Excerpt from the speech "Digital Marketing: Fashion in a 24/7 Technology World" delivered by Mari Davis during the FGI Dallas Career Day, April 8, 2005

DALLAS, Apr 9, 2005/ FW/ --- In 1994, when the U.S. officially went online, internet use jumped from 0% during that year, to 61.8% of American households having web access by 2003, according the a study by the U.S. Bureau of Census and Statistics released in September 2004.

Current statistics show that internet penetration for U.S. households is already 75%, wherein 48% of hose households are using broadband (DSL and cable) and 48% use dial up, the remaining 4% access the internet via satellite, T1 line or better or via a mobile phone.

No matter how we look at it, the Internet is already embedded in the American lifestyle. Whether it is for personal use or business related transactions, the World Wide Web is part of our everyday lives.

Like most industries, fashion is older than the Internet. And like the Catholic Church, which still practices arcane rituals that we are witnessing today as the College of Cardinals meet in the Vatican Conclave to elect a new Pope, the fashion world also follows centuries old traditions.

But unlike the Church wherein change can take several hundred years, everything can change in the fashion world within a season, and that is the key to understanding the marketing for this type of industry.

Fashion is divided mainly into two seasons – the Fall/Winter collections that are shown from February to March, and the Spring/Summer collections that are shown from September to October. This is just for women’s ready-to-wear.

Men’s ready-to-wear collections are shown in January for the Fall/Winter collections of the current year, while the Spring/Summer collections are shown during June and July.

The fashion season is the time for both the press and the retail buyers to preview the collections. And for those who cannot attend, “look books” are sent.

“Look books” literally means what it is called. It’s a “book” that has all the silhouettes that the design house has created from clothes to accessories - gloves, hats, shoes, and bags.

It also has the “wholesale prices” printed so that a retail buyer knows how much their store will have to spend.

With the digital age, CDs or DVDs are now sent to the retail buyers and the fashion press. Hence today, the “look book” is no longer always a “book.” It can be a CD or DVD.

The main advantage of using DVD’s or CDs is interactivity. The user or viewer can make an image bigger or smaller depending on the need.

You can look at a detail on a garment like a button or a seam, or you can look at the whole silhouette, something that is very hard to do when using printed look books.

There are fashion houses which include the fashion show itself in the DVD, then also have “still photos” included that will have the stock number or the name of the garment, including descriptions and wholesale prices.

And because CDs and DVDs are cheaper to produce than the printed materials, fashion houses can have two sets, one for the press and one for the retail buyers.

This way, the fashion house can tailor the information for each sector.

For some fashion houses, they actually have them on the web, but you will need the exact URL to get to it because usually it is an extranet that will require a username and password that has to be given by the fashion house to the buyers.

This makes the dissemination of information faster but controlled. The primary marketing forces involved in the “look book” are designed for the professional buyer. Both the sales rep. and buyer know a purchase is going to be made. So the marketing is very simple and straightforward. Show the product and work out a deal.

That’s the industry side of the fashion industry marketing world.

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