Chelsealya Tanasha Tjandra

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PEOPLE

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For the fashion industry to continue to develop, it is vitally important that PEOPLE are involved, this includes designers, brands, as well as consumers. As one of the pillars, the Fashion Business School identified “people” as a crucial component of every organization, having an impact across a broad range of societal and cultural dimensions. Additionally, people are the primary influencers of dynamic markets and business decisions. Thus, companies must rethink their approach to delivering value, especially to the people of Gen Z. 

According to statistics, Generation Z, people born between 1997 and 2015, make up 25% of the world’s population and have a purchasing power of over $360 billion in the United States alone (Schneider and Lee, 2022). It is expected that this generation will soon become the largest cohort of global consumers (Junming and Calvert, 2022), making them one of the most important marketing targets for fashion. 

In light of the fact that Generation Z is the first generation in which mobile devices and social media have become fully integrated into daily life, they are seeking out uniqueness, novelty, and interactive experiences. To be able to appeal to this audience, brands should establish a strong digital and social media presence. For instance, TikTok has grown year over year and Gen Z uses it at twice the rate of millennials (Moran, 2022). GlobalWebIndex data shows that TikTok usage among Gen Z has also increased by 250% among Europeans in 2020 (Buckle, 2020).

Figure 1. ‘Do you browse any of these social media platforms for fashion inspiration?’ (Moran, 2022)

Apart from providing convenience through social media engagement, brands should make sure their customers feel both understood and represented. With Gen Z being the most racially and ethnically diverse generation, they place a high priority on commitment to societal change. Gen Zers are more likely to care about human rights, racial and ethnic issues, LGBTQ+ equality, and feminism than any previous generation (Francis and Hoefel, 2018). Therefore, in order to attract this market, brands must demonstrate an authentic commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

An example of a brand that has responded to all the points raised above is Aerie, a lingerie brand which continues to be the leader in inclusivity. With social media campaigns such as the #AerieREAL, the brand has effectively challenged Victoria’s Secret’s dominance within the industry (Glossy, 2021). Comparatively to Victoria’s Secret’s “angels,” Aerie has established its own “Aerie Role Models” by featuring women who have excelled in their fields of passion, such as actress Lana Condor and Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman (En, 2021). As part of the campaign, they are not only displaying models with “real” bodies, but are also displaying models with insulin pumps, ostomy bags, arm crutches, and more (Leone, 2020), making sure that everybody is represented. 

Figure 2. Innerwear brand Aerie reveals its Aerie Real Voices (Ell, 2021)

In general, it is critical for fashion brands to have strong people skills in order to be successful. The key to this is to be authentic and honest through effective communication with the audience, in particular Gen Z. Customers from this generation are more likely to engage with brands that are committed to living out their values, providing an exceptional digital experience, and promoting a diverse workforce (Clark, 2022). In order to achieve this objective, brands must recognize the needs and wants of consumers and utilize marketing strategies that communicate and connect with them.

References

Buckle, C. (2020) Data on TikTok’s challenge in Europe, GWI. Available at: https://blog.gwi.com/trends/tiktok-europe/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Case study: How aerie won gen Z and victoria’s secret’s market share (2021) Glossy. Glossy. Available at: https://www.glossy.co/fashion/case-study-how-aerie-won-gen-z-and-victorias-secrets-market-share/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Clark, S. (2022) Do your brand’s values align with those of gen Z?, CMSWire.com. CMSWire.com. Available at: https://www.cmswire.com/customer-experience/do-your-brands-values-align-with-those-of-gen-z/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Ell, K. (2021) Exclusive: Aerie real taps a new kind of Brand ambassador, WWD. Available at: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/intimates/aerie-real-voices-campaign-1234899466/?sub_action=logged_in (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

En, A. (2021) The fall of victoria’s secret and the rise of Aerie was inevitable, Medium. The Virago. Available at: https://medium.com/the-virago/the-fall-of-victorias-secret-and-the-rise-of-aerie-was-inevitable-3f96d9199c46 (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Francis, T. and Hoefel, F. (2018) ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies, McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Junming, Z. and Calvert, G. (2022) Luxury fashion marketing: Tapping into gen Z’s senses and psychology: WARC, WARC An Ascential Company. Available at: https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/luxury-fashion-marketing-tapping-into-gen-zs-senses-and-psychology/en-gb/5689#:~:text=For%20luxury%20fashion%20brands%2C%20Gen,workforce%20and%20gaining%20economic%20autonomy. (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Lakshmi, S. (2021) Brands like victoria’s secret are why people don’t believe in corporate allyship, Medium. Better Marketing. Available at: https://bettermarketing.pub/brands-like-victorias-secret-are-why-i-don-t-believe-in-corporate-allyship-b23dc1243b86 (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Leone, C. (2020) How the Aerie brand is leading the way for Inclusivity, Dailybreak. Available at: https://www.dailybreak.com/break/aerie-inclusive-models-and-adaptive-lingerie (Accessed: October 16, 2022). 

Moran, G. (2022) Gen Z and millennials 2022, Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022 (Accessed: October 16, 2022). Schneider, B. and Lee, D. (2022) Bof Insights: Gen-Z and fashion in the age of realism, The Business of Fashion. The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/retail/gen-z-fashion-in-the-age-of-realism-bof-insights-social-media-report/ (Accessed: October 16, 2022).

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PLANET

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While fashion plays an important role in keeping up with consumer demands, it is also one of the biggest contributors to the issue of PLANET. Within Fashion Business School, this pillar focuses primarily on sustainable practices and ensuring the recognition of environmental damage. This is due to the fact that the fashion industry has put considerable pressure on natural resources in order to ensure fast, low-cost production, leading to levels of pollution, including the use of hazardous chemicals, dyes, and synthetic fibres. Approximately 2.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions were generated by the textile industry in 2018, accounting for 4% of worldwide emissions (Berg and Magnus, 2020). 

Figure 1. The Environmental Impact of Textiles (European Parliament, 2020)

A further consequence of mass production is that fashion has become a toxic industry that produces 13 million tons of textile waste every year (Rauturier, 2022) and only 1% of the materials are recycled back, despite the possibility of recycling 95% of them (Atstāja, 2021). In response to these concerns, numerous fashion companies have begun to adopt the circular economy concept, making a shift from the linear “take-make-waste” model to a reuse-based model (Gueye, 2021). This regenerative concept ensures clothes, textiles, and fibres are used to their full potential during use and are recycled after use, never ending up in landfills (MacArthur, 2017). By doing so, business models will be reoriented from focusing on economic revenue and profit maximisation to prioritising environmental protection and social capital for a better future. However, for a circular economy to be established, it is imperative to make changes at all stages of production and consumption, requiring collaboration and radical thinking. 

Figure 2. Circular Fashion (Lissaman, 2019)

The commitment to achieving a circular economy is a key component of improving the sustainability of the fashion industry, since sustainability within fashion refers to adopting a process that is balanced in terms of economic growth, environmental protection, and social welfare. Additionally, the circular economy is one method of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations (Gabriel and Luque, 2020). Reducing, reusing, and recycling materials and resources can reduce waste and material consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions (Englund and Andre, 2021), which aligns with Goal 13. This goal seeks to ensure that all resources are used sustainably in order to reduce CO2 and combat climate change.

Figure 3. Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action (UN, 2015)

Implementing this goal to businesses could be challenging since all aspects of the fashion process are responsible for carbon emissions, from raw materials extraction to textile and product manufacture to transportation and marketing. In addition, 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to the textile industry, owing to its long supply chains and energy intensive production processes (United Nations, 2018). However, upcycling clothes, or using sustainable fashion, would be one step ahead of making a positive impact on a country’s climate action.

References

Atstāja, D. (2021) Challenges of textile industry in the framework of circular … – rsu, dspace. Available at: https://dspace.rsu.lv/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6055/1/Challenges_of_textile_industry_in_the_framewor.pdf (Accessed: October 8, 2022). 

Berg, A. and Magnus, K.-H. (2020) Fashion on climate – mckinsey & company, Mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/fashion%20on%20climate/fashion-on-climate-full-report.pdf (Accessed: October 8, 2022). 

Englund, M. and Andre, K. (2021) A circular economy: A tool to bridge climate mitigation and adaptation?, SEI. Available at: https://www.sei.org/featured/circular-economy-mitigation-and-adaptation/#:~:text=The%20role%20of%20the%20circular,and%20reduce%20greenhouse%20gas%20emissions. (Accessed: October 8, 2022). 

Gabriel, M. and Luque, M. (2019) Sustainable development goal 12 and its relationship with the textile industry, SpringerLink. Springer Singapore. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-8787-6_2 (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Gueye, S. (2021) The trends and trailblazers creating a circular economy for fashion, Circular Economy in the Fashion Industry. Available at: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/articles/the-trends-and-trailblazers-creating-a-circular-economy-for-fashion/. (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Hill, M. (2022) What is circular fashion?, Good On You. Available at: https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-circular-fashion/ (Accessed: October 8, 2022). 

MacArthur, E. (2017) A new textiles economy – full report: Shared by fashion, A New Textiles Economy – Full Report | Shared by Fashion. Available at: https://emf.thirdlight.com/link/2axvc7eob8zx-za4ule/@/preview/1?o (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Rauturier, S. (2022) Everything you need to know about waste in the fashion industry, Good On You. Available at: https://goodonyou.eco/waste-luxury-fashion/ (Accessed: October 9, 2022). 

Ro, C. (2020) Can fashion ever be sustainable?, BBC Future. BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate (Accessed: October 9, 2022). UN Helps Fashion Industry Shift to Low Carbon (2018) Unfccc.int. United Nations. Available at: https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon (Accessed: October 8, 2022).

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My Favorite Fashion Brand: Prada

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Prada is one of my favourite fashion brands. Founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada, the brand has become an icon in the fashion world for generations. Prada offers prestige, exclusivity, and use of the finest raw materials. In addition to being considered classic and eccentric, frumpy and hip, Prada clothing and accessories are characterized by an ambiguous techno-retro sensibility. Despite its modern style, Prada still draws on the northern Italian traditions of discrete elegance and fine craftsmanship.

Unlike other luxury fashion houses, Prada does not rely on iconic logos to establish its brand identity. Instead of making its products instantly recognizable with a logo or design, the brand focuses on maintaining its own unique aesthetic. The marketing strategies they have used have also been brilliant, which has helped them gain new customers.

Besides that, Prada has also committed to continuous evolution and innovation, reflecting the changing desires and needs of its market. As of 2019, Prada released Re-Nylon, a fabric made entirely from plastic waste collected from oceans or regenerated waste scraps. Also, they promise to replace all virgin-nylon materials with Econyl in 2021. This shows that Prada continues to be an innovative brand, capable of reinventing itself and adapting to new consumer trends while also being ethical and mindful towards the planet.

Prada will also eliminate the use of animal fur in its products, demonstrating their commitment to social responsibility. It was made possible through collaboration with the Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition comprising more than 40 organizations dedicated to the prevention and elimination of animal cruelty.

As part of the Prada Group’s business approach, human rights are respected, workers are supported, and diversity is promoted. As a matter of fact, the Group promotes equality of opportunity and does not register any discrimination cases in 2018. Third parties that provide factories or external suppliers with materials and/or labor must meet the Code of Ethics and be authorized by them.

Generally, I like Prada mainly because of the way in which they market their products without being too flashy. As a result of this self-assured and understated approach to design, Prada has enjoyed great success. In essence, it is a high-quality product that makes a statement without trying too hard. On top of that, they also demonstrate a strong commitment to people and the environment through their values and commitments.

References:

  • LDNFASHION (2022) Prada: Bringing Innovation in Clothing. [online] Available at: <https://www.ldnfashion.com/features/prada-bringing-innovation-in-clothing/>
  • Amico, A. (2022) Prada, quality and unique creativity of Italian fashion. [online] Italian Traditions. Available at: <https://italian-traditions.com/prada-quality-unique-creativity/>
  • Chan, E. (2019) Why Prada Is Stepping Up Its Sustainability Game. [online] British Vogue. Available at: <https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/pradas-sustainability-initiatives>
  • Bramley, E. (2019) Prada announces it is to go fur-free. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/may/23/prada-announces-it-is-to-go-fur-free>
  • Responsibilityreports.com. (2022) PRADA: 2018 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILIT Y REPORT. [online] Available at: <https://www.responsibilityreports.com/HostedData/ResponsibilityReportArchive/p/OTC_PRDSY_2018.pdf>
  • Major, J. (n.d.) Prada. [online] Fashion-history.lovetoknow.com. Available at: <https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-clothing-industry/fashion-designers/prada>
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