Profit
Despite fashion being a form of self-expression and an outlet for creativity, it must not be lost that the fashion industry consists of a culmination of businesses. This leads to the dilemma faced by many industry professionals in finding the perfect balance between creativity and commerce, a balance that shifts over time depending on consumer needs.
The fashion industry is vast and extremely profitable, in 2022 the global apparel market produced $1.53 trillion in profit with much of this coming from China and USA (Smith, 2023). The global apparel market covers all different sectors of the fashion industry, each performing at different rates and successes. Women’s wear generated $163 billion of profit in 2022 which is more than men’s and children’s wear combined. Furthermore, the second-hand market has seen an increase in the profit generated, in 2022 this sector produced $177 billion, and it is predicted to rise to $351 billion by 2027 (fig.1). This is largely influenced by the modern knowledge on climate change and the need for sustainable consumption and production. Despite this, the fast fashion sector, which is largely known for its negative social and environmental contributions, is predicted to increase in profit from $106.42 billion in 2022 to $184.98 billion in 2027 (fig.2) (Smith, 2023).
In these uncertain economic times faced globally it can be very difficult for brands to remain competitive making it more important now than ever to know what consumers want. This was seen in 2020, an extremely economically challenging year due to the pandemic, where the brands which achieved the greatest success focussed on investing in technology, sustainability and talent (Berg, 2023) as consumers now care about modernity, tackling the climate crisis, quality and originality. By studying brands, such as Yves Saint Laurent, which have been able to recover from a deterioration in profit without completely losing the brands ethos over brands can learn how to achieve similar success. Yves Saint Laurent saw a decline in the 1980s as consumers began to care less about loyalty and more about relevancy. In 2013 the brand underwent a transformation leading to a resurrection, this was partly achieved by reflecting on brand values regarding modern needs as well as redefining their target market to include younger people. This rebrand resulted in YSL gaining greater relevance and thus more economic success (Mitterfellner, 2023).
The job of bridging the gap between creativity and commerce generally falls upon the creative directors. In an interview with Floraine de Saint Pierre, a trailblazer in combining the creative director role and the CEO role, she highlights the distinction between design leadership and creative leadership as creativity gives “the ability to transcend established rules”. By applying this creative mindset to business this often leads to creating innovative rules. Through understanding the brand at its creative core, the chances of greater business success are far more likely, therefore it makes the most sense for these creative and business roles to be considered together (K-Hole, 2021).
Bibliography:
Berg, A. (2022) How current global trends are disrupting the fashion industry, McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/how-current-global-trends-are-disrupting-the-fashion-industry (Accessed: 21 October 2023).
K-Hole (2021) Floriane de Saint Pierre on creative leadership, The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/workplace-talent/floriane-de-saint-pierre-on-creative-leadership-032c/ (Accessed: 23 October 2023).
Mitterfellner, O. (2023) Luxury Fashion Brand Management and sustainability: Unifying fashion with sustainability, New York: Routledge. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=7260416 (Accessed: 21 October 2023).
Smith, P. (2023) Topic: Apparel market worldwide, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview (Accessed: 21 October 2023).
Smith, P. (2023) Secondhand apparel market worldwide 2021-2027, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/826162/apparel-resale-market-value-worldwide/ (Accessed: 21 October 2023). Smith, P. (2023a) Fast fashion market forecast worldwide 2022-2027, Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1008241/fast-fashion-market-value-forecast-worldwide/ (Accessed: 21 October 2023).