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PLATFORM SHOES.
Term Paper ID:19882
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Essay Subject:
History, consumer issues, role of rock music & videos, marketing, trends in early 1990s.... More...
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10 Pages / 2250 Words
10 sources, 20 Citations,
APA Format
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Paper Abstract:
History, consumer issues, role of rock music & videos, marketing, trends in early 1990s.
Paper Introduction:
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®LS2¯The purpose of this research is to examine platform shoes as a fashion trend. The plan of the research will be to set forth the status of research on the trend in general terms, specifically with reference to the history of platform shoes in the modern period (i.e., the midtwentieth century), as well as with reference to the current state of insight into the phenomenon at the present time.
Text of the Paper:
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New York:Abbeville Publishers, 1981.®MDUL¯Trend Forecasting Newsletter®MDNM¯. "Winning Platforms." ®MDUL¯Footwear News®MDNM¯ 48 (3February 1992) 2-6.Infantino, Vivian. As at 1992, platforms--particularly the instantlyoutrageous in-your-face styles--are a feature of the avant garde but not ofthe culture as a whole. However, the boredomfactor of the cross-segment young category may set in before theaffordability of fashionable platforms sets into the market. 9), and who is associated with early-cycle consumptionof a fashion item.But the fact that fashions displayed via such popular-culture icons as MTVshould not be ignored. E1.Miller, Cyndee. . And because rock videos are such a part of thatculture, there is an element of reverse adoption, or bottom-down trending,for the reason that the actual consumers of platforms as an outrageousstatement of fashion, particularly younger people, are a part of the rockculture. "None of the rock musicpeople have had staying power on the shelf, partly because of the boredomof the audience" (Lacher and Quintanilla 1992).®IP5, ¯®LS2¯The fact that platform reentry has maintained itself from summer 1991through fall 1992 suggests that its place in the current fashion cycle isrelatively safe for the time being. Inlater periods, the American and European favoritism of platforms appears tohave derived from Asian influences in the 196 s. The late 193 s also witnessed a revival of thick wedge-shaped soles, first made in Italy by Ferragamo. This is a step apart from both the trickle-down and bottom-downsegments of the market, which at this stage in the merchandising seem toview platforms as a novelty, suitable, strangely enough, for eitheroutrageous evening wear or expensive-casual wear. 1. To be sure, asProbert implies, the practical application of the mid-196 s chopine wouldlong since have evaporated. In other words, the test will become whethershoppers will find platforms appropriate for the workplace.®MDRV¯A.P.A.+A®MDNM¯®PG¯®RHA¯®FC¯References®FL¯®IP ,3¯®MDNM¯®LS1¯Furman, Phyllis. Further to this point, itshould be noted that Probert's analysis, complete with ®MDUL¯joie devivre®MDNM¯ declaration of the nature of the 197 s, is predicated of theadvanced segment, to the degree it is also predicated of the®MDUL¯Vogue®MDNM¯ magazine reader. . 1 ).It is also consistent with the Vals2 group of actualizers, to the degreethe platforms may be seen as an element of self-expression or to make astatement. 2, passim). But it is at this point that thefashion cycle for the trend needs to be characterized. To be sure, this may and probably will change,for that is a function of the merchandising cycle. If the boredomfactor kicks in quickly, however, retailers should be prepared for equallyaggressive markdowns.Curiously, there is little indication that the trickle-down and bottom-downsegments directly interact. "Ralph Nader Reports on Platform Shoes." ®MDUL¯Ladies HomeJournal®MDNM¯ 9 (November 1973) 52.Probert, Christina. This would of coursehave been most true at the beginning of the period, where advanced shoppergroups would take the lead, to be followed by contemporary, update, youngcontemporary, and transitionalist groups (®MDUL¯Trend ForecastingNewsletter®MDNM¯, p. This explains her declaration that the Asian-influenced platform was "purely a 'fun' shoe" (Probert, 1981, p. Consider the fact that in 1992Charles Jourdan, a French designer, has made it a feature of his women'sline and by so doing has affected manufacturing modes in the shoe business(Furman 1992). Probert cites non-leathersoles made from cork that were cited in ®MDUL¯Vogue®MDNM¯ after 1937. "Look Out Below--Platform ShoesReturn." ®MDUL¯Crain's New York Business®MDNM¯ 8 (27 April 1992) 2.Infantino, Vivian. Killen's discussion in ®MDUL¯Vogue®MDNM¯ ofplatforms as both a fashion statement and a psychological uplift, as itwere, is separate and apart from the discussion by Lacher and Quintanillaof platforms as an "in-your-face" statement of outrageous fashion that istypical of the rock-music-driven fashion scene. 4 September 1992, Home Ed., View, P. Thereal test of platforms in the 199 s, therefore, will come whentransitionalist shoppers find some utility in platforms that goes beyondthe recreational or fad phase. The principalreason for this is that the latter segments would be more apt than theformer, relatively more advanced segments, to respond to reports cited atlength in the ®MDUL¯Ladies Home Journal®MDNM¯. "Be yourself in fashion," said®MDUL¯Vogue®MDNM¯ in 1974, "and you can live nine lives at once." Yet at the outset of the decade platform shoes and boots (already daringlyhigh) had risen to alarming levels, provoking fears from the medicalprofession that the spines of the fashionable would be irrevocably damaged.. Wedgesoles gradually took over from platforms and became high too; they remainedfashionable throughout the decade and by 1979 were popular in a low-sculpted form, rather like that of a clog (Probert, 1981, p. Vol. ®MDUL¯Joie de vivre®MDNM¯ was the mood: as thedecade progressed the ideal woman was not only happy and relaxed, but fitand glowing with health too. That is,extremely high six-inch platforms with brocaded silk forms are presented.From a storewide perspective, however, it has to be said that the fact thatthe shoe department is hidden in the middle of the store does not show theshoes to the optimum advantage. It is as if the buyersought to try an experiment with a platform shoe, but did not take intoaccount the cultural context in which the platform is being presented. But the fact that platforms as adominant segment of shoe fashion continued, though modified, through the197 s indicates how important the trend was and how much more important thebuyers of shoes appear to have considered fashion than the impact thatfashion might have on health.Throughout this period, however, it must be noted that those who were mostlikely to purchase and wear platforms considered at the height of fashionwere members of higher-level socioeconomic groups. In thisregard, it must be suggested that platforms are not yet a staple of thecareer-track member of the pink-collar workforce, though Killen'sdiscussion of the psychological "lift" that platforms give to full-fledgedprofessional career women of short stature implies that higher-pricedplatforms, are one option of that shopping segment. It will beremembered that in the 197 s, the wedge heel evolved from the platform. To the degree high-fashion consumer publications such as Voguemarked the comeback of the platform early in 1992 (Killen 1992), then theplatform fits the traditional, trickle-down theory of fashion spread. The reason the discounterpresentation is different from the department store or boutiquepresentation is that there is no attempt on the discounter's part todifferentiate platforms as a distinctive style. 67). N.d. The thickening of the sole which began at the end of the sixtiescontinued into the seventies, reaching its zenith in mid-decade when thefashionable were wearing soles 2 inches thick (and even higher ones wereproduced). Ifplatforms do make inroads into the mass market in a decisive way,therefore, the discounter's inventory selection, if not merchandisingchoices, will have to change. By the time the platform had reached beyond the tentative entry levelon the fashion scene in the 197 s, that decade had reached past thedaringness of the 196 s to a kind of "institutionalization" of outrageousstyles. Thisis consistent with the 1989 description by ®MDUL¯Stores®MDNM¯ of the"experiencer" shopping group as a market that is young, vital,enthusiastic, rebellious (®MDUL¯Trend Forecasting Newsletter®MDNM¯, p. 7)On the other hand, the way the platform is presented in the discounterenvironment illustrates what the current platform-shoe customer is NOT,which is, by and large, (1) a member of the price-conscious mass market, or(2) a working woman. "Take a Stand." ®MDUL¯Footwear News®MDNM¯ 47 (15 July1991) 12-16.®MDNM¯Killen, Mary. Additionally, Schwartz and Benjamin, Inc., has offered theplatform accessory as an important part of its product line in 1992(Infanto, February 1992). This evocation of thepopular image of rock video as being in the vanguard of fashion, togetherwith the fact that fashion-trade publishing in the 1991-92 seasons hasnoted the reemergence of platforms as a distinctive feature of fashion,indicates an acknowledgment that the platform style, a quotation though itis (or perhaps ®MDUL¯because®MDNM¯ it is a quotation) from earlier eras, isalso a decisive influence on the current, advance fashion scene. In other words, their experience of their culture drives themerchandising to an important degree. Consider the 16th-century platforms for theatrical performanceby Bernardo Buontalenti (®MDUL¯Form and Function®MDNM¯, n.p.), or the factthat platforms in earlier periods had the function of providing protectionfrom muddy surfaces. 3, passim). It is too early, it seems, for platforms tobe an important feature of value shopping (®MDUL¯Trend ForecastingNewsletter®MDNM¯, p. I, No. However, the pop-cultureinfluence may have a closer connection to mass-market consumers than thatof high fashion. As Lacherand Quintanilla put it, "These days, yesterday's anti-fashion is again allthe rage" (1992). "P.F. Based on Lacher and Quintanilla'sanalysis of the extraordinary influence of the rock-music environment on awhole range of fashion and style choices in the current period, the flimsymerchandising basis for the trend has to be taken into account:®LS1¯®IP5,5¯Merchandising a rock image can be risky business, however.Michael Jackson licensed his line of clothes when "Thriller" came out, but"when the clothes hit the stores, it was a loser," says Alan Millstein,editor and publisher of the Fashion Network Report. 67).It is important to appreciate the context in which the 197 s trend forplatforms developed in order to appreciate their enormous popularity at thetime. Indeed, platforms have been around forcenturies. One important point has to be made with respect to justhow advanced the platform fashion is. Disco,with its attendant non-threatening twirl skirts and peppy Spandex, was therock fashion mainstream in the mid-'7 s (Lacher and Quintanilla, 1992).®IP5, ¯®LS2¯On the other hand, the striking presence of platforms on the rock-video scene is also noted by Lacher and Quintanilla. Thereare two potential social classes represented, inasmuch as a good deal ofinterest in platforms comes from video-influenced youngsters, whose numbersspan all socioeconomic groups. Probert refers to the factthat in the 196 s, "Oriental shoes came into fashion mid-decade." She citesa "blue-and-silver kidskin sandal on hand-painted platform [that] was ashape which became mainstream fashion in the late sixties and earlyseventies" (Probert, 1981, p. Consider the display atRoss, where a platform shoe made of either suede or ultrasuede is ondisplay. TheNordstrom merchandising concept appears to be consistent with an attempt tobridge the gap between the advance shopper and the transitional, for thepresentation of platforms as a style is relatively conservative.The May Company (Westside) presents a more daring merchandising concept forplatforms, at least as far as the display itself is concerned. In general, the current platformcraze is still at the introductory stage, but the fact that manufacturersare moving quickly to make platforms a part of their 1992 lines shows thatit is going past the standard increase stage and moving toward a peak. The point is, it is in the current period far from decline;however, the fact that the boredom factor of younger consumers influencedby the video scene is so prevalent should put a tentative brake on all-outdedication to platforms at the expense of tried and true classical lines.In other words, there is, at the bottom-down level, a touch of the fadabout platforms. "Rock 'n' Roll Rags." ®MDUL¯LosAngeles Times®MDNM¯. Which area--trickle-down orbottom-down--will exert the most influence on the appearance of platformson the mass market remains somewhat to be seen. The discrepancy appearsto hold despite the fact that many current platforms are crafted of leatherand suede, which are standard fixtures of the workplace. The Nader report, cited earlier, should beseen as having negative impact on assumption of extreme platform styleschiefly on moderate, traditionalist, and conservative shopper groups(®MDUL¯Trend Forecasting Newsletter®MDNM¯, p. How long that connection lasts remains to be seen, andthis is the principal merchandising problem that platforms present to theshoe business.Based on analysis of stores, the platform trend seems to fit well with theNordstrom presentation, where models are presented wearing platform heelsand even casual shoes are displayed with a thick, wedgelike pad. In other words, the geographical placementof the display does not take advantage of the individuality of the shoesthemselves.The higher-end boutiques appear to combine the daringness of platforms withequally daring and trendy displays of fairly expensive merchandise craftedin leather and suede. But for adult consumers, the use ofplatforms seems, in this introduction-increase cycle, confined largely tothe higher-income groups. Flyers Relaunch Targets Nostalgic Baby Boomers."®MDUL¯Marketing News®MDNM¯ 26 (17 February 1992) 2.Nader, Ralph. ®MDUL¯Shoes in Vogue Since 191 ®MDNM¯. At Privilege, the expensive-informal aisles ofbrowsing are suited to the expensive-casual lines of high platforms. The daring among the consumer groups will purchasethem; the more traditional and certainly the classic buyers will not. 67). The impact of the trend at that time is summed up by Probert, whoalso discusses the social and economic environment in which platformsreached great popularity.®LS1¯®IP5,5¯The shoes of the seventies were as lively and adventurous asthe women who wore them. Probert also cites elaborate examples ofthe type, in a chopine, or stiltlike platform, "designed to keep the feetdry in wet and dirty streets" (Probert, 1981, p. Even in department-store displays the platforms aremerchandise to look at and admire but perhaps not quite something to buyand wear comfortably. The plan of the research will be to set forth the status of researchon the trend in general terms, specifically with reference to the historyof platform shoes in the modern period (i.e., the midtwentieth century), aswell as with reference to the current state of insight into the phenomenonat the present time.It is common knowledge that, in 1992, much has been made of the fact thatthe platform shoe has made a comeback. Heels thus reached a total 5 inches high in some cases. ®MDRV¯A.P.A.+1®MDNM¯®PL59¯®LM8¯®RM73¯®IP5, ¯®RHA®FR¯®PN¯®FL¯¯®LS2¯The purpose of this research is to examine platform shoes as a fashiontrend. To put it another way, the fashionleaders of the period were upscale, and the followers were downmarket, butby the time the fashion reached the rest of the market, medical precautionsabout platforms had reached the status of social responsibility.In the contemporary revival of platforms, some commentators have viewed the197 s platform phenomenon with distaste:®LS1¯®IP5,5¯ Of course, '7 s performers like the Bee Gees, with anassisting hustle from John Travolta in the film "Saturday Night Fever,"helped usher in that irritating era of platforms and shiny shirts. This is confirmed byMiller, who cites a survey in which 25% of baby-boom-generation subjectscited platform shoes as a memorable fashion fad of the 197 s (Miller 1992).This suggests that if the trickle-down segment of the market has influenceon the mass market consumption of platforms, then mass-market consumptionmay be more long-lived. The trend appears to have begun in late 1991,with the fall collections, which announced new models of platform shoes asa significant statement (Infanto, October 1991), in accordance with Summer1991 predictions that the principal footwear statement of the 91-92 fallseason would be what was described as the reentry of women's platform shoes(Infanto, July 12, 1991).From a fashion-trend perspective, what is most significant about theappearance of platform shoes in the women's fall collections for 91-92 isthe fact that they hark back to an earlier contemporary period, the 197 s,when platforms were also popular. The fabric prints used to decorate the platforms are an indicationof this.At the discount (i.e., mass market) level, platforms are more of acuriosity than a definite presence in the store. It was in1973 that the Nader group issued a warning against the health hazardsassociated with platforms (Nader 1973). From thatcharacterization, it will be appropriate to classify the current platformfashion. Therefore, merchandising to the younger group of shoppersmight well be aggressive and decisive, so as to benefit from the apparententhusiasm for platforms that is driven by the video scene. "Need a Lift." ®MDUL¯Footwear News®MDNM¯ 47 (28 October1991) 1 -15.Infantino, Vivian. Thisis also consistent with the higher-fashion consumer as an actualizer, whohas abundant income and is consumption oriented (®MDUL¯Trend ForecastingNewsletter®MDNM¯, p. 76)®IP5, ¯®LS2¯A little known report by Ralph Nader highlights the meeting (or moreexactly confrontation) between social responsibility and fashion. The conclusionmust be that the fact of the platform height alone is more important, wherework wardrobe is concerned, than the fact of the manufacturing materials.The fact that boutiques and department stores alike appear to treatplatforms as a leading casualwear or evening-wear high-fashion trendsuggests that the primary customer profile of the platform buyer is alliedmost closely to the contemporary, advanced, and update shopper segments.These may not be incompatible with working-woman segments, but the career-based emphasis of the shoes for the time being seems to be minimal. "Platforms.®MDNM¯" ®MDUL¯Vogue®MDNM¯ 182 (March 1992)144-7.Lacher, Irene, and Quintanilla, Michael. The individual colors, styles, and so on of mass-market exposure of platforms that trickle down from the high fashion arenawill probably have to be more conservative than colors that come from thepossibly more faddish bottom-down segment, for a more conservative approachto the outrageous feature of platforms may help bridge the gap toward moretraditionalist (and transitionalist) consumers. AtSacha the evidence that platforms are displayed on sandals, as atPrivilege, suggests that for the higher end of the market, platforms are tobe considered casual wear on one hand, but also expensive wear on theother.
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