A history of fashion: regency era to modern day

A history of fashion: Regency era to modern day

Properly dressed ladies wore spencers (long-sleeved jackets cut beneath the bosom) or pelisses (long-sleeved jackets cut three-quarters down the length of a skirt) out of doors, along with a broad-brimmed hat tied under the chin with a ribbon.

Following the trend of women's fashions, men in the Regency era were dressed more soberly than their predecessors. The richly colored, brocaded suits were replaced by plain, dark cutaway coats which were especially practical for horsemanship. Knee breeches, stockings and buckled shoes gave way to pantaloons tucked into high riding boots. Finally, the powdered wigs of the Georgian era were forever relegated from fashion, as men of the period began wearing their hair short and natural[8].

Victorian Fashions

During the Victorian era, the precise cut, material and color of a garment revealed the social class of the wearer. With the growing prosperity of the day, fashions for women of the higher classes became increasingly complex. Dresses were composed of several layers of different shades, cloths and trimmings, and intended to be worn with both under-dresses and over-dresses. Properly dressed ladies accessorized with gloves and bonnets. Bustlines rose, as Victorian modesty gained widespread adherence; and waistlines fell as designers revived the popularity of formal dresses reminiscent of Georgian France. In the first quarter-century, puffy "mutton-leg" sleeves became all the rage, but these were later replaced by fitted sleeves and eventually bell sleeves. Victorians considered the "hourglass" shape to best flatter the female form, and women wore restrictive corsets to achieve this ideal. The Victorian era also saw the progression from crinoline skirts to hoop skirts and finally to bustled skirts. Finally, the invention of sewing machine revolutionized women's fashion on a practical level, as ladies devoted themselves to designing, customizing and making their own garments.

As for accessories of this era, the cameo became all the rage of the mid-19th century. Although Queen Elizabeth was known to favor cameos to complement her garments and Catherine the Great had an impressive collection as well, Queen Victoria revived the jewelry piece during her reign. Cameos during the Victorian era were often attached to a black velvet ribbon and worn as a choker. Jewelers during the nineteenth century used gemstones, stone, shell, lava, coral and manmade materials as mediums to carve cameos. Shell had been used by Italian carvers since 1805, and by the Victorian era, was the favorite material of cameo designers. Popular subjects for cameos included depictions of deities from Greek mythology (especially the Three Graces, the daughters of Zeus), the Biblical Rebecca at the well, and the Bacchante maidens adorned with grape leaves in their hair. The Victorians' appreciation for naturalism, especially their love of gardening, was also captured in cameos featuring flowers and trees. Finally, the Victorian woman of means often commissioned a cameo in her likeness, while other artists depicted an idealized woman with an upswept hairstyle and Romanesque features.

Men's fashions of the era were comparably more comfortable for the wearer. It was considered impolite society for a gentleman to appear in his shirt sleeves before a lady other than his wife, so Victorian men nearly always wore an informal "sack coat" during the day. The sack coat was a loose-fitting, single-breasted garment appropriate for travel or business, which was distinctive for its small collar, short lapels, a fastened top button close to the neck, moderately rounded hems, flap or welt pockets on the hips, a welt pocket on the chest and a slightly baggy appearance. Men's formal attire consisted of a top hat, dapper cutaway coat or frockcoat, waistcoat, cravat and trousers[6].

Edwardian Fashions

At the advent of the Edwardian era, the shape of women's fashions transitioned from the popular "hourglass" figure to dresses designed with an "S" curve. The new style allowed women to cast away the confining corsets of the Victorian age and embrace the new "health corsets" that supported the spine and abdomen. The curvaceous clothing line of this period resounded with the curving lines of Art Nouveau style. In addition, ladies' hats became larger, a trend that continued steadily until 1911. The Art Nouveau style also invaded women's jewelry styles, as peacocks, dragonflies and moths created out of dazzling enamels and gold filigree became standard adornments for ladies' combs and brooches.

Throughout the Edwardian period, women's fashions were highly influenced by the advancing feminist Suffrage movement. Women modeled their behavior and appearance upon the "Gibson Girl", the popular image of the "New Woman". Designers soon borrowed from men's clothing styles such as the suit, shirt, hard collar and tie, to create fashions appropriate for women entering professions formerly occupied by men.

During the later half of the Edwardian era, fashions once again transitioned from the "S" curve dresses to the pre-flapper, straight-line clothing of the late 1910s. As women began participating in athletics, casual and comfortable "sport clothing" also became popular. Women's fashions also generally became lighter in construction and materials, as epitomized by the "lingerie dress", a feather-light white cotton dress inset with strips of open-work lace and net. In sum, women's fashions became progressively more comfortable, practical and aesthetically pleasing during this era, such that the period from 1890 to 1914 is remembered as "la Belle Epoque" ("The Beautiful Epoch")[9].

Modern Trends of Fashion Design

Fashion is closely related with trend and requires the understanding of socio–cultural trends. Fashion is a field of cultural pluralism in which differences coexist. This specific field seems to show new praxis and methodologies in which businesses are able to continuously innovate products according to social and cultural changes. All these theories are expressions of deep changes that influenced fashion during the 19th century. Born as a craft sector in the late 1880 in France, fashion, in the modern sense, was in the beginning a way to establish status and

class differentiation for small elites. Not until the end of 1960, that the social disorder and the contestation of bourgeois values have an important impact in the fashion sector: for the first time styles and taste from lower levels of society became dominant. In the late 70s, research for affordable and simple ways of dressing began the transformation of the sector from craft production to industrial production. This change was promoted by Italian companies, which at the time were already producing textile fabrics and knitwear and began collaborating with young designers, such as Armani and Versace. Since then, fashion began to lose its powerful "status" connotation to assume the role of "social" and "cultural" connotation (Bertola, 2001). Fashion is more and more related to cultural communities and to a plurality of life styles and behaviors. It is also often characterized by “fashions” which spread with a bottom up mechanism and start in the lower level of society (King 1981; Naisbit 1990; Morace 1996; Lopiano Misdo and De Luca, 1997).

Fashion Business in Italy & Trend Process

Italy was selected as the leader in fashion for this research in the trend process because Italian fashion is for everyone in society, and is not as exclusive as French fashion. Italian fashion, thus, is more rooted in cultural values and is more strongly associated with the trend process. In Italy, clothes and accessories related to an idea of aesthetic quality, functionality and comfort, constructing a modern and new environment for informal social interaction. While France focused on the idea of luxury and distinction, Italian fashion has been characterized from the beginning as an expression of a contemporary style, generally affordable and close to different social groups (Anderson Black and Garland 1975; Steel 1988; Testa and Savoiolo 2000). On the side of production, this leads Italian fashion to become an industrial sector able to produce massive quantities of products, while French fashion remains based on craft production characterized by sophisticated and expensive processes to guarantee high quality and personalized products (Burns and Bryant 1997).

From beginning, Italian designers had the ability to understand needs and meaning, embedding them into products to share values and culture in a local context. They designed for a niche market; a local cultural community. Later, during the 90s, deep changes in society occurred. Conditions such as the globalized market, people migrations, the capillary diffusion of communication means, influenced the way in which social communities became localized and diffused (Toffler 1990). Italian design began to change, trying to become an expression of a cultural global plurality, which today characterizes fashion (Davis 1992).

Corresponding to these changes in the 90s, organizations transformed their implicit sensitivity to the market into a structured process of understanding cultural evolution and the potentialities of "bottom-up" phenomena. This new process is related to all the activities, which occur before product development. The result of their process is usually a document using visual language to express a vision of potential evolution in culture, life styles and behaviors. This special activity is the starting point of a standard trend tracking and visualizing service. The trend process was continually developed, then speeds up through the driving forces of high competition, complex market segments, and advancement in technology in order to quickly collect and understand target user information. This led to high efficiency in using the information to embed user values in products and innovate according to social and cultural trends.

Fashion Business in Thailand & Trend Process

Thailand was selected as a follower in fashion in this research because it has been a manufacturing country with one of the highest exports in clothing. Since the rise of cheaper Chinese labor, the Thai government has been promoting the trend process to make Thailand more competitive in the global market.

The fashion business and industry in Thailand are different from those of Italy and France in that designers and manufacturers lack cooperation. In the case of in-house designers, when a designer proposes a new product different from the mainstream, manufacturers do not recognize nor support the significance of design novelty. Designer-owned brands also face a similar problem when the manufacturer refuses to do small orders, or if the design consists of details that have never been done before. This results in very high prices for products with distinctive design, mainly in a niche market as most consumers cannot afford them. Many “risk-free” manufacturers are more interested in copying already successful products. As they are mass-produced, the prices become lower, and also more affordable as well as popular for most domestic consumers.

In the west, the socio-cultural movement is the driving influence on consumer perception, lifestyle, and in fashion. On the contrary, consumers in Thailand accept any new trend without relating to any socio-cultural issue. In reverse, the mainstream trends influence consequent socio-cultural reactions (Cholachatpinyo 2003).

Nonetheless, the garment manufacturing and export industry of Thailand was one of the main revenues of the country in the beginning. Consumer preferences were not previously given importance as with other factors in manufacturing. Presently, the government’s policy is promoting the creation of value-added products more than OEM. Trend information, thus becomes a necessity in product planning and development for export. In 1994, the Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce began distributing awareness of trends for targeted export markets in other countries. Thereafter, the DEP held trade fairs to exhibit Thai design and production capabilities, including how Thai products go along or fit into some specific international trends.

Today, besides distributing trend awareness in the fashion industry, the Thai government also gives importance to a Thai identity or uniqueness for export products to compete globally. However, there are still obstacles in utilizing trend information in Thailand, as those in charge of design are often more like prototype makers or factory owners. The expectation for trend information is more a question of what style, color, or form to be made to minimize risks, not to understand the origins of trends in order to expand creativity.

Design organizations with a high sensitivity to new trends do not rely on secondary trend information; they always virtually and realistically travel and gain experience from foreign locales in orders to absorb new trends and new inspiration. With this level of personal and organizational capability, new trends can be also identified early on. Some of the leading fashion brands keep track of trend information in order to understand fashion movement, not to fully apply that information to their design, in order to exclude themselves from the mainstream players. However, the difference between Thai and Italian design organizations is that the Italians work closely with suppliers to develop specific materials to fit right into the new trend during their product development, while Thais rarely have such cooperation.

Early and medium trend follower

In Italy, the design organization uses trend resources as a major information supply. Traditionally, the success relies upon sensible and profound interpretation of the readers, common to most Italian design organizations. In Thailand, in contrast, where the affordability of this trend resource is comparatively low, there are only a few companies who have access to it. Therefore, only few individuals have a chance to develop such processes. However, since successful trend application depends on such skills mentioned, Thais seem to not fully benefit from this open-to-all-interpretation trend resource, provided mostly by the government, as they lack the skills to understand the meaning that the trends suggest and the evolution of the past to present and future trends.

The emerging trend in Italy is a workshop held between trend institutes and their clients in order to efficiently apply trend information to their products during the product development stage. Compared with Italy, the Thai government’s organizations, such as the Department of Export Promotion and Thailand Creative and Design Center, will provide trend seminars about the current trend information to public. Short individual sessions of consultation about how they can apply the trend information to their products and other issues about product development of each design company will sometimes be arranged. However, limitations of time and budget makes it much less effective than the cooperative workshop done in Italy.

Late trend followers

The late trend followers usually have superficial understanding about the mechanism of trend information, even less in how that information could efficiently be applied to their products. Without considering the cause and effect of socio-cultural factors that drive those trends, form and colors proposed in either fashion magazine or fashion shows for the coming season are always far more than the important elements that they pay attention to in order to directly adopt it to fit their own brand identity and products. Since they do not fully understand the evolution of trends, the next trend is always a myth that therefore needs prediction rather than investigation and analysis that can be done by them.

Specializations in fashion designing have come into being. There is a wide range of options for a designer to choose from, such as lingerie, swimwear, women's wear, bridal wear, children's wear, men's wear, footwear, handbags, etc.

Another significant change that has come about in the fashion designing industry in recent times is the increased use of computers and technology. A number of software packages have come up to aid designers in the process of designing as well as other stages in the production of a garment, easily and speedily. Fashion designing as a trade has also grown. Fashion designers have gone on to get repute not only in their own countries, but internationally as well. The number of fashion shows and participation in the same has gone up considerably in recent times. Fashion designing is thus no longer only the designing and creation of a garment, but it is a world in itself involving fashion, design, creativity, technology as well as business.[12]

The type of clothing completely depends on the person who is wearing it; therefore it becomes a reflection of his perception of himself, which leads us to the term – personal identity. Lately a lot is being heard about personal identity and its meaning in the life of every single person on the planet. The choice of clothing and accessories (clothing that is worn or carried, but not part of a person’s main clothing) is as important as identification through the color of hair, height, skin and gender. Clothing nowadays is a media of information about the person wearing it [Barnard 21]. It is a cipher; a code that needs a decryption in order to understand what kind of person is underneath it. The present time offers a great variety of these “ciphers” and therefore gives people a large number of opportunities to reveal their identity. As every cloth carries a strong message about its owner, every owner “nests” a certain value in it depending on his temperament, mindset or today’s mood. Therefore, the clothing of a person is a mean of communication with the outside world. It is the way of telling people about the “state” and the “status” of it owner [Barnes& Eicher 125].


The evolution of female underwear

The evolution of female underwear

QDC1103:Essay
 

The Evolution of female underwear essay and tasks
 

Aneesah Loonat
 

Step 1

Identify possible sources of information

 

Step 2

Read through information and highlight areas concerned

 

Step 3

Write out information in your own words and reference accordingly

 

Step 4

Write out your first draft and proof read it

 

Step 5

Write out essay

 

Underwear is one of the main necessities in our daily lives. Underwear was seen as an under garment in the days of queen Elizabeth but now days in the 21st century underwear is seen as a form of status, wealth and taste. The fancier the taste the more expensive and elaborate the lingerie. The more expensive the lingerie the less fabric or coverage-(how ironic)

Lingerie throughout history has brought woman to want to flatten, conform, mould, plump, squeeze and push out. The purpose of lingerie is to alter the woman’s shape to meet hygiene and modesty needs- although modesty is not so popular in our day and age.

The earliest form of underwear, specific to woman, came from ancient Egypt around 3000 BC women wore narrow tunics as undergarments while slaves and servants wore only simple loin cloths or went naked. This reiterates the wealth and status part of lingerie. Europe adopted and transformed the Egyptian fashion thus bringing us to ancient Greece. Women in classical Greece would wear a band of cloth to support their breasts this did not contain any hemming or sewing and eventually became two separate pieces of clothing which were called the peplos and the chiton. Both garments were ankle long but the peplos was open on one side while the chiton was open on both, this gave the public a good view of the woman she walked, she was exposed. Apodesmos was the name of what we call the modern day bra; these pieces of clothing were not meant for fashion but were meant for function and practicality.

In the Roman era woman generally had larger breasts which was looked down upon because men found it unattractive. This then introduced what is called “cotte” this was used to minimize the size of their busts. In the roman era woman wore a chemise to protect the top layer of clothing from body oils and to provide warmth. They wore these under their petticoats. Europe preferred fitted clothing that went with the shape of the body. Women did not wear underwear during this era, only men wore trousers. Trousers were considered a symbol of male power and women who wore them were wives who wanted to overthrow authority with their husbands. My guess this is where the saying “wears the pants in the relationship” is born.

The first fashionable and functional lingerie was brought about during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The Du Dou is similar to the shape of a bib with straps that tie around the neck and the back; similar to the undergarments in the Roman era it was also to minimize the size of the bust. This garment is still worn in today’s time but not as an undergarment but rather as an outer garment.

In the renaissance, the time where they were reforming fashion, is where the farthingale was born, this consisted of hoops that are worn under the skirt to support them into desired shapes. The Spanish farthingale was the original and the French followed in the late 1570s. This is when the Elizabethans came up with the idea of the “bum roll”, the used to wear something around their waist and under their skirt to accentuate the waist and the hips appear smaller. We now reach the “Basquine”, this is part of the farthingale, and it is a tightly fitted lace under the bodice of heavy material that is attached to the farthingale.

This soon changed in the middle ages in the late 16thcentury as the corset that minimized the waistline was introduced. The times of having big breasts were now embraced. Arriving in the earliest form 4000 years back, the corset, this was designed for more aesthetic purposes rather than practical use. The corset did not fit the user it rather reshaped the user to the fetish of the time. The corset is the most controversial garment in history because of the discussions on whether it is a symbol of status or is it for erotic appeal and whether it successfully oppressed and victimized women to conform. Over the course of time the materials used to make corsets would vary from animal bones, wood to metal rods, hooks, clips, straps and even pulleys. Woman even began to insert whalebone into the Busk (a slot down the centre front of the corset) of the cloth bodies. The Busk was also a love token which was sometimes presented to a suitor when he was interested in a woman.

The corset reached the height of popularity during the Victorian era where both men and woman would wear the corset but soon diminished in the 20th century as new support garments were introduced. This proves that fashions shifts between masculine and feminine no matter what.

During the French revolution there was a revolt against underwear. The 1700s was where women began to shun petticoats, corsets and camisoles, all symbols of French aristocracy were shunned upon as well. Women refused to wear conforming underwear, breasts became the main focus and women started to push their breasts up and out and this is where panties were introduced and were designed by Catherine de Medici.

The Victorian era (1800) introduced the pioneers of lingerie. This era marked the end of the Napoleonic wars and corseted fashion became popular again. Victoria’s Secret adopted their name from this era.

During 1829 – 1876, the first steel Busk fastening was created which allowed woman to put on and take off the corset without a hassle. The corset became elasticised which allowed more comfort. Victorian England introduced silk underwear, laced and trimmed embroideries as well as frilled pantaloons. Hoop skirts were supported by crinolines (steel structure with a corset and petticoats). Garters were now introduced to anchor the corset so it could not ride up.

1890 was when corsets were gradually been done away with and then introduced the brassiere. It was not till 1914 that the brassiere was introduced which was designed by Mary Phelps Jacobs she invented this by tying two handkerchiefs together with ribbons. Instead of pushing the breasts together the “bra” separated each breast and it was backless unlike the corset. In the 1920s the individual cup sizes followed. The brassier was pronounced more comfortable to the woman of the world than the corset. Woman in the early 1900s became involved in sports and vigorous dancing which lead them to abandon the corset and embrace the brassiere as it was more practical. At this point in history women were going towards a more streamline and almost boyish figure. World War I and the women activists at the time demanded the demise of the corset. Women started to turn to the girdle and restrictive garments that had suspender clips attached to hold up stockings this lead to the flapper look of the 1920s.

During 1923-1945, maternity wear was outsold by plus size lingerie designed by Lane Bryant for the first time by bringing in $5 million in revenue. The “bra” started to now accentuate the breasts instead of flattening them. Warner Brothers became the labellers of the cup sizes; A, B, C and D these are the sizes we use today. During the World War II there was a short supply of the materials that were used to make undergarments so this is when they started using synthetic materials such as Lycra, Rayon and Lastex. In this time period Marilyn Monroe became famous for a voluptuous and modelled for lingerie advertisements which were painted by hand in this era.

In 1947 the hourglass silhouette was revolutionized and also known as the “wasp waist” which brought the corset and girdles back into fashion to achieve this look. The push up bra was invented and designed by Frederick Mellinger. The push up bra had brought back what the corset had which was aesthetic edge and sex appeal.

The golden age for lingerie was during the 1950-1970, the 1950s had now fully embraced the hourglass figure and the bra had taken new shapes and solidified itself for every woman due to the film industry. “Sweater girls” which were made famous through stars such as Lana Turner because of the cone shaped bras, small waits and full hips. Bettie Page, ofcourse, got her name through wearing risqué lingerie in the 1940s. Joan Collins was one of the first to model the seamed stockings and curve hugging “Basques”. The freedom of not wanting to conform and have the freedom to wear what you like was during the 1960s, women’s liberation was rife at this time.

With the women’s liberation being rife a new style emerged where woman became more girly and youthful which intern introduced the baby doll night dresses and frilly knickers. In 1966 the modern bra shapes became recognizable and underwear became more playful and patterns developed. Women now had the freedom of choice.

The 1970s held more sophistication and class. Underwear materials changed, fabrics became more luxurious which introduced lace and silk.

In the 1980s technology met the brassiere. Cleavage hit the decade with a bang which introduced the creation of Wonderbra which allowed women who were not as blessed as others to have a cleavage could now afford to have one. The Wonderbra introduced the push and plunge effect which became a desirable effect for men. Padded and underwire bras became popular top selling items along with Victoria’s Secret and Fredrick’s of Hollywood all big lingerie lines. Padded, gel-filled and air-filled, staples and backless lingerie became the contemporary lingerie of the time. This decade also introduced the infamous body suit worn by Cher. Then panties took a new form and the thong as well as the G-String was introduced. Women at this stage of history have more choices available to them than ever before.

1990 introduced the newest supermodel who modelled for Calvin Klein, Kate Moss. Madonna was also one of the statement stars of this time when she wore her pointy bras from Jean Paul Gautier as outer wear on her tours. 1994 held the birth of the most iconic outdoor advert that caused several motorists to crash their cars. The billboard advert ‘Hello Boys’ who starred supermodel Eva Herizgova, she posed for Wonderbra.

From 2000 onwards underwear was the main attraction and proved that sex always sells. 2001 brought sexy back when Agent Provocateur was voted the sexiest of all time which featured Kylie Minogue and soon after Kate Moss became the face of Agent Provocateur. Dita Von Teese she is the face of 2008 by bringing vintage lingerie back into the fashion limelight. Dita brought back corsets, stockings and suspenders. Dita became the face of modern vintage pin-up.

Victoria’s Secret a name we are all aware of today is the biggest selling American brand and is internationally recognized. Their yearly catwalk shows are highly waited upon and are legendary.

Now that we have an understanding as to where our not so private essentials come from and know that they were once just a piece of cloth or had animal bone pushed into it at one stage and that it was a really painful affair to conform to society, we can be grateful for our fitting sexy underwear. Lingerie has made many statements over the years and each time it reflected the social status to a symbol of sex appeal. Woman were taught to conform and then fought to steer away from conformity so I think it is safe to say that underwear matters.


Influence of culture on fashion

Influence of culture on fashion

“The more we learn about culture the greater our understanding of the future of global consumerism in Fashion.”

Fashion industry is all about making fashion statements. The industry runs on the motto to be different, stylish, edgy as well as continuous changes in every season of every year. Fashion to customers is being different from the crowd or making a statement by using clothing and accessories that set them apart. Fashion industry is getting more expensive with passing time. In the United States, around 250 billion dollars is spent on fashion and accessories like bag, shoe, etc. (Anon., 2012)

When fashion industry is concerned, culture is an integral part of it. Fashion and culture goes hand in hand. Our clothes are a source of non-verbal communication which send messages about who we are, where we come from, what we do and etc. Overall, fashion is a way of expressing ourselves through our clothing and accessories. People try to stay “in fashion” and they are mostly influenced by popular culture which is reflection of cultural forces as well as social factors.

Global consumerism: Widespread use of the internet and communications are changing how and on what people spend their money. This phenomenon has led to emergence of the global citizens who participate in the global marketplace through multinational corporations offering brands which meet their ever changing needs. (Byrnes, 2007, p. 1) This combination of global culture and global connectivity can be defined as globalization. Globalization has created a market with no border and as a result culture is running free in this new era. Now a day, we can see Indian food in every city of the globe or people living in Western countries are wearing ethnic clothes.

Consumption is an action that varies from culture to culture. (Byrnes, 2007, p. 2) The result of adopting consumption related values on a worldwide scale has been referred to as a ‘global consumer culture’. Global consumer culture is “shared sets of consumption-related symbols such as product categories, brands, and common consumption activities”. (Lee, 2006)

Global fashion consumerism:

The global fashion industry is growing and changing at an incredible rate. According to a study in 2010, Dubai was supposed to reach $655 billion in textile and apparel trade which is 6% of global exports. The data indicates how fashion is evolving in the era of globalization. UAE was the biggest market for Swiss watches in 2013 and had increased 23% year-on-year to $835 million. (Wyne, 2013) This data shows the shift it global fashion consumerism. Meaning, now the Middle East has started emerging as the fashion hub though New York and Paris are still considered as fashion cities of the world. This change has been possible because of UAE’s vast amount of disposable income and also the influence of western culture in the people’s mind.

Cultural influence on fashion:

It is important to know the influence of culture on fashion industry and to foresee cultural and social movements in order to comprehend the fashion environment. Fashion is not an isolated factor of clothing or accessories but it is connected to our life in every aspect and among them culture is the most significant. Fashion goes further than clothing and into the manner we desire to live our lives.Meaning, fashion influences our lifestyle. Fashion is influenced by cultural changes, such as modernization, art and even technological innovation.

There is an apparent interaction of shifts in consumer lifestyle, fashion and culture.It is essential to realize that fashion is made by people living in different cultures and different locations. If we want to understand fashion and its trend then it is necessary to understand what surround us in terms of the way we live. It is our society and culture which is our surrounding and they are the ones which influence our lifestyle. Development of new fashions has mainly three sources in terms of culture. They are: High culture, low culture and pop culture. (Anon., 2010)

1. High culture means elite activities like visual art, auditory art, and applied art like photography, design and architecture. In terms of influencing fashion inspiration, these sources bring new types of ideas and concepts to the designers. How art impacts fashion can be seen in the Louis Vuitton partnership with quite a few contemporary artists, like Takeshi Murakami or Stephen Sprouse, who had embellished Louis Vuitton Monogram bags in the past.

2. Pop culture or popular culture, is a cultural segment, which is followed, appreciated and understood by a larger portion of the world audience. Usually it is highly influenced by movie or music celebrities. This type of culture is seen as a mercantile culture which is produced at a mass level for mass consumption.An example of how pop culture influences our lifestyle and our fashion can be seen by taking into account the most fashionable TV shows, like ‘Sex and the City’ and how everybody wanted to wear clothes like the central characters of the serial.With the progress of globalization, common trends of fashion are seen all around the globe (i.e. Levi’s jeans).

3. Low culture includes local street activities like graffiti or Hip Hop. The power of subculture to fashion can be seen clearly skateboard culture from the 70s to present day.It can be difficult to distinguish certain styles as subcultures because they are quickly (predominantly clothing and music) adopted by mass culture. For example, the Japanese Harajuko girls, who are teenagers, originally from Tokyo’s Harajuko district, who dress in a particular way. American singer Gwen Stefani named her 2005 world tour as well as her clothing line after these girls.In this way, a subculture or local culture has become a part of the global fashion and has been adopted by the global fashion market. (Anon., 2010)

Macro and micro trends in fashion:

Macro trends are drivers for 5-10 years whereas micro trends are drivers for 1-3 years. (Sheppard, 2014) Like most industries fashion industry is also shaped by macro and micro trends. Macro trend is a larger behavioral group and a micro trend is the mini fashion craze. Currently the micro trend is undoubtedly the skinny jeans, which is closely followed by leggings and footless tights. But a larger macro-trend for a while in the fashion has been ethical and environment friendly clothing and accessories. Trends come and go because of the impact of media in our lives. The hit US TV drama Mad Men, which is set in the early 1960s, has had a big influence on high street fashion. Actress Christina Hendricks has helped to bring back full skirts, longer hemlines, and cropped cardigans as well as almost single-handedly brought back the curvy fit in the fashion market. The micro trends are also changing because of the internet.(Anon., n.d.)

Culture is made of factors like society, education, values, and norms and so on. Since, fashion deals with how we look and what we wear; it is largely influenced and controlled by culture. In the past, fashion was segmented and local culture influenced but with the emergence of globalization we are turning towards a more global fashion consumerism. This is why brands like Chanel, Burberry are seen in India, Thailand, and Dubai and so on.

To understand the future of global fashion consumerism, we need to understand how people interpret fashion these days and whether they are influenced more by their own culture or popular culture. Though in countries like India, local culture plays a bigger influence on consumerism but still common people are seen wearing trendy clothes matching current global fashion. This shows the cultural difference among the people in the country. Thus, understanding the culture is very important for global fashion consumerism.

Bibliography

Anon., 2010. Cultural influences on trend forecasting. [Online] Available at: http://www.intothefashion.com/2010/01/cultural-influences-on-trend.html [Accessed 22 February 2015].

Anon., 2012. Fashion and Consumerism. [Online] Available at: http://fashionormassconsumerism.blogspot.com/ [Accessed 21 February 2015].

Anon., n.d. BUDGET STYLE TIPS: FASHION CYCLES. [Online] Available at: http://www.bargainshopper.com.au/Fashion-cycles [Accessed 22 February 2015].

Byrnes, K., 2007. The Sharing of Culture: Global Consumerism. UW-L Journal of Undergraduate Research.

ght.com/tools/porters-five-forces.html

Lee, J.-W., 2006. Young consumers' peceptions of multinational firms and they acculturation channels towards western products in transition economies. International Journal of Emerging Markets.

Sheppard, S., 2014. FORECASTING THE FUTURE. [Online] Available at: http://global-influences.com/interview/forecasting-the-future/ [Accessed 22 February 2015].

Wyne, H., 2013. Consumerism, affluence fan UAE's fashion flames. [Online] Available at: https://www.zawya.com/story/UAE_puts_shine_on_fashion-ZAWYA20131013094850/ [Accessed 21 February 2015].

 

History of the fur trade

History of the fur trade

2.1 History of the Fur Trade

The fur trade has been in existence for centuries in western countries like America, Canada, UK and other European countries. The Great Lakes in Canada opened its ports for fur traders in the 17th century, participated in by indigenous people who accepted goods such as firearms and liquor, iron axes, knives, hatchets, fish hooks, trade cloths, wool blankets, linen shirts, brass kettles, jewelry, glass beads, gunpowder, alcoholic drinks, as well illnesses which were previously alien to them in exchange for fur (Native American Encyclopedia, 2014). This extended to the native cultures in Siberia as Russian traders discovered the fur trade in the 18th century (Fur Trade, 2013).

The Hudson’s Bay Company was the greatest British fur trading company based in Montreal, Canada. It was dominated by French and Scottish traders. It merged with the North West Company in 1821 after being bitter rivals before that. In the United States, its counterpart company was John Jacob Astor’s American Fur Company. In 1816, British traders were not allowed to enter the United States unless they become US Citizens (Fur Trade, 2013).

The beaver hat was the most saleable item of the American fur trade, however, as fashion evolved, American fur trade slowly declined. This was because of the advancement of settlement with the trade in wild furs getting more popular than fur of farm animals. The stock of beaver and other amimals was also depleted, ending the fur trade in the 1840’s in the United States and Canada. Traders exploited their geographic knowledge of the sources of fur and the knowledge learned from Native Americans in the creation of fur for trading (Fur Trade, 2013) .

Apart from hats, fur was also used for trimmings for dresses, hats, muffs and collars and eventually, full fur coats became fashion items in the late 19th century (Ewing, 1981). It was at that time when silver foxes and nutria were bred by farmers to revive the glory days of the bountiful fur trade before animals were depleted.

By the mid-1940’s mink farming began to be known as a lucrative business (Skov, 2005). Other animal fur skins were also used such as “weasel, squirrel, racoon, sable, marten, fisher, seal, cat, dog, chinchilla, rabbit and several types of lamb, including karakul. Skins from big cats such as leopard and ocelot were also used” (Skov, 2005, p. 20).

The world centre of the fur trade moved to London in the 1930’s. Having organized “Empire Fur Week” since 1934, the London Fur Trade Association fostered the proliferation of trade journals dedicated to furriery. It also signalled the skinning of several hundreds of thousands of fox, ermine, beaver and mink pelts. Experimental furriery included the skinning of animals which were unlikely to be considered fur donors – badger, skunk, wolf, polecat, squirrel, musk ox, monkey, nutria, raccoon, wombat, wallaby and even hamsters and house cats (Dyhouse, 2011).

By the mid 1970s the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) endorsed the CITES agreement banning the use of endangered animals as a responsible action for the preservation of natural resources (Skov, 2005).

2.2 Representations of Fur in History

The fur trade that began in North America became a source of business and wealth to Western Europe. Native Americans who have participated in the trade were suddenly overwhelmed with new forms of exchange such as guns, kettles, tools, new foods and luxury items (Emberley, 1996).

However, Innis (1970) has recognized the centrality of the fur trade in the development of Canada as a nation-state. It has been understood as influential in addressing political and economic interests.

Not only does it bring in money as a commodity which is in demand but it has also become a sign of symbolic power (Emberley, 1996).

2.2.1 Function

Fur coats came into existence originally to protect the wearer from the bitter cold. Clarke (1981) narrated that cold weather calls for clothing with both leather and fur. The leather garments were worn next to the skin followed by a layer of fur cover. Extreme coldness may necessitate two layers of fur, with the first layer turned hair side in, forming air pockets that provide insulation and protection from the dampness of perspiration. The second layer had its fur turn outwards as a shield against the coldest weather.

2.2.2 Status

In medieval Europe, there was a legislation regulating the wearing of fur among the nobility, the clergy and peasantry to distinguish their class affiliation and social rank (Emberley, 1996). Decorative furs such as ermine were sewn into heraldic crests and coats of arms of soldiers while peasants and labourers wore leather apparel and occasionally, fur, but only as hats and nothing more. The more exotic and extravagant amounts of fur were reserved for the upper classes to indicate their dignity and nobility.

Prostitutes were not allowed to wear fur and if they must, due to necessity and comfort from the cold, should wear them inside out. This was also meant to symbolize her inverse position as a ‘respectable woman’ and hence, set her apart from those considered respectable (Baldwin, 1926).

2.2.3 Power

Fur has also been used to symbolize power and represent political affiliation. The beaver hat was used to distinguish Puritans and Cavaliers in seventeenth century England and Charles II gave Hudson’s Bay the monopoly for the North American fur trade in 1670. In more modern times, ex-President Nixon of the United States referred to the use of fur to distinguish honourable and dishonourable practices in saying his wife may not have a mink coat but she has a respectable Republican cloth coat, but she would look good in anything (Parmet, 1990). His sarcasm was pointed against his political opponents to connote sexual propriety as well as political propriety, and Nixon was able to exploit the representation of fur at that time, at the height of controversy for fur-trapping by First Nations, protests of animal rights activists against fur use and the globalization of the fur trade (Emberley, 1996).

2.2.4 Sexual Fetishism

Fur’s innate softness elicits sensuality. The sexual fetishism attributed to fur brings about a new mode of gendered dissimulation associated to “power, eroticism and exchange of women” (Emberley, 1996, p. 440). In an image of a woman wearing fur, it is her body that mediates the symbolic exchange. It is also the sensuality she projects while wearing the fur that invests sexual fetishism in the object, giving it more value and meaning to the fur, while inscribing her as a figure of erotic power.

Because the fur coat may represent wealth and prestige as well as erotic power for women, people who desire such can develop a strong desire to possess fur, as they have deciphered the code that it is one ammunition of bourgeois women of power over men (Emberley, 1996).

2.2.5 Fashion

Women’s obsession for fur was further deepened with watching movie stars flaunting various kinds of fur to epitomize glamour in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Actresses on the silver screen wore coats with high fur collars or indulged in the finest wraps and full length fox and sable coats. Movie plots centered on women rising from poverty to live more empowered lives, as in the movie Easy Living, a 1937 film about a woman named Mary Smith chancing upon an expensive new sable coat and thereafter has transformed her life into a fairy tale story. Fur has become ingrained in fashion that in the 1920’s, two out of three women in England may be found wearing fur coats or have fur trimmings of some kind in their clothes (Dyhouse, 2011).

2.3 Fur Activism Movement

The political and libidinal economies of fur have come together in startling ways in the contemporary moment. Constitutive to the agenda of the animal-rights movement is resistance to fulfilling the fetishistic desires of a ruling social and economic class, whose pleasure derives from the slaughter of animals. Implicitly, the human/animal opposition, which structures both criticism and support for animal-rights activism, contributes to a new kind of fetishism, the spectacle fetishism of the mass media and its images of sadistic violence and cruelty to animals.

In the early twentieth century the fur trade declined drastically and fur became, in the Western economic context, a marginal commodity which served to redouble its status as a luxury commodity: as certain fur-bearing animals became rare and extinct, so too the fur coat itself became a rare and reified commodity. Meanwhile, in other worlds, fur retains its economic value for aboriginal people and its symbolic value increases as it becomes a vital support for modern aboriginal cultures. ‘For today’s fashion, we’d rather dance with wolves than skin them’ recalls a residue of colonial relations layered by current ecological correctness and the spectacle fetishism of cruelty to animals at the hands of the bourgeois female consumer. I would argue that we can red in this excess of significations a postcolonial allegory of the history of imperialism. And further, that the history of fur in its various value-laden contexts constitutes a treasure house of signs from which to trace the gender and colonial character of early European expansion.

2.4 Faux vs. Real Fur

In September, 1992, the New York Times Magazine featured a fashion spread entitled ‘Furs in Disguise’. Fur fashions, affected by the fashion trends of the 1980s towards fake fur were ‘disguised’ through dyeing and cutting techniques in order to resemble their artificial counterparts. This disguise also had the added feature of masking the use of real fur and further abstracting the product from its association with the referent, the fur-bearing animal. This fashion layout represents a strategic response to conflicting symbolic and material interests.

‘Furs in Disguise’ , an allegory of the simulated economic and libidinal investments of fur in our postmodern times, dramatizes the ideological operation of misrecognition essential to the commodity and exual fetishisms of an object that is made to be known, like the prostitute’s identity, rather than to figure in the process of knowledge.

2.5 Fur Fashion

The fall of fur in the 1980s was instigated by animal rights activists led by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). They made a huge impact on their protests against the manufacture, marketing and consumption of fur at the expense of the animals found to be skinned cruelly (Dyhouse, 2011). However, after more than a decade, fur has resurfaced in fashion markets. Initially, it reappeared in trimmings on jackets and sweaters or in accessories such as bags, belts and shoes, until it re-emerged as a full length coat. Skov (2005) reports the shift from short-haired hides of cows, ponies and seals popularized in the late 1990s to long hairs again. In 2004, silver fox and lynx were on parade on the Italian catwalk.

Contemporary fashion has expanded the design of fur from coats with conservative cuts to new fur apparel cut closer to the body. New furs were cut, shaped and dyed in various ways to correspond to the trends. Skov (2005) compared old and new fur fashion as follows:

“Whereas the weight of the old fur coat signified the practical purpose of

keeping its owner warm as well as her middle-class solidity, new fur is light;

with a minimal number of seams, and without lining or interface, a mink coat

now weighs less than 2 kilos. While core consumers used to be women over

50, women in their thirties are now buying fur. At the same time, fur is no

longer sold exclusively in specialized retail outlets but through the boutiques

of name designers and exclusive brands” (p. 12)

2.6 Marketing Fur

2.7 Women’s Sense of Self

Fredrickson & Roberts’ (1997) Objectification theory explains how a woman internalizes how others view her to be her primary view of her physical self. Such a view leads her to habitually monitor her body, how she dresses and fixes herself to look the way she does. If she does not come close to the high standards by which she measures her worth, it increases her shame and anxiety, failure to reach motivational peak states and diminishes her awareness of her internal bodily states. This means she may not be conscious that in the pursuit of looking good, she may be starving her body of the nutrients it needs to survive. Vulnerable to judgment of society, women vigilantly monitor themselves with the knowledge that being positively viewed by others means more opportunities. Studies have shown that how a woman’s body appears to others can determine her life experiences (Frederickson & Roberts, 1997). Physical attractiveness seem to matter more to females than to males that is why they dominate the scene in fashion and beauty.

2.8 Women and Fur

Fur has been associated with glamour, fashion, comfort and success. Women in post-war Britain desired to possess fur coats, preferably mink, as it is a sign of luxury and a defining quality of femininity reflective of one’s sexuality (Dyhouse, 2011). Emberley (1996) noted that the twentieth century saw women wearing fur as a fashion commodity to show off the “twin signs of wealth and social prestige” (p. 438). She also contended that “European bourgeois women actively participate in achieving their status through the accumulation of the symbolic capital invested in ‘femininity’” (p. 438).

This investment in her femininity with cultural capital earns a woman a social differentiation from other women, and a social prestige of the subjective value of a woman eligible as an object of

exchange among the wealthy class (Emberley, 1996). Having access to the bourgeois class comes with certain privileges.

In Leopold von Scher-Masoch’s Venus in Furs (1989), fur figures as a central prop in a masochistic drama of willed masculine disempowerment and the creation of a correlative negativity, the feminized agent of power and domination:

I went on avidly reading tales of the most fearful cruelty; I gazed with particular relish at paintings and engravings depicting such practices, and I noticed that in every scene furs were the attribute of the torturer. The most bloodthirsty tyrants that ever sat upon a throne, and murderous inquisitors who had heretics persecuted and burned, and all the women whom the great book of history has placed under the sign of beauty, lust and violence: Libussa, Lucretia Borgia, Agnes of Hungary, Queen margot, Isabeau, the Sultana Roxelana and the Russian Tsarinas of the last century, all wore fur garments and ermine robes (179-80).

Chapter 3

Methodology

3.1 Qualitative Research

Qualitative or the interpretivists believe that the world is a social place and is created by the shared understanding of situations. (Roberts – Holmes, 2005). The qualitative researcher tends to use strategies such as narratives, case studies or phenomenologies, and employs methods such as observation and open-ended interviewing. Qualitative approach focuses on a single concept, and tries to bring personal values and views into the enquiry. In collaboration with participants, the researcher interprets the data in order to create an agenda for change or reform. (Cresswell, 2003).

Since this study shall undertake research on women’s insights about the use of fur as an apparel, it will be a qualitative method of enquiry during which personal opinions will be sought so that meaning and understanding could be derived in a holistic, natural framework. Peat (2002) states the strengths of a qualitative study as being able to obtain information from the perspective of the participant. This can increase how humans understand a concept or phenomenon. However, there can be numerous limitations, for instance the fact that it cannot test a hypothesis. Also there can also be more ethical issues related to qualitative studies, due to the fact that the participants are giving personal opinions about the topic being studied or investigated.

3.2 Research Methods Used

3.2.1 Questionnaires

Campbell, McNamara, and Gilroy (2004) described questionnaires as “a very versatile data-gathering method; they are cheap, easy to administer, whether it be to three people or 300, and can be used to gather a great variety of data of both quantitative and qualitative nature” (p. 146). Cohen, Manion, and Morrison (2000) also praised the use of questionnaires for their efficiency. Surveys and questionnaires allow the researcher to collect a significant amount of information in one attempt, rather than conducting interviews over a period of weeks. Gillham (2000) wrote that questionnaires make efficient use of the respondent’s time, because the survey participant can complete the questionnaire at a time that is suitable, and the survey process does not require the researcher and respondent to match free periods of time to conduct the research. However, a disadvantage of using questionnaires is that the only data collected are variety of tick boxes and brief responses, which means the data tends to have more breadth than depth (Watzlawick et al., 1967; Oppenheim, 1992). This outcome results from the lack of an interviewer to prompt for further information or more detail in the answers. The questionnaire or survey cannot interpret questions for participants who may be unclear about what is being asked, so each participant has to decipher what they are being asked independently. Participants may resort to their own subjective understanding of the questions (Oppenheim, 1992).

Interviews and questionnaires provide a method of directly provoking a response by asking specific questions of research interest. There are a range of different types of interview methods; such as journalistic, employment and therapeutic (Drever. E, 1995) Robson (2002) draws attention to the three different styles of interview; fully structured; semi-structured and unstructured. In a fully structured interview, the interviewer has predetermined questions and uses them in a pre-set order. The semi-structured interview uses predetermined questions where the order can be modified or adapted as necessary. In an unstructured interview, the interviewer has a general area of interest, yet allows conversation to develop freely.

Interviews serve the purpose of enabling participants to be able to discuss their interpretations of a concept, as well as giving participants the opportunity to express their own point of view with regard to certain situations. (Cohen et al, 2000). The interview method involves questioning or a discussion of issues with one or more people. It is useful to collect data which may not be accessible through observation or questionnaires. (Blaxter et al, 2006).
2.Analysis of Data

The questionnaires shall be analyzed qualitatively with the backdrop of the information taken from the literature review. Verbatim transcripts of the focus group interview shall also be be analyzed qualitatively. Bowen’s (2005) analysis of interview transcripts identified patterns in the data by means of thematic codes. This means there will be themes in the interview data that may surface. Patton (1980) explains “Inductive analysis means that the patterns, themes, and categories of analysis come from the data; they emerge out of the data rather than being imposed on them prior to data collection and analysis” (p. 306). Bowen’s analysis of data entailed studying the patterns that emerge, making logical associations with the interview questions and reference to the review of literature. He details the process of deriving his research findings as thus: “At successive stages, themes moved from a low level of abstraction to become major, overarching themes rooted in the concrete evidence provided by the data. These emerging themes together with a substantive-formal theory of ‘development-focused collaboration’ became the major findings of the study” (p.306)


Evolving nature of human resource devisions in apparel industry

Evolving nature of Human Resource decisions in Apparel industry

Title- Evolving nature of Human Resource decisions in Apparel industry

Introduction

Thomas Friedman`s popular book, The World Is Flat, had as one of its pivotal argument that “geography might soon become history”.[1] The argument is based on the proliferation of Information Technology in the day to day usage of businesses as well as individuals leading to a much more connected world than ever before. While on one hand this has led to a spurt in innovations and sharing leading to a larger population more aware of their environment, on the other hand, it has led to a highly unpredictable business environment where decisions have to be made faster than ever before. How organizations behave to the changes in their environment has been a matter of detailed study by various authors. Paul Lawrence and Jay Lorsch (Harvard Business School)[3] proved that flat organizations with a more decentralized decision making tend to do better in an uncertain business environment requiring more agile and collaborative decision making. The Apparel industry has characteristics which align themselves very closely to this changing environment where supply networks, collaborative planning, vendor managed inventory and fast fashion have been the buzz words in the past decade.

This changing environment of firms, puts pressure on the strategic thinking with respect to the firm`s short and long term decisions. These decisions are focused on the usage of their resources like Materials, Finances, Manpower, Technology , space etc. and the decisions define the nature, quality, competitiveness and in fact , the very survival of firms. Many firms are adopting IT-driven processes as well as productivity enhancing techniques to remain competitive. Higher focus on retaining and training skilled workforce; procurement by firms of quality, labor and compliance certifications like WRAP, ISO 14000 and SA 8000 are a few other differentiating factors for the firms from their competitors. According to Singh, Khan and Grover (2011)[5], there are various factors that affect the Quality of Firms . prominent among these being the Human resource factor which relates to the planning of Human resources, their training, Supervision, Education, Motivation and attitudes

The changing competitive and low profit scenario in the businesses across all sectors had created a mindset in the manufacturers who, operating in an environment where labor is plentiful and employee turnover is high, tend to not invest in their workers. Investment in human resources is usually perceived as a cost with few associated benefits. On the contrary, studies have indicated that the presence of more advanced human resource management systems has a tangible and positive effect on production efficiency and quality performance outcomes. This can positively affect the competitiveness of a firm in a frequently changing scenario that represents the current apparel business. A study conducted on garment manufacturers (Lake. H,2006)[2] found that Garment manufacturers for the South Indian market are incorporating best practice on human resource management and work organization because it delivers business benefits from product quality and production efficiency to enhance brand value and reputation.

The data for this paper has been derived from the doctoral research work undertaken by the author [4] which focused on the different parameters affecting strategic decisions of 58 apparel firms in Chennai influenced by the identified flatteners(The World Is Flat, Freidman,T,2005)[1]of Outsourcing, In-sourcing, Off-Shoring and Supply chaining over two time. Part of the research work concentrated on the behavior of the firms with respect to certain human resource decisions. This paper throws light on some of these issues with respect to the recruitment process and criterion and also the training provided to the employees.

Human resource decisions

That the Human resource is one of the most valuable assets for a labor intensive industry like apparel export manufacturing is evident from the various policy level and strategic changes that firms are employing to retain and invest in them. To explore how the decisions of firms have been affected due to the change in the environment of business over the decade for human resource related decisions, a series of hypotheses were construed, data collected from the survey and tested for validity

H1: There is no significant difference on the recruitment criterion for potential employees at different levels of employment with respect to their educational qualifications in the two time periods considered.

The differences in the criterion of recruitment over the time periods can reflect the response of firms where the changing supply chain networks and off-shoring trends put pressure on the firms to recruit employees who can understand the requirements of their global partners and remain competitive. To test the null hypothesis, Student t test was administered. The results of the test are given in Table 2

Employment level

Units

t value

P value
 

Year 2000

Year 2010
 

Mean

SD

Mean

SD
 

Senior Management level

1.98

0.131

1.74

0.442

4.259

.000
 

Middle Management Level

2.00

0.000

1.86

0.348

3.020

.004
 

Lower Management Level

3.43

1.748

3.17

1.558

1.234

.222
 

Front Line Manager Level

4.14

.736

4.12

2.103

0.067

.947
 

Operators

4.97

.184

5.40

.528

-6.153

.000
 

Helpers/ Others

6.28

.643

6.14

.687

1.134

.261

      

Table 1 – Change in recruitment criterion of different levels of potential employees with respect to Educational qualifications Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

Since P value is less than 0.05 for the Senior Management, Middle Management and Operator level of Employees, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5 % level. Hence, it may be concluded that there is significant change in the recruitment criterion with respect to educational levels of potential employees at the Senior and Middle management and at the Operator level.

""

Fig 1-recruitment criteria with respect to educationSource- Satyan,D,2013[4]

 

H2: There is no significant difference in the recruitment process for potential employees at different levels of employment in the two time periods considered.

The differences in the method of recruitment over the time periods can reflect the changes occurring in the supply of the Human resources and the impact that the flat world trends have on other manufacturing industries that are competing for the same resources. To test the null hypothesis, Student t test was administered. The results of the test are given in Table 3

Employee levels

Units

t value

P value
 

Year 2000

Year 2010
 

Mean

SD

Mean

SD
 

Senior Management level

2.71

1.510

2.90

1.564

-1.846

.070
 

Middle Management Level

2.90

1.564

2.41

1.579

-3.076

.003
 

Lower Management Level

2.79

2.041

3.67

2.357

-3.099

.003
 

Front Line Manager Level

2.36

.742

2.57

1.156

-1.763

.083
 

Operators

2.16

.670

2.52

.960

-3.602

.001
 

Helpers/ Others

2.09

.657

2.29

.749

-3.856

.000

      

Table 2 : Changes in the recruitment process for potential employees at different levels of employment

Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

Since P value is less than 0.05 for the Middle Management, Lower Management, Operators and helper level of employees, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5 % level. Hence, it may be concluded that there is significant change in the recruitment method of firms for the Middle Management, Lower Management, Operators and helper level of employees,

""

Fig.-2 Recruitment process changes of different levels of employeesSource: Satyan,D,2013[4]

 

H3: There is no significant change in the facilities provided to the employees in the year 2000 to the year 2010 with the purpose of retaining them.

The changes in the facilities extended to the employees reflect on the efforts the firms may be putting in recruiting and retaining the human resource essential for the manufacturing setups that they operate. To test the null hypothesis, Student t test was administered. The results of the test are given in Table 4

Facilities provided to employees

Units

t value

P value
 

Year 2000

Year 2010
 

Mean

SD

Mean

SD
 

Transport facility/allowance

.76

.432

.93

.256

-3.446

.001
 

Medical facility/allowance

1.00

.000

1.00

.000

T value could not be computed as the standard error of the difference is zero
 

Food allowance/subsidy

.57

.500

.83

.381

-4.105

.000
 

Crèche/child care facility

.12

.329

.19

.395

-2.055

.044
 

Uniform Allowance

1.00

.000

1.00

.000

T value could not be computed as the standard error of the difference is zero
 

Financial assistance for special occasions like Marriage

.03

.184

.09

.283

-1.763

.083

      

Table 3: Change in the facilities provided to employees Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

Since P value is less than 0.05 for the Transport facility, Food allowance and child care facility, null hypothesis is rejected at 5 % level. Hence, it may be concluded that there is significant change in the facilities provided in areas of transport, Food allowance and child care/crèche by the firms under survey.

""

 

Fig. 3- Facilities being provided to employeesSource: Satyan,D,2013[4]

H4a: There is no significant change in the training policy of the firm in providing training to the employees in the year 2000 to the year 2010 .

The changes in the training policy, frequency of training and the beneficiaries of the training programs –all reflect on the efforts the firms may be putting in retaining the human resource as well as discovering ways to remain competitive by equipping their employees at different levels with required skills and knowledge. To test the null hypothesis, Student t test was administered. The results of the test are given in Table 5

Training Policy of the firm

Units

t value

P value
 

Year 2000

Year 2010
 

Mean

SD

Mean

SD
 

Training on a regular basis

.43

.500

.62

.489

-3.035

.004
 

Training provided only based on need

.52

.504

.38

.489

1.929

.059
 

No training Provided

.05

.223

.00

.000

1.763

.083

      

Table 4: Change in the Training policy of firms with regard to frequency of training

Source: Satyan, D,2013[4]

Since P value is less than 0.05 for the Training on regular basis, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5 % level. Hence, it may be concluded that there is significant change in the training provided on regular basis to employees as a policy decision of firms.

""

Fig.4- Training Policy of firms Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

 

H4b: There is no significant change in the beneficiaries of the training programs provided by the firm in training the different levels of employees in the year 2000 to the year 2010 .

To test the null hypothesis, Student t test was administered. The results of the test are given in Table 6

Beneficiaries of training programs

Units

t value

P value
 

Year 2000

Year 2010
 

Mean

SD

Mean

SD
 

Production Staff-Operators

1.00

.000

1.00

.000

T value could not be computed as the standard error of the difference is zero
 

Production Staff- Helpers

.93

.256

1.00

.000

-2.055

.044
 

FrontLine Managers/Supervisors

.22

.421

.69

.467

-7.046

.000
 

Management Executives/Asst. Managers

.21

.409

.21

.409

T value could not be computed as the standard error of the difference is zero
 

Manager Level

.10

.307

.10

.307

T value could not be computed as the standard error of the difference is zero
 

Senior Manager-(G.M ) level

.03

.184

.05

.223

-.574

.568

      

Table 5: Changes in the Beneficiaries of the training programs Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

Since P value is less than 0.05 for the Training provided to the helpers and supervisor level employees, the null hypothesis is rejected at 5 % level. Hence, it may be concluded that there is significant change in the training provided to helpers and supervisors. Further since the P value is more than 0.05 for the training provided to senior management level employees, it can be concluded that there is no change in training provided to this level of people. At the operator and at other managerial levels the t-value could not be computed since there was no difference observed in the two time period readings leading to conclude that at these levels, there was no training change observed.

""

Fig.5- Beneficiaries of training programs for different employee levels Source: Satyan,D,2013[4]

Findings

The survey of fifty eight apparel manufacturing firms based in Chennai with established operations since the year 2000 or before, and in operation in the year 2012 with regard to the human resource decisions was collected and tested for validity. The findings were as below
•The differences in the criterion of recruitment - The responses reveal that for senior and middle management levels the criterion has changed slightly from more firms insisting on a post graduate qualification for these posts in 2010 as compared to a graduate with experience in 2000.For the lower management levels, more firms are insisting on graduation as the minimum educational qualification. For the frontline managers, the change has been massive with firms insisting that the frontline managers be minimum 12th pass and also some firms need them to be trained additionally in some technical training. This is indicative of the fact that more firms are relying on the frontline managers to be able to control the manufacturing process at the core level and also be able to use the various production control tools like charts and tables intelligently. Another major change observed is that firms insist that the operators need to be able to read and write and do basic mathematics as part of their jobs. Hence the education criterion has changed from uneducated and 5th pass to 5th and 8th pass minimum for different firms in 2010.
•The differences in the method of recruitment – The evaluation of the responses indicate that while for the senior management levels ,more number of firms are using the means of HR consulting agencies to recruit ;for lower management levels recruitment method shows change to internet based job sites like Naukri.com and also through direct recruitment from campus placements of training colleges. Also emerging are the training centres run by government or aided by government for operator training from where recruitment happen.
•The differences in the facilities extended to the employees – The responses show that the firms are increasingly providing more facilities to their employees like transport and food subsidy and also to retain female employees, more firms are providing crèche facilities. Some firms are also providing financial assistance to the employees in times of their need like on occasion of marriages, births deaths etc .
•The differences in the training of employees-. Vastly differing from the year 2000 belief that training needs to be only need based, all firms reported that they have a training policy in place. The firms are conducting training programs for different levels of employees. The employees who are benefitting the most are the operators and the helpers as all firms were conducting training for them in both time periods. There has been a slight increase in specific training being provided to the helper level employees. The training being given to the managerial staff level from lower management to the general manager level have not shown much change. The biggest change has been noted in the training of the supervisors for better management and new production techniques to achieve the competitiveness in costs desired. The supervisor training is also seen as the firm`s way of dealing with the increasing labor turnover rate where the supervisor is able to prove more effective in retaining the operators and helpers at the shop floor level.

Conclusion

The changes observed in the decisions that firms have taken over a time period of ten years, provide a valuable clue to the changes occurring in the thinking of firms and hence their decisions with respect to their most valuable asset, the human resource. The recruitment methods and policies of the firm relating to the employees training and retention indicate a shift in the strategic thinking to cope with its environmental changes. The firms are becoming more aware of the competitive nature of the business requiring employees to deal with off-shore clients and suppliers. Also the changes may point to the effect of flattening where better education levels, more access to information and competitive hiring by other manufacturing industries may lead to a more aware workforce. Also the best global practices in manufacturing and compliance may require a workforce that can understand the requirements and respond positively. An increase in awareness amongst the employees about the employment avenues available in other industries could also be concluded. Also it may reflect on the awareness to the social and ethical compliances that the firms have to adhere to in order to garner off-shore business. While decisions on the training being provided may point to change in the strategic thinking of firms in recognizing the skill gaps in their employees and fulfilling them, the changes observed in the beneficiaries of training programs could point to either the frequent movement of employees at these levels to other firms leading to a need for training them or it could also point at the significance of enhanced training requirement for these levels which were previously ignored but in the new, more competitive business environment becomes important for firms to remain viable by equipping their employees at different levels with required skills and knowledge.

References:

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