Ethnic Influences on Apparel Design

It would be pretty hard to imagine that no designers out there have not had any sort of inspirations or concepts that have been influenced by other designers, ideas, or places such as the mall or a foreign country.

For instance, a research was conducted to see "...how strength of ethnic identification influences attitudes toward and ownership of ethnic apparel, importance of product and store-display attributes, and purchase intention among A Asian American consumers in Hawaii." The sample included 167 Asian Americans who visited apparel stores in Honolulu that had Asian-inspired clothing predominantly displayed." This is good example of how individuals can be inspired by a new setting, place, environment, and the culture of dress. By adding different elements to your apparel, it will add a twist of freshness and creativity. The idea is to have line that stands out from other designers.

It's not easy to imitate nor one should imitate other's ideas because that would be fraudulent, and just plain wrong. Nevertheless designers do attempt to re-create a similar line through their own interpretation. The above images of the cloth are examples of imitation of designs. The one on the very top is an imitation of the printed cloth below it. As you can see, the prints are not identical, but you can see where the inspirations came from. I own several pieces of clothing where I can tell that the designer their influence came from. For the most part I think that it's great the designers are striving to be original and using more ethnic influences because it makes their cloths look more unique, and not just the typical "American dress."

Furthermore, ethnic influences are also influenced by demographics. For example, age, sex, race, family size, level of income, education, occupation, and location of residence are all things that will determine the success of a company, or line of clothing, or just in general. Designers usually design to a specific target, such as teens for example. It would not appropriate to design "old ladylike" clothing for teens because that will not go anywhere. In addition, depending on the income, consumers will buy accordingly with how much as they have to lose. Last but not least, sex plays a big role on how consumers will behave. Girls of today tend to wear tighter and more flashy clothes, and the boys wear very loose fitting, and baggy pants and graphic t-shirts.

In conclusion, ethnic influences on apparel is a much practiced tactic that many designers use to enhance their line. Human societies are not closed; we are continuously receiving stimuli from each other that affect dress. Dress is worn to identify a group, but at the same time to distinguish one's self from other groups.

References:

Giddings, V.L. (1990). African American dress in the 1960s. In Starke, B.M., Holloman, L.O., &Nordquist, B.K., eds., African American Dress and Adornment: A Cultural Perspective, Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., pp. 152-155.

Mead, P.& Pederson, E.L. (1995). West African apparel textiles depicted in selected magazines from 1960 to 1979: Application of cultural authentication. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 23(4), 430-452.