The primary tool in marketing to Asia, and across the globe, is the concept of the “global consumer.”

First of all, we should recognize that, to a large extent, the notion of a “global consumer” contradicts the standard approach to marketing, which revolves around “segmentation.” Segmentation requires classifying consumers/potential consumers by type, according to age, gender, income, lifestyle, likes and dislikes, and in which city or part of the country they live. Many marketing reports will go so far as to give each segment a distinct personality. For example, one segment might be: Michelle, 29-35 years old, single, career woman, plays tennis, likes movies and going to cafes. Another might be Jenny, 36-45 years old, married, yoga student, likes reading and shopping. And so on. You get the picture.

Segmentation enables companies to understand who their consumers are, and to begin to form strategies to grab their attention (e.g., if one segment is men, 25-35 years old, who are frequent internet users, they might be targeted using a promotional campaign on Facebook, using graphics, models, and images that fit that particular age group).

Marketing across continents, and in different countries, makes segmentation extremely time consuming, difficult, and expensive. But is it even necessary to design and market with specific segments in mind? Do we need apparel and marketing campaigns for the US citizen, the South Korean, residents of Tokyo, Okinawa, Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong? The global consumer model says ‘no.’ In Cross-national market segmentation in the fashion industry A study of European, Korean, and US consumers [pdf], authors Eunju Ko (Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea), Eunyoung Kim, Charles R. Taylor, Kyung Hoon Kim, and Ie Jeong Kang argue that “Evidence increasingly suggests that firms using a global strategy have an advantage in building brand equity.”

While segmentation still exists, it is used differently in global marketing. We are “seeing the emergence of a new group of consumers who have similar preferences and buy similar brands,” despite being in different countries, or different continents, and speaking different languages, say the authors of Cross-national market segmentation. In other words, from a marketing perspective, a young man in Tokyo or Hong Kong, plugged into the trends, may have far more in common with a young man in New York, London, or Paris, than with his fellow nationals of only a few years older or younger.

Instantly recognizable: Coca Cola in China.

In practical terms, this means that, although minor adjustments might be required,  corporations can create a single aesthetic, and single marketing campaigns, to appeal to consumers across the globe. There is, as the authors of Cross-national market segmentation note, strong evidence to suggest that global marketing campaigns generate more sales than those tailored to individual national markets. The most successful brands have global recognition. The red ground, white font, and signature “swoosh” of Coca Cola is the same even when the name of the product uses a different script (for example Chinese characters). Even if we cannot read the label, the Coca Cola product is instantly recognizable.

Fashion brands and companies in other industries are of course aspiring to a an equally global recognition. The authors of Cross-national market segmentation refer to a marketing campaign by Parisian fashion label Chanel that was launched in the US, France, and South Korea. In each case the advert showed the same (female) model running along a street. This image was juxtaposed, in each case, against a photograph of a sign of a Chanel boutique.

Although the model is the same in each, the dress she is wearing changes. In the French ad it’s more romantic. In the Korean it’s more modern, functional, and business-like. In the US ad the clothing — black top with puffed sleeves, puffed skirt, and long black boots — is more artsy and individualistic. It looks like the kind of attire an aspiring dancer, artist, or actress might wear. It’s clothing for someone modern, cool, and going somewhere.

Uniqlo: global advertising

Moreover, the street also changes. In the US ad the model passes by a fire hydrant — an iconic, if understated feature of the NY street. In the French ad the model strolls along a more old fashioned, cobbled, street. In the Korean ad, the surroundings are more modern, angular, and clean. The Chanel name appears on a glass window that is framed by marble. In the US ad, it hangs beside a street sign and a “no parking” sign, as well as a pedestrian crossing light. For the French ad, however, the same sign is shown from a different angle, so that all the identifiably New York elements are cut off. Only the drapery with the Chanel name is seen. It could be Paris. And, of course, that’s the point. The global ad needs only minor adjustments for the specific nation, since the market segment has most things in common. Both the advertising concept and the product its selling remains the same.

Chanel’s not the only one using global marketing campaigns, of course. A few weeks ago Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo opened a store in New York. Its slogan — “clothing made for all” — seems to consciously embody the idea of the global consumer, and so does its branding (e.g., logo) and advertising campaign, which were clearly designed to appeal both to the consumer in the US and in Japan — which are, of course, both global consumers.

“Asia is our biggest growth opportunity,” Tadashi Yanai, head of Fast Retailing, told the magazine. Fast Retailing, which owns Theory, Helmut Lang and Uniqlo, sees Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea as the new growth markets.

Other countries in Asia will turn into lucrative markets within the next few years. India — a country with over 1.2 billion citizens — is modernizing rapidly. Mumbai, and other major cities, are, in many respects, “Westernized.” Although poverty continues to be a major factor in the Indian economy, it is decreasing relatively sharply. According to the World Bank, it decreased from 60% in 1981 to 42% in 2005.

Forbes appears to suggest that Asian consumers want to buy Asian-style clothing and accessories. The magazine quotes Chinese-American designer Vivienne Tam recalling how she was told she wouldn’t make it, and noting that sales of her line in Hong Kong leaped 40% last year.

This seems slightly superficial. Consumers, almost by definition, buy into the culture that is all around them, whether it’s fashion, food, or fun. But, having studied Asian design and designers for a long time (one of my earliest positions was as design assistant to Malaysian Chinese designer Justin Oh) I think I can say that, typically, Asian people don’t want to buy Asian from Westerners, any more than Scottish people want to buy kilts from Japan.

As economies grow people begin to look outside for luxury goods and cool designs from other cultures. Just as many Westerners first experience “Asian cuisine” through the Chinese takeaway, but now eat out at Thai restaurants, so currently Nike-consumers in Asia are likely to want fashion from Western designers later on. Notably, Hermes, the self-consciously Western-style, silk-scarf and leather-goods fashion house recently reported strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region (not including Japan).

Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton has announced that it intends to buy a 10 percent stake in the Chinese fashion brand Ochirly, according to the South China Morning Post. And major fashion brands, such as Calvin Klein and Ann Taylor, have long been selling in Asia and the Middle East.

This almost certainly doesn’t mean that uber-traditional Western clothing will be shipped in bulk across the ocean. It’s more likely that as Asian economies rise up that a fusion of East and West will become more apparent. As a starting point think the relatively close-fitting silhouette of the traditional Western suit but with fewer details, lighter fabrics, new kinds of weaves, and colors ranging from dusty tones to black.

Whatever the new aesthetic turns out to be, designers start thinking about Asia now.

CK, and some other companies, have pushed this to the max. In this case, Calvin Klein stripped its packaging to the absolute essentials, using flat color and plain font logo.

Model Lara Stone (CK ad) embodies the angular, androgynous look of CK's products line itself.

The logo was so successful that it has been regularly incorporated back into CK clothing, for both menswear and womenswear. Used in CK’s fashion lines, the logo is nearly always transformed into a textiles pattern, so that it helps create a mood for the garment.

The signature look and the mood of a company represents a kind of person, or, rather, the aspirations and cultural influences (from TV programs to favorite vacation spots) of many people. You can probably imagine what kind of people purchase CK, Kenneth Cole, Donna Karan, etc., and what types of people shop at Target and Urban Outfitters. The latter tend to be younger, less affluent but very trend conscious, and like socializing in bars and clubs.

A signature look goes hand in hand, then, with less artistic and more commercial considerations, most especially pricing and where a company will have their lines distributed and offered to the public. CK is high end, and has its own stores, which, of course, are designed with the same mood as the CK fashion, home furnishings, and perfume lines. For other designers their look might mean selling in an edgier environment, or, increasingly, online — where smaller companies can have their own “virtual” storefronts. If you’re looking at creating a website, that’s also going to need to have the same mood as your line, using the same kind of colors, graphics, and so on.

To put it succinctly, thinking about signature look and mood of a fashion line is thinking about the big picture, from design to retail.

A modern design inspired by classical Chinese art.

Exactly what is creativity, and where does it begin? Many non-designers and design students in their early years believe that there is some kind of “creativity gene.” It’s certainly true, of course, that some people are more creative than others, and that some seem naturally inventive. But, there is a recognizable creative process that all designers use, whether they know it or not.

Creativity begin with acquiring information or knowledge. Then comes a period of contemplating that information, or just letting it gestate in the subconscious. Then the designing can begin.

A British-made dress from the 19th century.

When I embark on a design project I want to focus, but I still want to keep my research areas broad. If I’m researching Japanese floral designs, for inspiration, I would want to look at both modern and antique examples. In the latter case, I will want to visit textiles in relevant museums, look through catalogues of auctioneers, and find out where else I might find useful materials.

But, it’s also going to be essential for me to think about the markets today. I’m going to have to think about trends in color, styles of pattern and graphics, materials, etc. That’s going to mean searching through the stores, to see what’s hot today. And, more importantly, it’s going to mean looking at trend predictions, and charting where it has been heading over the last few years.

Although you may not have thought about it, if you look at the work of many designers — such as McQueen — you’ll find lot’s of references to antique clothing, from China, Japan, Scotland, and just about everywhere else. What makes these original is that they have been married to our contemporary understanding of fashion and aesthetics.

In a certain sense, antique clothing not only helps to inspire modern design, and designers, it also helps to keep the aesthetics from running wild (think of punk fashion for example — very creative, all new, but how many people are wearing it today?), byt helping us to think about form and balance of design.

If you’re designing for the modern world, don’t be afraid to look back. Just don’t get stuck there.

“Fashion Week has grown so much. It’s outgrown Lincoln Center already. It certainly outgrew Bryant Park a long time ago,” the mayor said. “The fashion industry is part of our diversification plan. We are the fashion capital of the world. It’s an enormous industry that creates a lot of jobs.”

Council of Fashion Designers of America chief executive officer Steven Kolb believes the move is a possibility, and has encouraged the fashion industry to get involved with the Culture Shed, which will house spaces for exhibitions, as well as theater and fashion events.

Fashion and accessories company Coach has already signed up to the project, and will move its corporate offices, along with its its 1,600 New York employees, into a 51-story building in the Culture Shed area in 2015, when construction will be complete.

The decoration was inspired by Dior’s Parisian ateliers, and has a classical French feel, with white and light tones creating an airy, open apartment feel., anchored by understated, monochromatic, furniture.

Cover for Vogue China September 2011

“Are Chinese models putting an end to Asia’s colonial mentality?” asks Forbes. This question was prompted by the cover for the current issue of Chinese Vogue, and he appearance of models FeiFei Sun, Ming Xi, Shu Pei, Xiao Wen Ju, and Estee Lauder’s first-ever Asian model Liu Wen. The significance of Chinese models in China may seem a little difficult to understand. But China and Japan have typically preferred to use Western models.

Photo from Lane Crawford's fall campaign

But, it goes beyond that. As Forbes notes, “Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and Giorgio Armani are only a handful of designers who have featured Chinese mannequins in their ad campaigns in efforts to court the second largest luxury consumers in the world.”

The timing of Chinese Vogue couldn’t be better. Japanese Vogue is causing a stir with its photo shoot with plus size model Crystal Renn. No, it’s not Renn’s shape that’s the issue. It’s the styling. Japanese Vogue decided to tape Crystal’s eyes back, to make them more Asian. And, just maybe, to get some cheap publicity. It’s in bad taste, and anyone in any way connected to the modern world would get this. Japanese Vogue editor Anna Dello Russo knows better, but the magazine has even put out a behind the scenes video, flaunting the tape — you can’t miss it.

$18,000 flip flops by Chipkos

Sandal design company Chipkos has partnered with Angeles contemporary artist, David Palmer, to create the world’s most expensive flip flops (or, at least I hope they are at $18,000). As an extra bonus for those feeling a little guilty about such a frivolous purchase, Chipkos also promises to protect 100,000 square feet of endangered rainforest. I quite like the fun, colorful design, and — now I’ve seen some — Palmer’s paintings, but I’m guessing anyone who can spend thousands of dollars on flip flops probably has a rainforest in the back garden.