Consumer Desires in Fashion

The debate on the role of consumers as active or
passive agents of the market system continues to
preoccupy the scholarly discussions. Through a
qualitative inquiry, this study explores the
interagency involved in the creation of both
consumer desires and fashion trends in mass
consumption environments. On one hand, it points at
the different forces such as the fashion
institutions pushing consumers towards conformity.
On the other hand, it also lays out the constraining
forces behind producers decisions, such as the
sales trends in the larger market segments and the
actions of other fashion institutions. Rather than
declaring one side more dominant than the other,
this study shows the tensions and paradoxes created
during this process of interagency between consumers
and producers. The findings should be especially
useful to marketing scholars and professionals.

Autorentext
Deniz Atik PhD, currently visiting scholar at the University of Texas Pan-American holds a position as Assistant Professor at Izmir University of Economics, Turkey. She finished her BBA and MBA at Georgia State University, USA and her PhD at Bocconi University, Italy. Her research concentrates on consumer behavior and fashion theory.

Klappentext
The debate on the role of consumers as active or passive agents of the market system continues to preoccupy the scholarly discussions. Through a qualitative inquiry, this study explores the interagency involved in the creation of both consumer desires and fashion trends in mass consumption environments. On one hand, it points at the different forces such as the fashion institutions pushing consumers towards conformity. On the other hand, it also lays out the constraining forces behind producers' decisions, such as the sales trends in the larger market segments and the actions of other fashion institutions. Rather than declaring one side more dominant than the other, this study shows the tensions and paradoxes created during this process of interagency between consumers and producers. The findings should be especially useful to marketing scholars and professionals.