Fashion is an art and the brands paint that canvas

If you are to stay lucrative in the fashion business and valid to the minions of the craft then you are to put in the hard work and more importantly the innovative "think new" cap. There is no denying competition rising levels at every turn of season, as the fresh start-up brands exaggerate heat on their heels behind the senior brands in quest to win over the masses with the lure of 'Newness' and polished concepts of shopping.

Zara once turned a blind eye to the power of communicating to their market through bloggers as (almost) the whole industry engaged, and later to came on board on seeing opposition feast in profits of social media celebrates that model trends to the average consumer without the effort of ads. Today, ''fast fashion with big response'' is referred to as the Zara market! A phrase that could well sum up the entire society of fashion savvy individuals. So what do brands do? They soak their heads in research, jump at the chance to stand out, depict standards of 'cool' and avail clever customer service initiatives so we may admire and ask How High!

Fashion is an art, and brands paint that canvas. Just recently Asos recruited its personal styling team via a combination of their own personal style, styling ability, social feed and dedication to customer service. it makes valuable sense to the Asos fan, who will follow a particular 'personal stylist' because they relate and love their aesthetic. Each stylist then has their own set up of Asos-approved Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest profile to engage their followers to the fullest with the brand. Todays fashion is loaded with cultural, social and artistic meaning, the very blurred lines between the idea of luxury and the true essence of the word. Hand made tags actually turning out to be mass machine produced garments that are stitched by needle 49 on isle 22 for wednesdays 30 000 exporting batch. And when these "luxury" goods meet the well suited gentleman at the English capital flagship store presenting it to you in nothing less than an Egyptian silk glove that helps you visualise the the delicacy of the craft, and nod to acknowledge the ridiculous price he refuses to utter without tilting his eyes to the glass display that holds the glorified piece engraved 'price on request'. These are gestures practiced in high fashion realms, that yet again instil the mark of exclusivity that many consumers fall weak to without really bothering to do a double check. It's a cloud of consumer psychology that takes play and compromises on the integrity of the art(not that we cared).

What we fail to unwrap is the quietly savvy brand strategies that come with the growth of very big brand, they do it so well.  For another, who knew that the brains behind Shinola (an American product brand that makes leather goods, watches and bicycles) is Tom Kartsotis who founded the  mass market watch retailer Fossil?! His approach of creating a story around the manufacturing and people of Detroit has helped imbue the two year young brand with a romance that really resonates with consumers. Having quality products (the watches have Swiss movements but assembled in Detroit), excellent design and a Bruce Webster campaign to further escalate and endorse the brand. It then becomes the 'Made In Detroit' provenance and storytelling that hits the mark.

However brands choose to grow their artistic element in fashion in the years to come will be nothing short of a surprise that will probably still amazes me, and even though many other practices in the craft may be (or come across as) frivolous to some, they are still good concepts that promote business and this lifestyle of seize-less trends and they are fashion in its own right.