The distribution of fashion has been described as a movement, a flow, or trickle from one element of society to another. According to the trickle-down theory, a certain style is firstly proposed and adopted by those at the top of society, and then gradually accepted by those lower in the strata
In the findings of my project, the art, or a certain culture, is believed to undergo a similar process. And merchandise plays a significant role in the process of cultural communication going from pioneer to popularity.
I used to concern that as a mass-produced object, merchandise would not be completely accepted by artists as it seems to breaks the uniqueness of a piece of art work. However, as research of the project goes deeper, I found that artists or people in related industries attach great importance to the role of merchandise in art popularization. The commercialization of art, in the view of artists and curators, is a process that art must go through.
In my primary research, it was mentioned by both the curator and the bookstore owner that there was a mismatch between economic growth and education especially art education in China. Most people in China have less of an interest in art and the majority of businessmen in China have not yet realized the monetary value of culture.
There is a cognitive cost to understanding a certain culture. Merchandise, as a mass-produced object, is more aesthetically popular which can be accepted by the public more easily. In this case, merchandise works as a ‘simply’ product to help the general public reduce dimensions cognitively and then have an opportunity to get closer to a certain culture.
Referring to trickle-down theory in fashion context, the merchandise’s role in cultural communication is working as a form of “cultural instilling”. It allows cognition of a certain value or culture not by the passage of a massive bombardment, but by standing with someone then he would be in the process of the subconscious agreeing with it. In this case, such transmission is not very purposeful and it is more like a kind of “infection”.
Therefore, to run a brand, it is necessary to have a core brand culture. So that merchandise can be generated from the core. The reason why merchandise matters lies in its brand value. Brand value works like a dam. There must be brand potential first and then what merchandise does is like the opening the gate, letting out some water from those ‘pioneer’ to the general public, to generate desire of getting close to a certain, or a certain brand.