Retail clothing is a pretty big business with stores as H&M reportedly updating its collection every two weeks. “Mall-ing” as Lisa Ramotar likes to call it is a major pass time in many countries with consumers walking away, frequently with bags of new clothing. One very possible reason is the feeling a person gets. Lisa Ramotar says, Everyone understands the good feeling you get when you put on a new purchase of clothing. Many times, it will raise your endorphins and make you feel special, Lisa Ramotar says. But are you aware of how that happens? In this article, Lisa Ramotar talks about how fashion psychology influences today’s fashion industry.
The Psychology of Fashion* was coined by Dr. Carolyn Mair in 2012, Lisaveta Ramotar says. As the world’s first full Professor of Psychology for Fashion at the London College of Fashion, Dr. Mair created a psychology department with both bachelor’s and master’s degree programs pertaining to fashion psychology. These programs explore the industry in-depth by looking at how fashion has influenced us to such a great extent and how we engage with fashion.
“It’s an extremely interesting profession,” Lisa Ramotar says. Fashion psychology starts by looking at consumer behavior which falls under the umbrella of Marketing and includes branding. Different groups of consumers have different needs, Lisa Ramotar adds. Fashion psychology majors study things that influence fashion like are demographic location as well as regional and international fashion trends. They perform primary research by collecting data on consumers with methods like observation, interviews, and focus groups using large sample sizes. They also analyze secondary research that has already been collected, such as that published in a book or article.
Part of fashion psychology includes learning about product development and upcoming trends. Lisa Ramotar explains fashion psychology includes understanding the processes behind customer behavior and the forces that drive changes in fashion. Understanding the psychology behind fashion helps brands stay ahead of their competition and helps them develop the expertise needed to develop strategic thinking for their brand. Knowing and understanding the needs of the industry, and especially of their customers ahead of time, helps develop deep brand awareness and helps propel brands to the forefront of the fashion industry, Lisa Ramotar says.
Fashion psychology includes looking at the role the media plays in fashion. Lisa Ramotar says, is prominent now in editorial articles of magazines and newspapers as well as in online videos and fashion blogs. Public relation specialists inside the fashion industry help brands find creative ways of keeping the brand in the public eye and interact with the media. This is different from design, Lisa Ramotar says. While media and public relations specialists work together with fashion psychology, Lisa Ramotar says fashion psychology is different from fashion design. Fashion designers are responsible for creating the clothes for each season whereas fashion psychologists help create the trend that fashion designers will be using.
“I enjoy traveling and I enjoy observing how people dress for different occasions,” Lisaveta Ramotar says. “It’s extremely interesting to watch new trends develop and know how they come about.”
Psychology of Fashion* – https://psychology.fashion/
