Future Shopping

Since the beginning of civilization, we have developed our concept of money and used it to exchange value for whatever we needed most, from salt in the primitive market of ancient times to sophisticated computers in the shopping centres of today.  But the venues have changed dramatically.  Our ancient ancestors had to go to the market daily, buy fresh food, then prepare and consume it immediately. Twenty years ago, we still had to make a trip to the market for most things.  Today, we can buy even fresh fish from home through online shopping malls

The Internet has dramatically changed our lifestyles and shopping behaviour.  Just a few years ago, people could not get comfortable with the idea of buying items such as jackets online without trying them on.  Today, however, most people in developed countries (and many in developing countries as well) have purchased clothing and other fashion items online.  Many buy exclusively online, and it is possible even to buy intricately custom-fitted items over the internet, thanks to ever more sophisticated technology.  I believe that we will see even more sophisticated devices developed to facilitate online shopping in the near future, and I would like to focus on how this will affect how we shop for fashion items.

First of all, many electronic gadgets will help us to shop for clothes.  Body scanners will be used to scan our proportions and facilitate a good shopping experience.  If we look at “futuristic” animations from fifty years ago, we see some inaccurate predictions (e.g. people driving off to work in their personal flying saucers), but also many familiar items such cell phones and remote control home systems.  At the time, the latter two were just a dream, considered just as implausible as the family flying saucer.  Today, of course, these and other gadgets are taken for granted as essential parts of our daily lives.  We think nothing of using a smart phone as we walk down the street or watching a movie while sitting in a vehicle.  More specific to our industry, we can already find body scanners at Selfridges in London.  Bodymetrics uses this system to provide perfectly-fitted jeans for each customer.  In the future, this company tells us, we will be able to use the same system, not only for jeans, but for all kinds of online shopping for clothes and even lingerie.  We will each have our own body scan information on Avatars, and be able to try on a variety of different items via the online system.

Let’s check out a video clip:

This video show shows how we will shop in the future.  We will not need to go to the store to search for the goods that we want.  This is especially good news for men who do not want to spend their time going out shopping.  We will not need to try on and change clothes each time.  The Bodyscanner and Avatar system will do the work for us. 

This is also good news from the stores’ point of view.  They can reduce space allocated to fitting rooms, and cut back on staff needed to man these areas and assist in-store customers.  People will only need to try on two or three garments for final confirmation.  This also makes it much easier to gather customer information for marketing purposes.  It will be simple to determine what kinds of shapes and designs people are responding well to, and which need adjustment to suit client tastes.

Checkout stands will also be smarter than now.  The Korean company IDTeck has already suggested one model.

Thanks to this model, staff members are freed up for other tasks.  This smart checkout stand also knows my purchasing history.  It can let me know that certain items will suit me or match well with previously-purchased clothes

Many smart applications will be used for future shopping.  Milo and Shokick are two great examples of the apps already available. The following video will explain the details.

eBay already has shopping apps for today’s smart phones, but in the future they will take the definition of “smart” to a new level.  If you admire the handbag of a girl crossing the street in front of you, you will be able to photograph it, immediately identify the product, and then make an impulse purchase via mobile.  Nobody can guarantee that the impulsive purchasing behaviour itself will be “smart,” but the process facilitating it will be brilliant.

In the future, we will not just be window shopping for products on our cell phones.  The smart phone will become the hub, our point of contact that connects us to products whenever and wherever we see them.  We will also be able to use our smart phones for body scanning functions.  Bodymetrics has already started working on this application.  Although it will not have the high accuracy of a real body scanning machine, the accuracy should be adequate for getting basic measurements. This will be very useful for online shopping, needless to say. 

Secondly, finding new ways to differentiate will become very important in the future.  These days, everybody can find the same materials easily.  Brands want to build their unique “stories” to stay competitive.  We especially see this tendency already among American brands.  Eco fashion and Fairtrade are two examples of very positive trends that have gained strength because of this need for differentiation.

Fair trade brand - People Tree

Thirdly, social media will become even more powerful in the future.  Post-recession consumers are more selective about what they buy and how they buy it, and retailers have become very aware of this trend.  They have begun to send customized information and offers directly through Facebook and Twitter to influence buying behavior among picky customers.

In places like South Korea and the United States, TV shopping has been popular among impulse buyers for decades.  The programming is entertaining and focused:  consumers can tune into whatever “show” is featuring their favorite product, whether it’s Korean models showing off the latest fashions, a Japanese chef showing off his cooking skills with the featured utensils, or a “macho” type showing of his impressive knife collection late at night on American TV.  Customers can easily order over the phone or Internet.  With new technology, it is now possible to order directly from the TV screen via remote control as well. We can anticipate that the UK will also see a big increase in the popularity of this shopping venue as digital cable television becomes universal.

All of these developments will also increase the demand for speed, as consumers’ perception of a “reasonable” time frame becomes more and more immediate.  This is a major trend in South Korea:  people often expect same-day delivery after making an order.  Consumers will also demand more and more sophisticated measures to protect their privacy and financial security, since thieves will be following similar trends and gaining sophistication in their own line of work.

Getting out of the house for a day of shopping will never lose its appeal for many consumers, and we will never see brick and mortar businesses completely replaced by the trends of the future.  What we will see instead is a convergence of these venues.  People will still enjoy the social aspects of shopping and buying in stores, and the satisfaction of seeing things with their own eyes, but they will be able to enjoy a traditional shopping experience enhanced by brilliant inventions and seamlessly integrated with all that new technology has to offer.

reference : http://www.bodymetrics.com/

http://blog.daum.net/yes_id/373

http://www.flixxy.com/future-shopping.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Increase-of-Internet-Shopping&id=347365

http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/06/shopping-spree-total-online-holiday-spending-nears-30-billion/

selfridges - SAVE THE SEA

Subculture and 2011 Catwalk

The Ashish 2011F collection shows strong influence from the Seattle “Grunge” subculture of the 1990s. The look represents a generation that followed idols such as Curt Cobain-a man  people said got his unique look from habits such abusing heroin as being “too lazy to wash his own hair.” Ironically looking good while making a statement about your hopeless future is the key to good grunge fashion.

Black, stripy tights and high heeled Victorian lace up boots were prominent features of the past Goth movement. Today, the high heeled Victorian heels can be found in both black and in colors more reflective of the 90s Grunge fashion. The recycled relaxed fitting denim screams 90s Grunge. The color palette of the earlier movement from the 90s focused on Black. Dark rich purples, reds and greens also made an appearance but now they are the focus of the current refinement of the Goth Fashion Revival.

Frankie Morello 2011F features strong influence from the Rockabilly subculture.  This is the look of youth in the earliest days of American rock and roll, before the “British Invasion” and hippie days.  Rockabilly fashion’s renewed popularity was a dream come true for Grandma (finally, young people appreciated the beauty of those ridiculous hairstyles she and her friends had been spending their time and money to get done every week for the past half century),and also for full-figured women of all ages who could look their hottest in high waistlines and  low necklines.  The younger generations brought the classic look back and added their own style with plentiful tattoo motifs, as reflected in Morello’s collection.

Balmain 2011S collection shows us the power of seemingly simple themes in subcultures.  Punk clothing was originally meant as a kind of “anti-fashion,” a statement against materialism, but it quickly evolved into its own unique fashion genres.  Glam or “Glitter” Punk’s subculture is known for its colorful, androgynous look.  It rejects old norms but creates its own new standards and potential for aesthetic expression.  Balmain showed us just how effective torn, bleach-stained clothing fixed up with too many safety pins could be as a vehicle for this expression.

 fashion designers have gotten us used to, the new spring summer 2011 fashion trends are absolutely amazing and diverse, allowing women to be selective when it comes to choosing the perfect outfit. People have different preferences when it comes to fashion this is why diversity in fashion is absolutely necessary.

One of the coolest spring summer 2011 fashion trends is the glam-punk trend. This fashion trend differentiates itself from the other fashion trends through the distinctive style of the clothes as well as colors.

Usually women with a powerful personality and a unique fashion style turn towards this fashion style which is not only comfortable but stylish as well. Sometimes sexiness is not all about feminine, revealing clothes and vaporous or luxurious fabrics, sexiness can also be underlined through individuality as well; individuality, uniqueness are a magnet when it comes to capturing attention and being unique or different can be a great thing when it comes to fashion and style.

Intimate Instinct

iPashion

London and Fashion

PREPPY

"Preppy" style has been influential for the past sixty years.  It has its origins in the exclusive private high schools of New England.  These high schools are extremely expensive.  For this reason, the styles adopted by their students became associated with the economic elites of America.  These were the people who could afford the highest quality, and used their wealth to create better futures for their families.  Although it this subculture is considered exclusive, it also seems to be an exclusive group with strong values.  They create an image not only of wealth, but of academic excellence and career ambition.

Some people will call this subculture's members snobs, but the truth is we can see a lot of social conscience in this group compared to others.  These are people who are aware of world events and care about the creation of a just society in America.  Sometimes, their efforts to avoid the "snobbish" label can seem insincere or naive, but the intention is good.  

www.blackpeopleloveus.com

One very humorous spoof of these efforts to reach out can be found on the website www.blackpeopleloveus.com  Although it is true that the "preppie" subculture was originally a "WASP" (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) subculture, non-WASP members of the prep school elite such as Barack Obama (African American) and the Kennedy family (Irish Catholic) are among notable exceptions.  While the prep school  subculture will always be exclusive, we can expect that in the future this exclusive group will continue to include more and more members of diverse races and cultures.

In this way, preppy subculture seems to reflect the changes in mainstream American culture since the 1950s.  America has moved from a culture dominated by WASP elites to a more truly multi-ethnic

or multi-cultural society.  The attractiveness of "preppy" fashion worldwide seems to reflect our attraction to the "best of the best" in the United States during the decades when this country

has been most influential.

Preppy fashion is no longer new, but prep school students are forever young as the older ones graduate and new crops of freshmen arrive.  For this reason, preppie fashion never seems to lose its  

youthful appeal.  The fashion seems to be forever linked in our minds with being young and ambitious, dressing for success as one prepares for a great future. 

The preppy subculture is associated with sports that are unavailable in public schools and too expensive for most people to take up privately.  This fits in well with the emphasis on elitism.  Examples of popular preppy sports include skiing, fencing, shooting, tennis, golf, rowing, field hockey, ice hockey, sailing, croquet, squash, lacrosse, paddle tennis, polo, rugby and cricket.

Preppy girls are concerned about finding the styles that will emphasise their best features, allowing them to look fabulous despite the apparent simplicity of the hair styles chosen.  The key to "pulling off"a successful preppy look is giving the impression that you didn't really make that much effort, even though your hair style is flawless. 

Navy blue, brown, khaki, Beige, White basic colours 

 These days, bright colour trends affect preppy look match with bright colours check pattern- point 

wool cotton leather natural fabric 

Good Quality textiles 

Attitude is the most important thing for pulling off the preppy look. 

If we look at the preppy style, we see that it is never completely out of style. At the same time, we can identify a 30-year cycle of popularity. The preppy subculture first became "cool" in the 1950s. After a period of being overshadowed by the "hippie" culture of the 1960s and early '70s, the preppy look again became the "hot" thing in the early 1980s. Now that 30 years have passed since the last peak of this subculture's popularity, it is time once again to call attention to something that the members of this subculture have know all along: true good taste never really goes out of style. This can explain the timing of the recent renewed interest in the world of the "preppy" subculture and their excellent sense of style.