• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.165-175
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• 2008

A cross-cultural study was carried out in Germany and in South Korea in order to investigate the relationship between brand personality and product personality facilitating the three dimensions of personality agreeableness, excitement, and extroversion. Two pairs of shoes were prepared across categories of product function symbolic (a pair of high-heeled shoes) versus utilitarian (a pair of sport shoes). In experiments, each pair of shoes was labeled as a luxury brand ("Versace") or a casual brand ("C&A", Germany; "Migliore", South Korea) or left unlabeled. Prior to the experiments, an expert group in each country evaluated the brand personality in terms of "cheerful" (agreeableness), "honest"(conscientiousness), and "provocative" (extroversion) and the results were considered as a baseline. In Experiment I and II, subjects were exposed to two pairs of shoes labeled in one of the three ways and assessed the personality of both pairs of shoes using the personality traits, cheerful, honest, and provocative. Identical versions of the experiment were conveyed in Germany (N=56), an individualist culture, and in South Korea (N=72), a collectivist culture, and we purposed to find cultural differences in evaluating product personalities influenced by brands. The empirical results do not show any significant influence of brand personality on product personality in either cultural group (p>.05). Nevertheless, the subjects estimated the retail price of the shoes to be significantly different depending on the brands in both cultural groups (p<.001).

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.81-101
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• 2021

Traditional department stores have been struggling to attract customers for several years. Many retail stores have closed in recent years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The reinvention of in-store shopping value and experience is imperative to attract customers and reinvigorate retail business. The purpose of this study was to discover which in-store components can improve customer experiences and loyalty while also identifying dissatisfaction issues in consumer experiences in department stores. The data was collected from two consumer groups-luxury department store (Selfridges) customers and mid-market department store (Debenhams) customers-to identify the types of value and experiences they seek most often. The findings showed that to enhance their store patronage, Debenhams should reposition their brand image in a way that allows customers to connect with their self-image and lifestyle by improving efficiency and convenience and prioritizing the utilitarian and social value types. By contrast, Selfridges should enhancetheir store atmosphere, visual merchandising and sensory experiences by maximizing slow retailing experiences and emphasizing the aspirational self-concept image for symbolic and hedonic value. This research uncovered the existence of numerous overlappingvalue dimensions, each of which contributed to the enhancement of the others. Several young customers expressed their support for ecologically responsible, cost-effective second-hand luxury products. Instead of focusing merely on conventional value dimensions, department retailers should determine how environmental and ethical objectives can be fulfilled. This study explained how department stores can craft their in-store environments to appeal to their customers' preferred value types to ensure success in a competitive market.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.406-421
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• 2021

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the obligatory wearing of masks has led to increased consumer demand and the diversification of mask design. Accordingly, it is necessary to understand the inner meaning and characteristics of masks in the pandemic situation. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to analyze the characteristics of fashionable masks and their new cultural meaning under the COVID-19 pandemic. This research is based on literature review and empirical research. Drawing on an investigation of the historical evolution of masks and their transition under the pandemic (exhibiting differences in mask culture among countries and regions), this study analyzed 54 distinctive fashion masks designed by fashion brands and influencers that appeared from January 2020 to January 2021. The characteristics of fashion masks identified under the influence of the pandemic are as follows: Message delivery on political issues and human rights; psychological defense and expression of individuality; and conspicuous display via luxurious materials and luxury brand logos; moreover, the design of the mask uses the same material, color, pattern, decoration, and other methods as clothing to achieve the overall style. Over the course of the pandemic (and even in post-pandemic lifestyle), fashion masks are becoming more diversified conveying new social and cultural meanings.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.185-203
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• 2021

The aim of this study was to reveal the modern succession and reinterpretation of brand identity through the case of Balenciaga design presented by Demna Gvasalia through a review of the literature, design collection, and design review analysis. The design collection analysis was conducted from 2016 F/W to 2020 F/W, when Demna Gvasalia commenced responsibility for the Balenciaga collection. A total of 12 articles from overseas fashion magazines and newspapers were analyzed. A modern reinterpretation of Demna Gvasalia's Balenciaga design is as follows. First, he introduced luxury mode to reflect a sense of the times and introduced luxury street looks based on street and sports sensibilities, showing various styles without specific concepts. Second, by sharing universal sensibilities based on pragmatism, he proposed an easy-to-wear outfit for daily life to demonstrate the everydayness of fashion. Third, as a new exploration of traditional structural beauty, the design of Cristobal Balenciaga was reinterpreted through the conversion of items, overlapping outfits, and the introduction of high-tech technologies. Fourth, by taking a conceptual approach to fashion, he has renewed the spirit of experimentation and modernity shown by Cristobal Balenciaga. Fifth, with the presentation of a new icon, new styles of sneakers such as Triple S and Speed Runner are presented as new icons. He inherited the original mindset and creative approach of the house's founder, Cristobal Balenciaga, and reinterpreted it from a contemporary street sensibility and pragmatic perspective.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.35-48
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• 2010

Today, the fashion market challenged by a maturing retail market needs a new paradigm in the "evolution of brand" to improve their comparative advantages. An important issue in fashion marketing is lifestyle brand extension with a specific aim to meet consumers' specific needs for their changing lifestyle. For fashion brand extensions into lifestyle product categories, Gen Y and Baby Boomer are emerging as "prospects"-Baby Boomers who are renovating their lifestyle, and generation Y experiencing changes in their life stage-with demands for buying new products. Therefore, it is imperative that apparel companies pay special attention to the consumer cohort for brand extension to create and manage their brand equity in a new product category. The purposes of this study are to (a) evaluate brand equity between parent and extension brands; (b) identify consumers' perceived marketing elements for brand extension; and (c) estimate a structural equation model for examining causative relationship between marketing elements and brand equity for brand extensions in lifestyle product category including home fashion items for the selected two groups (e.g., Gen Y, and Baby boomer). For theoretical frameworks, this study focused on the traditional marketing 4P's mix to identify what marketing element is more importantly related to brand extension equity for this study. It is assumed that comparable marketing capability can be critical to establish "brand extension equity", leads to successfully entering the new categories. Drawing from the relevant literature, this study developed research hypotheses incorporating brand equity factors and marketing elements by focusing on the selected consumers (e.g., Gen Y, Baby Boomer). In the context of brand extension in the lifestyle products, constructs of brand equity consist of brand awareness/association, brand perceptions (e.g., perceived quality, emotional value) and brand resonance adapted from CBBE factors (Keller, 2001). It is postulated that the marketing elements create brand extension equity in terms of brand awareness/association, brand perceptions by the brand extension into lifestyle products, which in turn influence brand resonance. For data collection, the sample was comprised of Korean female consumers in Gen Y and Baby Boomer consumer categories who have a high demand for lifestyle products due to changing their lifecycles. A total of 651 usable questionnaires were obtained from female consumers of Gen Y (n=326) and Baby Boomer (n=325) in South Korea. Structural and measurement models using a correlation matrix was estimated using LISREL 8.8. Findings indicated that perceived marketing elements for brand extension consisted of three factors: price/store image, product, and advertising. In the model of Gen Y consumers, price/store image had a positive effect on brand equity factors (e.g., brand awareness/association, perceived quality), while product had positive effect on emotional value in the brand extensions; and the brand awareness/association was likely to increase the perceived quality and emotional value, leading to brand resonance for brand extensions in the lifestyle products. In the model of Baby Boomer consumers, price/store image had a positive effect on perceived quality, which created brand resonance of brand extension; and product had a positive effect on perceived quality and emotional value, which leads to brand resonance for brand extension in the lifestyle products. However, advertising was negatively related to brand equity for both groups. This study provides an insight for fashion marketers in developing a successful brand extension strategy, leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. This study complements and extends prior works in the brand extension through critical factors of marketing efforts that affect brand extension success. Findings support a synergy effect on leveraging of fashion brand extensions (Aaker and Keller, 1990; Tauber, 1988; Shine et al., 2007; Pitta and Katsanis, 1995) in conjunction with marketing actions for entering into the new product category. Thus, it is recommended that marketers targeting both Gen Y and Baby Boomer can reduce marketing cost for entering the new product category (e.g., home furnishings) by standardized marketing efforts; fashion marketers can (a) offer extension lines with premium ranges of price; (b) place an emphasis on upscale features of store image positioning by a retail channel (e.g., specialty department store) in Korea, and (c) combine apparel with lifestyle product assortments including innovative style and designer’s limited editions. With respect to brand equity, a key to successful brand extension is consumers’ brand awareness or association that ensures brand identity with new product category. It is imperative for marketers to have knowledge of what contributes to more concrete associations in a market entry into new product categories. For fashion brands, a second key of brand extension can be a "luxury" lifestyle approach into new product categories, in that higher price or store image had impact on perceived quality that established brand resonance. More importantly, this study increases the theoretical understanding of brand extension and suggests directions for marketers as they establish marketing program at Gen Y and Baby Boomers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.267-280
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• 2011

This study examined bag purchase behaviors for male consumers based on fashion attitudes. Data research were conducted on 304 males in their 20s and 30s located in Seoul & Gyeonggi province. The SPSS 17.0 software program was used to conduct data analyses such descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, factor analysis, cluster analysis, $X^2$-test, t-test, ANOVA, and Scheffe's test as a post-hoc analysis. The results of this study were as follows: Fashion attitude was identified with four factors personality, social recognition, practicality, and dignity. Customers were segmented into three subdivisions: conspicuous, recognition of individual style, and practicality of clothing. The factors derived from the factor analysis of selection criteria included intrinsic attributes and extrinsic attributes. Males in their 30s valued the intrinsic attributes and males in their 20s valued extrinsic attributes. The group of conspicuous of clothing, valued both intrinsic and extrinsic attributes as important. The factors derived from the factor analysis of bag pursuit benefit included pursuit of fashion/economic, famous brand, quality/convenience. Males in their 20s and 30s pursued famous luxury brands and fashion attitudes had a positive relevance to the bag pursuit benefit.

• Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.486-499
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• 2011

Now, the Korean consumer market enters into the stage of the advanced country type's mature consumption, totally different from the consumption of the past, and among these changes, the quality enhancement and bipolarity of the consumption show clearly the rising trends together with the popularization of the Masstige Brand due to the big expansion of the quantity. Unlike the old luxury brands, available only to the rich people in the past, the Masstige Brands are tagged with reasonable and affordable prices and provide the consumers with the good quality and convenient sensibilities as good as the old famous brands, which have become new high-class brands for the middle-income class. As the middle-come people get more income and are eager to live a better life, the Masstige Brands rise fast. Therefore, the study is aimed at examining the consumer-related factors affecting the purchase of the Masstige Brands on the basis of the fashion brands. In other words, the factors affecting the formation of the positive purchasing intentions of consumers will be verified by examining the influence of such factors, as the consumer value, brand charisma, attitude and loyalty, the variables affecting the purchasing intentions of the Masstige Brands, which are found out through the proceeding researches. As the result of the verification on the assumption, it is found out that the consumer value has a positive influence on the brand charisma. Also, it is found out that the consumer value has a positive influence on the brand attitude. And, it is discovered that the brand charisma has a positive influence on the brand loyalty. It is shown that the brand attitude has a positive influence on the brand loyalty. Lastly, it is indicated that the brand loyalty has a positive influence on the purchasing intention of consumers.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.215-231
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• 2024

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.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.33-49
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• 2022

In the metaverse, it is important to embellish aesthetics of user with a character called 'Avatar', a virtual representation of the user. This study provides basic data related to the fashion trend of the metaverse by studying 'Zepeto', a representative Korean platform. For empirical research, Zepeto's "Best Items" section were investigated and analyzed in the first pre-survey. Based on this, the second and main survey was conducted using a questionnaire to investigate users' style-specific preferences and purchasing behaviors for virtual fashion, comparing style preferences between virtual and real, brand preferences, and purchasing behaviors of virtual fashion. The survey found that most users were teenage girls with a high preference for pastel-toned, feminine, and cute casual styles who had a much higher interest in brands bearing idol names than in real-world luxury brands. Many responded that they felt burdened by purchasing items that had to be purchased for cash. The same can be assumed to be the reason why they preferred a suit of items that were fully coordinated rather than individual items. These results seem to reflect characteristics of teenage girls who lack cash with a high preference for idols and feminine-cute casual styles. This study suggests considerations when creating virtual fashion items. By providing basic information, more effects and developments in creating virtual fashion items that reflect consumer preferences and reactions are expected in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.33 no.9
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• pp.1374-1385
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• 2009

This study focuses on three points. First, how designers develop clothing and cosmetic culture (which reflect time and culture) into other fashion products in order to verify that attire and makeup can be the objects of aesthetics in addition to functionality. Second, why the fashion design of Christian Dior has been continuously popular for women of all ages and countries in the development of fashion, attire, and makeup. Third, this study analyzes how the aesthetical characteristics of the fashion of Christian Dior are reflected in clothing and cosmetic culture in order to clarify the brand outlook on attire and makeup as a source of France's luxury fashion industry. The philosophical characteristics of Dior's fashion were studied based on existing literature. First, her childhood background (that became the motif of Dior's design) and the philosophical ideology of fashion design, perfume, and beauty were the focus of this study. Second, this study examined how consciousness on beauty expressed in hairstyle, perfume, and cosmetics is expressed in connection with clothing. Third, the background with which Dior's fashion and perfume business became successful is examined in addition the necessity of the image strategy for success in the cosmetics market was studied. Domestic and international books on clothing and cosmetics, preceding studies, the internet, and related magazines are utilized to consider the cosmetics and beauty fashion of Dior. The results of this study show how Korean fashion and cosmetic culture can further globalize. This study encompasses the period of 1905 when Christian Dior was born until 1957 when he died of a heart attack; it also deals with well-known designers of the Christian Dior House from Yves Saint Laurent of 1957 to John Galliano of the present.