Social media have altered the communication landscape and significantly impacted on marketing communication. Research suggests that with the rise of social media, marketing communication has been democratised, and the power has shifted from those in marketing to the individuals and communities that create and consume content on social media and redistribute it across a variety of channels. Yet the implications of social media are still largely unknown among practitioners and managers. Interest in the use of social media in marketing is growing. In particular with the recent special issues on social media published by marketing journals, the body of research is rapidly developing. But despite the growing interest, there are no specific theories that focus on social-media marketing in the fashion industry, and limited empirical research exists on the implications of social media in the fashion sector overall. Research in this area has the potential to inform both further study and practice in relation to the use of social media in fashion-marketing communications. This study explores the development, implications and impact of social media as a part of marketing communications in the fashion industry through case studies and key-informant interviews. In particular, the aim is to build an empirically grounded framework that enables the understanding, explanation and description of the process of building a social-media strategy. The findings arising from this research can help practitioners and managers to make sense of the social-media environment and better understand how to design social-media activities and effectively use social media in marketing communications. As the field is emerging, the methodologies, theories and their application are likely to evolve considerably.

The main objective of this work is to highlight the specifics of marketing communications in the fashion industry on an example of a particular company, an Italian company Diesel. Theoretical knowledge of fashion marketing, management of fashion companies and the characteristics of the fashion market are applied to the brand Diesel. Marketing Communication is subject of analysis of individual campaigns and then summarized the common characteristics of the whole communication. Common features are compared with the communication features of premium brands in fashion and fashion brands of mass market. At the end is described Diesel brand on Czech and Slovak markets.

Due to the considerable impact of Orientalism in the 1990s, Chinese tropes began to be widely deployed in global luxury fashion brand collections. In the late twentieth century, following the success of ‘China style’ effects, the use of Chinese tropes was a dominant trend in emerging luxury Chinese branding practices. The deployment of Chinese tropes as representations of nationality in brand design has generated vigorous debate about the effectiveness of cultural translation. Edward Said (1994) has termed such an ideological ‘East’ as ‘Orientalism’ and claims that the Orient is ‘an integral part of European material civilisation and culture’ (Said, 1994, p.2). This phenomenon of the Chinese trope design continues to leave a visible mark in brand communications in the twenty-­‐first century. This research investigates the ways in which emerging luxury Chinese lifestyle fashion brands make use of Chinese tropes, symbols, and metaphors in branding practices within the context of the cultural, social, political, and economic changes in China from 1994 to 2014. This study attempts to construct visual taxonomies to examine the cultural expression of Chinese tropes in the material culture of China, generating a visual archive of Chinese identity interpretation. The study also draws upon multiple case studies of emerging luxury Chinese lifestyle fashion brands to investigate the ramifications and the perceived limitations of the practice of Chinese trope deployment and their relationship to a shift in Chinese identity caused by changing lifestyles. The thesis also challenges the notion of authenticity of ‘Chinese brand’ and ‘Made in China’ and highlights the need to redefine the assessment criteria of ‘country of origin’ for global luxury branding practices in the future.

The purpose of this thesis is to empirically identify how pure-play fashion retailers can simulate attachment to their websites (through trust, loyalty and purchase intentions) by using different marketing communications media (static product presentation, moving product presentation, guidance and community) to overcome the intangible nature of the online sales environment.The word “simulating” in the title has been chosen due to the nature of the relationship which can exist between a consumer and a pure-play retailer. The word “simulate” means ‘imitate the appearance or character of’ and ‘pretend to have or feel (an emotion)’ (Google a, 2012). A computer facilitates the relationship between a consumer and the pure-play retailer and cannot feel; therefore the relationship cannot exist in a real way and only exists in the eyes of the consumer. Just as a simulator is used for pleasure rides, such as flights or rocket ships, the flight does not exist, but is simulated by a computer and a director who ensures the film starts simultaneously with motion. The same is true for the relationship between a pure-play retailer and a consumer, it is not real, and therefore it is appropriately “simulated”. Descriptive statistics set the scene for a following body of multivariate statistical analysis (EFA, CFA and SEM) using AMOS 16.0. 15 hypothesized relationships are tested after being generated from an extensive literature review. A sample of 688 female young fashion consumers from The University of Manchester participated in this study. There is clear variability in the build up of attachment when a consumer shops for products communicated via different marketing media. Different facets of attachment can be simulated by using static product presentation, moving product presentation and guidance. Community tools can be used to fuel product viewing in rich media and moving formats whilst acting as a discursive platform. Static product presentation has direct relationships with trust and purchase intention, whereas moving product presentations are related to building loyalty. Generalisation of results is limited due to the use of an exclusively female, student sample and the centrality on the UK fashion industry. Further development of the constructs used in this study is needed to further test the conceptual model. This study is one of the first to empirically study pure-play fashion retailing, providing insightful and pragmatic advice by identifying which communication mediums foster enduring relationships with young fashion consumers.

Background: Recently, the fashion industry has demonstrated a strong interest in sustainability and environmental issues. The sustainable fashion industry has enormous potential, and practical products are attracting Generation Z's environmentally conscious buyers. In the meantime, Gen Z customers have intrigued researchers' interest due to their enormous utilization potential.  Purpose: The purpose of this study was to ascertain Gen Z consumers' attitudes toward sustainable fashion consumption and marketing activities in the global market.  Method: This study employed deductive qualitative research. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 Gen Z consumers who represented a range of cultural backgrounds. The qualitative data are analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.  Conclusion: The findings indicate that Gen Z consumers prefer products designed by brands with a distinct brand identity and distinctive highlights that are both practical and sustainable. For sustainable fashion brands to reach Gen Z consumers, branded digital marketing and branded content advertising are pivotal.

The purpose of this research is to identify the resources and capabilities utilised for brand development and internationalisation of entrepreneurial womenswear designer fashion enterprises (DFEs). Tis thesis presents an original contribution to knowledge by using the concept of dynamic capabilities as a ‘lens’ to explore the creation of brand identity in the context of the international fashion system. In the pursuit of its aim, this research defines a dynamic capability process of DFE brand development through the codifcation of elements of brand identity, recognising the infuence of co-creation experiences. Furthermore, this thesis identifies the characteristics of DFE internationalisation behaviour, defining how the processes of brand development and internationalisation are related to each other and embedded in the capabilities of the DFE. Entrepreneurial DFEs, recognised within the fashion media as ‘emerging designers’, are increasingly identified as key sectors for economic growth. These enterprises are largely wholesale, highly internationalised operations within the SME sector, strengthened and supported by a broad network. However, signifcant focus within academic literature centres on branding or internationalisation in relation to fashion retail or established luxury firms, ignoring entrepreneurial DFEs who are sources of innovation and creativity for the fashion industry. This research fills a gap in the academic literature by examining the brand development and internationalisation processes of entrepreneurial DFEs operating in the contemporary context of the global fashion industry. Using grounded theory to examine the practice of entrepreneurial DFEs based in London and New York, this research incorporates theoretical sampling to direct data gathering from semi-structured in-depth interviews, observation at London, New York and Paris fashion weeks, and analysis of websites, social media and press. Constant comparative analysis refined emerged concepts into sub-categories, properties and dimensions surrounding the core category of the ‘collection lifecycle’. The findings of this research are organised according to aggregate dimensions of brand identity elements, and a hierarchy of operational routines, dynamic capabilities and organisational learning. This research finds that for DFEs, the development of brand identity is a dynamic capability process embedded in and emergent from operational routines and capabilities. As a resource, the brand guides internationalisation. In turn, internationalisation behaviour requires interaction within the global fashion system that operates as a source for organisational learning, further adapting the DFE’s brand to align with market opportunities. In the explanation of this process, this research presents a theoretical framework and a series of eight propositions defining the product development activities, operational resources and capabilities, dynamic brand development capabilities and process of organisational learning that impacts brand identity creation and internationalisation.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the implications of mobile commerce design variables on the consumer’s emotional and behavioural responses. With mobile and tablet commerce becoming as popular as desktop usage, fashion retailers must ensure that they have designed a mobile channel that will produce the most positive responses. The objective of the research was to therefore study the individual stimuli in the mobile environment and to investigate their effect upon the mobile consumer. The thesis primarily collates and identifies branding and marketing design stimuli within the mobile commerce environment. These design stimuli are subsequently tested as variables within two qualitative methods and provide insight into the implications of the individual stimuli. The research findings are vast and provide information as to emotional and cognitive responses towards the stimuli, behavioural responses and the connection between the two. Key findings are displayed within matrix tables, cluster diagrams and S-O-R models, offering a simplified results format for both academics and practitioners. This study is one of the first to research the design of the mobile commerce environment. Whilst research regarding mobile banking, mobile acceptance and mobile usage motivations have been briefly explored in literature, there are currently no studies that have examined the design of mobile commerce channels and consumer responses. Furthermore, although literature regarding the design of the online environment is profuse, the novelty of the mobile channel has rendered research deficient and emergent. It is at this time that research regarding the mobile environment is at the most lucrative. This body of work therefore offers original insightContents Page |11and important findings for academic and practical applications regarding the design of mobile fashion channels.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker de stilistiska uttryck som går att återfinna på Gina Tricots och Acne Studios Facebook-sidor. Studien utgår från teorier om eWOM, marketing management och consumer communities för att skapa en förståelse för hur och varför konsumenter och varumärken uttrycker sig som de gör på varumärkenas Facebook-sidor.Studien har genomförts med en netnografisk datainsamling av de båda varumärkenas Facebook-sidor under en tremånadersperiod, och analyserats med hjälp av en stilistisk textanalys. De huvudsakliga analyspunkterna har varit funktion, drivkraft, syfte, disposition och stilmarkörer, och studien har analyserat både varumärkes- och konsumentinlägg.Genom metoden har denna studie kommit fram till att det finns tydliga skillnader i hur de båda varumärkena använder sina respektive Facebook-sidor. Ett varumärke som Acne Studios använder sin Facebook-sida som ett medium för att dela nya plagg och kollektioner, medan Gina Tricot istället använder detta medium för att skapa interaktion med sina konsumenter och få återkoppling om vad som kan anses vackert eller gräsligt. Dessa skillnader kan ha sitt ursprung i den positionering som varumärkena valt på marknaden, och studien återkopplar till dessa och försöker med hjälp av teorin förklara varför det inte finns en korrekt användning av Facebook. Studien tar även upp de stilmarkörer som används av konsumenterna, för att se om det finns några kopplingar mellan varumärkets och konsumenternas eWOM. / This study aims to analyze the stylistic expressions that exist on the Facebook pages of Gina Tricot and Acne Studios. The study is based on theories of eWOM, marketing management and consumer communities to create an understanding on how, and why, consumers and brands choose to express themselves in a particular way on Facebook.The study has been operationalized through a netnographic data collection of the brands’ Facebook pages during a period of three months, and which have been analyzed through a stylistic textual analysis. The main aspects of the analysis have been function, incentive, purpose, disposition and the characteristics of the textual style. The study has focused on posts made by both consumers and the brands themselves.Through this method the study concluded that there are significant differences in how the two brands choose to use their Facebook pages. A brand like Acne Studios uses their Facebook page as a medium for sharing new garments and collections, while Gina Tricot uses their Facebook page to create interaction with consumers, and to receive feedback on what the consumers consider to beautiful or hideous. These differences could originate from the positioning that the brands have chosen on the fashion market, and the study reconnects with the theories regarding fashion market positioning to explain why there is not one singular correct way to use a Facebook page. The study also addresses and compares the stylistic expressions of both the consumers and the brands, to see if there are any connections between the stylistics of the two.

This Master's Thesis deals with the Czech fashion scene. Development of fashion is outlined in the introduction. It should help to understand the whole market. The work deals with marketing of fashion brands and focuses primarily on marketing Czech fashion brands offering fashions for women. Czech fashion scene is analyzed in detail and pointed out the weaknesses that need to be improved. In connection with the findings outlined here is a solution that should help Czech fashion scene.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine diverse marketing strategies used by Western and Eastern European originated fashion brands based on H&M and Reserved cases as well as which of them are the most appealing to Polish students. Additional aspect of the diploma is to research if there are some evident differences or similarities in implementing these tactics. Method: The study implemented both qualitative and quantitative research. Data collection was based on two types of data, secondary and the primary one. The secondary data was derived from fashion marketing literature, scholar articles and fashion blogs. The primary data included a semi- structured interview with Reserved's assistant marketing manager and questionnaires provided to Polish students. Subsequently, systematic combining was applied, that can be described as nonlinear process of matching theory and reality. Conclusion: Fashion marketing tools implemented in both companies can be assessed as quite similar with no evident difference, yet they differ from each other in certain aspects. In both cases advertising and sales promotion are the most employed tactics. Both companies are seen as international ones, though H&M seems to follow more fashion oriented approach engaging in fashion shows or providing their customers with their own glossy magazine. The study also revealed that advertising activities and sales promotion seem to be the most appealing marketing techniques for the respondents. In addition social media proved to be an essential element to build a connection with consumers. However, this communication channel is often neglected or not utilized to its' full potential.