Profit
Profit is an essential factor that allows the fashion industry to succeed. In 2021 the size of the fashion industry reached around $1.5 trillion with the prediction for it to increase by $500 billion by 2026.
Revenue of the apparel market worldwide from 2013 to 2026 (in billion U.S. dollars:
Fig. 1- (Statista, 2022)
As seen in figure 1, in 2020 the apparel market saw about a 12% decrease in revenue from the previous year. In these uncertain times brands have had to make changes to be able to continue to operate within the market; due to the closure of stores, many companies have had to rely on their e-commerce and marketing to be able to reach their target consumers. Brands such as Irene Neuwirth, a jewelry designer used her e-commerce website to be able to continue to sell her products online during the pandemic, she also engaged with customers and/or future customers on her social media platforms, this allowed her to create relationships with the consumers. This allowed her brand to continue to make profits without being affected by the economic crisis.
Consumers such as gen z look for brands to be transparent about their values and beliefs, such as their sustainability goals, this could be done by brands being more active on social media or brands working with bloggers, which allows brands to be able to expand their engagement and work with bloggers that have the same beliefs and values as them. Brands can make profits as bloggers can influence their audience to buy the goods, as the audience may want to copy the blogger and trust their opinion.
In the fashion industry, there are many different sectors that perform different tasks such as manufacturing, marketing and retail. However, each sector is performing differently; the manufacturing sector is performing poorly as the ‘fast fashion’ business model has been pushing over-consumption which creates negative environmental impacts, but with high demand for cheap clothing, materials used will be worse for the environment as they are less likely to be able to be recycled. Sectors such as marketing however are performing well, with trends and technologies continuing to change brands can continue to successfully market their products in new ways to stay relevant and connected to the consumer, which can increase overall sales for the brand.
To overcome the bridge between creativity and commerce is that creative director should integrate both factors when making their art. However, by thinking more creatively, it allows for commerce to have a different approach to business by having more freedom and creativity and therefore the art can appeal to the consumer as the brand doesn’t focus on just the commerce aspect of the design process.