Jessica Peters

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PROFIT

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The Resurrection of Creativity and Commerce in the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry, like most industries, relies on economic stability to fulfil both creative and commercial aspects of fashion business. Arguably profit is the most important pillar in regards to operating a fashion business with factors such as “fabric, pattern-making, sampling, trims, sewing, handwork, packaging, duties, shipping”(Farra, 2020) all contributing towards the cost of producing a garment. With significant levels of profitability allowing businesses to explore expansion, sustainable practices and luxury quality, profit is most desirable for any industry.  

The relation between creativity and commerce is vital within the fashion industry and it’s important that fashion brand’s creative directors bridge the gap between creativity and commerce. It is valued for creative directors to look at potential ideas from a perspective of desire from the brands target audience. By doing this the brand’s creative content is more likely to consistently align with their essence and give them a competitive advantage

The performance of the fashion industry is experiencing steady decline after undergoing 18 months of robust growth from early 2021 through mid-2022 which was expected to continue throughout the year 2023. With irregular economic stability related to the COVID-19 pandemic and its disrupted supply chains, lockdowns and reductions in consumer spending, it is no surprise that the economic performance of the fashion industry was on a steady decline throughout 2023 (McKinsey&Company, 2022).

With premium-luxury brands seeing a steep decline in profitability throughout 2020 due to COVID-19, the financial state of the fashion and luxury industry was “not comparable to a financial crisis” and could have even been “closer to what people must have seen during the Great Depression”(Berg, 2021). However how is the fashion and luxury industry performing succeeding the global recovery of COVID-19? Stated by (Mitterfellner, 2023) one of the key factors contributing towards brand resurrection is ‘investing in the brand’, making the importance of commerce and profit increasingly prevalent within the fashion industry.

By remaining as competitive as possible in uncertain economic times fashion brands must adjust their creativity to match upcoming physical trends but also economic trends. If competitors within the industry begin adjusting price points to appeal to a struggling economy their brand is likely to see an increase in sales. Not only can a fashion brand adjust its prices to appeal to consumers but adjust its costs of production to lower their variable costs making them more competitive in a struggling economy.

Although profitability isn’t the key factor of a businesses success, it is one of the most important factors in regards to a brand putting their creative minds into practice. However does a business’s value of generated profits measure its true success?

Bibliography

VOGUE, by Emily Farra, 2020 ‘What is the Right Price for Fashion?’ (Article) (Online) https://www.vogue.com/article/what-is-the-right-price-for-fashion (Accessed 22/10/2023)

McKinsey & Company, 2022 ‘The State of Fashion 2023: Holding onto growth as global clouds gather’  (Report) (Online) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion (Accessed 22/10/2023)

McKinsey & Company, by Balchandani and Berg, 2021 ‘The Post-pandemic State of Fashion’ (Podcast) (Online via Spotify) https://open.spotify.com/episode/0GuFzFtdmFwO6tVCq9I13N (Accessed 22/10/2023)

Olga Mitterfellner, 2023 ‘Luxury fashion brand management : unifying fashion with sustainability’ (Book), (Accessed 20/10/2023)

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People

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Gen Z’s Values are the Future of the Fashion Industry

The fashion industry is in a constant state of evolution, usually due to the changing tastes of the market. As we move further into the 21st century, Gen Z is now in control of reshaping the fashion industry as we know it. Born between 1997 and 2012, Generation Z “ will make up a quarter of the population” by 2025 (McKinsey & Company, 2023) meaning that their shopping habits are much more likely to affect the actions of fashion businesses.

(Figure 1 – Matt Winkelmeyer, 2022)

Taking a more ‘woke’ approach to fashion buying, Gen Z consumers are more concerned with social and environmental sustainability (McKinsey & Company, 2019) when making fashion purchasing decisions. One of the most contributing factors to a more sustainable industry is social inclusivity – which more than any generation, Gen Z is promoting. With brands such as Victoria’s Secret changing their less inclusive business model in response to backlash, it is clear that businesses that are taking more inclusive approaches to their marketing are succeeding in this fundamentally inclusive industry. An example of one of these brand is Savage X Fenty founded by Robyn Rihanna Fenty (Rihanna). As seen in {Figure 1}, Savage X Fenty’s Show Vol 4, 2022, explored the importance of inclusivity within the fashion industry which is one of the businesses unique selling points in the market of fashion and underwear.

Referred to as the ‘digital natives’, Gen Z have grown up in a world immersed in technology making them highly proficient with social media. These increased levels of connectivity give Gen Z more immediate access to fashion trends promoted by influencers. By integrating social media and commerce, Gen Z have unlimited access to browsing and purchasing via e-commerce ,which by 2027 has a projected value of $1.2 trillion (Statista Research Department, 2023). Due to the prevalence e-commerce has in the lives of Gen Zers, the generation that’s autonomous spending power is increasingly rapidly (BOF, 2020), it is becoming more detrimental for retailers to market and sell their products online.

Going into this new generation of consumers, it is key for fashion brands to connect with their customers and meet these new demands. To achieve these goals, fashion brands must have key people skills and research the Inner Development Goals (IDG’s). One of the IDG’s that could help a fashion brand connect with the Gen Z audience is ‘developing more inclusive mindsets and intercultural competence’. By having these increased levels of people skills businesses may find themselves appealing strongly to Gen Z’s values, the future values of the fashion industry.

Bibliography

BOF team, ‘How to Communicate and Connect with Gen-Z Consumers’, 2020

(Online) https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/afterpay-communicate-and-connect-with-gen-z-consumers/ (Accessed 15/10/2023)

McKinsey & Company, ‘What is Gen Z?’ (Article), 2023

(Online) https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z (Accessed 12/10/2023)

McKinsey & Company, ‘The influence of ‘woke’ consumers on fashion’ (Article), 2019

(Online) https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-influence-of-woke-consumers-on-fashion (Accessed 14/10/2023)

{Figure 1} Matt Winkelmeyer, 2022

Featured in article ‘How to Watch Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 4’

https://www.elle.com/culture/a41884835/how-to-watch-savage-x-fenty-show-vol-4/
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PLANET

PLANET

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Will the fashion industry become our planets ally?

{Figure 1}

When we think about the fashion industry as a whole it’s hard to look past the glamourous runways and variety of magnificent garments to see its true detrimental contribution towards environmental degradation. With fast fashion businesses profiting off of the creation of micro-seasons and dynamic trends, the extensive need for resource intensive processes such as cotton farming and the creation of oil bases textiles is at an all-time high. Garments containing cotton, one of the main materials known for an incredibly water-intensive production cost, use thousands of litres of water to make a singular product with one cotton t-shirt requiring 2,500 litres of water to manufacture as stated by (Turner, 2023). 

However, does the fashion industry have the potential to become the planets ally and offer our dying earth a glimpse of hope? With more sustainable practices of purchasing resurging within the fashion industry such as the global second-hand market, which saw a 28% increase in 2022 alone (ThredUps Resale Report, 2023), it is clear that a more supportable, circular approach is being taken within the fashion economy.

The idea of a ‘circular economy’ has begun to distribute itself across fashion industry with a narrative of “closing loops in the industrial eco-systems and minimising waste”(Stahel, 2016). This system simply focuses on maximising recycling, reusing and replenishment all of which bode well with newer procedures of sustainable fashion buying and merchandising. Not only is the idea of a circular economy attractive to more sustainable fashion markets but also to the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals (SDG’s).

The UN’s 17 SDG’s are targets put in place by the UN to address world issues such as poverty, hunger and inequality and achieve a more sustainable future for the world. The fashion industry plays a significant part in the achievement of a few of these goals such as; gender equality, reduced inequalities and,  most related to the narrative of sustainable fashion, responsible consumption and production. If the fashion industry adopts procedures such as a ‘circular economy’ could it be possible that recycling and reusing saves our planet? If so, is it too late for the fashion industry to reverse its destruction caused by its resource-intensive processes to create a more sustainable fashion future. Will the fashion industry become our planets ally?

Bibliography

Figure 1 – Image credit: Alamy/Javier Hirschfeld

Stahel, W. The circular economy. Nature 531, 435–438 (2016)

(Online) https://doi.org/10.1038/531435a (Accessed 7/10/2023)

ThredUp (2023) Resale Report

(Online) https://www.thredup.com/resale

(Online) https://cf-assets-tup.thredup.com/resale_report/2023/thredUP_2023_Resale_Report_FINAL.pdf (Accessed 6/10/23)

Jane Turner (2023) The Ethics of Cotton Production, Ethical Consumer

(Online) ww.ethicalconsumer.org/fashion-clothing/ethics-cotton production#:~:text=Cotton%20is%20said%20to%20cover,’dirtiest’%20agricultural%20commodity (Accessed 6/10/2023)

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