Made in England Via China
Although online advertising is #1 on the marketing list, department stores that are still in business have a special floor, where they sell clothes made by British, Italian, French, American or German designers.
It is a fallacy because most of them are made in China. This important detail is not included in advertising because it is connected to the price. Women place more value on clothes made by European designers. It goes back to colonization where we longed for ‘madam’s’ clothes as we washed and ironed them. That’s why the label is important.
Online advertising now includes individuals called ‘influencers.’ They have many followers on platforms like Instagram, Face, Tik Tok, YouTube etc. Because of this, they can influence your buying habits. When you need a new summer dress, you will buy the Italian designer promoted by your favourite influencer. It sounds ridiculous that a grown woman cannot think for herself, but it happens. Bimbo Ademoye, a Nigerian actress has a skit about influencers. One of her clients said she was an influencer. “A what?”
Influencers offer other advice such as quality. They warn the online family about fake products, called ‘knock offs’ in America. China is always the culprit that manufactures such handbags and shoes. What they don’t know is that the same factory makes both the $900 handbag and the identical $50 one.
By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
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