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Re-evaluation of Laver’s Law in the context of
fashion trend revival
Natalie Potts
Oregon State University
Genna Reeves-DeArmond
Oregon State University
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Potts, Natalie and Reeves-DeArmond, Genna, "Re-evaluation of Laver’s Law in the context of fashion trend revival" (2014).
International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) Annual Conference Proceedings. 79.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/itaa_proceedings/2014/presentations/79
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2014 Proceedings Charlotte, North Carolina
Re-evaluation of Laver’s Law in the context of fashion trend revival
Natalie Potts, Oregon State University, USA
Genna Reeves-DeArmond, Oregon State University, USA
Keywords: historical continuity, Laver, theory, trend
There is significant research that does shows historical continuity in fashion trends (e.g.,
Lowe & Lowe, 1983). These theories and research methods are used today by many designers,
fashion forecasters and trend analyzers (e.g., Seivewright, 2012);; Laver’s Law of Fashion is one
such theoretical framework. Laver’s ideas are loosely regarded as a theory, so one will “most
likely not find any scholarly work specifically on Laver’s Law as it is his own reflection of
describing fashion trends rather than a true theory based on data” (L. Burns, personal
communication, November 1, 2013). That said, we argue that it is possible that the reevaluation
of Laver’s Law (and possible revisions) could be used to show historical continuity in fashion
trends and provide theoretical underpinnings for the process of fashion trend revival. This paper
describes Laver’s Law, how it has been applied in fashion trend analysis thus far, and
suggestions for future use that will assist in advancing the fashion and dress body of knowledge.
Laver’s Law chronologically describes fashion as it is introduced, accepted, rejected and
eventually considered ‘beautiful’ 150 years after it was first considered current fashion (see
Figure 1). Laver’s Law provides a framework with which to evaluate the fashion trend lifecycle.
The traditional fashion cycle describes the way that a particular item will progress through stages
of acceptance by consumers. An item will pass through an introduction phase, an increase in
popularity, a peak phase, a decline in popularity and eventually will be rejected (see Figure 2)
(Dias, 2008). This trend cycle can only exist if fashion leaders accept the item when it is in its
introduction phase.
The reevaluation of Laver’s Law is important to both fashion historians and the fashion
industry because fashion trend life cycles have changed since the theory was first introduced
with James Laver’s book, Taste and Fashion (1937). It is important to also evaluate how the
trend lifecycle can be adjusted to accurately represent today’s increasingly fast paced fashion
industry for practical use.
An analysis of recent fashion trends has shown that many trends from the 1990s
reemerged in 2013 and continue to do so in 2014 (e.g., grunge, postmodern and hip hop
fashions). The revival of 1990s fashion trends actually negates the speed of the fashion trend
lifecycle proposed by Laver’s Law. There are several factors about 1990s fashion that may affect
the application of Laver’s Law in its current form. For example, the increased speed of
communication has caused the fashion cycle to accelerate and has changed the rate at which an
item passes through the stages of Laver’s Law (Dias, 2008; Winterman, 2009).
The reinvention of these trends has been prominently visible to fashion columnists and
consumers alike (e.g., Winterman, 2009), but has yet to be studied in depth from a scholarly
perspective. Scholarly research is needed to examine this phenomenon. One important question
to consider is the following: How does a trend become refreshed or recycled in a way that it is
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2014 Proceedings Charlotte, North Carolina
viewed as ‘new’? That is, “[what is] the point when something that was viewed as old and
outdated for so long started looking refreshing?” (Winterman, 2009, para. 10). In this way, an
interdisciplinary alliance can also be formed between Laver’s Law of Fashion and the
philosophy of aesthetics because Laver’s Law draws upon concepts related to ugliness ad beauty.
A bipolar beautiful-ugly dimension (i.e., describing the aesthetic of objects as either beautiful or
ugly) is the primary means by which the aesthetic of objects are described (Jacobsen, Buchta,
Kohler, & Schroger, 2004). As can be seen in Figure 1, all of the descriptors in Laver’s Law
describe a positive or negative aesthetic experience that is determined by the passage of time,
lending support to examine Laver’s Law in the context of ‘ugly’ versus ‘beautiful.’ Identification
with a past or revived trend also creates a relationship to the concept of nostalgia.
Because it is important to extend fashion theory into practical application, we are
currently conducting research to obtain feedback from women through a focus group who were
15-25 in the 1990s to design a collection of garments that reinvents ‘ugly’ trends of the 1990s
into ‘beautiful’ designs, in accordance with the definition of these concepts in Laver’s Law. The
goal is to determine what changes are necessary and/or made to help a trend become reaccepted
at a later time, in addition to what makes a revived trend ‘beautiful.’ Also, collecting data from
consumers will assist in bringing more formal acknowledgement and attention to Laver’s Law as
a theory. It would be useful to work toward the formation of a model for scholarly use that
showcases factors involved in refreshing fashion trends. Research conducted with consumers
who adopted these trends in the past and experience them again in the retail environment are
valuable resources for the formation of such a model. Practical application of this theory can also
be applied to classroom assignments as well. Students could be given assignments to take
something along a historical timeline and make it ‘beautiful.’
Figure 1. Explanation of Laver’s Law of Fashion Figure 2. The Fashion Cycle (Dias, 2008, p. 33)
Dias, L. P. (2008). Core concepts in fashion. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Lowe, J.W.G., & Lowe, E.D. (1983). Model of fashion change. Advances in Consumer
Research, 11, 731-734.
Jacobsen, T., Buchta, K., Kohler, M., & Schroger, E. (2004). The primacy of beauty in judging
the aesthetics of objects. Psychological Reports, 94(3), 1253-1260.
Seivewright, S. (2012). Research and design (2nd ed.). London: AVA Publishing.
Winterman, D. (2009, September 22). The life cycle of a fashion trend. Retrieved from BBC
News Online: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8262788.stm
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