Cathy Hu

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Purpose

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Purpose is the last of the four pillars. Purpose influences every aspect of a fashion brand and is always at the centre of any decision a brand makes, and the brand structure and product development of a fashion brand need to take into account what their purpose is and include the interaction with the consumer. Brand purpose is sometimes a way to get to know the brand quickly and to broaden the range of consumers. Consumers can learn about the fashion philosophy and beliefs of the brand through the brand purpose of the brand, which can drive consumers to make purchases and also attract new target audiences.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an essential element of the branding philosophy and is defined by the European Commission (2017) as “meaning that companies take responsibility for their impact on society”. CSR is inextricably linked to the fashion industry, and each brand applies the concept to its own branding needs. CSR not only helps brands fulfil their desire to help more people, but it also makes their employees more loyal to their brand, which in turn makes the brand more appealing to consumers. Commitment to charity is one of the brand philosophies of some fashion brands. The brand philosophy is also a communication tool between the brand and the outside world, through which the brand communicates its competitiveness to the consumer, proves the brand’s competitive advantage over its competitors, and helps the brand build an image in the minds of its consumers so that they become aware of and interested in the brand.

Brand philosophy and purpose are what Gen Z consumers want brands to communicate to them, and according to interviews with Gen Z consumers, 57% of Gen Z consumers want brands to make a profit while trying to make the world a better place. How to communicate with Gen Z consumers has always been a major concern for brands, as they are considered to be today’s core influencers. Gen Z consumers were born in a very digital age, so communicating with them can be prioritised in a digital way, and Gen Z consumers have a clear preference for shopping on their mobile phones. Gen Z consumers have a clear perception of their needs and preferences; they are increasingly favouring retailers, and they believe that they are more likely to see distinctive designs and pieces than to pay for a luxury brand’s logo when buying a luxury brand’s products.

Overall, the brand in the establishment of their brand philosophy and brand purpose should be clear about their brand positioning, how to establish a brand image, consider who the audience is, consumer demand, and consumption preferences; these are the factors that the brand needs to consider, and the brand should try to meet the needs of consumers because these factors and the brand purpose are closely related to each other; there is an inextricable link between them. The brand also needs to create its own competitive advantage through its philosophy.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability (no date). Available at: http://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com.arts.idm.oclc.org/bfccoll/encyclopedia-chapter (Accessed: 27 October 2023).

Meet Generation Z: Shaping the future of shopping | McKinsey (no date). Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/meet-generation-z-shaping-the-future-of-shopping (Accessed: 27 October 2023).

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Profit

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The four pillars of a fashion business are Planet, People, Profit and Purpose. Profit is the most important factor for every fashion brand, and all their efforts are aimed at achieving one ultimate purpose: maximising profit. Profit is one of the factors that a brand is bound to consider before making decisions and planning.

 As can be seen from the data, the fashion industry is huge, and the global apparel market is expected to reach $1.53 trillion in revenue by 2022. This is a very large number and shows that the impact of the fashion industry on society will also be huge, and conversely, the impact of external factors on the fashion industry is unavoidable. The fashion industry is now slowly becoming one of the biggest industries in the world, and before the global outbreak, their annual revenue could even reach the frightening figure of $2.5 trillion, so this has led to a lot of people being unemployed or facing financial difficulties during the outbreak. As for the UK, as a globally developed country, the fashion industry has always been a big industry in the UK as well. Currently, 800,000 jobs in the UK are provided by the fashion industry, providing employment opportunities for a large portion of the population.

 The fashion industry, one of the largest and most fragmented industries in the world, is made up of several levels: the production of raw materials, mainly fibres and textiles, as well as furs and skins; fashion design, where designers provide the inspiration to create fashionable items and assemble the garments; and retail sales, where various forms of advertisement and promotions are used to achieve a purpose, enabling brands to satisfy consumer demand for clothing at a profit. retail sales, through various forms of advertising and promotion, with the aim of enabling the brand to satisfy consumer demand for clothing at a profit. In fashion marketing, where the goal is to maximise the sales and profitability of the brand, success depends on understanding consumer needs and responding with appropriate products. So on another level, the success of these sectors is measured using economic profit.

 In a period of economic instability, consumers’ psychological activities and behaviours will change. What brands should do is adapt to and accept this change in a very short period of time, analyse it, and then make adjustments to the brand’s design, marketing strategy, and tactics to maintain the brand’s competitiveness. Because of the rise of digital media, the current market trend is gradually moving towards digitalization, and more consumers are shopping online, which means that consumer preferences and habits are slowly changing. The priority for brands is to increase their digital efforts and focus more on the feedback from this segment. And since, according to the survey, H&M and Adidas have been able to grow their sales despite the economic uncertainty because of better solutions than rival brands through cost reductions and efficient investments, brands should also consider the need for better distribution channels and in-store experiences, as well as investing in and upgrading their customer relationship management systems.

 The most important thing for a brand is to create an image in the mind of the customer. They will then need a representative adjective, which is the brand’s market position, which also allows consumers to categorise and position them. There is always a need for trust between art and business. When designing and creating a new collection for a brand, the creative director must not erode the brand’s iconic symbols and characteristics but rather build on them to innovate, which requires the brand to have complete trust in the creative director. To bridge the gap between creativity and business, it is important to focus on consumer feedback and preferences. Creativity is important, but consumer behaviour, habits, and preferences are equally important to brands, which need consumers to buy their products. On another level, the creative director of a brand is the soul of the brand, and to a certain extent, it dominates the direction of the brand, so it is necessary to listen to the needs of the consumer, to understand what makes the consumer disgusted and what makes the consumer excited, because the consumer has its own opinion, and the brand’s design is not only to innovate but also to be able to be accepted by the consumer.

To conclude, for fashion brands, the most important thing is that they need to understand the current fashion situation and adapt to some changes, including changes in customer preferences and external factors that may affect customers and change the customer’s consumption psychology. They also need to prepare in advance in order to ensure that profits are maximised.

The two faces of fashion-industry performance | McKinsey (no date). Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-two-faces-of-fashion-industry-performance (Accessed: 22 October 2023).

Fashion industry – Design, Manufacturing, Trends | Britannica (no date). Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/fashion-industry/Fashion-design-and-manufacturing (Accessed: 22 October 2023).

Niinimäki, K. (2017) ‘Fashion in a Circular Economy’, in C.E. Henninger et al. (eds) Sustainability in Fashion. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 151–169. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51253-2_8.

Global Fashion Industry Statistics (no date) FashionUnited. Available at: https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics (Accessed: 22 October 2023).

Overdiek, A. (2016) ‘Fashion designers and their business partners: juggling creativity and commerce’, International Journal of Fashion Studies, 3(1), pp. 27–47.

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People

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The four key pillars are the planet, people, profit and purpose. People are an essential and integral part of the fashion industry, as without them, the industry would not be able to continue to progress, and their behaviour can influence the overall trends of the industry, such as consumer trends and purchasing preferences. Fashion brands need a certain amount of money to design and launch a new collection, so people’s purchases provide them with the funds to continue to operate, and fashion brands always need to take into account people’s needs and preferences in any decisions they make and incorporate them into the design and manufacture of their garments.

Generation Z (Gen Z) as consumers refers to the generation born between 1996 and 2010. Because they were born surrounded by the Internet and social networks, their consumer attitudes have been influenced as a result. They may be influencing consumer trends across the market, with Gen Z consumers choosing to invest more in themselves and focusing more on product continuity. The current consumer landscape has tended to change the definition of consumption from possession to acquisition, and it could be argued that Gen Z consumers are creating new forms of consumption, choosing to spend their money on services such as takeaways, ride-sharing, or subscriptions to music and social networking apps, turning products into services and services into connections with consumers. It also means they are willing to pay for personalised products, such as expensive customised services, for themselves. In addition, Gen Z consumers are more environmentally aware and concerned and will endeavour to buy green products to protect the environment. The report shows that about 10% of Gen Z make regular efforts to buy green products (Smith 2020).

Gen Z consumers live their lives surrounded by the internet and technology; this generation is defined as young people between the ages of 6 and 26 whose lives are tied to technology. This also means that they are a target demographic for digital marketing, as they cannot live without social media and the internet. If fashion brands, such as fast-moving brands, are adept at and regularly use email or social media to promote their clothing, they can give Gen Z consumers more opportunities to learn about the brand. According to the interview survey, 45% of consumers said they want retailers and fashion brands to provide same-day delivery services, which also means that fashion brands and retailers should This also means that fashion brands and retailers should pay attention to this demand and look for the best way to solve this need, and some brands may even consider opening offline shops. Amazon has opened a number of offline shops which provide a lot of convenience to the customers as they can shop directly from the offline shops, this allows the customers to see the products in real life and pick them up quickly, this is also a way to attract the Gen Z consumers as the Gen Z customers value the authenticity and utility of the products and they are averse to the process of waiting for the receipt of the products, they want to receive their purchases as soon as possible. However, due to the emergence of COVID-19, the form of consumption of Gen Z consumers is significantly more inclined to online shopping, and it is reported that 63.5% of Gen Z consumers do not like to shop in shops because they do not want to spend time queuing up. According to Gen Z and Millennials 2022, in the next 12 months, 71% of people are expected to buy clothes and accessories online, which gives fashion brands an idea of how appealing it will be to Gen Z consumers if they have a well-established and convenient online purchasing channel that makes it easy for customers to quickly browse, select, buy, and return clothes. A large portion of Gen Z consumers want brands to give them the right sizing advice, indicating that they are looking for authenticity in their clothing, and if a brand can show customers the full design of their clothing on their platform or in their offline shop, it will be interesting for Gen Z consumers to see what the brand has to offer.

Fashion diversity implies a clear distinction between different groups of people, such as different skin colours, different body shapes, different races, and different orientations. The realisation of fashion diversity can be achieved by catering to the increasing demand for different body shapes and sizes, as well as the demand for unisex clothing, such as men’s dresses. Fashion brands can start by launching online AI size analyses to give consumers a quicker and clearer understanding of their actual sizes and also to allow fashion brands to better collect data from a diverse range of customers so that they can make adjustments and add sizes to their own branded garments. Victoria Secret has taken action in this area of diversity in fashion by using social media to communicate inclusivity and friendliness to the plus-size community. They chose to collaborate with Remi Bader on TikTok and collaborated on a plus-size collection, an action that also encourages the demand for plus-size lingerie and promotes inclusivity and diversity in the brand.

90% of fashion executives expect their organisations to face a skills shortage. For fashion brands, the skills they need may not be the same as those of other brands. A successful fashion brand requires successful craftsmanship, so brands focus a lot on the choice of fabrics and good craftsmen, and creativity is also a necessary skill. Versatility is very much needed by fashion brands, as the success of a fashion brand also depends on the needs and preferences of consumers. For a successful fashion brand, their staff needs to be able to be flexible and adapt their designs to meet the needs of different groups of consumers, as they may be dealing with unisex customers or people with disabilities. It would be beneficial to the success of a fashion brand if they could take these situations into account and quickly adapt the design of their clothing to meet the needs of different groups of consumers.

In conclusion, Gen Z customers are closely influencing the direction of the fashion industry, and their preferences are a reference factor that the fashion industry cannot ignore. The fashion industry should always be aware of and adapt to changes in people’s needs and consumption trends, as people are an indispensable factor in the fashion industry, and the fashion marketing industry in particular should take into account consumer preferences and consumption patterns in order to better target and market to consumers.

What makes Gen Z tick? (no date). Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/themes/what-makes-gen-z-tick (Accessed: 13 October 2023).

Moran, G. (no date) ‘Gen Z and Millennials 2022’, Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 (Accessed: 13 October 2023).

How can the apparel market take steps towards more inclusivity? | CBI (no date). Available at: https://www.cbi.eu/news/how-can-apparel-market-take-steps-towards-more-inclusivity (Accessed: 13 October 2023).

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Planet

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In the realm of fashion business, the planet, people, profit, and purpose are known as the four key pillars. They are also the four factors that all brands must take into consideration.

With the prevalence of fast fashion in recent years, the fashion industry is having an increasing impact and harming the planet. Even though fashion’s impact on the environment has surpassed that of aviation and shipping, they are causing water sources to dry up. While fashion is growing, the industry is also polluting rivers and streams. This is a situation that the fashion industry has to take seriously at the moment. A piece of clothing generates pollution at every step of the way, from raw materials to production and use. According to statistics, 85% of textiles are thrown into landfill factories every year; even washing clothes is harming the planet. Compared to the emissions of 50 billion plastic bottles, this is a huge number, and if this issue is not taken seriously, the damage done to the planet by the fashion industry is irreversible.

Sustainable Development Goals are a common blueprint provided by all members of the United Nations in 2015 for the peace and prosperity of humanity and the planet now and in the future, totaling 17 SDGs. Let’s talk about the 13th goal, climate action. Take urgent action to address climate change and its impacts. The climate impact of fashion is overlooked by many because people simply don’t think of science and fashion together as two related industries, but according to Fashion Climate, the fashion industry emits around 2.1 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, equivalent to 4% of total global emissions.The fashion industry can reduce its carbon footprint by encouraging brands to use easily dissolvable materials to make their clothes.

One of the actions that can be taken to improve the damage that the fashion industry is doing to the planet is to reuse materials as much as possible, to reuse materials and energy as much as possible, and to implement a circular economy system. The circular economy is a mode of production and consumption, an economic system. It is about recycling, maximising the durability of materials, producing as much as possible for recycling, and then recycling energy and materials. A circular economy in the fashion industry means increasing the frequency of use of clothing, which is very helpful and necessary to reduce the negative impact of the fashion industry on the planet. There are many ways in which people can implement a circular economy, as most people do not realise the impact that the fashion industry is having on the planet and do not think about taking action to reduce the harm done to the planet, such as starting to buy clothes less frequently and starting to think about the necessity of purchasing clothes, which is overlooked with the prevalence of promotional campaigns. People should be encouraged to buy less and better clothes. In addition to this, people could be encouraged to start looking at the choice of fabrics used to make clothes, as some materials are difficult to dissolve, but clothes made from materials such as organic cotton would help the circular economy to be practised in the fashion industry, as this material is more easily dissolved.

In short, the current fashion industry is causing harm to the planet that cannot be ignored, and people need to reconsider their needs. Brands need to pay attention to the choice of materials and try to market to consumers in terms of protecting the environment by encouraging them to buy clothing made from relatively environmentally friendly fabrics, rather than chasing trends and blindly buying fast fashion clothing.

Maiti, R. (2023) Fast Fashion: Its Detrimental Effect on the Environment, Earth.Org. Available at: https://earth.org/fast-fashions-detrimental-effect-on-the-environment/ (Accessed: 6 October 2023).

Kumar, A. (2023) ‘Why Sustainable Fashion Matters: Learn the Benefits & Trends’, Emeritus Online Courses, 9 January. Available at: https://emeritus.org/blog/sustainability-sustainable-fashion/ (Accessed: 6 October 2023).

Taking action on fashion and the climate crisis : Fashion Revolution (no date). Available at: https://www.fashionrevolution.org/climatecrisis/ (Accessed: 6 October 2023).

Condé Nast (no date). Available at: https://www.condenast.com/glossary (Accessed: 6 October 2023).

Moran, G. (2022) ‘Collaborating for Change: sustainability report 2022’, Drapers, 28 June. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/drapers-bespoke/collaborating-for-change-sustainability-report-2022 (Accessed: 6 October 2023).

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