Katerina Osmani

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Purpose

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Purpose, the pillar that encapsulates the true meaning behind any brand, from the reasons for its creation, to the ambitions they strive to work towards, purpose is the foundation a business is built on.  

A brand’s philosophy, which includes their mission, vision, and value proposition, is essential to its success, due to its ability to give a brand a sense of identity, thereby differentiating them from their competitors. In correlation to Mitterfellner’s (2023) six aspects of luxury, she describes the output as what they are currently doing, its vision as where the brand intends to go, and its values as their beliefs, clearly demonstrating the necessary requirements into discovering a brands purpose. Establishing a mission to work towards other than just profit, allows a business to function with a CSR. A corporate social responsibility, the idea of a business taking into consideration the environment and communities around them and choosing to help them in some way (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018), provides a USP which can attract a variety of different consumers. Brands such as Stella McCartney are notorious for the CSR and sustainable practices in which they operate, known for their transparency they have with their customers, providing information on their supply chains (Stella McCartney, 2023).

Now, where the newest customer is Generation Z, business must consider their preferences to effectively communicate their products and services towards the demographic. For example, the large stance they have on sustainability, with 61% of Gen Z consumers stating that they would pay more for a product that is provided by a business which is sustainable and socially responsible (Londrigan and Jenkins, 2018). In addition to these strategies, the use of influencers at the forefront of its marketing to communicate their purpose, has been proven successful, given the impact social media has on the generation (Balis, 2023). The partnership of these two ideas, in the form of brand and celebrity collaborations, creates a platform to raise awareness whilst engaging a pool of young consumers. Such as the Nike X Billie Eilish AF1 Low collaboration, where Billie Eilish comments on wanting to highlight the importance of recycling and acting to better the planet. In doing so, the trainers were created using the leftover material waste from the singer’s prior collaboration with Nike, the AF1 High, promoting the sustainable practices that Nike are striving towards (Nike, 2022), like so many others, distinguishing a business’s true purpose.

 

Reference list:

Balis, J. (2023), ‘How the Best Brand-Influencer partnerships Reach Gen Z’, Harvard Business Review, (Online), Available at: https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/personal/r_zilkha_fashion_arts_ac_uk/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fr%5Fzilkha%5Ffashion%5Farts%5Fac%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2FFBS%20Intro%20To%2FFBS%2DIntro%20To%202023%2FLectures%20and%20Seminars%2FWeek%205%2FHow%20the%20Best%20Brand%2DInfluencer%20Partnerships%20Reach%20Gen%20Z%20new%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fr%5Fzilkha%5Ffashion%5Farts%5Fac%5Fuk%2FDocuments%2FFBS%20Intro%20To%2FFBS%2DIntro%20To%202023%2FLectures%20and%20Seminars%2FWeek%205&ga=1 (Accessed 24/10/23).

Londrigan, M.P., and Jenkins, J.M. (2018), ‘Fashion Supply Chain Management’, New York: Fairchild, (Online), Available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781501317798&tocid=b-9781501317798-chapter3&pdfid=9781501317798.ch-003.pdf#page-41 (Accessed 28/10/23).

Mitterfellner, O. (2023), ‘Luxury Fashion Brand Management: Unifying Fashion with Sustainability’, New York: Routledge, (Online), Available at:  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=7260416(Accessed 28/10/23).

Nike, (2022), ‘Nike x Billie Eilish AF1 Low’, (Online), Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-x-billie-eilish-af1-low (Accessed 24/10/23).

Stella McCartney, (2023), ‘Social Responsibility and Human Rights’, (Online), Available at: https://www.stellamccartney.com/gb/en/sustainability/social-sustainability.html (Accessed 28/10/23).

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Profit

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Profit, the essential factor that turns fashion into business, giving the ambitious mind the ability to generate and monetise success through their creativity. Used as a measuring tool for decision makers within a business such as CEO’s and shareholders, profit can help establish the performance, pinpointing where growth and decline lie.

In a large industry like fashion, many factors contribute into the profitability of a business. Having globally reached a revenue of 1.53 trillion US dollars in 2022, fashion could be considered one of the most profitable industries, especially since its forecast to increase to 1.7 trillion US dollars in 2023 (Smith, 2023).

In relation to the varying aspects that make up the total of the fashion industry, their numerous sectors perform differently. For example, the luxury fashion sector amounts for 111.50 billion US dollars in 2023, with a forecast to grow annually by 3.39% (Statista, 2023). This may be due to the connotations luxury fashion items have with investments. More and more customers are seeing the appreciation on luxury handbags, such as the 12% annual increase on Hermes and Chanel bags, noticing the potential on a return on investment (Nguyen, 2023). Alike to the watch market which generate an even higher return on investment for brands such as Patek Philippe, who over the past five years has a ROI of 207%, or Rolex with 93% (Douglas, 2022). Other sectors that have seen exponential growth is the second-hand market, with an increase of 28% in 2022 (Russell, 2023), considering consumers continual rise in awareness and crave for sustainability (Hethron and Ulasewicz, 2015).

In uncertain economic times like today, where the pandemic took a great toll on finances across the world, it could be considered more difficult for a brand to remain competitive due to the decrease in disposable income for many customers. However, with the dependability of social media, businesses can use it for marketing purposes, communicating with more than just fashion buyers and press. Social media increases the speed in which information flows, with instant updates on new products for consumers. In addition to the use of influencers to drive sales of certain items and the direct links to purchase said items, social media acts as an affordable marketing campaign that is destined to work every time (Hethron and Ulasewicz, 2015).

A creative director, whose job roles include, lead fashion designer, brand visionary, manager of multiple teams, and a brand ambassador, are also left with the task of bridging the gap between creativity and commerce. Their collections must generate revenue or fear being exchanged for a different designer; therefore, their priority is creating pieces that have a greater likelihood of selling, compared to more artistic garments that lack practicality (Mitterfellner, 2023). After this is achieved successfully creative directors are able to refocus on creativity. For this reason, all brands should be handled differently, the greatest example being Karl Lagerfeld, who whilst positioned as creative director for three different brands, Fendi, Chanel, and lastly his eponymous label Karl Lagerfeld, he accommodated for each individual brand, never failing to generate profit (Mitterfellner, 2023).

Reference list:

Douglas, A. (2022), ‘Rolex trails Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet for 5-year return on investment’, WatchPro, (Online), Available at: https://www.watchpro.com/rolex-trails-patek-philippe-and-audemars-piguet-for-5-year-return-on-investment/#:~:text=Rolex%20might%20be%20the%20most,not%20even%20take%20second%20place. (Accessed 22/10/2023).

Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (2015), ‘Sustainable Fashion: What’s Next? A Conversation about Issues, Practices and Possibilities’, New York: Bloomsbury, (Online) Available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781501312250&tocid=b-9781501312250-chapter9&pdfid=9781501312250.ch-009.pdf#page-204 (Accessed 20/10/2023).

Mitterfellner, O. (2023) ‘Luxury Fashion Brand Management and sustainability: Unifying fashion with sustainability’, New York: Routledge, (Online) Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=7260416 (Accessed 20/10/2023).

Nguyen, H. (2023), ‘Why Hermes Birkin bags are a good investment’, VnExpress, (Online), Available at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/style/why-hermes-birkin-bags-are-a-good-investment-4575921.html (Accessed 21/10/2023).

Russell, M. (2023), ‘Second-hand apparel market soaring as awareness improves – report’, JustStyle, (Online) Available at: https://www.just-style.com/news/secondhand-apparel-market-soaring-as-awareness-improves-report/:~:text=The%20global%20secondhand%20apparel%20market%20is%20expected%20to%20grow%203X,made%20up%20of%20secondhand%20apparel. (Accessed 21/10/2023).

Smith, P. (2023), ‘Global apparel market – statistics and facts’, Statista, (Online) Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/#topicOverview (Accessed 21/10/23).

Statista, ‘Luxury Fashion – Worldwide’, (Online) Available at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/luxury-goods/luxury-fashion/worldwide#:~:text=Revenue%20in%20the%20Luxury%20Fashion,US%2427%2C150.00m%20in%202023). (Accessed 21/10/2023).

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People

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People, the pillar essential in the fashion business world, with the power to make sales obsolete without its consideration. It reflects a consumers wants and needs from within a product to the way it is marketed to its audience. Businesses often group their consumers within their generations, with the focus currently on Gen Z.

Gen Z, the generation born between the years 1996 and 2010, is one that differs dramatically from their ancestors. Given their label as “digital natives”, which alludes to the integral part the internet played in their lives, having been the first generation to grow up with it, means that their technological abilities are key in the insight to the way they consume or choose to shop. Other aspects of their upbringing such as climate change affecting much of their childhood, influences the ethics and sustainability considered before purchases (McKinsey & Company, 2023).

With the new emerging markets appearing in parallel with the new consumers of Gen Z, businesses must create alternate methods of marketing in order to attract the audience on an individual basis. Given Gen Z’s dependency with social media, marketing campaigns projected on these platforms devise a primary source in gaining the consumers attention (Mitterfellner, 2019). Closely linked with their particular care for the ease of shopping, social media provides direct links to products which could generate a larger pool of Gen Z customers. In accompany to this, businesses must take into consideration the generations spending cap as they are the youngest customer. Gen Z would have to remain in a realm of affordability when shopping due to the lack of finance they would have at hand considering most only work part time whilst still in full or part time education (McKinsey & Company, 2023). Therefore, the idea that Amit Sharma (2016) eloquently presents, that the AI technology we have available should be used to recommend products and set prices to appeal to individual consumers could be proven beneficial.

In respect to Gen Z’s clear awareness of inclusivity, brands that respond with diversity, are admired by the generation. For example, the rebrand of Victoria’s Secret has demonstrated this with models that appear in all races and body types, which creates an inclusive environment for the consumer to feel a part of (Victoria’s Secret, 2023).

However, it’s not always about the consumer, but also about the people working within the business, requiring a number of skills to ensure its success. These include but are not limited to, communicative and collaborative skills, given the fast-paced industry that is fashion, which operates in a dynamic market with continually evolving ideas. This indicates that the success of a fashion business is determined by the consumer, the employees, and overall, the people.

Reference List:

Sharma, A. (2016), ‘How Predictive AI Will Change Shopping’, Harvard Business Review, (Online) Available at: https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-predictive-ai-will-change-shopping (Accessed 13/10/23).

McKinsey & Company. (2023), ‘What is Gen Z?’, (Online) Available at:  https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/mckinsey%20explainers/what%20is%20gen%20z/what-is-gen-z.pdf (Accessed 9/10/23).

Mitterfellner, O. (2019), ‘Fashion Marketing and Communication: Theory and Practice Across the Fashion Industry’, Taylor & Francis Group, Milton, (Online) Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=5981798 (Accessed 10/10/23).

Victoria’s Secret & Co. (2023), ‘Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Strategy’, (Online) Available at: https://www.victoriassecretandco.com/corporate-responsibility/inclusion/our-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-strategy (Accessed 14/10/23).

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Planet

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Planet, a quintessential pillar of fashion, typically referring to the importance of sustainability due to the extreme impact fashion has on the environment. Fashion is currently labelled as the second largest industrial polluter, responsible for 10% of global pollution, surpassing the number of emissions contributed by air travel (Clarke, 2021). With the immense damage already caused towards the planet, the collaboration of ideas between fashion businesses could benefit the search for a solution to repair the harm that has been created.

 

The circular economy, key towards the drive of sustainability, is built around three main principles: designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). All of which depict to the central idea of garments flowing through a cycle, avoiding waste and the dreaded landfill through the acts of repurposing and recycling. In conjunction to this the Ellen MacArthur Foundation released a report demonstrating a model that prioritizes clothes and textiles to maintain at their highest value during use and to re-enter the economy after use, therefore never becoming waste (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). This system exhibits sustainability at its core, essentially re-working the original life cycle of a garment. Previously following the order of design, production, distribution, use and finally end of life (Gwilt, 2020), to removing the last stage and exchanging it with reuse.

 

Sustainability in relation to fashion regards the ability to maintain a certain level of production without the cause of harm to society and the environment. According to the United Nations Environmental program, sustainability is composed of three key pillars: society, environment and economy (UNEP, 2023) which closely links to the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDG’s), 17 aims envisioned to solve some of the world’s greatest problems such as poverty and hunger (UN, 2023). Goal twelve, responsible consumption and production, largely relates to the fashion industry given the rise of fast fashion and the increase in waste which followed. As a major contributor to world pollution, textiles production accords to 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually (Rimarcikova, 2023). Clothing brand Patagonia, known for their devotion towards sustainability, famously advertised a jacket with the slogan “Don’t Buy This Jacket” in 2011, a message with the purpose of helping their consumers question the necessity of the purchase of products (Patagonia, 2011). The marketing campaign used depicts a selfless approach from the business itself, sacrificing potential sales for the sake of sustainability, depicting a true dedication to the cause, an act more businesses should follow in order to make an impact on healing our planet.

 

‘Don’t Buy This Jacket’, Patagonia

 

Reference List:

Clarke, R. (2021), ‘Fast Fashion’s Carbon Footprint’, Carbon Literacy. (Online) https://carbonliteracy.com/fast-fashions-carbon-footprint/ (Accessed 7/10/23).

 

Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2017), ‘A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future’. (Online) https://emf.thirdlight.com/file/24/IwnEDbfI5JTFoAIw_2QI2Yg-6y/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Summary-of-Findings_Updated_1-12-17.pdf (Accessed 7/10/23).

 

Gwilt, A. (2020), ‘A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion’, London: Fairchild Books. (Online) https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia?docid=b-9781350067059 (Accessed 5/10/23).

 

UN (2023), ‘The 17 Goals’. (Online) https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed 7/10/23).

 

UNEP (2023), ‘For people and planet’. (Online) https://www.unep.org/resources/people-and-planet-unep-strategy-2022-2025 (Accessed 7/10/23).

 

Patagonia (2011), ‘Don’t Buy This Jacket, Black Friday and the New York Times’. (Online) https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/stories/dont-buy-this-jacket-black-friday-and-the-new-york-times/story-18615.html (Accessed 7/10/23)

 

Rimarcikova, K. (2023), ‘Planet Earth and Fashion’ https://ual-moodle-sitedata.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/c6/51/c65101fe12c52fe834a680d4ed0f4a9de6182af3?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22WK2%20L1-Monday%2012.15-1.15%20%20PLANET%20%20FASHION_KR_2023%20.pdf%22&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA2PCH3OG65JHUZNKL%2F20231008%2Feu-west-2%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20231008T161856Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21544&X-Amz-Signature=611d32fc4cdafc32d4bf260ad4a1498257dfdfcedc360dd2f33f2e67943d0bde(Accessed 2/10/23)

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