People Blog
The consumer should be at the forefront of a brands mind when thinking about how to market their products or services. The most current and dominant of these consumers is that of Gen Z, currently making up around 25.9% of the US population (www.YouTube.com). Gen Z – people born between 1996 and 2010 – are known as ‘digital natives’ as their identity has been shaped by the digital age, alongside a shifting financial landscape, rising climate anxiety and COVID-19 (McKinsey, 2023).
More so than any other generation, many members of Gen Z have strong values related to racial justice and sustainability. Evidence behind this being that political movements thrive on the activism of young people – for instance Greta Thunberg, a Gen Z, leading the Global Climate March [2]. This activism is reflected in the generations expectation to see commitments to sustainability and diversity from brands – 9 out of 10 Gen Zers believing that companies have a responsibility to address social and environmental issues (McKinsey, 2023).
Recently, beauty and lifestyle brands have gone straight to the source through forming Gen Z advisory boards. This youth-packed advisory board provides the brand with insight into what would attract the generation – social responsibility and inclusivity being features that they deem important qualities. Therefore, a brand should demonstrate diversity and sustainability in order to attract Gen Z.
Everybody should be able to look up to their favourite fashion brand and see someone like them – this applies to race, gender identity, religion, disabilities and more. An organisation known as All Walks Beyond the Catwalk promotes diversity within the fashion industry as fashion is “not restricted by race, shape, age or size.” This initiative is fitting with Gen Zs desire to see more diversity in the industry (Corner, 2014). A brand that has diversity and inclusivity in its DNA is Kim Kardashian’s body-positive brand, Skims. The clothing is modelled by women of varying race and body size in order to reflect that what the brand creates “is for everyone and everybody” (Weinstock, 2021).The inner development goals consist of five dimensions – including relating (caring for others) and collaborating (social skills) – and were established in order to help the population reach the Sustainable Development Goals (Inner Development Goals). Therefore, empathy, interpersonal, communicational and collaborative skills are required within teams of fashion brands in order to guarantee success.
Reference List
Corner, F. (2014). Why fashion matters. London: Thames & Hudson.
Inner Development Goals. (n.d.). Inner Development Goals. [online] Available at: https://www.innerdevelopmentgoals.org/.
McKinsey (2023). What is Gen Z? | McKinsey. [online] www.mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z.
Weinstock, T. (2021). ‘It Felt Like The Perfect Time To Bring A Fresh Perspective’: Kim Kardashian West On Revolutionising Shapewear. [online] British Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/kim-kardashian-west-future-of-skims.
www.youtube.com. (n.d.). 6 Things To Know About Generation Z. [online] Available at: https://youtu.be/N3Bb8oyoLlM [Accessed 14 Oct. 2023].