How Businesses Use Celebrities to Affect Fashion Trends and Prices

Why do we care about fashion? For centuries, fashion has been an outlet for self- expression. Through the rapid growth of social media, fashion trends have been evolving much quicker, even on a week-by-week basis. We constantly see commercials of celebrities advertising the new fashion style. These products become very popular among millennials and have developed into something the fashion industry calls “a trend.” Because of ever-changing trends, customers are constantly bombarded with advertisements such as celebrity endorsements, and clothing has become increasingly expensive.

Celebrities are the ones who attract attention to the brand. They are always the ones leading the fashion trends. For example, everywhere you go you hear Kim Kardashian wore this and bought that. In order to attract more clients, business have celebrities represent their brand, which persuades you to buy it. There are articles that state exactly what and how Kim wore something. Then a week later, everyone wears it exactly like that. These celebrities influence people, enhance the brand, and boost sales. Fashion lines charge a lot for these products and make a profit. However, we have our own heads and we should use them in order to make financially sound decisions when it comes to developing one’s personal style.

Trends are the hip and hottest fashion statements that everybody wants or has. Stores like H&M and Forever21 are marketing different styles of trends like off the shoulder tops, ripped jeans, wide leg pants, and open back dresses. Many companies want celebrities to portray these fads in order to show that people of different color, race, and age can rock this style. Additionally, since they are seen in the public eye, it gives people more confidence to take on that trend.

There are many stores that have trendy clothing that is overpriced. A fad in the wide leg pants style at H&M ranges from $35 to $60 (hm). Just a simple long sleeve shirt from the Supreme brand costs $78 (supremenewyork). Can you believe that? Come on, it is just a shirt. People stand in long lines, and they are always sold out in stores and online. These trends will continue as long as people pay for these products.

People do not even notice, but they spend a lot of money keeping up with these trends. Gaining more customers allows the business to gain more profit. Companies see that people are interested in certain styles, so they continue to put money into advertising, which cuts their profit. According to the statistics portal, in 2016, “Macy’s, a department store chain spent 1.55 billion U.S. dollars on advertising but gained 25.78 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.”(statista) The money spent was a good investment because it obviously worked to get customers into the store and buying things.