Episode 22: Fashion Show Types: Categories & Markets Defined | Mastering the Production Series, Part 2

0:00 Welcome back to another week of Marketing EdVenture with Jacque' Walker. Last week, we talked about fashion show history. So we're in this series of Fashion Show Production. We started off, we kicked it off with talking about the fashion show history. And this week, we're going to be talking about the types of fashion shows. So we're going to cover three categories of fashion shows and two markets that fashion shows serve. So let's get into the show. And keep going with this series. Remember, this is an 11-part series. So you want to be here for each part. Today is part two. So let's go.

0:50 You're listening to Marketing EdVenture, the hub for business, fashion, marketing, and other CTE educators who integrate marketing into the learning experience. I'm your host, Jacque' Walker. Each week, I'll cover marketing, education concepts, strategies, tips, trends, frameworks, and other information to equip you to connect your classroom to digital natives, while cultivating an engaged learning environment. So come on into the room, where your favorite beverage snacks, and even your cell phone are all welcome.

1:29 All right, so let's get into talking about the different types of fashion shows. Most of you probably don't even think about the various types of fashion shows. When someone mentions a fashion show, you just think, “Hey, we're gonna go to a fashion show, we're gonna watch the models, we're gonna see the clothes, we're gonna, you know, have a little fun living our fashion lives here.” But as a teacher of Fashion Marketing, you have to consider the type of show that you're going to do. And even just in the industry, you have to think about the type of shows you're going to do, what shows fit the market in which you're serving, with the fashion, accessories, and all of that. So we're going to talk about the three different categories of fashion shows and two markets.

2:19 So let's start with the categories. The categories of fashion show are traditional, informal, and theatrical production. So I'm going to go into each one of those. So when we talk about a traditional fashion show, we're just talking about a formal fashion show that has your parade of models. So remember, the history of the fashion show started with a parade of mannequins. And those were your models who were walking down just a simple straight runway or in, you know, it could have been a different style. But it just really started off with a walk up, walk back to present the fashion. So with a traditional or formal fashion show, we're talking about that same thing, just the parade, the models are going to come out, they're going to walk in some choreographed sequence. And then they're going to go back, exit the stage then another model comes in, walks down, walks back, exits the stage, it could be there are different forms. Just your basic forms that a stage could be in, it could just be in a straight line, then it could be in a tee. So that's a straight line, they get to the end, they walk to one side, they walk to the other side, they come back to the middle, and then they walk back, or they could walk into you where they just parade around, enter the stage on one side, walk down to the end, crossover, come back and exit so that you're you. So there's a very various basic styles of the runway that can be used with a traditional fashion show. The traditional fashion show could be for any market, it could be for your ready to wear, it could be for your whole couture, it could be for swimwear, it could be for any market of clothing. So it does not have to be a certain type of clothing that is demonstrated in a traditional or formal fashion show. Your models generally are trained or even for just like your small productions that may be a school production or maybe a production for a department store in a mall. The models don't necessarily have to be trained professional models, but they can be models that you've just practiced with for a few times or even the day of and they can come in, walk the runway. It's simple enough to instruct them to walk down and walk back. So those are your types of models. Those that are used for traditional informal fashion shows. And then the types of clothing that's presented. Like I said, it could be ready-to-wear, it could be haute couture that you're presenting. Usually these are the designers and the manufacturers or the retailers putting on this type of fashion show that's just kind of traditional, nothing spectacular. Of course, there may be a themed setting. But there's nothing spectacular about the runway. There's nothing spectacular about the choreographed sequence of the models walking or anything like that. It’s just your basic straight fashion show. Very basic, traditional. Alright, so that is your traditional fashion show.

5:51 Now, the informal fashion show, generally is for a smaller audience, there's not really a lot of cost associated with this fashion show. Because it's informal, which means there's not a lot of planning that goes into it. The environment, the stage, maybe there isn't even a stage because this could be something like a trunk show, or it could be something that is an event where they just have models walking around during the event. So it's really not a lot of planning that goes into it. There's little prep. And again, like I said, this is more like your trunk shows that you'll have.What is the trunk show? A trunk show is when a designer brings their collection to a store, generally higher end stores, where they will bring their collection like a Bridal Collection, and they will show it off to a select group of people. It tends to be like the VIP customers, some press, and people who are connected to that department store. So they just want to showcase their line. Trunk shows used to be the way that they did showcase their clothing. They used to put their clothing in a trunk, and carried it around to different environments to showcase their designs and their collections. This was before television, before the internet, before we had all of the modern devices and things that we have now.The media was nonexistent, pretty much. So the designers had to carry their clothing around to various stores, and to present them to their audiences, which, like I said, tended to be the VIPs, the customers that had good relationships with the stores, and the press, and the press meaning like the newspaper, okay. And so they showed their clothing off in that way. And so that's an informal setting. You will still have trunk shows that go on nowadays. Like I said, they tend to be in high-end stores. We now have pop up shops that have replaced the trunk show environment. And so those are informal because there's not a stage setup, there's not a whole bunch that is needed to prep for. Generally the designer or the manufacturer or the brand shows up; people come out; and they look at the clothing. They'll have models to walk around with some of the items and then they can make purchases. Then the shop closes down and goes to his next location. They usually traveled to various cities. Now the trunk shows they may travel to various cities as well. But again, it's just the designer showing up with a collection of clothing and having a show. Not necessarily impromptu because usually an invitation is sent out to their target market of people that they want to come to the show. Alright, so and it can be any type of clothing. It can be ready-to-wear, your haute couture. Like I said, bridal does a lot of these kinds of things. It can be swimwear, it can be anything and it's not limited to any type of market.

9:31 Alright, so we talked about traditional/formal. We talked about informal. And then the last category I want to touch on is the actual production type shows. And when you think about these, I want you to think about Victoria's Secret. I want you to go back to that in your mind if you've seen one of the Victoria's Secret Fashion shows. If you haven't seen it, go and watch a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show on YouTube. Thinking back to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, there was live music; musical performances; and they had at least six segments of the show that represented different things. There were backdrops that changed with the settings. The lighting, the colors and things changing, you had the props, you have all of these things going on. So it was more entertainment than just a fashion show. And the models were engaging with the audience with their looks and their gestures. And they're even engaging with the musical performers. So it was very much entertainment. And this all started back with Christian Dior. He didn't want his models to come out and just walk and showcase the clothes. He wanted them to do provocative things, make gestures, dance or act out things. And it just brought to life, the imagery of how the person who's wearing the clothes would be. And so there was more theatrics to his show. So when you're talking about theatrical production for a fashion show, it's very much themed. They pretty much bring the stage to life to bring the audience into the setting. So you'll have like I said, the backdrops will be theatrical, that will be lit up, they will have whatever. If it's animals, it'll have animals in the background. I remember one of the Victoria's Secret Fashion shows was in New York, and it very much gave the essence of the city with the backgrounds and showing the skylines and various images that the city has. And so it just brings to life a setting. So you really feel like you're a part of that environment as an audience member. And with the models being more theatrical and engaging, and provocative and moving and gesturing and making faces, then it really captures your attention and brings you into the show and gets you more engaged. So you have a lot of the components of a theatrical fashion show including the lighting. The setting includes choreography, dance, of course, music, and all of those things that helped it come to life. It's meant to really have an impact on the audience. And it takes a lot of advanced prep and organization, of course, because you have to coordinate all of these things. And like I said, it's theme oriented, and it's out of the box creativity. So there's no limitations when you're talking about the actual performance. So of course, they have to find the right location that can even have a stage setting to bring this to life, and then to have the audience that they'd like to have there. So you're really thinking about, you know, the stage environment, you're thinking about the setting, you want to have models, who are very trained professional models, who have stage presence, as well as the body for the apparel. And it's a big theatrical production, it's like producing Grammys or anything like that. It's very much like that. So that’s your theatrical production. And the reason why they have these is that it's meant for impact, to leave a lasting impression. And if you leave a lasting impression on your audience member, they're going to remember, like, the clothing items that were displayed during that fashion show. They're going to remember the brand, the designer and it's going to stick with them. And if it fits their personality, they're going to want to have those items.

14:32 All right, so just recapping the categories of fashion shows we have our traditional/formal fashion show, which is just your basic walk down walk back. Look is general and doesn't have a lot of cost associated with it. It may require a little advanced prep just to make sure you have all things in place. And it can be for any market of clothing. You have your informal which is the least cost, less prep, don't have to have formal trained models, and it can be for any market as well. It'll generally be like your trunk shows, your pop up shops, things of that nature. And then you have your theatrical, which is going to be the most expensive, requires the most advanced planning, professionally trained high quality models, who can not only walk the runway but act and be confident in doing what they're doing on the stage. And it can be for any market as well, it does not have to necessarily be like any avant garde clothing, haute couture or anything like that. But that's where you would likely find the most avant garde, haute couture costume-like apparel, on the runway. And again, this is meant to have an impact.

15:57 Okay, so those are your three different categories of fashion shows. Now that we've discussed the categories of fashion shows, let's talk about the two markets that are the audience that the fashion shows are produced for. You have your industrial market, which is from business to business. So these fashion shows are geared towards retailers, the press or other trade areas within the industry. And then you have your consumer market, which is generally manufacturer to consumer or retail to consumer, or it could be designer to consumer. So it is those secondary areas of the secondary levels of the industry, presenting the apparel to the consumer. So they want to showcase their items so that the customer can say, hey, I'm gonna buy that.

17:10 Alright, so let's get into talking about the industry. Fashion shows that are catered to the industry. There are a variety of shows out there, you have your haute couture shows, you have your ready-to-wear shows, trade shows, trade association shows, and press shows. So those are five different shows. There are more, but these are the five that I'm going to talk about. So, your haute couture shows are the ones that present high end fashion. Now, this is your industry level. So it could be a designer presenting their haute couture line to high-end stores so that the buyers can have a look at the fashion and make a decision about what they want to bring in house.It could be that the designer is presenting these lines and they will be picked up by stylists for celebrities or for people who have high influence. So the Haute Couture shows are not as prevalent as the ready-to-wear because the market is more narrow. All right, and then you have your ready-to-wear shows which every region with the Fashion Week's have ready-to-wear shows. Your Haute Couture, you're going to find that in Milan. You may find some shows in Paris. The thing about Haute Couture, like I said, is that they're limited in their market. So they're not at every regional Fashion Week. You don't find them in all of the different regions of the world where you have trade markets, they are specific to certain markets, Ready-to-wear, you can find in any regional market and any country that has a high fashion awareness, you can find those types of fashion shows there.

19:24 Now your trade shows are generally those shows that are held in your regional markets that are manufacturer or wholesaler to retailer and they're showcasing like your bridge and contemporary fashions. Again, they're held at the regional market. So like the Dallas market, the Miami market, you know all these different United States has several markets within the country. And then of course you have your international markets, but the trade shows are held Um, to showcase to buyers. And the buyers then turn around, buy a certain number of units for all of their stores, if they're a chain store, national store or what have you. So those can be distributed out to those stores, to be sold to the consumers. So your trade shows or business to business, and the businesses that are purchasing or buying for consumers. Okay, and then you have your trade associations.

20:32 Now your trade associations are focused on promoting their raw materials, you may have your primary level that's showcasing materials, that's the type of thing that they would do. So it's actually like the association, your association for wound producers, those various associate associations that are within a particular trade of the fashion industry, you will see them promoting their goods at those shows. So you have your raw materials that are being showcased to manufacturers, and designers, because they want them to purchase their dry goods from them, too, in order to make the clothing that they did promote to the consumer. So you will have the primary level of the industry having fashion shows that showcase clothing made out of those raw materials, so that the designers and the manufacturers can see how the fashion flows, how it can be constructed, the colors, the texture of the material and all of those things.

21:50 Then you have your press shows. Now the press shows, as I told you previously in the history of the fashion shows, those are when the designers or the fashion show producer, producers, invite the press to maybe like a practice show like a full out practice show where the press gets to view the merchandise ahead of time to see what's coming out so they can prepare their reviews, their commentary about what's coming. And this is used to produce hype around the fashion show that's coming up the collections that's coming up the designers that are coming up. So the press is given a sneak peek of a fashion collection or the designer or what have you. So that encompasses all of the industry fashion shows that I'm going to mention here you have your home couture, you're ready to wear your trade shows, your Trade Association shows and your press shows.

23:07 And then you have your consumer market, which is generally manufacturer to consumer or retail to consumer. So art can be designer to consumer. So it is those secondary areas of the secondary levels of the industry. Presenting the apparel to the consumer. There are all types of shows that are done for the consumer. I'll just talk about the five different categories and I'll give you a little bit more information about them.

23:46 You have your specialty market, which pertains to like your, your special categories such as petite, talls, and product categories could be children. So you're looking at all of the different categories of clothing. So you have dresses, pants, leisure wear, athletic wear, you have all of these different types of clothing, and those are considered your specialty market.

24:18 You move into your specialty interest shows, I don't know if you've ever been to like a hair show are like our cultural show. So these specialty interest shows really showcase even more specialized things like I said as a hair show. A lot of times those are done in conjunction with cosmetology students and design students where they're showcasing the hairstyles that the cosmetology student or the salon has done and designer outfit. Then you have your cultural shows which are showcasing a particular cultures dress. And then you have other shows that are specifically focused on art, holidays, lifestyle. So it's a specialty interest. That is not necessarily specific to a category of clothing. But it's more. So like I said, cultural holiday art, those are the kind of specially interests that we're referring to, to that type of show. And those just are to bring to the forefront, things that we don't see in our everyday lives that are talked about in fashion, but it's a highlight.

25:43 And then, so we have our store shows, you'll see those generally like back to school time. So they'll have a show that bring all the little kids on to showcase all the clothes that they have in that store, that are specific to back to school, where you have things that are like a new collection of show, a store may showcase a new collection of clothings, they may be doing a collaboration with influencers, or designers are things of that nature. I remember when the Kardashians were doing a collaboration with Sears and they had shows to showcase the clothing for that. So those are your new collections. And then a designer, when they come up with a new line, they may just want to showcase, especially if that brand is specific to a store, they may do a show to showcase their collection at that store. So those are your stores.

26:44 Then we have cooperatives. This is when a manufacturer connects with a designer, and they put a fashion show on together. Or it could be a manufacturer with an industry, a Trade Industry Association like cotton, they could put a fashion show on together for the consumers to see. It could be a brand. And a retailer, like I mentioned before with the back to school and the designers, it could be that they're putting a show on together to showcase this new clothing. But when you do a cooperative fashion show, it's like equal parts contribution, money-wise and time-wise and effort. So they're working together to put this fashion show on. Alrighty.

27:39 And then our last one is a sponsored fashion show. And these are like your corporate sponsors. So it can be any type of clothing, whoever's putting it on, it could be a store, putting it on, it could be an organization putting the fashion show on, but it's sponsored by a group. And these are usually like corporate sponsors, because they want to get their name out there. And the sponsor is funding the fashion show. It could be industry affiliates. So let's say that you are a designer, and you are using, you know, a certain type of fabric. And so that fabric company could be the sponsor for your show. So because they want people to know about their fabric, and they want to be known in their industry, they may sponsor that show. It could be a charity. So maybe the charity is putting on an event, and they have certain sponsors that are supporting them. And so the sponsors will pay for the show and help them bring the show to life to fundraise or do all the different things that a charity show may have in place. So those are your different types of consumer shows.

29:04 I didn't mention this one. So I'm gonna go ahead and add this one here. And these are productions that are done at the school level. And this is the type of production that we did. It was a fundraiser for our school program. So it could support our activities such as going to competitions for DECA, our field trips or different things of that nature.

29:26 So you have your school and club type shows. Now these shows don't tend to be for the purpose of selling anything. They are for the purpose of showcasing student work. Student work as far as the design is concerned and student work as far as the fashion show production skills that most marketing classes put forward. Or if there's not a design class, they could just be showcasing retail clothing, clothing that they've put together from their core opposites or anything like that, just to have a fashion show to showcase their skills in production. And also, as I said before, to have fundraisers for their clubs and organizations, so that would not be a consumer show, that would just be a fundraising fashion show. Alright, so those are your different types of markets that you have for fashion shows.

30:31 And just to recap, the whole types of fashion show, again, for your categories, you have your traditional form, you have your informal, and you have your theatrical productions, and then for your markets, we're gonna go ahead and say we have three, we have the industry market, we have the consumer market, and then we have the club school market for fundraisers. All right, so there you have it, these are your different types of fashion shows, I hope you've learned a lot. And I hope this is valuable for you and your students. I thank you for listening to Marketing EdVenture, and you have a wonderfully blessed day. I do hope that you find value with this fashion show production series. It's something I've wanted to do for years because fashion shows have so many moving parts. And of course, when you're managing students who are doing it as well, it really is a project management situation.

31:39 So what I intend to do is have a video series for Fashion Show production, along with documents that I used when I was overseeing the fashion show production. And even some snippets of when I was actually managing my students, and a highlight of the fashion shows that we actually did with pictures and video. So there's just a lot of things that I plan to release once I'm done with this whole series about fashion show production that I will make available to us. So stay tuned for that bundle of resources and information to be made available. I'll look forward to you having access to that. And I also look forward to hearing about your fashion show productions and seeing them on Instagram. So be sure to connect with me at Marketing EdVenture on Instagram so that I can see all the wonderful work that you're doing with your fashion program.

32:52 Thanks for listening to Marketing EdVenture. Remember to subscribe, rate, review and share this episode with someone you think could benefit from the information shared here today. If you have any questions or want to connect with me, find me on Instagram and Marketing EdVenture. All links and resources discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes at MarketingEdVenture.com