Fashion Marketing 101

Simply put, fashion marketing is a profession that takes the latest trends and designs in clothing and communicates them to a target market in such a way that the consumer is not only aware of the product, but wants and ultimately buys the product. A target market is a sector of the consumer market to which a company wants to sell (that is, market) its clothes. To fully understand what fashion marketing is, it is important to understand that marketing is not limited to magazine ads or commercials on television. The world of marketing is as dynamic as the world of fashion. Marketing clothing includes items such as determining in which stores the clothing should be sold, at what price the clothing should be sold, to what the displays should look like in the store. Fashion marketers are often as knowledgeable about business as they are about fashion and popular culture.

Fashion marketers are creative. In essence, the profession is about connecting with the image, the lifestyle, that the consumer wants. For example, in the fashion industry, comfort, style, material, color, symmetry, and usability are just the beginning of a list of items designers should consider when developing a clothing line. Fashion marketers take the task one step further by determining the best way to promote the characteristics of clothing to the consumer and to which group of consumers to promote it. What a 65-year-old woman looks for from a formal evening wear is completely different from what a 21-year-old man wants from everyday casual wear. Consequently, fashion marketers must keep up with the latest fashions, as well as know which styles will be successful for a variety of occasions, age groups, and demographics.

Fashion marketers play an essential role within the fashion industry because they are the link between designers and the public. The success of a clothing line is not based solely on its design. Successful marketing is often as crucial, if not more so, to the line as the clothing itself. This is because marketing is the tool through which the designer identifies with the public and the public identifies with the designer. Without this exchange, it would be difficult to establish the consumer base necessary to have a successful clothing line.

Ultimately, fashion marketing is a fun profession – it changes and reinvents itself as often as the clothes it promotes. It integrates the artistic nature of fashion with the creative aspects of business, making it a very rewarding career for the ambitious and innovative.