Profit

‘Profit’ is the third pillar within the fashion business school. Profit is defined as “money that is earned in trade or business after paying the costs of producing and selling goods and services”(Cambridge dictionary,2022). Profit and the economy are a series of systems through which humanity provisions the requirements of life and society and therefore without it the industry would collapse.

Fashion is one of the key industries, which contributes to a large amount of the overall global economy. The fashion industry has no specific size or scale but can be measured through its value and prices. “If it was ranked alongside individual countries, the global fashion industry would represent the 17th largest economy in the world” (McKinsey, 2017). In 2021 before the pandemic, the revenue of the fashion industry was estimated between $1.7 trillion and $2.5 trillion (Fashion United, 2022). As the industry is so fast-paced as well as the fast fashion movement is amplified it’s difficult to measure the true size of the fashion industry.

Within the fashion industry, there are multiple sectors both performing well and extremely poorly. Due to today’s climate manufacturing is performing badly. Brands are mass-producing garments made from cheap materials as well as being constructed poorly. Fabrics such as polyester, and oil-based synthetics have been bleached, dyed and dipped in chemical baths which causes a large negative impact on the environment. Marketing is a sector performing well as it can empower brands to stay longer and stronger in the minds of their buyers. Digital marketing allows brands to reach their target market as well as have a strategy to increase their reach and audience.

During uncertain economic times, brands will need to change their ways of thinking to remain competitive. Brands can often underestimate the power of marketing and the importance of having a unique strong selling point. During Covid 19 brands had to shift from focusing on profit and growth and invest in the power of marketing and social media. As it was an uncertain time it was vital to be present and interact with your customers to increase your engagement.

Virgil Abloh is an American Fashion designer and entrepreneur and founder of OFFWHITE. Describing his brand as “the grey area between black and white as the colour off-white” (Varsity, 2022). After founding Off White in 2013 he later did a collection with Ikea to create the IKEA x OFFWHITE collection. The collaboration incorporated IKEA’s well known furniture and Virgil’s designs and was created to attract a younger audience. Similarly, Charles Frederick Worth Known as the “Father of haute couture” (The Met, 2004) dominated Parisian fashion as he focused on art and creativity over commerce, making him the first creative director to define the gap between creativity and commerce.

References:

Amed , I. (2022) State of Fashion 2022: An uneven recovery and new frontiers, McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Cambridge University Press (2005) Profit, Cambridge Dictionary. cambridge . Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/profit (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Environmental sustainability in the fashion industry (2021) Geneva Environment Network. United Nations . Available at: https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/ (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Global Fashion Industry Statistics (2020) FashionUnited. fashion united . Available at: https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Krick, J. (2004) Charles Frederick Worth , Metmuseum.org. Metropolitan museum of art . Available at: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wrth/hd_wrth.htm (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

McGarrigle, W.B.L. and Editor, L.M.G.N.& C. (2019) Everything you need to know for the virgil abloh x IKEA drop Today, Highsnobiety. Available at: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/virgil-abloh-ikea-collaboration-best-look/#:~:text=IKEA%20x%20OFF%2DWHITE%20release,November%201%20at%2010%20a.m (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Morris, E. and Morris, E. (2022) The Life and Death of Virgil Abloh, Varsity Online. Available at: https://www.varsity.co.uk/fashion/22623 (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Smith, P. (2022) Topic: Apparel market worldwide, Statista. stroer media . Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/5091/apparel-market-worldwide/ (Accessed: October 24, 2022).

Taitler, R. (2020) Mass production in the fashion industry: How quantity outweighs quality and leads to waste and financial loss – 3D insider: Optitex blog, 3D Insider | Optitex Blog. Available at: https://3dinsider.optitex.com/fashion-quantity-outweighs-quality/ (Accessed: October 24, 2022).