PEOPLE

People 

The fashion industry is human-operated and made for people, whether that’s a marketing campaign, a fashion week collection, or even the resources used to make garments, it’s consumed by a person. But does the fashion industry care about people? Is everyone included, treated fairly and equally? Even though in 2023 there are many improvements on these issues compared to the 80s, they still exist within the fashion industry.

Gen z  

‘Gen Z’ represents everyone born between 1996 and 2010. The people of the generation are ‘digital natives’ and have grown up around technology. This generation consumes fashion digitally, from online shopping to watching influencer sponsorships on social media. The fashion industry has to keep up with these trends and consumer needs. They have to create digital experiences for their consumers like live-streaming fashion shows or featuring a virtual try-on for their products. 

If a brand’s target audience is someone from Gen Z, they should consider their values. Gen Z is politically driven and cares about relevant issues like sustainability and racial injustice (McKinsey, 2023). Recently, there has been a higher demand from Gen Z for inclusive fashion. This generation is more diverse than any other, so they value inclusivity. Gen Z has changed the idea of gender. A high percentage of trans and non-binary people comes from Gen Z, and as a generation, they are much more accepting of people. Fenty Beauty, a popular beauty brand amongst Gen Z, is a brand who are inclusive of all sizes, races and gender. They have 50 different foundation shades and brand ambassadors from every gender. Therefore available to be consumed by every person.

Movements like Black Lives Matter have  pushed brands to reflect on their diversity. The fashion industry has responded in a generally positive way towards diversity, but how genuine is it? Jacquemus Spring 2021 seemed to be a beautiful and diverse runway show, with praising articles written about their positive diversity. After a behind-the-scenes selfie was shared of their all-white team, people started to question how genuine is their brand diversity. They were ‘using diversity simply to put on a show for the media.’ (Lang, 2020)

People skills

In today’s society, there are key people skills brands need in order to succeed. With the dynamic market, brands need to be flexible and open-minded to cope with any changes in the market. Brands need to be able to adapt to evolving trends and the society we live in. Brands recently have had to cope with changes like coronavirus lockdowns and technological advances to stay connected to consumers.

References 

Hunt, K., 2017, ‘is the fashion world finally getting diversity’ https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/longform/a37245/fashions-ever-evolving-new-diversity/

Lang, m., 2020, ‘dear jacquemus, you have a major diversity problem’ https://www.rowdymagazine.com/post/dear-jacquemus-you-have-a-major-diversity-problem

McKinsey & company., 2023, ‘what is gen z’ https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z