Lily Cassidy

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The People of fashion

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-Fashion can’t exist without the ‘People’, the consumers- the 8.1 billion human beings who contribute to the Fashion industry. Each of us has the option to choose where,when and how we spend or choose not to spend our money (Hethron & Ulasewicz, 2015). People across the world have individual styles, cultures and expressions. There needs to be inner shift of human growth in order to reach the chances of sustainability. That will start with today’s People, GenerationZ.

-Who are GenerationZ? GenZ in particular differs from the generations of shoppers before them: they are the first to grow up as digital natives – surrounded by technology and the internet for their entire lives (Morgan, 2022). Around 2.6 billion people make up GenZ.They live in a hyperconnected world where individuality is promoted. GenerationZ is very comfortable with collecting and cross referencing many sources of information and with integrating virtual and offline experiences (Francis & Hoefel, 2018). 

-Brands who want to attract GenerationZ need to consider the individual consumer and society they are a part of. Businesses must rethink how they deliver value to the customer, rebalance scale and mass production against personalization (Francis & Hoefel, 2018). Technology has rapidly increased since the first telephone was invented in 1876, companies now target Gene through social media, AI, gaming and many more platforms. The luxury fashion house Balenciaga partnered with the software developer ‘Epic Games’ to release a fashion collection inside Fortnite. Players can buy digital outfits inspired by real-life Balenciaga pieces (Contagious, 2021). After the brand created a series of virtual looks for Fortnite, Balenciaga search volumes increased by 49%. (Sanghvi, 2022).

-On the other hand, brands also need to consider the crucial factor of diversity. In the 21st century diversity could range from social,ethical, sexual orientations and peoples gender. One brand that has responded to diversity is ‘Fenty X Savage’ by Rhianna. The collection of sexy lingerie celebrates fearlessness, confidence and inclusivity. From flattering babydolls to form fitting corsets, we have lingerie for women to feel totally and completely free to be themselves (Fenty,2018).Harper’s Bazaar called it  “a celebration of racial diversity and body inclusivity.” (Gonzales,2018). However a brand that has not responded to diversity well is Victoria Secret, their previous promotion of unrealistic body standards and recent criticisms from the public about their 2023 tour has not shown many elements of diversity over the years. 

Fenty x Savage
Victoria Secret

To conclude, important people skills needed to make these brands successful can range from ability to listen and understand, communication, passionate, self awareness but also technological and marketing skills. Individuals need to understand the consumer but also the business. 

Reference list:

https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/campaign-of-the-week-balenciaga-drops-fashion-collection-inside-fortnite

 –Gonzales, E (2019). “How to Watch Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Show Online and Avoid Fashion Week FOMO”

–Hethorn, J., & Ulasewicz, C. (Eds.). (2015). Connecting with people on sustainable practices.

Image 1 – https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.epicgames.com%2Fsite%2Fen-US%2Fnews%2Fbalenciaga-brings-high-fashion-to-fortnite&psig=AOvVaw1JIVzDahsrOoI9trRXWq74&ust=1697396514512000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCIjgivSc9oEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAE

Image 2 – https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.glamourmagazine.co.uk%2Farticle%2Frihanna-savage-fenty-sheer-x-collection&psig=AOvVaw2iNtrNWfsknd8mG1fS_pIC&ust=1697396191015000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCICD9tmb9oEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI

Image 3 – https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesun.co.uk%2Ffabulous%2F7698057%2Fvictorias-secret-dark-side%2F&psig=AOvVaw00WVg3xC77XrwiwVmF0kDn&ust=1697396873605000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBAQjRxqFwoTCLi0sJ-e9oEDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies

–Moran, G. (2022) Drapers, Gen Z and Millennials 2022 Report

https://www.savagex.co.uk/products/lingerie#

https://www.binance.com/en-GB/news/flash/7204278#

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Fashion or Our planet? You choose.

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When you ask someone young or old, what is our planet? Humans general response can range from the Earth, a large rounded astronomical body, a star or just where we live. However when you change the question to: How do you as an individual affect our planet? Not many could answer. Some may even be confused, but I can tell you that at least once in our lifetime we have affected ‘Our planet’ directly through fashion. Yes, the clothes we wear daily, the new released shoes we queued hours for at the Black Friday sale; the endless amount of socks we buy as “I lost them in the wash”. Fashion is a major contribution to the climate crisis, pollution, poverty, death and many factors that cause destruction and devastation to Our planet.That’s why this week I’ll be talking about the first pillar of sustainability:Planet.

Circular economy:

The circular economy is an economic system that is constructed on reusing and regenerating materials or products in a sustainable/ environmentally friendly way. How does that relate to fashion? “The CE has initiated motivation within the fashion industry to tackle some of the issues arising from production/consumption of fashion. In fact, there are three main principles of CE: design out waste and pollution; keep products and materials in use; and regenerate natural systems.”(Gwilt, 2020).One example of the industry not adopting the circular economy is that fashion is responsible for 1715 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2015 and emissions will grow by 63% by 2030. Listening to Katarina Rimarcikova in one of my lectures was a true eye opener for me- she expressed “We would need 3 planets by 2050 because of the amount of resources and product use”.

Sustainability:

Sustainability is maintaining or supporting a process over time. If fashion was sustainable brands would focus on reducing the impact the ‘life cycle’ has on the planet, but also be conscious of the individuals behind their brand. In 2015 the United Nations summit endorsed 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals) in its 2030 agenda. One SDG that particularly stood out for me is number 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. This is something I believed,before my research, that all companies would adopt…but I was wrong. “It takes 2700 litres of water to produce a cotton t-shirt, Levis uses over three thousand litres of water to produce jeans. 5000 children die each due to a lack of clean water.” (Corner, 2014).In my opinion i wouldn’t say that’s responsible and is all of this really worth it for a T-shirt? 

However many brands have sustainable focal points. One brand in particular is Patagonia. They use 100% renewable energy, work with organisations such as Finnwatch to focus on human rights and can reuse, resell, and recycle their products after being purchased. 

The inspirational Patagonia advert:

“The wasteful and polluting impacts of the industry are set to drastically increase by 2050” (Ellen MacArthur 2017). In short, sustainability has been floating around the fashion industry for many decades now and although people are agreeing we need change, it simply is not happening. Fashion or Our planet?You choose.

Reference list:

-(Corner, F 2014. Why Fashion Matters. London: Thames and Hudson)

-(Gwilt, A 2020.A Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion. London: Bloomsbury Publishing)

-(Patagonia https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/our-footprint/migrant-workers.html)

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Why Christian Dior is my favourite brand 

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His debt collection for spring/summer in 1947 is known in history as ‘New look’. 

Why is Christian Dior my favourite brand?

-When you ask the Gen-Z generation What is Christain Dior?, or in fact, What is their most famous/memorable piece?; many would state their ‘Beige and Black Oblique Jacquard Saddlebags’ or their iconic New ‘Addict Lip Maximizer Gloss’ or even the eminent ‘Johnny Depp Dior Sauvage’ – which sales have skyrocketed ever since,selling a bottle every 3 seconds!. However, even though I’m guilty for loving my personalized Addict Gloss, my true love for Christian Dior is because of the momentous and evolutionary collections beginning in 1947.With their opening spring/summer collection called the “New look”. 

Who is Christian Dior and what is the ‘Bar’ jacket?:

Christian Dior is a french fashion designer who conquered the Fashion world from his opening spring/summer collection in 1947. Before Dior became known in the fashion industry he ran an art gallery in France. In 1946 Dior met with Marcel Boussac (king of cotton and richest man of France) to discuss a proposition to revive a house named Philippe et gaston. That’s when the House of dior opened. By 1949 Dior accounted for 75% of french fashion exports. 

The fabulous ‘bar jacket’ was a fashion revolution for women with its defining hourglass y-line. The haute couture, post-war garment liberated women and gave opportunities to explore the elements that come with womens fashion. In the 20th century women started to wear flattering suits and beautiful ‘forcément’ dresses that focused on defining the waist;  Dior moved on from patriarchal standards allowing the garments to compliment a woman’s features. 

After years of military uniforms, strict regulations and great loss during the World Wars it truly allowed a “New look” for many. 

Dior’s collection provided a ‘march of progress’ for women creating a flourishing and breathable marketplace for society. It has allowed women and men today to be able to express themselves through apparel and accessories, knowing that anything and everything can change in the world of fashion: from trends, designers and prices. 

For me Dior allowed every woman to feel luxurious in their daily wear. It gave us Generation Zs a voice and enabled individualistic aesthetics to be born. Without the post war movement we may be still trapped in the basic partial manner where women couldn’t be diverse and society couldn’t have trends of y2k,cottage core, goth fashion and more. This is why I love Christian Dior, it allowed me to be who I am. 

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