Current Fashion Markets!

Within the fashion industry there are six main markets, which are: 

• Haute Couture
• Luxury Fashion 
• Bridge Brands 
• Brand Diffusion
• High-street Fashion 
• Economy Fashion  

By the fashion industry being split up into these sections, it allows brands to place themselves in the market and therefore revise competition and focus on improving. There is a market for all, although some of the brands I have listed above are a dying segment. Due to the fashion industry being so fast paces, that no two days are the same when it comes to 'what's hot and what's not!'

Haute Couture 

Haute couture is the French terminology for 'high-fashion.' It originates from the capital of France, Paris. But is now constructed in many other fashion capitals around the world. It is the segment of clothing which contains the most attention to detail. This is what makes their clothing so exclusive, as everything is designed, created and customised by hand. It is constructed for a specific individual, to their exact measurements and desired, therefore no one else will own one like it in the entire world. Some garments can take up to 700 hours to complete, with a minimum of 20 people working on them at a time. 

Haute couture pieces are of a one-off status and in turn hold a one-off price tag. They usually start from £16,000-£20,000 and then the price could continue to increase to anything. They are created for individuals where price is no object and often the price is not even disguised, as the designer knows that their client can afford an unlimited amount. 

Here are some of the designers that create Haute couture items and are Members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture:

- official members

• Chanel
• Christian Dior
• Christophe Josse
• Frank Sorbier 
• Givenchy
• Jean Paul Gaultier
• Maurizio Galante
• Stéphane Rolland

- foreign members

• Elie Saab
• Giorgio Armani 
• Giambattista Valli 
• Valentino
• Versace

- guest members

• Alexandre Vauthier 
• Bouchra Jarrar
• Iris Van Herpen
• Ralph and Russo
• Julien Fournié
• Maxime Simoens 
• Yiqing Yin

- jewellery

• Boucheron 
• Chanel Joaillerie
• Chaumet
• Dior Joaillerie
• Van Cleef & Arpels

- accessories

• Loulou de la Falaise 
• Massaro
• On Aura Tout Vu 

Luxury Fashion 

Luxury fashion was created around the 19th century, and comes just under the haute couture world in the current fashion markets. Luxury fashion is created to allow individuals to feel the exclusivity the haute couture customers feel, but at a slightly lesser price tag.

Luxury brands' core market is individuals that earn £100,000 per year. Also, 76% of these customers are aged 35-54.

There are three main group that control the Luxury fashion world, and they are: 

• LVMH
• KERING
• RICHMONT 

Here are some of the designers that create Luxury fashion items: 

• Louis Vuitton
• Hermés
• Gucci
• Prada
• Burberry

Bridge Brands 

Bridge brands sit between two very different categories. They are after luxury fashion, but before High-street fashion. Bridge brands are what links the two together, allowing luxury fashion to be sold at a more reasonable price tag. Their starting price is as low as £50, which is a great plus point for women that want designer labels at an affordable price tag.

Bridge brands was created in the 1970s as there was a gap in the market for something to join luxury fashion and High-street fashion together. The core market is women around the age of 30, that have a disposable income, wanting to spend it on their appearance. 

Here are some of the stores that offer the Bridge brand items:

• Sandro
• Ted Baker
• Karen Millen
• Joseph 
• Heritage
• L. K. Bennett 
• Reiss
• Guess 

Brand Diffusion 

Diffusion lines are those that are created by Luxury designers are a cheaper price tag than their usual pieces. The core market is individuals that want to live the lavish life-style, of owning luxury goods. But just lack in the sufficient funds to be able to obtain this life-style. The starting price for diffusion line clothing starts at about £40-£400, which is 30% less than catwalk prices. 

Getting a diffusion line into the market is up to the professional body. The fashion house then decides the price that they want to retail their pieces at. 

Diffusion lines are bulk, not mass produced, allowing there to be a certain amount of exclusivity, although not a large amount. Diffusion brands also supply more variety than the luxury section of the designers' work does; offering more accessories, shoes and fragrances to the collection. 

Here are some of the designers that create the Diffusion brand items:

• Emporio Armani 
• SEE by Chloé
• Marc by Marc Jacobs
• Miu Miu by Prada
• Alice by Temperley 
• DKNY
• Moschino
• McQ by Alexander McQueen 

High-street Fashion 

High-street stores are the more traditional ones that do not focus on trends, but mainly focus on their own style. Most High-street stores create basic clothing, that is quite well made, but does not often follow the current fashion trends. Their starting price is as low as £9 for a plain white tee and £15 for a dress. The High-streets' pricing is very reasonable as their quality is known to be good, even though they do not follow the catwalk trends as much as other segments in the current fashion markets do.

The core market is mainly females and males that start from the age of 40+. 

This type of shopper can afford prices that are above fast fashion, as they are financially stable, and therefore can afford to spend money on slightly better quality clothing.

Another defining factor in who is the core market for the High-street is their age. This is because their most loyal customers are the ones that have grown up at the times that these shops were popular. 

Although I would say that the High-street is a dying market in the fashion sector. As most ages are becoming fashion aware. Therefore, feel that they should be shopping in places that cater to the here-and-now fashion. As opposed to being loyal to the 'once timeless' High-street stores, that are just about surviving.

Here are some of the stores that offer the High-street fashion items:

• Marks and Spencers
• Debenhams
• BHS
• Accessorize/Monsoon
• GAP INC: GAP, Old Navy, Banana Republic 
• ARCADIA: Wallis, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins
• INDiTEX: Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti

Economy Fashion 

Economy fashion is constantly moving with the ever-changing fashion trends of the catwalk. It focuses more on its' quantity of new pieces, rather than the quality of them; which in tern is why they create their items in mass-production. These stores sell their garments at very affordable prices, starting from as low as £2.99 for a white tee!

The core market is mainly females and males that want to constantly keep on trend. Owning a fashionable exterior, but do not have that much funding. They want to purchase this disposable, low-cost fashion; so that they constantly have finances to always purchase the latest clothing. Often the core market that purchase Economy fashion only wear it a few times, as they are so conscious of their appearance that they will get bored of it very easily!

Here are some of the stores that offer the Economy fashion items:

• Zara
• Topshop/Topman
• Mango
• River Island
• H&M
• Forever 21
• New Look 
• Primark