Poppy Andrews

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PROFIT

PROFIT

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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

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PEOPLE

PEOPLE

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People 

The fashion industry is human-operated and made for people, whether that’s a marketing campaign, a fashion week collection, or even the resources used to make garments, it’s consumed by a person. But does the fashion industry care about people? Is everyone included, treated fairly and equally? Even though in 2023 there are many improvements on these issues compared to the 80s, they still exist within the fashion industry.

Gen z  

‘Gen Z’ represents everyone born between 1996 and 2010. The people of the generation are ‘digital natives’ and have grown up around technology. This generation consumes fashion digitally, from online shopping to watching influencer sponsorships on social media. The fashion industry has to keep up with these trends and consumer needs. They have to create digital experiences for their consumers like live-streaming fashion shows or featuring a virtual try-on for their products. 

If a brand’s target audience is someone from Gen Z, they should consider their values. Gen Z is politically driven and cares about relevant issues like sustainability and racial injustice (McKinsey, 2023). Recently, there has been a higher demand from Gen Z for inclusive fashion. This generation is more diverse than any other, so they value inclusivity. Gen Z has changed the idea of gender. A high percentage of trans and non-binary people comes from Gen Z, and as a generation, they are much more accepting of people. Fenty Beauty, a popular beauty brand amongst Gen Z, is a brand who are inclusive of all sizes, races and gender. They have 50 different foundation shades and brand ambassadors from every gender. Therefore available to be consumed by every person.

Movements like Black Lives Matter have  pushed brands to reflect on their diversity. The fashion industry has responded in a generally positive way towards diversity, but how genuine is it? Jacquemus Spring 2021 seemed to be a beautiful and diverse runway show, with praising articles written about their positive diversity. After a behind-the-scenes selfie was shared of their all-white team, people started to question how genuine is their brand diversity. They were ‘using diversity simply to put on a show for the media.’ (Lang, 2020)

People skills

In today’s society, there are key people skills brands need in order to succeed. With the dynamic market, brands need to be flexible and open-minded to cope with any changes in the market. Brands need to be able to adapt to evolving trends and the society we live in. Brands recently have had to cope with changes like coronavirus lockdowns and technological advances to stay connected to consumers.

References 

Hunt, K., 2017, ‘is the fashion world finally getting diversity’ https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/longform/a37245/fashions-ever-evolving-new-diversity/

Lang, m., 2020, ‘dear jacquemus, you have a major diversity problem’ https://www.rowdymagazine.com/post/dear-jacquemus-you-have-a-major-diversity-problem

McKinsey & company., 2023, ‘what is gen z’ https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z

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Planet, fast vs slow fashion

Planet, fast vs slow fashion

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How can the fashion industry use the circular economy model and sustainable development goals to tackle issues like their contributions to landfill, air and land pollution? And increase their sustainability for a better planet.

The fashion industry is one of the main contributors to world pollution. Now more than ever, brands are having to asses how their production and consumption can be more sustainable. The effects could be irreversible to the planet if the industry continues at its current rates. The fast fashion industry is producing massive amounts of waste due to their overproduction of micro seasons. “ 1.29 million tonnes of textile waste is produced every year” (Igini, 2023). However, there are ways to reduce their waste and pollution. Slow fashion brands are finding ways of recycling, repurposing and reducing their resources. One way may be using the circular economy model. This is a system for sustainable development. Turning old and used goods into useable resources for others, minimising waste (R.Stahel,2016). Although fast fashion brands like Primark and SHEIN are largely responsible for these statistics, many designers are trying to make a positive change for the planet. Patrick Mcdowell is a British designer and an advocate for sustainability. His work is built around three pillars “people, planet and the queer community,” (Bergeron, 2022). His garments are made from reclaimed materials. His collection ‘Cinderella shall go to the Football’ used “upcycled Swarovski Crystal jewelled boots,” (Burney, 2023). 

The 17 sustainable development goals are targets that should be met by 2030. They are responses to the biggest environmental and social issues that may soon be irreversible (Gwilt, 2020.) Because of the fashion industry’s contributions to landfill and pollution, brands need to put these goals into practice. Goal 12 of the SDGs promotes sustainable consumption and production patterns. Brands can do this by reducing their waste, emissions and their use of new resources. Although many luxury designers are achieving this goal, fast fashion brands are the issue. But will they aim to change? In 2022 SHEIN’S revenue was 700 million dollars (Douglass,2023), whereas sustainable designer Stella McCartney had revenue of 32,49 million pounds (39, 77 million USD) (Hughes, 2023). This shows that SHEIN are massively benefitting from their unsustainable production methods. In addition, Their 2025 revenue target is 58.5 billion dollars (Douglass, 2023). This goal suggests their main brand aim may be profit increase instead of increasing their sustainability. 

In short, sustainable development needs to happen in both the fast and slow fashion industry to make a difference to the planet. However it is unlikely that fast fashion brands will aim to be more sustainable as they will loose major profit.

References 

Bargeron, Sadie., 2022, ‘professor Jimmy Choo -approved designer Patrick McDowell on brand collaboration,’ https://jingdaily.com/jimmy-choo-approved-designer-patrick-mcdowell-on-brand-collaboration/

Burney, Chloe., 2023, ‘Patrick Mcdowell’s AW23 catwalk declares sustainable ‘Cinderella shall go to the football,’ https://www.theindustry.fashion/patrick-mcdowells-aw23-catwalk-declares-sustainable-cinderella-shall-go-to-the-football/

Douglass, Rachel, 2023, ‘SHEIN sets ambitious revenue target ahead of IPO,’ https://fashionunited.com/news/business/shein-sets-ambitious-revenue-target-ahead-of-ipo/2023022152393

Gwilt, Alison., 2020, ‘ A practical guide to sustainable fashion ,’ London, Bloomsbury, publishing.

Hughes, Huw., 2023, ‘Stella McCartney revenue up 14 percent in 2021, but losses widen,’ https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/stella-mccartney-revenue-up-14-percent-in-2021-but-losses-widen/2023011367264

Igini, Martina., 2023, ‘10 concerning fast fashion waste statistics’, https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/

McCartney,Stella., 2019, against the change winter ‘19 campaign, https://www.stellamccartney.com/us/en/stellas-world/agents-of-change-the-winter-19-campaign.html

R.Stahel, Walter., 2016, ‘The circular economy’, https://www.nature.com/articles/531435a 

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My favourite brand

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Annie’s Ibiza is my favourite brand. The brand started in Ibiza, one of the most popular party spots in the world. This is where a lot of the inspiration for her collections come from, which is reflected in her fun and girly designs. The clothes are covered in sparkles, tassels and feathers, which has given the brand a partying and Ibiza vibe. However, many of their pieces have a historic aesthetic to them and look as if they should be in a museum, taking inspiration from Victorian fashion and eastern culture.

As well as having their own collections, Annie’s Ibiza started by the founder, Annie, collecting vintage pieces from amazing designers. She started buying and selling these pieces on eBay, which lead to her having a store in spitafields. Annie then fell in love with Ibiza, where she opened her first store, and then went on to opening another on Carnaby street.  Walking into the stores is a unique shopping experience and feels like walking into a wardrobe because of the customers and staff dressing up and dancing around in their collections. 

Annie has shown her runway collections at multiple fashion weeks. Her recent collection was shown at Septembers London fashion week, at the members club Apollo’s muse, inside the restaurant bacchanalia. The venue fitted the slow and small runway show perfectly, with its heavenly Greek inspired interior. While the models were walking the show there was a live opera singer performing to the guests, which was very fitting for the shows aesthetic. The collection itself was inspired by Victorian style and aspects of nature. Some of the ready to wear pieces has spider webs on whereas some had Victorian bell sleeves and ruffle necks. The whole collection came together so beautifully and has been my favourite runway show of Septembers fashion week.

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