People
People, one of the four pillars of fashion business school, are a vital aspect of the fashion industry. In the Triple Bottom Line, people refers to all individuals in association with the company including customers and employees (Kenton, 2022). Essentially, people are needed for a business in order for it to run and in fashion in particular, the people are what form the industry. Fashion is a way in which people have the ability to express themselves and influence others, therefore fashion provides inspiration but also fun. Gen Z especially, enjoy this and prioritise these features in fashion and shopping for clothes, accessories and shoes (Moran, 2022). Gen Z, or Generation Z represent a great number of the current fashion market (Moran, 2022). They consist of anyone born from 1997 to 2012, (Hecht, 2022) and are the new digital age of consumers. Gen Z are the most different breed of consumers due to being surrounded by technology their whole lives therefore it is vital for brands and retailers to keep a close eye on them even if they are not yet the main target market as soon they will be (Moran, 2022).
In order for a brand to attract Gen Z it may be of use for a brand to see how it stands for sustinabaility and equality. Though shopping habits don’t completely match, statistics show that 46.8% of Gen Z have not purchased an item they were going to due to not supporting the brand’s values (Moran, 2022). This highlights the importance of a brand’s values if they were looking to attract Gen Z consumers. This isn’t the only thing Gen Z search for when buying as the brand name and the ability to resell the item bought was also seen to be of great importance to Gen Z (Moran, 2022). With apps like Depop on the rise, 53% of Gen Z and millenials have resold an item and would again (Moran, 2022).
Interestingly, Gen Z despite being brought up in technology, value instore experiences (Moran, 2022). A way in which brands could therefore attract Gen Z would be to really focus on how it can differ its in store experience to make it worth the trip as well as perhaps locating it in a place in which it is surrounded by other amenities as 27.6% of Gen Z appreciate and are more likely to shop at a store near restaurants and cinemas (Moran, 2022). Therefore, through these aspects a brand can attract Gen Z into their physical stores as well as focusing on its values.
Diversity and equality are important values to Gen Z as shown by the BLM movement (Ahmed et al., 2019) Many brands felt obliged to post a black square to show they stand with the movement however little then went on to take any action. This caused brands to suffer major backlash by Gen Z and it was then realised how much this movement and the values held value to the generation. Some brands however, represent a great example of responding to diversity one including Fenty X Savage. Rihanna herself has stated “We don’t believe in division. We do not believe in excluding anyone” (McKinnon, 2022), and Savage X Fenty has proven so e.g. plus sized models and gender fluid products (McKinnon, 2022). Size ranges range from XS to 4XL in underwear which contrasts Victoria’s Secret who attempted to be inclusive in their 2020 swimwear collection but only went up to an XL.
Inclusivity and diversity are vital in order for a fashion brand to be successful (Dickinson, 2022) inclusion and diversity helps individuals at the workplace feel a sense of belonging. This then allows for employees to be more open and speak out (Dickinson, 2022). Having diversity in a fashion brand can also allow for a range of ideas and different cultural differences to be put in affect creating a more competitive advantage against perhaps less diverse competitions.
Kenton, W., 2022. Triple Bottom Line. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/triple-bottom-line.asp [Accessed 16 October 2022].
Moran, G., 2022. Gen Z and Millennials 2022 – Drapers. [online] Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 [Accessed 16 October 2022].
Hecht, E., 2022. What years are Gen X? What about baby boomers? When each generation was born.. [online] Eu.usatoday.com. Available at: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2022/09/02/what-years-gen-x-millennials-baby-boomers-gen-z/10303085002/ [Accessed 16 October 2022].
Ahmed, I., Balchandani, A., Beltrami, M., Berg, A., Hedrich, S. and Rölkens, F., 2019. The influence of ‘woke’ consumers on fashion. [online] McKinsey&Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-influence-of-woke-consumers-on-fashion [Accessed 16 October 2022].
McKinnon, T., 2022. How Rihanna’s Fenty Brand is Leading in Diversity & Inclusion. [online] Indigo9 Digital Inc. Available at: https://www.indigo9digital.com/blog/fentydiversityinclusion [Accessed 16 October 2022].
Dickinson, H., 2022. Why inclusion is fundamental to success. [online] Abstract. Available at: https://www.abstractuk.co.uk/why-inclusion-is-fundamental-to-success [Accessed 16 October 2022].