PROFIT
Profit is when a brand gains financially through their business activity’s. This will be most designers way of measuring the success of their brands. They need to create garments with a demand so it’s profitable. ‘The revenue of the global fashion apparel market was calculated to amount to 1.53 trillion dollars U.S in 2022’. China and the United States have generated far more revenue than any other countries. Which may be due to their significant role in international trade. To compare market sectors the Luxury fashion market is worth 71 billion US dollars in 2020 whereas the second hand fashion market 177 billion dollars in 2020, this will be as second hand clothing is more accessible to consumers whereas a smaller group can afford luxury fashion. (Smith, 2023).
Recently, the economy has been very uncertain. There have been lockdowns due to COVID-19 and the rising inflation, making it harder for businesses to operate. Brands need to remain competitive in these times, but how? Reviewing services, products and customers to decide if they still fit the current market can keep them competitive. This will highlight whether aspects of the brand need changing (Lam, 2022). An example of a brand adapting to remain competitive is designer Jean Claude Jitrois’, with his brand ‘Jitrois. During Covid-19 the brand offered 4-hour personal shopping sessions digitally on WhatsApp, FaceTime and Zoom. As well as in-person modified appointments to be safe. In between each session, the changing rooms would be disinfected and the clothes would be heat-cleaned (Hughes, 2020). This helped the brand’s sales as they were offering a service which not many others were.
A creative director’s role is to generate concepts for collections and shows. The fashion industry is competitive, ideas have to be new and artistic, especially in luxury fashion. However, they have to bridge the gap between creativity and commerce. Their products need to sell but also need to wow on the runway. If the profit figures aren’t impressive, the designer may exchange them for a new one (Mitterfellner, 2023). It’s commonly found in luxury fashion for the fashion week collections to be pieces of art on the runway but to have ready-to-wear products that will be profitable for the brand. For example, comme des garçons runway collections are not wearable garments so they have basic ready-to-wear pieces for revenue.
Fisher, L., 2017, A Look Back At Comme des Garçons On The Runway Over The Years, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/designers/g9576776/commes-des-garcons-runway-fashion/
Hughes, H,. 2020, The innovative ways fashion companies adapted to Covid-19, https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/the-innovative-ways-fashion-companies-adapted-to-covid-19/2020060349178
Lam, h., 2022, How To Leverage Uncertain Economic Times And Create Year-End Success, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/10/05/how-to-leverage-uncertain-economic-times-and-create-year-end-success/
Mitterfellner, O., 2023, luxury fashion brand management
Smith, P., 2023, global apparel market statistics & facts, https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview