The concept of “design” also entails the related concepts of “fashion and style”. “Fashion” refers to a trend that is popular, and can manifest itself in many forms such as clothing, music and so on. This means that the concept of “fashion and style” carries with it social meanings, connotations and consequences.
Fashion creates an “in-group”, where group members are presumed to be in-the-know and display behaviors that are consistent with the styles and trends dictated by the current fashion style. On the other hand, those that are not in-the-know or do not display such behaviors are excluded from the “in-group”. Those who want to be socially included into the “in-group” then have to learn and display behaviors that are dictated by the current “fashion trends”. As such, design creates a social cue, and uses the human innate need for social interaction to create appeal and attraction.
Designers have tried to create “fashion trends” that features environmental awareness and conservation as main themes. For example, designer Philippe Intraligi collaborated with sports apparel brand Adidas to come up with a new series of footwear that are made using environmentally friendly processes and materials. The design also incorporates messages that remind consumers of its’ environmentally-friendly origin, such as the use of cotton fertilized using reground cloth, as well as messages to remind consumers to “use recycled materials” on its soles. Trend-setting brands such as Adidas have a large following, and teaming up with such brands helps designers to spread their message across to a wider range of audience and consumers using social processes.
Even though design can influence consumers to undertake environmentally-friendly behavior through trends and social cognitive processes, whether these behaviors are internalized are another matter together. Consumers whose shopping behavior is changed by eco-friendly designs may not internalize the eco-friendly message and see the need to conserve the environment .Hence, such behavioral changes may not generalize to other contexts where social cues created by trendy designs are not present.
Also, the use of fashion in design can be considered as an appeal to emotion rather than cognition. Under the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Semenik, Allen, O’Guinn, & Kaufmann, 2012), such influences come under the Peripheral Route to Persuasion, which is an easier way to bring about changes in attitudes and behaviors. However, such changes may not be as long lasting as those induced by cognitive messages.