People
People pillar
People pillar in fashion industry refers to people and consumers working and shopping in the fashion industry, including designers, in-store employees, production floor workers, and customers of fashion products. They receive the welfare and enjoy related rights and interests in the fashion circle. All the people involved in the whole process from manufacturing to consumption are called the people pillar of the fashion industry.
Describe Gen Z as consumers
The Gen Z have their own subjective thoughts, and they are no longer blindly following the trend to pursue the most popular products of the current era. They pay for products they love and are more willing to trust their feelings. Francis has noted that, “As global connectivity soars, generational shifts could come to play a more important role in setting behavior than socioeconomic differences do. Young people have become a potent influence on people of all ages and incomes, as well as on the way those people consume and relate to brands.” (Francis, 2018) Gen Z is gradually having a sustainable consumption awareness, their awareness of environmental protection has become better and better, so they began to choose to buy sustainable products.
Consider what a brand should do to attract Gen Z?
According to the report from Mckiney Company, “Generation Z comprises people born between 1996 and 2010. This generation’s identity has been shaped by the digital age, climate anxiety, a shifting financial landscape, and COVID-19.” (Mckiney Company, 2023) Gen Z has its own unique consumption concept and values. Brands have to design special products for this group, develop marketing strategies that resonate with their values.
Give an example of how a brand has responded to diversity.
Gucci Metaverse
According to the Forbes report: “Gucci has a reputation for being an innovative brand at the forefront of metaverse and Web3 technologies. In May 2021, Gucci made history as the pioneer luxury brand to introduce an NFT. Concurrently, they introduced the Gucci Garden experience on Roblox during the same month. This digital rendition of Gucci Garden, an interactive multimedia experience situated in Florence, Italy showcasing the brand’s creative ethos, attracted more than 20 million users. Recently, Gucci launched Gucci Vault Land, available from October 27 to November 9, utilizing The Sandbox platform. The Sandbox is a virtual realm allowing players to possess, construct, and monetize their gaming possessions and ventures within an extensive virtual universe.” (Bernard, 2022)
Gucci’s metaversee project has several purposes. The first carbon emission is completely zero, it is a sustainable project. Second, due to the great changes in the world pattern (war, global warming, inflation, etc.), people pay more attention to the Internet, which means that there is a huge niche market. The third is to attract Gen Z, who grew up in an era surrounded by multiculturalism and the Internet, and who expect and follow new things: technology, fashion, electronics, games, etc. To sum up, Gucci, as a traditional top luxury brand, jumps out of its original comfort zone to develop diversified projects, which is a very wise strategy to attract not only more consumers in other markets, but also consumers of Generation Z.
What are the key people skills needed for a fashion brand to be successful?
Communications. Effective and efficient communication is the prerequisite for all productivity. Any process from design to production requires different people at each step to communicate with each other to get things done. So communication is the most critical people skill.
Reference list:
Bernard, M. (2022). Gucci Enters The Metaverse. (Online) https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/11/30/gucci-enters-the-metaverse/ (Accessed 14/10/2023)
Francis, T. and Hoefel, F. (2018). ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies. (Online) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies. (Accessed 14/10/2023)
McKinsey & Company. (2023). What is Gen Z? (Online) https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z (Accessed 14/10/2023)