Folio Various Independent Fashion Industry

Question: Discuss about theFolio for Various Independent Fashion Industry. Answer: Fashion Brands Plagiarizing Independent Artists Lucy Cormack has collected statements from various independent artists who claim that there design ideas have been plagiarized by fashion industry giants such as Zara and Bershka. Around 40 independent artists from US, UK, Europe and Australia have made these claims through an online campaign called hold the company accountable (Cormack, 2016). Instagram, the popular social app has helped the artists realize that there designs were copied after the followers of these artists mailed them asking if they collaborated with the big brands (Cormack, 2016). Both the companies in question are a part of the Spanish multinational Inditex who responded to one such claim stating that the design was not unique and hence cannot be associated. Since the artists dont have the resources to go against a monolithic firm they plan to file a class action (Cormack, 2016). Fashion, Wealth and Conformation Fashion is a way of expressing ones own desires and at the same time staying in tune with the trend (Swanson, 2016). The need for women to conform to the people around them has been studied by Jeff Galak, a professor at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Tepper School of Business and three other co-authors, who put up a paper on the height of womens high heels. The study was done by examining the 15,000 purchases from an online luxury store over five years and analysis has been made to see how the pattern changed when women moved from one locality to another (Swanson, 2016). Women who moved from wealthier backgrounds to low income areas were consistent with the heel height. However women who moved to a wealthier area changed the height of their heels to the height of those purchased around them in that area thereby confirming the upper class theory of fashion (Swanson, 2016). Chinese Market Influence in Hollywood Hollywood has been expanding over the past years and has now included an audience of 1.4 billion with its penetration in to the Chinese market (West, 2016). The massive hit of the film Warcraft in China which was a critical flop in the United States shows that there might come a need where Hollywood films would be made exclusively for the Chinese audience. The current Chinese market is worth $8bn and is growing rapidly opening 15 screens a day (West, 2016). However, the China has a restriction of releasing only 34 foreign made films a year making it a challenging task for the studios to choose the films they want to release here. It is not just the movies but also Chinese groups such as Wanda have a significant share in the production of Hollywood films making ensuring that the Chinese movie industry would be a potential boon to the Hollywood (West, 2016). References Cormack, L. (2016) Fashion giants Zara and Bershka have been accused of copying designs by independent artists. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/zara-and-bershka-accused-of-copying-designs-by-independent-artists-20160725-gqdoos.html (Accessed: 31 July 2016). Swanson,A. (2016) What high heels say about the massive gap between the rich and the poor. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/26/what-high-heels-say-about-the-rich-and-the-poor/ (Accessed: 31 July 2016). West, K. (2016) Success of Warcraft in china helps US open door to audience of 1.4 billion. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/02/warcraft-film-china-blockbuster-hollywood-investment (Accessed: 31 July 2016).