McCracken (1988) Culture and Consumption- Clothing as language p63-68
Does clothing have a code?
“Well he wears that jacket because he used to be a businessman, but it doesn’t fit with the pants and the shoes because he’s lost his job and is on the skids.” p65 Clothing as language
This journal of International research and marketing highlights how we read people by what they wear. We already have a background on this person from the language of his clothes because clothing is uses as a strong means of communication. It is the combination of clothing and language that plays a crucial part in the creation of new messages. Thus the code is a collection of messages, rather than the tool used to help you pick out clothes that “go together”, which I initially understood to be the case. There is not as much freedom in clothing as there is in language. There are subtle guidelines that have been present over the centuries, known as material culture that we cannot seem to escape. Therefore, making it harder for new messages to be created.
In this journal, MacCracken also discovers how material culture is fixed, whereas language is changeable. So the dress code of past cultures is protected from the language of the present. New messages can be created from old fixed fashions, but they cannot be changed completely. This then poses the question, if material culture is used to create a new message or belief, does this make the item of clothing more treasured or more expensive? Each designer has their own message that they want to convey to their customers. Thus, if they are consistent with that message, does this ensure that they keep their customers loyalty? They have established themselves as a brand with their chosen message, which people can trust. However, to become a part of this “I’m trendy” message or empire the designer has created, the customer must be prepared to pay more. So in retrospect, the customers are paying for the message and not the fabric. It is not the clothes that the customers are so desperate for, but the stigma that is attached to them.
Lastly, I asked myself. Does material culture work as a better, clearer, more understated method of communication than language? Are these messages less open in their projection than that of language? The answer had to be yes. Material culture can be used as the best tool for the precise representation of cultural truths. It helps fashion designers to incorporate their beliefs and assumptions into the fabric of every day life.
Another paper I began to study was, the Journal of Brand management (2008). It begins with an investigation into the definition of fashion, and continues with an exploration into the definition of genuine luxury designer brands and counterfeits. This then precedes to the consumption of fashion counterfeits. It also portrays how much easier it becomes for customers to express their individual and social characteristics through material possessions with counterfeit brands, as they are cheaper to purchase and the look like the real thing. Research in this study also focuses on collectively investigating; social, individual, behavioural and emotional factors on why people purchase real or counterfeit brands.
An important issue then comes to light: If we wear nice, expensive looking things, will we become better people? A quote from Kawamura in 2005 states:
“Fashion does provide extra added values to clothing, but the additional elements exist only in peoples imaginations and beliefs.” p2 Journal of Brand Management
With the mention of “additional elements” I think Kawamura is referring to the message clothing sends to people when worn. For example, if you wore a suit jacket and tie with nice shoes, all expensive brands. You would be sending the message to people that you are important and worth a lot of money, when in fact you might have saved up for months to purchase this outfit that you can’t really afford. This brings forward my next argument: clothes can be deceiving and no matter what your cultural background is. With the right look, and help from counterfeit brands, you can appear the way you want, subsequently boosting your social, individual, behavioural and emotional state, however not necessarily changing your lifestyle.
In addition, from reading this journal I have discovered that the fashion house Coco Chanel was the first to discover “lifestyle branding” and supported this with their branding communications in the 1920s. Chanel highlighted the two main characteristics of branding. Firstly, the significance of brands being linked with popular lifestyle images. Secondly, the ownership of a particular “lifestyle” that luxury brands cannot give to each customer.
Furthermore, this paper defines counterfeit and divides its meaning into two separate categories. The first meaning was; deceptive counterfeiting occurs when customers assume that he/she is purchasing a genuine branded product that turns out to be fake. The second is when non-deceptive counterfeiting occurs and the consumer does not recognise that the branded product is not authentic. However, this paper also points out that the manufacturer of such branded items tries to give the customers cues as to what is fake and what’s real. For example explaining; the quality, the price, location, materials, and so on. All of which are discussed by Grossman and Shapiro (1988).
Overall, before the manufacturers can begin to tackle counterfeit brands. They need to understand how consumers think, feel and act towards each other in a specific environment, whether it is social, formal, and so on.
Subsequently, from my in depth study of both papers; the International Journal of Research in Marketing- Does clothing have a code? And the Journal of Brand Management. I have learned that there are people who will only buy counterfeit brands in attempts of adopting a certain lifestyle. Usually one that is perceived to be significantly better than there own. The idea of “you are what you wear” is in my opinion the manufacturers attempt of brainwashing an unsuspecting public with their own personal message, or belief, one that promotes a new language in fashion. These fashion designers are taking what is material culture and changing it just enough to make there own messages and beliefs seem more apparent.
These two journals seemed to have one particular issue in common: people that wear branded items of clothing are perceived to be more successful and even happier in everyday life. They explain how the market understood this and began to find a way of transcending this message down through all of their collections and they had made them just affordable enough for the average person to buy. Thus, by catering to this need, they were encouraged to produce more and more of these aesthetically pleasing labelled fabrics.
The International Journal of research in Marketing states:
“Having a better understanding of abstract issues, such as, symbolic and social dependencies allows markets to fully comprehend factors which influence consumers and their experiences with genuine luxury designer brands.” p6-7 Journal Of Brand Management
This issue was brought forward to me again in a lecture by Professor Mike Press. He explained this idea of thinking on a bigger scale, designing for a community. Design is reflexive: you have to understand the world around you before you can start to think about designing for it. This is why it is so important for the markets to research symbolic, social, lifestyle and economic dependencies.
Counterfeit brands are emerging in full force, now more than ever. People who want to live the better lifestyle, but can’t afford it, now can because replicas are cheap and look like the real thing. This so-called “lifestyle branding”, discovered by fashion house Coco Chanel seems to be the reason for the creation of counterfeit brands. The designers fight this by advising their customers on how to tell a fake from their products. However, the psychological thirst for a better lifestyle overweighs this attempt, consequently leaving the designers with the huge problem of counterfeit brands and how best to get rid of them.
In conclusion, It is clear that from studying both of these journals, that more needs to be done in order to research how the public reacts to real brands as opposed to fake ones. Then and only then will the designers be able to tackle their enemies. The visual communication between established brands and their consumers is strong. However, a lot more work will need to be done to gain a better psychological understanding of there consumer needs. Perhaps if they created a new message that says:
“BUY FROM US, WE DON”T ENDORSE CHILD LABOUR
QUALITY OVER SLAVE TRADE”
This would encourage people to by the real product instead of the fake.
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