Fashion, Style & Popular Culture - 4: Merchandising Technologies, Oct 2022

Wearable technology (WT) has emerged with substantial popularity. While several products are spreading successfully, some have been crushed by consumer disappointment. Nevertheless, with WT’s increased development, expanding into many and varied fields, research is lagging behind, as factors that influence the adoption of WT are not fully understood. Previous research on motivations to purchase WT has focused on a specific product. Ours is the first study to empirically analyse purchasing intentions of WT, dividing products into successful and unsuccessful in order to identify optimal WT parameters. Predicated on data gleaned from 300 respondents, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) results indicate that utilitarianism (as mediator) positively enhances price consciousness’ effect on the motivation to purchase successful WT products. Likewise, we found that aesthetic design, utilitarianism and sensual stimulation positively affect the motivation to purchase successful WT, whereas window display negatively affects the motivation to purchase successful and unsuccessful WT. Additionally, sensual stimulation positively affects motivation to purchase unsuccessful WT. Store exterior and sensual stimulation have been found to impact purchasing of unsuccessful WT products. Managerial implications are discussed.

Since her debut on Instagram in 2016, Lil Miquela has amassed over 3 million followers. She was the first of many virtual influencers; avatars with a hyper-realistic humanoid appearance who operate on social media. This article investigates how the fashioning of virtual influencers informs the relationship between virtual and human bodies. A visual and textual analysis of virtual influencers on Instagram has revealed that they are emblematic of a coalescence between the virtual and the actual. Virtual influencers often evoke discussions about human nature because their cyberpunk narratives and uncanny appearance position them as autonomous posthuman subjects. Virtual influencers are positioned as Bodies without Organs, as their bodies can be manipulated into any form. Yet, they adhere to normative ideals of youth, slimness and beauty, encouraging their audiences to follow suit. Their fashion reflects the streetwear aesthetic but is often designed by luxury brands. This strategy positions virtual influencers as authentic, while generating visibility within the attention economy. Further, the Deleuzian concept of the fold serves as a metaphor to understand fashion as an interface between surface and depth. It is fashion in its folded form that hominizes virtual influencers, although they are merely a fashionable surface.

Fashion influencers on Instagram create intimate and ‘authentic’ content to develop a branded persona, which they can use to build follower relationships and monetize their account through brand partnerships. However, some influencers are leveraging their online status and relationships to form their own fashion brands. This research examines three case studies of influencer-founded fashion brands: Day/Won, a size-inclusive athletic clothing company founded by model Candice Huffine; Premme, a plus-size clothing brand founded by fashion influencers Gabi Gregg and Nicolette Mason; and Megababe, a body positive beauty brand founded by fashion influencer Katie Sturino, to examine how they communicate with followers and reference body positive discourses to represent themselves as ‘authentic’ and inclusive brands. Over 500 Instagram posts from these influencers’ personal and brand accounts were captured and manually coded and analysed using constructivist grounded theory for practices that the accounts used to establish authentic communication with followers. The findings suggest that influencer and brand accounts align their use of engagement, embodiment and expression strategies in order to develop and convey an authentically body positive identity.

As fashion and retail technologies have become more sophisticated, consumers are vastly connected to the multiverse, both through the cloud and the integration of physical and digital spaces called phygital. This type of omnichannel commerce has become a requirement for brands to stay relevant. Developing parallel to the world of omnichannel has been digital gaming. Imagine these two worlds converged into one concept. Enter the metaverse. The idea of the metaverse or a virtual alternative reality is not new. With various iterations in pop culture, the concept of escaping into another dimension, whether dystopian or utopian, is part of the human psyche. Fast forward to a virtual post-pandemic society, the concept of the metaverse and the community it develops is timely. The metaverse allows the consumer to dive into a far more stimulating and immersive experience that have fashion brands collectively strategizing their deliveries. This article will conduct a discourse analysis on the metaverse and its gaming roots, how fashion and retail hope to build community and compelling applications of brand deliveries through these digital worlds. The article will review the adoption challenges that may arise with the consumer, applications that are kink free, privacy protection, regulation, payment systems, adoption of entrance devices and brand deliveries using NFTs or non-fungible tokens.

Within the apparel industry, new technologies, environmental concerns and even a global pandemic have significantly altered how fashion products are developed, merchandised and purchased. The expanding e-commerce segment of the industry is requiring that brands reimagine how consumers choose products to purchase without a physical garment to touch, feel and try on their bodies. Communicating product information accurately, especially fit, is necessary as fit has been established as a critical component of customer satisfaction and reduces costs of returned product. Returns in the apparel industry have increased significantly due to the increase in online sales, suggesting that improved product fit and size communication is needed to improve consumer trust and satisfaction as well as increase profit margins and reduce environmental impact. Technology such as virtual fitting rooms, custom consumer avatars and body-scanning are all possible solutions to clearly convey fit and size information to the consumer before purchase. Brands within the lingerie and foundations market have been some of the earliest adopters of these virtual fit technologies with varying degrees of success, as they allow consumers to shop in privacy and offer an opportunity to educate the customer in less intrusive formats such as videos and charts. In this article, several of these early adopters in the lingerie e-commerce market will be evaluated to identify what has affected their successful or failed implementation and consumer acceptance to outline possible future improvement and application.

The Zero Waste Indonesia community carried out a social media campaign with the hashtag #TukarBaju out of concern for textile waste. This study aims to analyse the social movement and environmental communication of the Zero Waste community through Instagram. Qualitative descriptive research was conducted with semiotic analysis to interpret the interactions, communications and transactions of sustainable values and knowledge sharing within and outside the community. The data were gathered from the community activities in two years (April 2019–March 2021), with a sample of 24 posted texts and visuals. Content analysis was carried out through coding according to the construct of the concepts covered in environmental communication. The results showed that the @tukarbaju community built eco-friendly awareness and has become its social movement awareness agent. The community digitally conducted women empowerment for environmental care and invited viewers to join the social movement to reduce textile waste and care for environmental sustainability. Knowledge sharing was done persuasively through digital visual and verbal campaigns. The campaigns with actionable hashtags are examples of collaborations. In addition, some of the content categories in the @tukarbaju Instagram account have been educational to build awareness for half a decade.