Is This Sharing of Ideas and Culture Creating a Greater Range of Expression or a World Where Everything Looks the Same?

Is this sharing of ideas and culture creating a greater range of expression or a world where everything looks the same?

In 1903, Mark Twain have claimed that “Substantially all ideas are second hand, consciously or unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources.”  Undoubtedly, all the sources and information which surrounding us are “second hand”, those may came from other culture, inspired by other artist or scholar etc. while the information that we saw or heard are uncountable, no matter the people who create the ideas may not aware that their outcomes is inspired by what they have contacted. Therefore, the ideas sharing in the society nowadays are can be defined as second hand resources. Indeed, due to the rapid globalization effect, not only the ideas but also the culture are spread easily and faster globally, similarities in lifestyle and behavior had been developed (Hopper, 2006, pp.44). In order to proof that the truth of the situation, this essay will argue that sharing of information, ideas and culture creating a world where everything looks the same through cultural misappropriation, negative impacts upon westernization and monological marketing strategy. According to Levitt’s review article (1983), “The world’s needs and desires have been irrevocably homogenized.” It briefly explained that the needs and the desires was recognized as a major part that being homogenized, to be specific, the field which account for this part may be fashion marketing, and this essay will be focusing on fashion marketing this area, and by discussing the aspects on this field so as to demonstrate how it becoming similar here and there in the society.

In order to demonstrate the ways that sharing ideas and culture in fashion marketing have led the world became the same, this essay will first focus on how fashion marketing made fashion designs loss cultural authenticity and went forward to homogenization. Second, it will be shown the extent of westernization deep rooted in fashion market and how its negative impacts leads the market became assimilated. Lastly, by analyzing the recent marketing strategy, such as e-commerce to reveal that all the fashion brands in the market started to adopt similar marketing strategy and it is an indication of brand simplification.

One of the major factors that drive fashion market getting similar is that the fashion marketing led fashion designs loss cultural authenticity and cultural misappropriation. Under the global trade environment, the vast majority of fashion market becomes more and more focusing on the profits rather than the designs. To promote consumption, most of the cultural authenticity on designs has been omitted while it only reacts to the market needs (Niessen, Leshkowich and Jones, 2005, pp.70) . Take fast fashion brands as an example, its large marketing shares and stocks have made some original culture design loss it authenticity. Bohemia style was boom in 2013 while Diane Von Furstenberg use its unique style create a collection and arouse the public (Fig.1, Dianne von Furstenberg Fall-Winter, 2013), and afterwards lots of designers brand have adopted Bohemia design such as Roberto Cavalli (Fig.2, Roberto Cavalli Fall-Winter, 2016).

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Fig.1 Dianne von Furstenberg Fall-Winter 2013       Fig.2 Roberto Cavalli Fall-Winter 2016
At first, it was a great example of showing culture diversity in fashion market, yet, the retail giant Zara and H&M have made it became worse. (Fig.4, ZARA) (Fig.5, H&M) In order to fulfills the market needs and gain economic benefits, the mass production have changed it own elements in the fashion result in culture misappropriation and loss the cultural authenticity (Goodrum, 2005, pp.120). Such examples have showed that the recent fashion marketing turned the fashion designs loss its own culture authenticity and even culture misappropriation, it seems singularly by sharing the cultures and ideas.

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  Fig.3 H&M bohemian summer 2015        Fig.4 Zara Bohemian jacket 2013

Undeniably, westernization is also an assignable element in fashion field that singularize the fashion market, and to popularize this idea, all the results have to be credited to the market mass media (Hopper, 2006, pp.43). To identify the definition of westernization first, the idea of western equals to modern and developed which ingrained in people’s mind according to the historical factor (Maynard, 2004, P.77). Besides, the word westernization is derived from the popularity of western media, for instance movies; television show and magazine that played a crucial role in popularize the western lifestyle among the world especially western clothing. Hence, there is a tendency of imitating western fashion all over the world and replacing their own traditional clothing. Due to the mass propaganda of the western style in fashion market, the public aesthetic has been assimilated (Maynard, 2004, P.3). “If it isn’t from western, it’s inferior (Briley and Aaker, 2006, pp.401).” People prefer western style rather than the traditional one. Suit culture is an example to explain this idea. Before people used to wear traditional clothing on festival or some formal occasions, but now people turning to wear suit in such occasion as the pervasion of the westernization and the frequent exposing of the market mass media (Maynard, 2004, pp.43). They are being deep-rooted that wearing suits means appropriate and respectful. Nowadays people prefer western clothing more than local is an unquestioned fact, and the main accelerant attribute to the market mass propaganda.

However, it is true that there is still some fashion-marketing tool that make the fashion market diversity -- customization. The regular product on the market no longer satisfied consumer’s needs and vanity already. To fulfilled people’s demand, to look unique or outstanding over the throng, lots of brands launched customization, a new form of consumption which let the consumer to order the one and only designed product by themselves (Wixcey, N., 2015, pp.4). The arise of the customization make the fashion market heterogeneous, the idea of it is totally against the fast fashion which dominated the vast majority of fashion market and it achieved great success in fashion market (Brabazon, P., MacCarthy, B., Woodcock, A. and Hawkins, R., 2010, pp.492). Take the latest international successful customization brand Gucci as example. In 2016 June, Gucci Milan flagship store, they offering consumers to do their customization on the 2017 men’s SS jacket (Niessen, 2016). Customer can adorn the new garments with different embroidery works. It got a large amount feedback over this campaign, several of global digital media have widely reported. To sum up, there are still obtaining some fashion market strategy like customization that made a wide range of difference in the society, and shows the heterogeneity in the fashion field.