry has led to an increased demand to protect intellectual property rights. Currently, studies on the protection of fashion design intellectual property rights in China remain in the exploratory stage and warrant further investigation. This paper addresses the issue in two parts. The first part contains an analysis of the theoretical foundation for the protection of fashion design copyrights. It is further divided into three subsections. The first subsection primarily examines the concept of copyrights and laws. The second subsection focuses on the concept of fashion design copyrights and laws. The third subsection analyzes copyright laws concerning fashion designs in China. The second section offers an analysis of infringement cases involving fashion designs published during the Baiyi Cup Intellectual Property Case Summary Writing Competition held in China in 2023. It outlines the shortcomings of the current Chinese copyright laws regarding the protection of fashion designs, and proposes measures for improvement. This study argues that the institutional framework for intellectual property rights in the Chinese fashion industry should align with practical considerations and explores suitable legal regulations and how they relate to specific circumstances in China. Besides refining the legal framework, fashion designers and enterprises must take measures to entablish the intellectual property rights of their clothing brands.
Traditional culture contributes to the diversification of modern fashion design and the inheritance of local cultural identity. This study aims to identify the characteristics of traditional handicrafts reflected in modern fashion design in India. For this purpose, it focused on Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra, and Ritu Kumar, who are currently leading the Indian fashion design field. The methodology involved conducting literature research and analyzing case studies. In the literature, the techniques of Indian traditional crafts such as embroidery, dyeing, and weaving were examined and five design elements of traditional crafts were defined. Through content analysis of 30 images from the three designers’ Instagram accounts, the design characteristics of traditional handicrafts expressed in contemporary Indian fashion design were derived: cultural inheritance using traditional Indian clothing items, traditional materials and practices applied to contemporary clothing, craftsmanship that artistically improves complex details using embroidery techniques, various combinations based on the traditional meaning of colors, and narrative expression using patterns containing India’s cultural identity. Incorporating these traditional handicrafts into fashion design, closely linked to everyday life, aids in conveying and enhancing their significance. The cases demonstrate the successful integration of conservation into contemporary fashion design. This study sheds light on the application of traditional culture in modern fashion design.