People
Of the four key pillars, people is the way in which fashion interacts with society and the individuals that compose it. People have the overall power with their ability to choose which products they consume and therefore which products are successful; brands choosing to take an approach in which they target specific and niche audiences, such as Urban Outfitters who appeared in the BOF Gen-Z insight report (Schneider et al, 2022), or taking a general approach in catering to a wide range of consumers, like Zara in their expansive product range (e.g homeware, beauty).
When breaking down the consumer base of fashion, Gen Z are identified as one of the largest groups; accounting for than 40% of buyers. One of the most key differences between Gen Z, of whom are born in the 90’s and 2000’s, and other generations such as millennials is the way in which they desire transparency from businesses; McKinsey (2018) labelling them as the ‘true gen’ who seek to redefine corporate responsibility by putting a greater emphasis on values, such as inclusivity and diversity.
As a result, in order to attract and retain Gen Z, of whom have a relatively low rate of retention with only 30% stating they have a ‘go to brand’ (McKinsey et al, 2023), brands need to make effort to reflect the values of Gen Z. For instance, Rhianna’s chain of brands under the Fenty name have made major steps in regards to diversity; her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty using a diverse range of models, such as plus size model Tabria Majors, and reflecting this in their products with underwear sizes ranging from XXS-4XL. Such diversity, is one of the key reasons for Fenty’s success amongst Gen Z; 63% having an awareness of the brand (Statista, 2023).
Furthermore, it can be said that the usage of influencers and social media is one of the most successful ways businesses can target Gen Z, of whom can be described as ‘digital natives’ (Francis et al, 2018). For instance, Louis Vuitton recently signed influencer Emma Chamberlain as a representative; Emma being LVMH’s first influencer signing and being a significant figure amongst Gen Z with her combined following of 15.7m.
However, it can be said that authenticity is also a key skill that businesses need, with Gen Z not being afraid to call out brands on practices such as greenwashing and tokenism. Zara, for example, was criticised for their release of an ‘ungendered’ collection that claimed to be gender neutral with its feature of items such as basic and loose fitting athleisure; however, the collection was critiqued for only including elements of masculine style and completely ignoring feminine elements of fashion (Sciacca, 2016), therefore purely attempting to capitalise off the concept of gender fluidity.