Star Power & Women's Fashion

“Since half the people out there are inspired by celebrity, I think that if consumers see a star wearing a trend or new style, they’re more open to it.”

- Jerry Talamantes, Dillard’s Midwest

According to Cotton Inc.'s Lifestyle Monitor, which studies American attitudes and behavior toward apparel and homestyle furnishing, a new survey finds that "among all women, 26% cite fashion magazines, 18% cite TV shows and 12% say celebrities are their top sources for clothing ideas." In addition, women in the age group from 13-24 are more likely to get their ideas from these sources. As seen in the table below, the influence of star power begins to decrease as the woman gets older. However, fashion magazines and commercials/ad, both of which frequently star celebrities, do maintain a rather high rank as an idea source.

It is also interesting to see that American women, who shop at least three times a month, whether in the store or online are more likely to look to these sources when impulse buying: clothing ideas from fashion magazines (31% versus 21%), celebrities (16% versus 8%) and TV shows (21% versus 15%).

In addition to the Anna Sui Target clothing line, which was featured as a tie in with the hit show, Gossip Girl, this same marketing technique was used with Mad Men. Banana Republic sponsored a chance to win a walk-on role in an upcoming episode of Mad Men, which would come with a $1,000 gift certificate prize to the store, which carries classic workplace wardrobe items, like the white shirt and pencil skirt, styles which are often worn on the show.

The article observes that these tie-ins are becoming a regular marketing strategy: "Tom Julian, trend expert and president of Tom Julian Group, a brand consultancy in New York, says the 'Mad Men' and 'Gossip Girl' promotions are 'a solid illustration of integrated marketing with a cultural and style tie-in. If the time and merchandise is right and an organization can surround the consumer with product, messages and lifestyle cues, fashion trends resonate in a bigger and more effective way.'"