“Profit is the financial benefit realized when the revenue generated from a business activity exceeds the costs involved in sustaining the activity in question.” (Will, 2022) As one of the largest industries and the biggest e-commerce industry in the world, the fashion industry generated $1.55 trillion in revenue in 2021, and it is predicted to be worth $1.7 trillion in 2022. (Dunja, 2022) To generate profit, contributions from various sectors of the industry are indispensable.

According to Fashion United (2022), there was a 3.45 billion workforce in the fashion industry in 2021, which accounts for 44% of the global population. This can tell that the size of the fashion industry is very big. Plenty of people from various sectors are included in the fashion industry, such as designers, retailers, visual merchandisers, creative directors, fashion journalists… They all involve creativity in their work to help run the industry, which is a very important tool to be performed in the industry as it helps businesses remain competitive, draw attention and stand out from the market.

It is essential for a brand to remain competitive in uncertain economic times to ensure a profitable business. Since customers’ behavior and consumption habits have a significant impact on business behavior and policy (Hethorn, 2015, p.79), it is important to focus more on strengthening the relationship with existing customers, which can be done through communication. Customers may communicate publicly and directly with businesses through social media, which is a useful tool for holding them accountable for their activities. (Hethorn, 2015, p.76) If consumers’ voices are heard by companies, they will feel emphasized and will develop long-term and trustful relationships with companies. Also, a brand should not retreat from marketing even during uncertain economic times. Instead of cutting the marketing budget that might possibly harm the brand over time and make it easier for less-capable competitors to gain market share, maintaining or boosting advertising during a recession can on the contrary increases market share in the long run according to studies. (Erik, 2020) This shows that a brand should strengthen its brand position during uncertain economic times to remain competitive.

Art and commerce are increasingly connected in the fashion industry. Many creative directors have started bridging the gap between creativity and commerce. The most common way is to launch collaborations on fashion products, such as KAWS x Dior and Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse. Those collaborations have sparked new styles, boost the sales for the brands, and increase public awareness to the artists and their works.

Apart from the collaboration of products, there is a similar way that art and commerce come together. For example, one of the fitting rooms in Louis Vuitton’s flagship stores is decorated with wallpapers that are designed by Damien Hirst. More and more brands are launching collaborations with art, which indicates that it is a new form of expression and marketing to gain public attention and popularity.

Reference

Clausen, E. (2020) Council post: Marketing rules to follow during Uncertain Economic Times, Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/04/03/marketing-rules-to-follow-during-uncertain-economic-times/ (Accessed: October 21, 2022).

Global Fashion Industry Statistics (no date) FashionUnited. Available at: https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics (Accessed: October 20, 2022).

Hethorn, J., Ulasewicz, C. and McDonough, W. (2015) Sustainable fashion – what’s next?: A conversation exploring issues, practices, and possibilities. New York: Fairchild Books.

Kenton, W. (2022) Profit definition plus gross, operating, and net profit explained, Investopedia. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/profit.asp (Accessed: October 20, 2022).

Radonic, D. (2022) The most important fashion industry statistics in 2022, FashionDiscounts. Available at: https://fashiondiscounts.uk/fashion-industry- (Accessed: October 20, 2022).

Image reference

Manon Garrigues, translated by H. L. (2018) Kaws and dior create the prettiest set of Men’s Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2019, Vogue France. Vogue France. Available at: https://www.vogue.fr/fashion-culture/fashion-exhibitions/story/kaws-dior-homme-kim-jones-show/2815 (Accessed: October 21, 2022).

Serio, K. (2020) Louis Vuitton’s Stephen Sprouse Collab was (and is) the brand’s best, PurseBlog. Available at: https://www.purseblog.com/louis-vuitton/louis-vuittons-stephen-sprouse-collab-was-and-is-the-brands-best/ (Accessed: October 21, 2022). Tilton Fenwick: Butterfly Wallpaper, Damien Hirst Butterfly, Damien Hirst (2012) Pinterest. Available at: https://pin.it/1ikcoAS (Accessed: October 21, 2022).

Tilton Fenwick: Butterfly Wallpaper, Damien Hirst Butterfly, Damien Hirst (2012) Pinterest. Available at: https://pin.it/1ikcoAS (Accessed: October 21, 2022).

An economy as described by Investopedia is “ a complex system of interrelated production, consumption, and exchange activities that ultimately determines how resources are allocated among all the participants. The production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services combine to fulfil the needs of those living and operating within the economy.” (Kenton, 2022) Our current economy is one that is of a capitalist kind, therefore profit, the third of the the four pillars of fashion business school comes of great relevance. Profit is essentially the amount of revenue a business makes in which it exceeds the price of its costs to make and sell the item it is selling. Profit is a key factor in determining the success of a business as it is taken into account in Elkington’s Triple Bottom Line theory. The more profitable a business is, the more successful it is seen as the amount of excess money can allow it to reinvest and produce better outcome. Fashion makes up a great part of the world’s economy as the McKinsey report states it to be “one of the world’s most important industries” (Mckinesy, 2017) Fashion United states that true fashion industry has a labour force of 3,384.1 million and that its value is equivalent to that of three trillion dollars. Therefore, it is 2% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product. (Henrique, 2022). Through this we can see the size of the fashion industry and how large it actually is.

A great sector of the fashion industry is that of manufacturing. The market size of the manufacturing industry is £2bn in the UK which expresses the size of it. Though previously manufacturing from home with the “Made in Britain” label was seen as an exclusive aspect, bringing higher revenues to a brand, this is now changing and is beginning to become more common. With the demand on fast fashion trends speeding the trend cycle, provide a need for brands to produce close to home. Not only this though as the pandemic proved the importance of having manufactures be close as well as the current cost going up, it is now no longer cheaper to produce in the Far East (No Author, 2022).

An uncertain economic time can raise many strains in the fashion industry whilst also becoming difficult to remain competitive. The COVID 19 pandemic showed this as many businesses such as Debenhams and the Arcadia group went bust however interestingly, Missguided, the online retailer went into administration in May 2022, though flourishing during the pandemic, issues arose when shops reopened and sales dropped. (No Author, 2020) Amazon’s fast delivery service and variety of products allowed for the company to remain competitive and even having to close down non-.essential items due to not being able to meet the amount of demand. (No Author, 2022)

Issues rise in the tension between commerce and creativity especially recently due to consumers having a stronger voice, it has become less about what the artists create and more so about what the consumers demand. Demand these days is severely affected by fast fashion and the high expectations set due to them (Norris, 2022) and the speed in which the trend cycle is currently working at. With the expectation of all brands to produce whatever is in the current trend, this limits artists and creatives to producing unique pieces and that which they desire to do so. However, brands are sharing their creativity and bridging the gap between art and commerce for example, Burberry commonly sponsor British music groups to help gain leverage on either side with common consumers (Ahmed, 2013).

Kenton, W. (2022) Economy: What it is, types of economies, economic indicators, Investopedia. Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economy.asp (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Amed, I. (2016) The State of Fashion 2017, McKinsey & Co.
Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Retail/Our%20Insights/The%20state%20of%20fashion/The-state-of-fashion-2017-McK-BoF-report.pdf
[Accessed Oct 28, 2022].

Henrique, E. (2022) Fashion industry statistics: The 4th biggest sector is way more than just about clothing, Fashinnovation. Available at: https://fashinnovation.nyc/fashion-industry-statistics/ (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Industry market research, reports, and Statistics (no date) IBISWorld. Available at: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-research-reports/clothing-manufacturing-industry/ (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Prospering in the pandemic: The top 100 companies (2020) Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/844ed28c-8074-4856-bde0-20f3bf4cd8f0 (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Prospering in the pandemic: The top 100 companies (2020) Financial Times. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/844ed28c-8074-4856-bde0-20f3bf4cd8f0 (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Norris, O.J. (2022) The age of fast fashion: How consumer behaviour has changed and how it’s impacting our environment, AMPLYFI. Available at: https://amplyfi.com/2022/01/10/the-age-of-fast-fashion/ (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Ahmed, A. (2013) Bridging the gap between art and business | Ajaz Ahmed, The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/oct/16/bridging-gap-art-business (Accessed: October 30, 2022).

Brand purpose is about moving a brand towards greater prosperity, not just keeping it alive. Brand purpose is a concept that is more important than profit and is a key way to drive long-term business growth for a brand. A brand’s purpose is a long-term, core objective that is a key component of the brand’s identity, meaning structure and strategy. The purpose of a brand goes beyond the profitability of the brand, it gives the brand a certain link to the productive nature of the world. The purpose of the brand is more focused on bringing well-being to society as a whole and leading society and humanity as a whole to develop and progress; such brands do not have a singular emphasis on the actions of the self and are more likely to bring happiness to consumers. (Williams et al., 2022).

Nowadays, brands are no longer just an expression of the quality, functionality and monetary value of a product, but represent the philosophy, values, goals and self-affirmation that consumers use to explain their lives. A brand with its own set mission, vision and value proposition will be able to know exactly where it should be heading, and a brand philosophy will help consumers to better understand and appreciate the brand so that they can more accurately find a brand that matches their values and shares their vision. A brand vision creates excitement among employees, who are more likely to enjoy their role in the brand. A brand vision creates a sense of pride in employees and gives them a sense of purpose and motivation for their work, which enables them to better contribute to the profitability of the brand and serve the brand (Leslie et al., 1998). It is the brand philosophy that is the main support for the development of the brand in a deeper and longer-term way.

The sharing economy is defined as “a socio-economic system that enables the exchange of goods and services between individuals and organisations with the aim of increasing efficiency and optimising the use of society’s secondary resources (Munoz & Cohen, 2016: p21, cited in Hossain, 2020).” The sharing economy is a way for organisations or various individuals with idle resources to give up the use of their resources to others for a fee so that the transferor receives a return and the sharer creates value by sharing others’ idleness to access resources. Sharing underutilised assets in an efficient and sustainable way is the main purpose of resource sharing (Hossain, 2020). In recent years companies such as Uber and Airbnb have grown to become globally known brands. Airbnb is the leader in shared accommodation and is the originator of the sharing economy, a website for travellers and homeowners with empty rooms to rent. Airbnb has a strong brand, generates traffic through free channels and has lower customer acquisition costs than its peers. The sharing of the economy can reduce costs for consumers while providing them with great convenience (Wilhelms et al., 2017). In any case, it is believed that the sharing economy has a significant impact on society, the economy and the environment. It also contributes to sustainable development (Hossain, 2020).

The main consumer in today’s modern society is Gen Z. Gen Z is adept at using social media and the internet (Dimock, 2019). Brands that want to communicate their brand purpose to Gen Z should use the internet on a large scale and various social media that Gen Z use frequently to promote the brand, advertise, etc. Brands should be on all major social media, create their own social brand accounts, and post updates on the accounts. Fresh images can attract Gen Z to view them. Or brands can look for designers from the Gen Z generation who understand Gen Z better because they belong to Gen Z so that they can better communicate the brand’s mission to Gen Z. Brands can also look for influential accounts on social media to help promote the brand or develop collaborative products, which can help the brand better communicate the brand’s mission to Gen Z.

Reference list：
Chernatony, L. and Riley, F. (1998). Modelling the components of the brand. [online] Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/03090569810243721/full/html [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins. [online] Pew Research Center. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2022].

Hossain, M. (2020). Sharing economy: A comprehensive literature review. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 87(102470). doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2020.102470 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Wilhelms, M.-P., Henkel, S. and Falk, T. (2017). To earn is not enough: A means-end analysis to uncover peer-providers’ participation motives in peer-to-peer carsharing. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, [online] 125(38-47), pp.38–47. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2017.03.030 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Williams, P., Escalas, J.E. and Morningstar, A. (2022). Conceptualizing brand purpose and considering its implications for consumer eudaimonic well‐being. Journal of Consumer Psychology. [online] doi:10.1002/jcpy.1324 [Accessed 29 Oct. 2022].

Purpose

A brand should not only let consumers see its products and design concepts. It should let consumers know its vision and value proposition. Every fashion brand has its own mission.“Every brand is dying to have a mission, and 99.9 percent of them have written a story, attaching it to their products,” Colen said. As a working farm first and foremost, Sky High has taken the opposite approach, starting with its mission and layering on its product offering. “People will listen to us,” he added. “We’ll have a voice other companies just can’t have in the dialogue.”(Sherman, 07, May, 2021). The value proposition of a fashion brand is its backbone, the core element of the design concept, this also invisibly gives consumers a core driving force.

Gen Z is a vibrant crowd, so the brand can create some sentences about the brand’s own vision, turn the vision into a design concept, and convey it in the clothes. Tiktok is a good publicity path, and many brands now rely on Tiktok to increase their popularity. “There are three key measures of Gen-Z spending: consumption as access, rather than possession; spending as an expression of their identity; and consumption as a measure of ethical concerns,” says Manastir. “Gen-Z define themselves in multiple ways. They want to see different products and then a real story behind those products and behind the brand itself. They think more analytically before investing.”(Team, 15, July 2020)It can be seen that they all buy things based on their ideas, rather than placing orders without thinking, so the design concept and vision are particularly important. 

Brand purpose is one of the important pillars of the four pillars of the fashion business. In today’s era of great competition, the core of a brand’s marketing has become the positioning and business value of the brand, because only the philosophy (mission, vision, value proposition) that builds a good brand can achieve higher income and business value. achievement, so the philosophy of a brand is very important.

Many fashion brands rent dresses to celebrities or singers or models for events such as Fashion Week and the Met Gala. When some models are photographing fashion magazines, they will also wear the corresponding clothes provided by the brand, which is the sharing economy. The sharing economy is also known as collaborative consumption or peer-to-peer based sharing. An important criterion of the sharing economy is that it enables individuals to monetize underutilized assets. Today’s very popular second-hand website buying and selling, shared transportation such as shared bicycles and shared cars, and many fashion brands will rent their own clothes to others, these are very popular sharing economy.

Good brands can help consumers simplify the decision-making process, help to form the core competitiveness of products in the market, and better attract Gen Z consumers. For example, some brands will send gifts to consumers on specific holidays, and Some brands will do well in serving consumers. But the most important thing is how to attract consumers to grab their attention. For example, when Virgil Abloh became Louis Vuitton’s new men’s clothing creative director, it caused a great sensation in the fashion industry. In 2019, the Louis Vuitton spring and summer men’s clothing series was also the first time that Virgil Abloh transformed his men’s clothing line. He is good at trends. He has changed the brand’s unreachable past, and has ushered in a different experience of young street fashion. As today’s Louis Vuitton men’s clothing line is developing towards the trend of young fashion and street culture, it is also more attractive to Gen Z consumers to buy Louis Vuitton’s men’s clothing line.

In today’s new era with a huge number of Gen Z consumers, it is difficult for a brand to be paid for by consumers if it does not have a good brand purpose and positioning. Therefore, the fundamental purpose of a good brand is to make its users and consumers happy. It forms a precipitation and makes the brand more popular.


Bibliography

Tucci, L. and Laskowski, N. (2018) What is sharing economy? – definition from whatis.com, SearchCIO. TechTarget. Available at: https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/definition/sharing-economy (Accessed: October 30, 2022).
Yotka, S. (2018) A brief history of Virgil Abloh’s meteoric rise, Vogue. Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/article/virgil-abloh-biography-career-timeline (Accessed: October 30, 2022).