Profit
According to Statista, revenue in the global fashion market is estimated to be $1.74 trillion (approximately £1.43 trillion) in 2023, with an increase rate of 13.7% compared to that of 2022. The majority demands of garments come from the USA and China, both generating considerably higher revenues than other countries (Statista, 2022a). Fashion can be described as a female consumer dominated market, therefore, the revenue generated from womenswear is much higher than the others. In the UK alone, the revenue for womenswear is almost twice of the revenue for menswear (Statista, 2022b), which is more than the UK menswear and children’s markets combined (Statista, 2022c).
As mentioned earlier, that Gen Z consumers value sustainability, and are highly influenced by social media. Influencers on social media encourage second-hand or vintage clothes, this will easily influence Gen Z followers according to the ‘Two-step flow of communication’ hypothesis (Mitterfellner, 2019), which lead to the growth of second-hand garment industry. Luxury sector is also an important sector, it is expected to grow between 5 and 10 percent in 2023 (The State of Fashion, 2023).
Similar to product life cycle, brand also has life cycle, but the difference is that brand life cycle is less restrictive, and the stages are growth, stagnation, decline and brand death (Mitterfellner,2023). Brands need to remain competitive to have longer life span. People were used to digital presentations, online classes, and amplified level of online shopping for clothes that do not know when can wear in public due to the pandemic. Many brands have their online runway show. With an example of Balenciaga, staged its autumn/winter 2021 collection as a virtual reality runway show and released the video game called ‘Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow’.
The creative director, Demna Gvasalia, created this game with other artists to build this ‘Afterworld’. It was defined as an ‘allegorical adventure’ anchored to ‘mythological pasts and projected futures’ in which the hero emerges as a master of two worlds (WWD, 2020). This approach successfully attracted the fans of Balenciaga, which they can experience a runway show in a game that requires their engagement as well as help people express an attitude. Gvasalia said the show was about freedom and hope, the theme of Afterworld not only stands for post-pandemic but also an unpolished, exciting, free and spiritual world he wants to live in the future (Vogue, 2020). The creative director has created the game at the right time, the digital era, targeting at the right consumers, the Gen Z, which fills the gap between commerce and creative. This, therefore, shows that adaptability is important for business to remain competitive in uncertain economic times.
Bibliography:
Madsen, A.C. (2020) 5 things to know about Balenciaga’s virtual reality AW21 Show, British Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/gallery/balenciaga-autumn-winter-2020 (Accessed: 21 October 2023).
Mitterfellner, O. (2019) ‘ 5 Social media, blogs and opinion-leaders: Who is leading your opinion?’, in Fashion Marketing and Communication: Theory and practice across the fashion industry. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, pp. 80–85.
Mitterfellner, O. (2023) ‘ 6 Decline and Resuscitation of Luxury Fashion Brands’, in Luxury Fashion Brand Management: Unifying fashion with Sustainability. London: Routledge, pp. 132–133.
Smith, P. (2023a) Revenue of the Global Apparel Market 2014-2027, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/821415/value-of-the-global-apparel-market (Accessed: 18 October 2023).
Smith, P. (2023b) Global: Revenue of men’s apparel by country 2022, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/758671/revenue-of-the-men-s-and-boys-apparel-market-worldwide-by-country (Accessed: 18 October 2023).
Smith, P. (2023c) Global: Revenue of childrens apparel by country 2022, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/forecasts/758638/revenue-of-the-clothing-accessories-and-other-clothes-market-worldwide-by-country (Accessed: 18 October 2023).
Socha, M. (2023) Balenciaga fall 2021, WWD. Available at: https://wwd.com/runway/fall-ready-to-wear-2021/paris/balenciaga/review/ (Accessed: 20 October 2023).