People
The “three Ps”- Profit, People, and Planet- derive from the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ concept in business and sustainability, in which the People pillar embraces a company’s commitment to the welfare of its workforce, consumers, local communities and the wider society.
Referring to consumers, Generation Z(Gen Z) has been one of the leading customer groups targeted by fashion brands for a few years now. Gen Z consists of people born between 1996 and 2010, which spans a wide range.
“Brand-conscious followers and premium shopaholics are the largest segments within Generation Z” (Aimee Kim, Paul McInerney, Thomas Rüdiger Smith, and Naomi Yamakawa, 2020). However, to assume that all Gen Zers are one homogenous cohort would be false. Gen Zers in different countries may have different ways of thinking because of other growing up conditions, like population profile, economics, history, culture and so on.
The image above shows six segments that describe Generation Z consumers in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) through an analysis of the survey results.
In fact, all of these characteristics exemplify a trait unique to Gen Zers, which is the “often turn to the internet when looking for any kind of information, including news and reviews, before making a purchase.” (McKinsey&Company, 2023)
Gen Zers, as “digital natives”, are the best generation at using the internet so far. They use it for the most extended periods whilst having the most concern about it. “36 percent said they “carefully curate” their online presence, compared with 31 percent of millennials and 24 percent of Gen Xers.” (McKinsey&Company, 2023) This two-way contradiction is widespread for Gen Z since the longer they spend online, the more they realise how insecure the internet is.
Nevertheless, these insecure feelings from Gen Zers will also likely turn out to be one of the ways for fashion brands to attract Gen Z consumers.
“Gen Zers trust family and friends more than any other source—and more than millennials or Gen Xers do.” (McKinsey&Company, 2023) Fashion brands may perhaps first capture the consumers from the “parents’ generation” like Generation X(Gen X) so that they can give their children, who are Gen Z, trust in the brand.
However, this situation is more favourable to success for brands that have been at the top of the market for a long time, such as Prada, Lv, Gucci and Miu Miu, as the more classic luxury brands will be more beneficial in capturing the attention of the older generation. In contrast, they might not have many chances to experience the younger brands.
The younger fashion brands or the brands that are more targeted to youthful generations like Millennials and Gen Z; for example, Alexander Wang, Balenciaga and so on, could capture the Gen Zers’ “not willing to buy cheap clothes for cheaper” mindset. “They prefer brands that show their personality and uniqueness but are also well known enough to be recognised” (McKinsey & Company, 2023). Overall, brands can use raw materials that are on the higher end to make better quality products. Then, with a proactive social media presence to communicate closer to Gen Zers, brands may gain a higher reputation to attract more Gen Z consumers.
“Gen Z is more adamant that brands, products and marketing stand for something and reflect their values relating to topics ranging from mental health to climate change, while also acknowledging their diversity.” (BOF, 2023) Consequently, more fashion brands are adopting diversity not only in their products but also in their workplaces. One of the examples is Victoria’s Secret, which has shown its first-ever adaptive intimates line in the NewYork fashion show this year. VS has always been one of the controversial brands that do not consider diversity, while they were putting ‘body shame’ on consumers like Gen Zers, who are very easily influenced by social media to create their perceptions.
Therefore, when VS first revealed itself as diversity-inclusive, while many supported the change, there was also a lot of pushback, fearing that VS had no choice but to become an adopted diversity brand to keep the consumers.
More fashion brands embrace change, yet “industry professionals most frequently describe the state of DE&I in fashion as “evolving” and “improving,” while less than half of respondents believe actions taken in 2021 will lead to lasting change.” (BOF, 2023) As a result, fashion brands should focus more on DE&I, which stands for “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”, and increase the professionality of each campaign or brand concept.
Moreover, With the development of technology, the fashion industry has already been expanding in the fashion-technology sector. It is well known that the advancement of AI will lead to the loss of many workers’ jobs, yet this is also true in the fashion industry. The advancement of AI has led many fashion companies to start recruiting more people for tech-related positions. For example: digital experience manager, data scientist, digital product manager and so on. (Alexandra Rodriguez Cifre, 2021) With digitalisation, more fashion brands are “empowering future talent to build a more sustainable and efficient fashion industry.” (BOF, 2023)
Bibliography:
Alexandra Rodriguez Cifre(29 October 2021) https://www.arts.ac.uk/knowledge-exchange/stories/new-report-unveils-8-future-jobs-in-fashion-tech
McKinsey&Company(20 March 2023)
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z
McKinsey&Company, Aimee Kim, Paul McInerney, Thomas Rüdiger Smith, and Naomi Yamakawa (29 June 2020)