Pros & Cons of "See-now-buy-now" fashion

In an article done by Veronique Hyland for The Cut, she talks about how high end design houses are letting people buy articles of clothing right off the runway. They have a little store set up after the show and makes people go through the store in order to leave. Veronique asks the question of, "is this trend here to stay or is it just a fad?" We live in a world where everything we want is there almost instantaneously. Text messages are read as soon as they are sent, you order something online on Amazon and get it within two days. Fashion houses see that and want to profit on it, in the article Veronique interviewed Jeremy Scott and he said this, “I live in a world of Instagram fans who ‘like’ things,” he said, “and don’t understand, when they’re ‘liking’ it, why it’s basically not coming out of that phone right there for them.” It's true when I see someone on Instagram wearing a dress that I like I go and see if I can find it. Usually they are wearing the newest of new that hasn't hit the general public. But letting people buy it right of the runway then it helps sell out. That may work for him but what the rest of the fashion industry? Later on in the article a contemporary brand Rebecca Minkoff talks about how the see-now-buy-now has worked really well for their brand because they aren't as high end as Jeremy Scott or other brands. Tom ford has said that it doesn't work well from him because stuff that has been selling on the floor for a month people don't want to buy after the runway show. In order to do the see-now-buy-now trend you need to know if it will effect your image with your buyers. By the looks of it, its here to stay. 

Millennials

Over the past week I watched a Simon Sinek video on millennials and their influence in the workplace. He talked about how millennials were raised being told that they are special and that they deserve things just because they want it. How we have grown up getting participation awards for coming into last place. After he said that, it really made me stop and think about my own bringing up and how I was told that I could be anything I wanted or change the world.

Tying into that, two weeks ago I competed in a state wide DECA competition. In each event they only take the top 6, there was 18 people in my event including myself. After I went and presented my case to the judges, I felt very confident in my performance and that I for sure made it into the top 6th. Later that night I found out that I didn't make it, and I was completely devastated. When I say devastated I'm not talking about being bummed for two minutes and then moving on. I was full on crying in the stair well to my father. I felt like just because I had worked my butt off and felt like I did well that I should be able to place, or even because of the fact that I just showed up I should be able to move on. Not only that but I felt like a complete failure even though I came in 7th place out of 18 which isn't bad.  That's not the case in real life. Just because you show up to your job and do the bare minimum doesn't mean you deserve that raise or promotion. Someone else who came to work and went above and beyond not because they were asked but because they wanted to. So then we quit and move on to another job because we felt like there was no room for us to grow in the company.

What I am trying to say is that we need to stop babying millennials and telling them just because they showed up doesn't mean that they are going to win. That there are other people in the world that are just better then them, and that's okay. It's great to tell someone that they can change the world or make a difference but define what the world is. The world could be your family and friends. It could be your community or even your state. As millennials we see the mountain (goal) that we have in mind. We are standing at the bottom of it looking up, and there are all these clouds. We want to be at the top so badly, but what we don't see is the small little goals we need accomplish before the top.  The point is that we need to stop being discourage when things don't go the way we want or give up because someone beat us.

Buying the brand not the product.

Buying the brand not the product

In this day and age customers aren't just buying products, they are buying the brand. Companies need to have a strong brand identity in order to be successful. Look at Kylie Jenner's makeup brand, her lip kits are made at the same place and are essentially product as Colour Pop. Her customers are spending money to buy a product that they can get at a cheaper price, just because it has her name on it. 

The same thing could be said about Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic. All three of them are run by Gap Inc. Essentially Gap is a nicer Old Navy, and Banana Republic is a nicer Gap. Banana Republic will get a new shirt in and within two weeks Gap will get the same shirt just in different colors and patterns. Another two weeks later Old Navy will get the same shirt as well at a much lower price. Over the summer I brought a pair of shoes for $8.99, I went into Banana a day later and found shoes just like mine for $109. They looked just like mine with just a few changes but were 100 dollars more. If companies can build a strong brand identity, people will be willing to pay a higher price.