Faith-Marie Long

About Faith-Marie Long

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Profit

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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. 

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People

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‘People’ refers to one of the four pillars that is discussed within the fashion business; it focuses on how the fashion industry impacts their consumers and the society, whilst also looking at how society changes the way fashion businesses may operate such as their marketing techniques. 

There are different generations within society, each with different behaviours and consumption patterns. This will affect how a brand will market their products and who their target audience is as each generation responds differently to different approaches and the beliefs a brand stands behind. 

Fig. 1 – (McKinsey, 2019) 

Gen Z has been described as ‘digital natives’ who have grown up with the internet and social networks, this has affected how Gen Z consume the media and how they shop. With the increase of social media and its influence on Gen Z about 60% of the US Gen Z have used Instagram to discover new brands and products, however, they are much more aware of overconsumption, their impacts on the earth and diverse and inclusive brands. Due to this generation having access to and being comfortable with the use of the internet, they can easily find out information and the history of a brand and therefore, they can seek out brands that align with their beliefs much easier than previous generations; this will affect how fashion brands will market their products. ASOS is amongst one of the most inclusive brands according to Gen Z, throughout their marketing and their product photos, they use models of different sizes, skin tones and disabilities (Fig 2 and 3) 

Fig. 2 – (ASOS, 2022) 

Fig. 3- (ASOS, 2018) 

By being a more inclusive brand, Gen Z are more likely to purchase from their store; according to a survey conducted by the UNiDAYS network around 49% of students are more willing to purchase from brands that have more gender representation and inclusivity.  

For a brand to be successful in this generation, they need to be able to communicate what they stand for such as sustainability or inclusivity, whether if it is through their actions or marketing campaigns. It allows for their consumers or potential customers to be able see whether their ideologies align with the brand they want to buy from and therefore it may increase a brands sales due to the increase importance from Gen Z about being educated about a brand before purchasing from them. 

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Planet

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‘Planet’ refers to one of the four pillars that is discussed within the fashion business; it focuses on the environmental impact that fashion has on the earth and people.  

Sustainability is a topic that is often brought up when talking about ‘planet.’ Sustainability refers to “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (The United Nations Brundtland Commission, 1987) which includes both social and economic resources. One way that businesses are becoming more sustainable is by changing from the traditional linear economy that focuses on producing goods that consumers use until they throw the item away, to a circular economy that focuses on reducing waste and pollution with methods such as reselling, reusing material and developing recycled fibres and materials; this can be seen in figure 1,  where the goods produced will be used and recycled to be made into a different good, whilst raw materials and waste will eventually be able to phase out of the economy. 

(Fig 1 – A circular fashion economy (Common Objective, 2019) 

The lifecycle of a piece of clothing usually goes through 5 phases: the design process, the production process, the distribution process, when the consumer can use the clothing and the end of the clothes life. However, what is overlooked is how the consumer is using, washing and discarding clothes as the ‘microfibres that are released during washing range from 124 to 308 mg for kg of washed fabric corresponds to several microfibres ranging from 640,000 to 1,500,000.’ (De Falco, Di Pace, Cocca and Avella, 2019) and therefore it is important for the designers to understand how the clothing will be used by the consumers so they can improve the clothes lifecycle. 

Fig.2 – (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, 2015) 

In 2015, the United Nations set up 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that they are hoping to be achieved by 2030. An example of one SDG is decent work and economic growth. This goal aims to achieve full employment of men, women, younger people and those with disabilities where they get equal pay in good working conditions; it also aims for economic growth through methods such as innovation, diversification and technological upgrading. The fashion industry can have an impact on this goal as they can create jobs in underdeveloped countries by setting up factories in those countries, whilst also paying their workers with a fair wage in good working conditions.  

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