• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.425-441
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• 2023

Over the past few years, the fashion industry has faced numerous environmental issues and sustainability is being promoted as the key to success. This study conducted in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholders, such as designers and marketing professionals from upcycled Korean fashion brands, to examine how their sustainable values are reflected and developed through corporate activities related to planning, production, promotion, and distribution. The sustainable values inferred from the interviews were coded based on Schwartz's universal values with a view to addressing conflicts of values and promoting the sustainability of upcycled fashion brands in Korea. Through this process, the study derived universalistic, economic, and self-oriented sustainable values. The study also proposed a conceptual framework for upcycled fashion brands by discussing difficulties and limitations and offer proposals that could help the industry. The results indicate that a key driver for market success is promoting sustainable values in upcycled fashion. Finally, suggestions are offered for follow-up research that can further support sustainable practices in the fashion industry.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.1057-1079
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• 2023

This paper examines the use of semiotics for analyzing fashion advertisements in the fast fashion industry. While previous studies have explored the use of semiotics in various industries, the application of this theory in the fashion sector-especially regarding fast fashion's commercial videos related to sustainability-remains underexplored. The paper adopts Roland Barthes' Semiotics Theory to analyze the advertising videos related to the sustainability of major fast fashion brands such as H&M, MANGO, and ZARA. The research approach involved reviewing all commercial videos related to sustainability on these brands' official YouTube accounts and conducting comprehensive analyses of advertisements using the binary opposition analysis framework. The paper's findings indicate that these commercial videos serve as a platform to mold a brand's sustainability image and promote the notion that fast fashion brands are leading the charge toward sustainability, preparing for an unpredictable future, guiding people toward hope, and offering ultimate freedom. This research high-lights the necessity for a critical examination of advertising videos related to sustainability in the fast fashion industry to guarantee accountability and transparency.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.815-829
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• 2016

This study investigates Korean consumers' general perception on brand authenticity, tests the influences of authenticity determinants on the evaluation of fashion brand authenticity and compares the influences in terms of brand category (luxury/non-luxury). A three-stage methodological approach was adopted: (1) A literature review identifies authenticity determinants and generates measurement items. (2) A preliminary study uses a quantitative survey (n=50) to purify the determinants. (3) A quantitative consumer survey (n=150) identifies general perceptions on brand authenticity by measuring the perceived relevance of brand authenticity on determinants and explores the influence of determinants on authenticity evaluations using purified measurements of authenticity determinants. The results of general perception on brand authenticity show that Korean consumers deem authentic brands as honest, sincere and socially responsible. The results indicate obvious differences between luxury and non-luxury brands towards the influence of perceived authenticity determinants (genuine, consistent, original, traditional and authoritative) on authenticity evaluation of luxury/non-luxury brands. In non-luxury brands, only 'genuine' and 'consistent' have significant effects that are similar to the results of the general perception on brand authenticity. However, only 'consistent' and 'authoritative' have significant effects for luxury brands and are different from the general perception.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.469-479
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• 2021

This case study investigates fashion brands that have entered the pet fashion market. A total of 25 cases were identified and analyzed from three perspectives: 1) product types, size systems, prices, 2) design aspects, fabrics, patterns, styles, and 3) marketing strategies. The study results are as follows. First, the product types of pet fashion are not diverse, and only the sizes of small dogs can be found. However, there is a significant price difference between brands. Second, knitted fabrics with good elasticity are mainly used for pet fashion products, and patterns incorporating their brands are extremely common. The style is casual and sporty. Third, marketing strategies should include a new line within a brand or launch a single specialized brand as a one-shot test for consumer reaction. Additionally, it has been expanded and presented as a family look to meet the needs of the petfam. Further, existing fashion brands and retail-based brands select diverse small-scale dog fashion product brands and expand their operation as a dog lifestyle total selectional shop. Therefore, brands entering the future should consider strategies such as size segmentation, product diversification, and premium price of high-quality materials that help market products such as the expansion or promotion of existing brands.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.849-864
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• 2021

This study analyzed product conditions in terms of "size system," "clothing construction depending on fit," "details," "colors," and "prices," with an emphasis on young contemporary brands for spring/summer 2021, in order to provide basic data for the development of small-sized women's jackets. Out of 96 domestic and foreign brands, the study analyzed 254 small-sized jacket products from 23 brands that produce size-XS jackets. First, when examining the sizes for women's jackets, we found that 8 out of the 23 brands offer a size-XXS option. After conducting tree analysis to analyze the factors affecting the production of size-XXS, the study found significant results in the areas of "distinction between domestic and foreign brands" and "product price." Second, after categorizing small-sized women's jackets into 3 categories-fit-slim, basic, and straight-the study analyzed clothing construction elements depending on fit. This seasons mainly feature straight-fit's hip-line length jacket, a 4-panel pattern, and a panel without a waist dart. Third, the study, through the analysis of the colors of small-sized women's jackets, found a higher frequency of colors in the order of black (23.0%), white (13.3%), and beige tones (10.1%), with additional colors such as sky blue, rose pink, and aquamarine in production, which exhibit the senses of the seasons. Price analysis revealed that small-sized jackets constituted a price range at the mid-to-low end, as in ₩50,000-100,000 (30.3%), ₩100,000-150,000 (19.3%), and ₩150,000-200,000 (11.8%).

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2024

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.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.851-861
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• 1998

The present study examined the consumer's evaluations of apparel quality and price, and the brand recognition according to the consumer's decision making styles(quality-conscious, brand-conscious, and price-conscious consumers). The two hundred and three subjects were asked to evaluate the quality and price of the two almost identical experimental blouses except for brand labels. One was the national brand, Keith and the other was the private brand, Ivy house. Also, the subjects were asked to answer if they recognize these two brands. The data were collected by self-administered questionnaire and were analyzed by frequency, percentage, one-way ANOVA, two-way ANOVA, and factor analysis. The results of the study were as floows: (1) Examining the perceptions of product qualities, generally speaking, all three types of the consumers evaluated the national brand's qualities more highly than those of the private brand. However, in-part, the price-conscious consumers evaluated some product charac-teristics more highly than those of national brand: touch of fabric, sewing, and the hemline finishing. (2) Investigating the perceptions of product prices, All three types of the consumers evaluated the price of the national brand more highly than that of the private brand. Among those, the price-conscious consumers recognized the price of the national brands most expensively. (3) Identifying the brand recognition of the two brands, the brand-conscious consumers showed the highest brand recognition and the price-conscious consumers showed the lowest brand recognition in both national and private brands, 51.9% of the total respondents identified the private brand showing comparatively high brand recognition. (4) Examining the relationship between the demographic factors and the consumer decision making styles, the monthly household income was statistically significant. Namely, 71.4% of the brand-conscious consumers have the monthly household income of 3,000,000 Won or higher which means that the higher monthly household income, the higher tendency to be brand-conscious consumers.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.62 no.8
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• pp.28-44
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• 2012

The aim of this research is to examine the tendency of national tastes reflected in global SPA brands based on the theories of Gans' taste culture and Bourdieu's cultural capital. In this study, the leading global SPA brands such as H&M, ZARA, GAP and UNIQLO can be considered as a representative taste culture as well as an icon of popular culture in the $21^{st}$ century global fashion and also the aesthetic taste of each brand differentiated from their national aesthetic values based on socio-cultural backgrounds. H&M represents fashionableness, practicality and environmental friendliness based on naturalism, democratic humanism, and functional practicality of Sweden. ZARA emerges as the most trend oriented brand as well as customer centered on the basis of cultural diversity, passion and glamorous artistic sensibility of Spain. GAP shows American iconic style, which is the functional sports casual wear, originated from American leisure culture and mass production. Lastly, UNIQLO represents high-tech functionalism and practical simplicity based on Japanese delicate workmanship and simple, concise lifestyle while relatively does not much follow the fashion forward trends. Consequently, the national taste has been proved as a solid foundation to identify each global brand. This should be the key component also applied to Korean global brands for developing their concepts and strategies more successfully based on our own national aesthetic taste.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.55-68
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• 2011

The purpose of this research is to study the visual characteristics of domestic national men's wear brand logos. For this purpose, 80 of national men's wear brands were selected from '2010/2011 Korea fashion brand Annual' For analysis, they were classified into three categories: logo types composed only with logomark or symbol and logomark together. Types of symbol were classified into word symbol, descriptive symbol, and abstractive symbol. And the used typefaces were classified into serif and san serif and acromatic and cromatic The results are as follows: The visual characteristics of domestic national men's wear brand logos, there were more brands that used logomark with symbol together than logomark only. And the type of symbols were appeared descriptive symbol(32% ) that meaned the men's power, nobleness and royalty. In domestic national men's wear brands, color of logos were more frequently used acromatic color as black and grey than cromatic color. Among the cromatic colors were more appeared to a kind of blue and green. And the used typefaces were the more frequently used to serif typeface of capital. As a result, the visual characteristics of domestic national men's wear brand logo were that they used the brand logos composed of descriptive logomark with symbol together, black serif typeface the most. From this results, we could find that visual stragety of domestic national men's wear brand logos had the tendency to emphasize the function of conveying information, brand concept that men's wear. The specific and continuous following research in which psychological factor of consumer reflected was requested as a measure to seek brand logo that aid to establish brand power and reinforce brand image.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.593-606
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• 2011

Brand is becoming more important as a way to achieve differentiation since consumers tend to buy brands not products. This study primarily aims to determine the critical success factors of two world famous fruit brands, Sunkist and ZESPRI, and to present management strategies to enhance the value of domestic fruit brands. The lessons learned from the case studies of Sunkist and ZESPRI reconfirm the importance of essential factors for a successful fruit brand, that is, quality control, steady supply, advertising and promotion, recipes and processed products, handling items and regional boundaries.