Communications and Media

Fashion can be considered an integral part of our society today it is the embodiment of beauty within the society, no matter how one looks physically if heshe is in fashion then that is considered as modest or proper in our society, on the other hand if a beautiful person both spiritually and physically is out of fashion heshe is considered improper in other instances one will be ridiculed and mocked, in other circles one will be considered poor. The other idea around the concept of fashion is that it belongs to the beholder different people have different tastes. Other things also come to play in describing what is fashionable and what is not religion, culture, perceptions to mention but a few (Oelkers 2003). The history of fashion advertising is therefore influenced with a number of factors that have over time been described as necessary in the fashion industry. This paper will therefore look into the contemporary history of fashion industry and put into focus the numerous events that helped shape the industry to what its is today.

Back ground
Fashion advertising is a section within the advertising field which deals with creating promotions and awareness for the fashion industry (Mintel International Group, 2007). The fashion industry has a number of specific needs from a promotional outlook which can make it challenging and exhilarating to work as an advertiser, and some of the most famed advertising campaigns in history have been campaigns for chief fashion houses. Fashion advertising includes advertisements for clothing, purses, shoes, and similar products of fashion houses, along with high end perfumes (Winters  Winters 1996). The aim of fashion advertising is to connect probable customers with the brand, as with other modes of advertising. As with other brands, fashion advertisements promote a way of life just as much as the product, teaching consumers to relate to a particular brand with a specific lifestyle and social class. The tone and content of advertisements may vary depending on which market the company is trying to target, ranging from very well-heeled individuals to people with less disposable income who could still be a valuable customer base and are there in numbers therefore selling to them cheap but fashionable products can prove to be very lucrative for a fashion house. Therefore as much as taste and cash flows matter, at the end of the day fashion is a business and making a profit is they key and only goal (Jobling 2005).

Methodology
The research was conducted through studying of primary and secondary sources on the subject of fashion. These sources were accessible through a variety of e-libraries within the internet including google books and Questia.

Literature Review
Fashion advertising has come along way. Since time immemorial informing people about the various products available has been a key part of any commercial interaction. Fashion has not been left behind. The focus will at the modern history focusing on the last century. Fashion was a key element of this society with many economies actually depending on the textile industry (Hill 2004). The invention of the cotton mill in particular ensured the future of the industry. Advertising was also an important aspect of the whole process the ladies in particular were into fashion and were fashionable, with styles like the Edwardian fashion designs taking precedence. The whole of Europe and Americas was taken in with this garments and fashion styles because of the power of fashion advertising (Jobling 2005). The advertisement feature black and white picture of women wearing the various garments, posing in numerous styles. The advertised styles also featured various styles for all the population the haves and the have nots. The idea of season had already been introduced to show case the various styles and designs for the different times of the year. What was notable was that even thought the technology was not at the caliber that is in today, the advertisement agencies then  did their best to ensure that the advertisements were catchy and that the images were as clear as possible human ingenuity can not be underestimated. The advertisements included catchy phrases like Paris model gowns e.t.c to ensure the quality of the products in question (Hill 2004).

As the years went by the industry continued to grow between 1900 and 1950 two major wars were fought that threatened to collapse the industry, major fashion houses were closed down during the occupation of France by the Nazi during the second world war and some of the fashion houses were forced to start manufacturing army uniforms so s to survive the tough times (Hill, 2004). Fortunately after the wars and conflicts human enthusiasm returned and so did the fashion houses, many of the labels today were created in the period after the Second World War. There was need to revive the economies and the fashion industry was as it has been an important part of the economy. Fashion advertising also took a different approach as it tried to reinvent itself. The industry brought about the culture of being slim with and emphasized the need for modeling.

Towards the late 1940s there emerged a new face in modeling and subsequently fashion advertising. Twiggy as he was known took the industry but storm with her slim stature and androgynous looks. She changed the industry completely and therefore set the stage for the future of fashion advertising. From then on the fashion advertising industry took on a new form and continued to evolve. Models came and took over the industry through heir slim but adoring figures that were claimed as the figure of the modern woman slim. Fashion advertising like any form of advertising has to attract the market the means used to do this was to use very attractive women who could walk sensuously therefore portraying the modesty and beauty of being a woman. But all this could vary depending on the fashion being portrayed (Twiggy 1968).

Today the industry is among the many multi-billion dollar industry over the years various fashion houses have managed to come up with numerous fashion trends that have changed the ways the world modesty is no, longer regarded as fashionable as stated in the beginning (Easey 2008). All in all the industry has seen various hurdles but has successfully managed to overcome them. Today the industry is again trying to change and reinvent itself it controls billions of dollars and the changes are necessary to make sure that the industry is not susceptible to the fluctuations of the currency market (Diamond  Diamond 1999).

This can be achieved by ensuring that the fashion advertising and the industry at large targets the market at different levels fashion advertising was in most cases for the wealthy as stated earlier. This is because of the market base the numbers keep increasing down wards but the purchasing power is still much the same if one makes a product that suites that particular market.

Assumptions
Among the assumptions made include the fact that paper has focused on the western world and the growth of fashion as described in the paper is biased against other regions of the world that have a lot of influence of fashion issues for example Asia. This is because a lot of information about the fashion industry in other regions in the world is greatly influenced by western aspects and ideas of fashion the industry for example in Europe and the North America is highly influential and a lot of ideas end up being borrowed from the western concept of fashion

In conclusion, fashion advertising has evolved with time technology has come into the picture and managed to change how everything is being done. Today the industry is as vibrant as it was if not more vibrant.