People
People is one the of four pillars within the fashion industry, humans determine the market through opinions, preferences and concerns. Within the fashion industry people are quite obviously a main influence on the way products are produced, trends are created and how companies think.
Gen Z is arguably one of the most influential generations on todays fashion industry, studies have found Gen Zers are searching for truth and they value individuality as well as avoiding labels (T.Francis and F.Hoefel, 2018) meaning fashion brands are becoming increasingly progressive and fluid. Whilst gen z has many positive impacts on the fashion industry, there’s also been a noticeable increase of online shopping as 92% of gen z and millennials now buy on mobile apps either often or sometimes (Drapers, 2023), this links to the increase in fast fashion brands that are influenced by ‘micro-trends’ which causes detrimental amounts of waste on earth. However, most of Gen Z are seemingly recognising the harmful practices and making steps towards more sustainable fashion which has caused an influx of pre loved businesses in the industry. People born from 1995-2010 are named the ‘digital natives’ by society, meaning that Gen Z are the most interconnected generation who can easily share their views and opinions with each other which can put enormous amounts of pressure on brands to promote and sell on social media, appeal to the younger generation and even consider more ethical practices. A brand that has responded to Gen Zs preferences is the body shop who have created youth advisory boards to help prioritise social responsibility and inclusivity.
There are now more attempts of diversity as most consumers currently desire inclusivity from fashion brands. One brand that stands out to me in terms of body diversity is SKIMS by Kim Kardashian, this shape wear brand strives to represent people of all sizes through their campaigns. A specific campaign of theirs includes adaptive shape wear made for those with limited mobility meaning that the clothing is accessible for ALL, the unique selling point being that the adaptive elements are subtle and comfortable compared to other brands and using paralympic athletes in the marketing campaign to have true representation of the people that may have been overlooked by fashion brands.
“Diversity and inclusivity are in our brands DNA”
– Kim Kardashian, VOGUE (2021)
Fashion brands also require an array of people skills, this may include the ability to speak different languages to communicate with a wider range of people in the fashion industry and the ability of considering norms and values internationally meaning that the brand can appeal to everyone. This represents the importance and impact of people in the fashion industry.
Bibliography:
Adams, M. (2023) [online] Understanding the next generation of shoppers https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2023 [accessed 15/10/2023]
Barandy, K. Designboom (2022) [online] kim kardashian’s SKIMS launches adaptive collection for limited mobility https://www.designboom.com/design/skims-adaptive-collection-kim-kardashian-limited-mobility-scout-bassett-05-02-2022/ [accessed 15/10/2023]
Francis, T. and Hoefel, F. (2018). ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies. McKinsey & Company. [online] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies [accessed 14/10/2023]
Weinstock, T. Vogue (2021) “It Felt Like The Perfect Time To Bring A Fresh Perspective”: Kim Kardashian West On Revolutionising Shapewear [online] https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/kim-kardashian-west-future-of-skims [accessed 15/10/2023]
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