In his book ‘The Tipping Point: How Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference’, Malcolm Gladwell addresses various kinds of phenomena, such as ideas and goods. Gladwell goes further to discuss the tipping point of each trend. According to the book, the word ‘trend’ means unexpected extensive growth in an idea or a product's popularity. Also, Gladwell describes the ‘tipping point’ as the specific moment when trends in thoughts, behavior, or development cross their threshold and spread widely and at a very high rate. The tipping point aspect has generally changed people's way of thinking in that the longest-lasting effects are mostly triggered by small or tiny changes and not large or steady changes. One of the most significant trends and its tipping point is described below.
Hush Puppies is an American brand name for casual shoes for all genders. The Hush Puppies trend is one of the examples that Gladwell uses to explain the tipping point. “For Hush Puppies – the classic Americans brushed-suede shoes with the lightweight sole – the tipping point came somewhere between 1994 and early 1995” (Gladwell, 32). The sale of these casual shoes started to decline such that only 30000 pairs were sold in a year (Gladwell, 27). The company in charge, Wolverine, had even thought of putting into stopping the production of Hush Puppies due to the lack of market at that time. However, this thought was disregarded after a shoot of the Hush Puppies fashion, where its executives met one stylist in New York. The Hush Puppies fashion became a trend since it was being used by different designers and innovators in their shows, such as Gordon. He developed various networks and started wearing these shoes in the eastern village in the year 1990.
In line with Malcolm Gladwell's critical aspects concerning the spread of ideas, the Hush Puppies trend had relation to little changes having significant effects, contagious ideas, and change happening at one moment. The small change brought by this trend has a considerable impact whereby, in the mid-90s, plenty of fashion designers incorporated Hush Puppies in their projects. Furthermore, most celebrities put on Hush Puppies to various fashion events, music performances, and film premieres. Jimmy Buffet composed a song called 'Come Monday' with the line “'I got my Hush Puppies on”, which was among the top on the popularity chart. This had a significant impact on celebrity fans towards emulating the trends practiced by their stars.
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The Hush Puppies trend also had the aspect of contagiousness. Its popularity progressed to the point that it reached plenty of fashion designers in big cities like New York. Some would even purchase them in bulk from sale stores. “In Brownsville and East New York, the sidewalk filled again” (Gladwell, 32). It trended further when it became a popular fashion accessory for casual wear. It became a choice for various magazine brands and ended up winning several awards.
The aspect of changes happening at one moment is relevant in the Hush Puppies shoe trend as it was a sudden, unanticipated popularity rise. During the shoes' first introduction at the National Shoe Fair, Chicago, the tipping point of Hush Puppies was during the 1950s. This introduction sparked an immediate overwhelming reaction from the audience. The highest demand came from retailers who were overly enticed by the general outlook of the shoes. They flocked to the booth and made bulk purchases popularizing the shoes greatly.
In conclusion, Hush Puppies were a shoe trend that became popular in the 1990s. Its tipping point occurred at a shoe fair event in Chicago, where the shoes spread tremendous popularity. The shoe brand's popularity has kept on rising since then, among people from all walks of life. The shoe brand had key aspects of contagiousness, little ideas having significant effects, and changes occurring at one moment, as stated by Malcolm Gladwell.
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