Guest editorial

Citation

Otieno, R. (2007), "Guest editorial", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 11 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmm.2007.28411caa.001

Guest editorial

About the Guest EditorDr Rose Otieno is a Senior Lecturer of Anthropometrics and Research Co-ordinator, Clothing Design & Technology Department, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK. She currently teaches both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, conducts research in anthropometrics, and supervises PhD students. Her PhD work focused on measurement of children and analysis of body size data leading to development of size charts and a conceptual framework on the role of sizing provision in marketing. Her current areas of interest are new scanning technology, garment fit, its analysis and provision, mass customisation and standardization, consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction with fit, national and international surveys, analysing survey data, body image and cathexis.

Fit

The concept of fit continues to be both elusive and inconclusive and as a construct, fit is difficult to study objectively. This is particularly so because great variations exist in body size, clothing standards and dynamic consumer demands and preferences. Throughout history body size and shape have a presented great dilemma for wearers, makers and marketers of garments. The greatest challenge has been to measure the body adequately enough to generate garments that fit the body in a way that wearers prefer. Various methods and instruments, both manual and new scanning technology, have been used in the pursuit to adequately measure body size and shape (Bye et al., 2006). Finding a garment that fits properly and looks stylish is a dilemma and frustration to many, especially those who are not the so-called “average size”. Consumers, retailers and manufacturers still grapple with issues of garment sizing and fit. This has led to consumer dissatisfaction with sizing. Further, evaluation and achievement of garment fit is evasive (Ashdown and O’Connell, 2006). From body measurement to purchase, sizing and fit issues pervade the supply chain processes.

In understanding garment fit, three themes emerge:

1. 1.

   how to efficiently measure the body in order to capture size and shape;

2. 2.

   how to analyse and utilise data to create a match between the body, garments and consumer preferences; and

3. 3.

   how to market resulting garments in a global and competitive environment.

In this Special Issue, Apeagyei, Otieno and Tyler highlight the key ethical and methodological considerations in researching human measurement. Variations and complexities in body measurement particularly regarding manual procedures are discussed. This paper suggests that deciding on procedures regarding collating data on psychological issues related to garment fit is an obscure process that is not clearly documented in literature. This paper presents a framework for ethical and methodological practice in researching body cathexis and ethical deliberation in generating body measurement data.

Currently, there are various pattern-customising technologies aimed at the achievement and testing of fit for garments particularly using 3D technology (Beazley and Bond, 2003). These are pertinent to the industry as they aim to facilitate the objective evaluation of fit. Apeagyei and Otieno discuss how one such pattern technology has been utilised in testing the fit of garments. This paper discusses the use of 3D technology in the testing of garment fit. It examines the usability of one pattern customising technology in the achievement and testing of fit on virtual and human trials and presents primary data from experiments on patterns for a jacket and skirt. 3D software for fit provision and testing is still developing and promises objectivity. While discussing usability of one pattern technology, this paper presents a platform for comparative evaluation of other technology.

What happens to data after analysis and formation of size charts and national standards? How relevant are such national standards data? This is an issue that could be raised about a lot of national standards worldwide. This paper by Fleur and Olds compares 3D shapes of a sample of Australian women to 3D shapes assumed by the Standards Australia garment sizing system using the newly developed L-statistic to identify lack of fit between them. They found a significant mismatch between the real 3D shapes of Australian women and the shapes assumed by the SA sizing system. They suggest a need for revision of the current system or development of a new system using 3D body scanning technology. For national surveys, 3D body scanning technology has been hailed as a panacea for solving sizing and fit problems (e.g. Bougourd et al., 2000).

Understanding consumer preferences is important in solving fit problems. The issue of the fit in garments is critical for both industry and academia. Traditionally fit evaluation has been based on expert analysis; however, this is changing as investigations are now focusing on consumers’ viewpoints. Pisut and Connell discuss the importance of understanding consumer fit preferences and their relationship to body cathexis, fit problems and personal profiles. They report a significant relationship between women who scored high on the body cathexis scale and those who desired more fitted clothing. This has implications for market profiling.

As fashion and clothing products continue to find global presence, an understanding of these local markets is core to the success of clothing retailing and consumer satisfaction. Guercini and Ranfagni discuss the importance of source and clothing retailing in the Italian fashion market. They analysed the relations between the structural characters of the retail enterprise and the sales outlet, and also the relations with cognitive sources. They propose a theoretical model of the relationship between structural character, behaviour and performance in a clothing outlet. Zhimin, Murray and Jones discuss fashion supply chain behaviour between China and the UK. They analyse a simplified traditional fashion clothing supply chain model and identify key issues in quality and communication. They conclude that for fashion supply chain organisation and management between the UK and China attention should be focused on improvement of three common aspects capable of inhibiting performance: deficiencies in design specification, language barriers, and cultural/human barriers.

The process of providing adequate fit start with efficient body measurement, analysis and application of data into size charts and other uses such as national standards, verification of fit through objective and subjective evaluation, consumer preferences determination, and an understanding of global clothing environments. In order to understand fit, there is a need to measure the body objectively using new scanning technology and to focus on functional anthropometry in clothing. This could enable a better understanding and evaluation of body and garment data, and fit. Consumer views could inform fit preferences globally.

Rose OtienoGuest Editor