Profit
What determines the success of a business? For the majority, the answer is obviously how much revenue a company generates. In our current society, there has been placed an extreme importance on money and its value. For this blog, profit will be the main subject that will be discussed in relation to the fashion industry.
1.53 trillion US dollars. That is how much the fashion industry was calculated to have earnt in 2022 whereby the revenue proceeds to gradually increase every year (Smith, 2023b). Although the year before, the revenue had unexpectedly dropped; possibly due to the pandemic which confined people to stay at home and clothing no longer seemed necessary. Unfortunately, the market of the fast fashion has demonstrated a yearly growth and is predicted to steadily increase, however the sustainable fashion market has also increased quite drastically since the global pandemic (Smith, 2023c).
For brands to reign control of their sector in the industry, their primary focus must be on consumers, followed by digitalisation and ethics. These are the elements that Glossier failed to succeed in which ultimately resulted in their downfall (Meltzer, 2023). If brands do not listen to the wants and needs of the consumers then they will no longer appeal to them (). Equally, researching the values of consumers is necessary because nowadays consumers want brands to pioneer sustainability. Technological advancements have consumed this generation, meaning that brands must effectively achieve a social media presence and a digital market. The revenue for the digital market had increased during the pandemic and it can be argued to be more important than the physical stores (Gelder, 2023). Companies that have a philosophy and dedicate themselves to following it, rather than merely displaying it, will interest consumers. It was reported that nearly 50% of the gen Z population said they avoid purchasing from brands that do align their values proving how seriously this generation consider brand ethics. (Moran, 2022).
The role of creative director has substantially more responsibilities than other jobs such as a fashion designer (Mitterfellner, 2023). Essentially, creative directors must be creative and original, whilst managing and marketing the brand. For this position, they must have a deep insight into the brand as well as knowledge about today’s society’s aesthetic whilst keeping the brand true to their identity. Karl Lagerfeld was the creative director at Chanel which he maintained that position since 1985; he successfully transformed Chanel into a powerhouse in the luxury fashion industry. Notably, he invented the “CC” logo which would be forever known globally as the Chanel logo and his collections were recognised as some of Chanel’s most iconic looks (Borrelli-Persson, 2020). Thus, demonstrating how much creative directors can alter a brand.
References:
Borrelli-Persson, L. (2020) How Karl Lagerfeld reinvented Chanel-and the role of the creative director on today’s ‘in vogue: The 1990s’ episode, Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/in-vogue-the-1990s-podcast-episode-4-karl-lagerfeld-the-creative-director (Accessed: 22 October 2023).
Gelder, K. van (2023) Topic: E-commerce worldwide, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/871/online-shopping/#topicOverview (Accessed: 22 October 2023).
Meltzer, M. (2023) Where glossier went wrong, Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/5145f471-e5a6-412d-ae93-6688c24431a2 (Accessed: 22 October 2023).
Mitterfellner, O. (2023) p.33
Mitterfellner, O. (2023), Luxury Fashion Brand Management: Unifying fashion with Sustainability. London: Routledge.
Moran, G. (2022) Gen Z and millennials 2022, Drapers (Online) Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 (Accessed: 11 October 2023)
Smith, P (2023a) Revenue of the apparel market worldwide from 2014 to 2027.
Smith, P. (2023b) Topic: Apparel market worldwide, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview (Accessed: 22 October 2023).
Smith, P. (2023c) Topic: Sustainable fashion worldwide, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/9543/sustainable-fashion-worldwide/#topicOverview (Accessed: 22 October 2023).