When Nico Manessis and I first talked about this article I had it all laid out in my mind I was to unite the two loves of my life wine and fashion my little lovie Urania is beyond compare and talk about parallel lives about fashion and wine as powerful partners in contemporary lifestyles and expressions of conspicuous consumption However the economic crisis has since forced us to tighten our belts even more and I felt compelled to factor this into the equation What are our Responses to the Recession How do companies cope in the current economic crisis Are tightspending consumers now in charge or can companies still drive buying behaviour Will the market polarise into a world of ultraluxury products for the haves and superinexpensive ones for the havenots How can we attempt to answer these questions when entire economies collapse around us like dominoes Lets begin by taking a brief look at the consumer and their buying behaviour to survive the crunch An ING survey this year which interviewed 11000 people in nine countries found that people have embraced a cocooning culture created by the financial crisis We have become domestic hedonists spending more time at home as the crisis bites Another study conducted by psychologists at Cornell University found that experiences are more rewarding than things According to the study experiences are so effective at making us happy because we truly own them They become integrated into our characters and help shape our personalities Andrea Pfeffer Director at the Sales and PR agency Robinson Pfeffer agrees The new luxury is about experience she suggests Ultimately the shopper wants to feel personally connected to the brand So one new trend is experience branding and experience retailing Another one actually linked to the previous one is to buy things that are painstakingly handbuilt instead of efficiently massproduced Architect and writer Steve Mouzon wrote near the beginning of this meltdown So I believe that the meltdown will begin to cause people to think longterm again and to begin to value enduring things In this vein Tokyobased designer Junya Tashiro describes his creations as clothes that will mature aging like a fine wine but also becoming more comfortable like an old sofa or favorite sweater The more you wear and wash your clothes the more they become familiar to you and the more you feel comfortable in them Tashiro explains If apparel has a nice feel to it to begin with after 5 years or 10 years you will think this is better now than when I bought it I want to make apparel based on the idea that good clothing doesnt get old but matures Choosing organic believing in sustainable development adopting a frugal green living stance and embracing the reducereuserecycle motto is the way a lot of consumers from various income groups and companies alike have chosen to cope with the crisis Some companies choose to maintain a sense of exclusivity by targeting specialised distribution channels these are faring well under the current economic climate Companies are also altering their public perception and developing a dialogue with customers through social media websites such as Facebook YouTube and Twitter Brands are now in a position where failure to nurture genuine relationships with their customers may result in decreased sales negative brand association and ultimately a failed enterprise Trend analyst Dion Chang signaled the start of an empathetic economy in which value systems changed drastically and companies communities and families collaborated to survive Whether were talking about wine fashion or any other kind of business To end this brief foray into consumer behaviour and marketing strategies of the economic crisis in relation to wine and fashion on a pleasant note I will introduce you to some Evochia Evochia is the ancient Greek word for the mirth and conviviality present at a symposium Evochia is also an organic food shop near my house where I met Dimitris Theocharidis The shop belongs to his family and after hed completed his BA Hons at the London College of Fashion I met him there designing his clothes and selling wine and calendula baby creams Then Dimitris returned to London and teamed up with fellow graduate Jenny Holmes to create JENATHEO They then went on to win the highly coveted Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden 2009 chaired by Donatella Versace with a recessionproof collection inspired by womens sexual revolution movements from ancient Crete all the way through to the 60s What is their next collection going to be Maybe we can call it Times of Crisis they say We wish to celebrate the century that has just gone We have looked at times of crisis through the 20th century from the French Resistance the depression of the 30s through to the recession in the 90s We wish them all the best When Nico Manessis and I first talked about this article I had it all laid out in my mind I was to unite the two loves of my life wine and fashion my little lovie Urania is beyond compare and talk about parallel lives about fashion and wine as powerful partners in contemporary lifestyles and expressions of conspicuous consumption However the economic crisis has since forced us to tighten our belts even more and I felt compelled to factor this into the equation What are our Responses to the Recession How do companies cope in the current economic crisis Are tightspending consumers now in charge or can companies still drive buying behaviour Will the market polarise into a world of ultraluxury products for the haves and superinexpensive ones for the havenots How can we attempt to answer these questions when entire economies collapse around us like dominoes Lets begin by taking a brief look at the consumer and their buying behaviour to survive the crunch An ING survey this year which interviewed 11000 people in nine countries found that people have embraced a cocooning culture created by the financial crisis We have become domestic hedonists spending more time at home as the crisis bites Another study conducted by psychologists at Cornell University found that experiences are more rewarding than things According to the study experiences are so effective at making us happy because we truly own them They become integrated into our characters and help shape our personalities Andrea Pfeffer Director at the Sales and PR agency Robinson Pfeffer agrees The new luxury is about experience she suggests Ultimately the shopper wants to feel personally connected to the brand So one new trend is experience branding and experience retailing Another one actually linked to the previous one is to buy things that are painstakingly handbuilt instead of efficiently massproduced Architect and writer Steve Mouzon wrote near the beginning of this meltdown So I believe that the meltdown will begin to cause people to think longterm again and to begin to value enduring things In this vein Tokyobased designer Junya Tashiro describes his creations as clothes that will mature aging like a fine wine but also becoming more comfortable like an old sofa or favorite sweater The more you wear and wash your clothes the more they become familiar to you and the more you feel comfortable in them Tashiro explains If apparel has a nice feel to it to begin with after 5 years or 10 years you will think this is better now than when I bought it I want to make apparel based on the idea that good clothing doesnt get old but matures Choosing organic believing in sustainable development adopting a frugal green living stance and embracing the reducereuserecycle motto is the way a lot of consumers from various income groups and companies alike have chosen to cope with the crisis Some companies choose to maintain a sense of exclusivity by targeting specialised distribution channels these are faring well under the current economic climate Companies are also altering their public perception and developing a dialogue with customers through social media websites such as Facebook YouTube and Twitter Brands are now in a position where failure to nurture genuine relationships with their customers may result in decreased sales negative brand association and ultimately a failed enterprise Trend analyst Dion Chang signaled the start of an empathetic economy in which value systems changed drastically and companies communities and families collaborated to survive Whether were talking about wine fashion or any other kind of business To end this brief foray into consumer behaviour and marketing strategies of the economic crisis in relation to wine and fashion on a pleasant note I will introduce you to some Evochia Evochia is the ancient Greek word for the mirth and conviviality present at a symposium Evochia is also an organic food shop near my house where I met Dimitris Theocharidis The shop belongs to his family and after hed completed his BA Hons at the London College of Fashion I met him there designing his clothes and selling wine and calendula baby creams Then Dimitris returned to London and teamed up with fellow graduate Jenny Holmes to create JENATHEO They then went on to win the highly coveted Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden 2009 chaired by Donatella Versace with a recessionproof collection inspired by womens sexual revolution movements from ancient Crete all the way through to the 60s What is their next collection going to be Maybe we can call it Times of Crisis they say We wish to celebrate the century that has just gone We have looked at times of crisis through the 20th century from the French Resistance the depression of the 30s through to the recession in the 90s We wish them all the best