Caitlin Man

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Purpose

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Purpose is one of the 4 pillars of the fashion businesses strategy that focuses on the business’s intents communicated with the social well-being of people. Brand philosophy Interconnects with the ‘people’ pillar and evaluates consumers concerns to set a adequate mission statement to decide their aims and objectives, allocating businesses with direction and fixating its values to reach its target audience. This reinforces the purpose behind a brand allowing communication with gen Z consumers as it provides insight into the business culture.

Brand philosophy helps to develop brand identity where this differentiates the business from its competitors as, “a strong, unique brand image is essential when building a good relationship with customers. If they feel that you both share the same values, they’ll be attracted and will develop brand loyalty over the competition” (Laura Harker 2021). With success in marketing, this generates a chance of having control of the business’s image perceived by the public (Kristopher Jones 2021). For example, Nudie Jeans employs a variety of approaches to increase the environmental and social sustainability of its products through their “wear, tear and repair” way of thinking instead of fast fashion which acts as the brands USP (Gwilt, A. 2014). 

ASOS is an example of developing brand philosophy. They developed a 2030 strategy prioritizing their sustainability mission, through fortifying their commitment of “Fashion with integrity” by setting their 4 goals: “Be Net Zero, centered around our carbon emissions; Be More Circular, about transitioning to more circular systems; Be Transparent, focused on transparency and human rights; and Be Diverse, encompassing diversity, equity and inclusion” (ASOS 2021). This highlights their vision and values to the public, duplicating the business in a sustainable spotlight to improve their brand identity and reputation to gain competitive advantage. 

Business’s Brand purpose is communicated through collaborations, displayed on social media due to Gen Z being raised with smartphones and the Internet, in which they are more likely to buy from brands that have “established clear values, are inclusive, and have a strong online community” (Monique Thomas 2021). Jordans first African-based collaboration with Shelflife introduced the Air Jordan 2 to the next generation and “is one of many Jordan Brand partnerships with sneaker retailers around the world, from Detroit to Manila, that bring inspiring local stories to a global audience” (Nike 2022). This fulfills the diversity demand as 60% of Gen Z say increased racial and ethnic diversity is good for society, with Gen Z being the most racially and ethnically diverse generation ever with a spending power of over $140 billion (Monique Thomas 2021). Diversification is seen as a differentiation approach. Consumer income is increasing and are willing to pay extra for something that meets their needs and wants, allowing Brands to add value to greater its profitability and remain competitive. 

REFERENCES:

ASOS (2021) “Fashion with Integrity” [online] ASOS. Available at: Fashion with Integrity | ASOS plc [Accessed: October 28th 2022]

Gwilt, A. (2014) Chapter 6-Use-Pages: 116–137 [online] Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Available at:Bloomsbury Fashion Central – Use (oclc.org) [Accessed: November 2nd 2022]

Harker. L (2021) “Why You Need to Create a Brand Identity to Grow” [online] Latana. Available at: Why You Need to Create a Brand Identity to Grow | Latana [Accessed: October 28th 2022]

Jones. K (2021) “The Importance Of Branding In Business” [online] Forbes. Available at:The Importance Of Branding In Business (forbes.com [Accessed: November 1st 2022]

Nike (2022) “Jordan Brand’s First Africa-Based Collaboration Brings the Air Jordan 2 to the Next Generation” Nike. [online] Available at: Jordan Brand Shelflife Air Jordan 2 Retro Low Official Images — NIKE, Inc. [Accessed: October 28th 2022]

Thomas. M (2021) “5 Gen Z Marketing Strategies To Implement in 2022” [online] LaterBlog. Available at: 5 Gen Z Marketing Strategies To Implement in 2022 (later.com) [Accessed: November 1st 2022]

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PROFIT

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Profit is one of the 4 pillars of the sustainable fashion business strategy that focuses on the financial aspects of the fashion industry based on the economy; (a series of components and structures that satisfies the needs of humanity). This is linked with “planet” and “people” as this considers both the environmental and social constituents to make up for the economy.


The value of the global fashion industry in 2021 reached $1.55 trillion and is forecast to be worth $1.7 trillion In 2022 (Dunja Radonic 2022). The growth of social media allowed influencers to dictate trends, promoting fast fashion (Jack Shepherd 2022). Demand increased over time and resulted in an appreciation of fashion and its value. The rise in demand could mean more sales and wider recognition, generating more profit for fashion businesses, leading to an injection of more capital to boost the economy. Fast fashion has a huge economic impact and is responsible for the recent growth of an average of 4.78% and as of 2017, it is forecast to have a 5.91% growth in the next three years of the apparel industry (Ganit Singh 2017). Despite the predicted growth in the upcoming years, uncertainty lies within the global economy due to external influences affect business sales forecasts, as uncontrollable economic factors like inflation, play a role in the business’s profits and the consumer spending power. A prime example is the Impact of Covid-19 that had a 2-year disruption on the global fashion industry, where a 20 percent decline in revenues occurred in 2019–20, resulting in 7% of companies failing to survive the market due to financial distress or were bought by rivals (McKinsey 2020).

Certain brands such as Adidas and H&M, grew by 8% in terms of economic profit and outpaced sales growth over the same period compared to competitors, through cutting costs, efficient investments, and executing better than competitors to stay competitive in economic uncertainty. (Achim Berg, Saskia Hedrich, and Johnattan Leon 2017). Though sustainable fashion is thriving today, costs of sustainability programs are higher which can potentially drive businesses profits down, which may require businesses to manage their costs wisely. Nevertheless, sustainable efforts tend to build value and acts as a USP, as consumers today are willing to pay extra for sustainable fashion, therefore promoting long-term profitability. (Lea Kobeli, Giulia Siccardo 2022). Overall, this all depends on the business’s monetary management alongside external economic influences to stabilize profitability.


Despite the contrast of art and business, Fashion conjuncts both elements with the world revolving around business to boost the global economy, opening doors for opportunities, whereas Art holds history, meaning and representation through a visual format, illustrating creativity and is highly valuable. Designers can be seen as artists as they set themselves a title of being a sole creator of their work, allowing them to market towards their consumers who acknowledge their exclusivity of their creations (Caroline Stevenson 2019). This sets the profit boundary for designers once their Art expands into the market.

REFERENCES:

Berg. A, Hedrich. S, Leon. J. (2017) “The two faces of fashion-industry performance” [online] McKinsey&Company. Available at: The two faces of fashion-industry performance | McKinsey

Kobeli. L, Siccardo. G (2017) “Lessons in sustainability: Q&A with Giulia Siccardo” [Online] Available at: Complex does not mean complicated | McKinsey & Company

McKinsey (2021) “State of Fashion 2022: An uneven recovery and new frontiers. [online] McKinsey and Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion [Accesssed: November 7th 2022]

Parkes. J (2022) “Santiago Sierra creates mud runway for Balenciaga during Paris Fashion Week” [online] Dezeen. Available at: Santiago Sierra creates mud runway for Balenciaga (dezeen.com)

Radonic. D (2022) “28 Eye-Opening Sustainable Fashion Statistics for a Cleaner 2022” [online] Fashion Discounts. Available at:28 Eye-Opening Sustainable Fashion Statistics for 2022 (fashiondiscounts.uk)

Singh. G (2017) “Fast Fashion Has Changed the Industry and the Economy” [Online] FEE stories: Available at:Fast Fashion Has Changed the Industry and the Economy – Foundation for Economic Education (fee.org)

Shepherd. J (2022) “Social Media Marketing for Fashion Brands: A Strategy That Works” [online] Available at: Social Media Marketing for Fashion Brands: A Strategy That Works… (thesocialshepherd.com)

Stevenson, C (2019) “(I was there) when it all went down”, in Cronberg, A. (ed) Vestoj
issue 9: On Capital

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People

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“People” are one of the 4 pillars in the fashion business strategy that focuses on the social aspects and issues of the fashion industry. People in general make a significant contribution to the industry due to being the influence of dynamic markets and business decisions, considering they are the main prospect of changes in social trends. 

Gen-Z consumers are the people that are born from 1990-2007, and “are true digital natives: from earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems, due to the rise in advanced technology” (Francis & Hoefel 2018). This resulted some Gen-Z and late millennial consumers being prone to the internet and are under the influence of social media when it comes to fashion, such as style and the standard of beauty which contrasts with the generations of shoppers before them. Technology has empowered young people to alternate the generational society narrative, which brings in new attractive opportunities and challenges for companies (“True Gen”: Generation Z and its implications for companies: Tracy Francis, Fernanda Hoefel, Page 9). Due to the introduction of advanced technology, this enabled a rise of e-commerce usage.  

Regarding fashion, Gen Z consumers look more into the style, aesthetic, and the sustainability of a product rather than the convenience or price, creating a division between the millennials.  “Significant numbers of Gen Z do also value the price and convenience benefits of online, but they are less likely to value these things than millennial shoppers. For instance, 59.5% of millennials like the convenience of online shopping, compared with 43.3% of Gen Z. And 57% of millennials like to shop around for the best price, compared with 46% of Gen Z. 47.4% of Gen Z and millennials say they are willing to pay more for sustainable and ethical fashion in comparison to last year with 40.7%” (Drapers 2022). Therefore, changes in preferences may influence the way a business operates to achieve success. 

Gen-Z consumers also look for diversity in fashion as they look to break the unhealthy standards of beauty set by the dominant culture. Diversity is key in terms of people as this opens a door for all demographics to be distinguished, which provides more choice and allows for people to be appreciated. Businesses have conceded this awareness to be spread and this resulted in an increase in demand for more minorities to emerge in the fashion industry. For example, Victorias Secret used to display very slender and aerobic women usually with Eurocentric features to be their representative so-called “angels.” The Victoria’s Secret fashion show ran from 1996-2018 was watched by millions at its peak and was called out for objectification, lack of diversity and cultural appropriation (Colette Bennett 2022). This dismissed other women’s bodies and had a narrowed focus on the male Gaze to what they considered “sexy” which corrupted the business’s reputation as being misogynistic. Due to this controversy, Victoria’s Secret acknowledged that the marketing was dated as the brand value eroded and its competitors participated by positioning themselves as the anti-Victoria’s Secret complete with more typical woman’s bodies and focused on inclusivity and diversity. (Sauna Maheshwari, Vanessa Friedman 2021).  

REFERENCES: 

Collette Bennet, 2022, ‘Victoria’s Secret Is All About Diversity Now’ [online] TheStreet. Available at: https://www.thestreet.com/investing/victorias-secret-is-all-about-diversity-now-but-i-still-wont-shop-there 

Francis & Hoefel ,2018. ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies [online] McKinsey&Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer%20Packaged%20Goods/Our%20Insights/True%20Gen%20Generation%20Z%20and%20its%20implications%20for%20companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.pdf [Accessed Oct 13, 2022]. 

Faramarzi. S 2021. “Post-pandemic playbook: What Gen Z want from physical retail” [online] Vogue Business. Available at: https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/post-pandemic-playbook-what-gen-z-want-from-physical-retail-adidas [Accessed Nov 3′ 2022]

GRAEME MORAN, 2022. Gen Z and Millennials 2022 report [online] Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/insight/drapers-bespoke/gen-z-and-millennials-2022-report [Accessed Oct 13, 2022] 

Maheshwari. S and Friedman. V, 2021. (Victoria’s Secret Swaps Angels for ‘What Women Want.’) [online] The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/business/victorias-secret-collective-megan-rapinoe.html 

Tracy Francis, Fernanda Hoefel, 2018 (“True Gen”: Generation Z and its implications for companies:  Page 9). Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Consumer%20Packaged%20Goods/Our%20Insights/True%20Gen%20Generation%20Z%20and%20its%20implications%20for%20companies/Generation-Z-and-its-implication-for-companies.pdf [Accessed Oct 13, 2022] 

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Planet

Planet

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Planet is one of the four pillars of fashion business which focuses on the environmental sustainability and issues that damage the planet caused by the fashion industry. Sustainability in relation to fashion is how ethical the practices are in the fashion industry to satisfy the present and future generations to improve their standard of living. The fashion industry is one of the most harmful and the biggest contributor to pollution and climate change in the world due to the irrational amount of waste, usage of energy and water which “accounts for up to 10% of co2 being produced” in the production process (Racheal Dottle, Jackie Gu, (2022). However, over the years, social trends show the rise in concern of the planet and business ought to take action to ameliorate their production method to increase its sustainability. “In 2015, the United Nations set up the SDGs which are 17 goals with 169 targets that all 191 UN member states made an agreement to achieve by 2030 to improve the planet” (World Trade Organization 2022). These goals are all interconnected in a system and aims to reinforce businesses to have a virtuous and environmentally friendly approach. In terms of the fashion industry, this may enable fashion businesses to reduce waste, prone recycling and a more coherent usage of water and energy to produce less co2 which may reduce the potential warming of the globe. Not only would this help contribute to the planet, but this can also improve the businesses image and reputation due to the ethical acts that ease the consumer concerns. 

This is linked to the circular economy, which is “the model production and consumption” that can be handled in a more ethical way to better the planet in which this extends the product life cycle (Jaume Duch Guillot (2015). For example, Adidas has a partnership with ‘Parsey for the Oceans’ to utilize recycled plastic debris and certified plastics in its designs, with half their product portfolio made of recycled polyester (Talia Abbas, Shanna Shipin, (2022). This satisfies the 12th SDG of ‘Responsible Consumption and Production’ which is plausibly the most significant SDG in the fashion industry, as they are prone to waste an excessive number of materials in the production process. Moreover, “around 80-150 billion garments are made each year globally” (Alden Wicker (2020), despite how fashion is not considered a necessity for some people.  

However, regarding the fashion industry, this could be argued that recycling does not necessarily improve the planet. Despite the minimized waste of recycling, a limitation is that “other chemicals and metals in certain materials may contaminate the water and land during the sorting of recycling, therefore polluting the nearby environment and inhabitants”, (Amelia Josephson, (2022). This practice dismisses the 6th goal of the SDG’s which is the aim to have clean water and sanitation. “More than 733 million people live in countries with high and critical water stress” (United Nations (2019). Therefore, this could be argued that even if one focuses on a certain SDG aspect, this may cancel out the other remaining numbers of goals in the system. 

REFERENCES:

(Racheal Dottle, Jackie Gu (2022): The Real Environmental Impact of the Fashion Industry (bloomberg.com)

(World Trade Organization (2022): Sustainable Development Goals (who.int)

(Jaume Duch Guillot (2015):Circular economy: definition, importance and benefits | News | European Parliament (europa.eu)

(Talia Abbas, Shanna Shipin, (2022): 31 Sustainable Fashion Brands to Shop in 2022 | Glamour

(Alden Wicker (2020): The sustainable fashion conversation is based on bad statistics and misinformation – Vox

(Amelia Josephson, (2022): The Pros and Cons of Recycling – SmartAsset

(United Nations (2019): Goal 6 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs (un.org)

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