Anna Betz

About Anna Betz

Posts by Anna Betz:

PURPOSE PILLAR

⋅

Purpose Pillar in Fashion Sustainability represents the ethical value of the brand and what it brings to the world, does it bring any benefits to the society and environment while meeting target consumers’ needs? Purpose for a business means understanding the emotional needs of customers, as frequently the decisions on purchasing an item are emotionally–based, trying to perform better than the competitors by providing higher service or broader products selection and doing something good for the society and the planet. 

The importance of having a certain purpose, as well as the mission and the vision of the brand, is essential for any major business. The quote by Fromm (2019) illustrates this point clearly: “Purpose-driven brands are winning consumers’ hearts and investors’ wallets. This means that knowing why the brand exists and why it stands out from the rest, clearly demonstrating that to the target market and proving the statements with actual actions is exactly what is required from the fashion brands nowadays. Turning into an advantage for the firm purpose creates the connection of the business with its consumers, which is significant for Gen Z especially. Starting from the fact that this generation is the largest consumer in the world at the current time, meaning that understanding its preferences regarding purchasing clothing and accessories have to be the main course for the firm. Moreover, brands should avoid treating their purposes with only the market-driven approach, as the generation expects brands to be playing a more active role in helping the environment and to be trustworthy about what is stated in the mission, e.g. not only providing various charts with future targets for helping the environment, but taking steps to achieve those targets. Another point is that Gen Z is looking for uniqueness in brands, so that it can make them stand out from the crowd and be different due to the inspiring brand actions at every level. Brands have to stand for something to be loved and the products to be bought (McKinsey, 2020).  

The brands can easily reach Gen Z with the use of social platforms. Creating brand stories for mobile consumption can attract Gen Z while scrolling through their phones. Gaming environment is another area as it is not just for “gamers” anymore. It’s the place where people connect with each other, creating certain experiences and even cultures (Wilson, 2021). Fashion brands can collaborate with platforms like Discord or Twitch for proper communication of their purposes. 

Meet Generation Z: Shaping the future of shopping (2020) McKinsey & Company

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/meet-generation-z-shaping-the-future-of-shopping

Where Brands Are Reaching Gen Z (2021) Sara Wilson

https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/personal/r_zilkha_fashion_arts_ac_uk/Documents/FBS%20Intro%20To/FBS-Intro%20To%202023/Lectures%20and%20Seminars/Week%205/Where%20Brands%20Are%20Reaching%20Gen%20Z.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=kiwNEB

How the Best Brand-Influencer Partnerships Reach Gen Z (2023) by Janet Balis

https://artslondon-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/personal/r_zilkha_fashion_arts_ac_uk/Documents/FBS%20Intro%20To/FBS-Intro%20To%202023/Lectures%20and%20Seminars/Week%205/How%20the%20Best%20Brand-Influencer%20Partnerships%20Reach%20Gen%20Z%20new.pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=mX5f9f

Gen-Z And The Three Elements Of Purpose Brands (2019) Forbes 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2019/07/26/gen-z-and-the-three-elements-of-purpose-brands/

Cross, P., Fromm, J. (2019) The Purpose Advantage: How to Unlock New Ways of Doing Business 

https://assets.ctfassets.net/arqv82dvpv8e/1gPRR6XS4ZmeLzUZEEEPnX/dc8528b38ce57128affb6a178cb6d695/The-Purpose-Advantage-2.0-First-Chapters.pdf
Liked Liked
1 Comment

  1. khaled: Very good

IMG_5138

PROFIT PILLAR

⋅

Profit pillar includes observation of a company’s efficient and responsible use of resources in order to generate revenue. Fashion brands might target to improve their operating processes to achieve sustainability and stay profitable, as the industry is competitive and demands unique approaches. Revenue in the fashion market is projected to reach £36.10bn in 2023 and is expected to show an annual growth rate of 5.40%, resulting in market volume of £44.56bn by 2027, according to Statista Market Insights (2023). 

Various fashion sectors in key markets such as China, Europe and the US show different result regarding growth in 2023, however, the luxury sector had the most positive results e.g., in the United States it is expected to grow between 5-10% in 2023 and in China between 9-14%. Whereas luxury sector in Europe, due to being under high pressure from currency rates and a growing energy crisis, is projected to grow between 3-8%. 

It is necessary to pay attention to macroeconomic and political issues in the areas where the brand is operating, as well as to develop risk management strategies for conflicts and government regulations to keep the brand image. Moreover, there are significant shifts in consumers’ shopping behavior only meaning that the demand will be weakened or unpredictable in the year ahead for the fashion industry (McKinsey, 2022). Brands will have to focus on developing their marketing to attract customers through differentiated content like social media use for promotion. For instance, Uniqlo’s shoulder bag went viral on TikTok and had over 59 million views which lead to the item being sold out multiple times across multiple colour ways (The Lyst Index, 2023). 

The ability to combine creativity in fashion and the commercial value of brand’s products is the key responsibility of creative directors. There are two essential parts: the brand visionary, which includes the need to have artistic vision and design collections, and being the brand ambassador, meaning that the collections have to impress the public and be suitable for the catwalk presentations. Luxury sector especially requires this role due to the vision of the creative director being needed in advertising and press materials (Mitterfellner, O, 2023). There are many examples of commercial creativity in fashion industry : Dolce & Gabbana in 2012 heavily used style colours and patterns that were characteristics of the Baroque era, the obvious similarities between Christian Dior style and Impressionism (Fashion Capital, 2023) or the collaborations between Burberry and various British music bands.

Fashion’s Hottest Brands and Products Q1 (2023) The Lyst Index. 

https://www.lyst.com/data/the-lyst-index/q123/

The State of Fashion 2023: Holding onto growth as global clouds gather (2022) McKinsey & Company. 

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/state-of-fashion

Mitterfellner, O.(2023) Luxury Fashion Brand Management: Unifying Fashion with Sustainability. Taylor & Francis Group.

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=7260416

How Art Has Inspired Fashion Throughout History (2023) Fashion Capital. 

How Art Has Inspired Fashion Throughout History

Liked Liked
1 Comment

  1. khaled: Nice

IMG_3599

PEOPLE PILLAR

⋅

People pillar is all about maintaining ethical behavior as a business towards its stakeholders and understanding specific needs of the target market to gain profit and competitive advantage. According to Varley et al. (2018, p. 213), it is essential for businesses to research their consumers, especially in demographic terms, in order to be competitive among other firms in dynamic market.

Generation Z are people born between 1995 and 2010 who grown up in digital world and are comfortable enough to easily use many sources of information technology. Term ‘digital natives’, originally used by Marc Prensky, truly defines the lives of Gen-Z which are extremely online, the generation works, shops, dates, makes friends online and overall spends more than 6 hours per day on their phones (McKinsey, 2020). 

People from this generation are attracted to unique brands which let them express their individuality, reflect their values regarding mental health and climate change and provide diversity. There are several top brands among Gen-Z, which were highly rated in the survey conducted by BoF Insights (2022). The top two brands were Nike with its combination of stylish designs, creative collaborations and accessible prices and, surprisingly, Gucci, which is in luxury sector and provides expensive goods. Key reasons for those results are brands’ responses to the ethical topics and opportunities for individual expression. Nike’s clothes are suitable for many social groups regardless their age, skin color, race, orientation, and body type, meaning that the brand supports the diversity and a new wave of “inclusive consumers” (BoF Insights, 2022). Whereas Gucci provides the uniqueness deeply desired by any representative of Gen-Z in their clothes and engages with younger customers by various collaborations such as NFT drops and virtual spaces in Roblox and The Sims (BoF Insights, 2021). Moreover, many Gen Zers consider themselves environmentally conscious and expect the same behavior from the companies. They are well educated about brands and use Internet resources in a highly analytical and programmatic way for their search for truth. 

Due to rapid rase in technology and in level of education in it, fashion brands are starting to look more for people with technology and computer skills, as well as, with marketing skills and critical thinking (Stolzoff, 2018). These employees’ skills will allow the brand to be successful in E-Commerce and to obtain new ideas of how to work and effectively use new technologies e.g AI Generators. 

Reference List 

Varley, R., Roncha, A., Radclyffe- Thomas, N. and Gee, L. (2019) Fashion Management: A strategic approach. London: Red Globe Press. https://libsearch.arts.ac.uk/cgi-bin/koha/opacdetail.pl?biblionumber=1384267&query_desc=

Asia’s Generation Z comes of age (2020) McKinsey & Company.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/asias-generation-z-comes-of-age

Gucci’s Robert Triefus on Testing Luxury’s Allure in the Metaverse (2021) The Business of Fashion. 

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/luxury/the-state-of-fashion-2022-bof-mckinsey-gucci-robert-triefus-metaverse-virtual-nft-gaming/

Nike and Gucci Top Gen-Z’s Favourite Fashion Brands (2022) The Business of Fashion. 

https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/bof-insights-nike-and-gucci-top-gen-zs-favourite-fashion-brands/#:~:text=But%20Gen%2DZ%20is%20also,latest%20BoF%20Insights%20report%20reveals.

These are the skills to learn for the future of work, according to the World Economic Forum(2018) Simone Stolzoff

https://qz.com/work/1462247/skills-to-learn-for-the-future-of-work-according-to-wef
Liked Liked
No Comments
IMG_3468

PLANET PILLAR

⋅

Planet is one of the four pillars combination of which results in sustainability. In fashion terms this particular pillar aims to prevent inflicting damage to the environment by more rational use of our planet’s resources. Since fashion industry is tightly connected to the use of materials required to create clothes and garments there are direct environmental impacts due to both overproduction and overconsumption. The fashion industry is claimed to be one of the most wasteful on the planet with 10% of total global carbon emissions. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams for unnecessary production of 100 billion garments a year for 7 billion people, while 87% of them will end up in landfills. Fashion is responsible for 20% of all industrial wastewater and pollution caused by the use of toxic chemicals, dyes, and heavy metals(Mckinsey 2016). 

There are 17 SDGs developed by the UN in 2015 for completion by 2030 in order to save the environment. The environmental pillar touches problems like water, energy, consumption and production, climate action and life below water and on land. Circular economy helps to create business activities for finding solutions for these global issues. The concept of slow fashion, which is an eco system with new approaches to making and selling clothes (better design processes, better materials, better working practices and skills), avoids using unnecessary resources and contributes to waste problem. This is compulsory for big fashion brands to adopt the concept and implement it to their production processes by reducing CO2 emissions, responsibly choosing their suppliers, promoting recycling throughout the business and improving product designs. Superdry (UK fashion brand) focuses on emissions reduction and achieved 97% of it between 2014 and 2021 by introducing 100% renewable electricity in its store and offices (Drapers 2022). In short-term environmental sustainability for fashion industry can result in increased costs, however, in long-term the approach helps the brand to get closer to its customers and do better for the planet. 

Together with this data it is essential to understand the consumers’ responsibility to ensure their sustainable behavior. The consumption of clothing and footwear is expected to increase by 63% by 2030 (Eionet Report 2019). Therefore, customers have to gain more knowledge about the fashion industry, leading to increased tendency in switching to second-hand sellers and in paying more attention to the way clothes are washed which results in prolonged life cycle of clothes. 

Liked Liked
No Comments
IMG_3544

My favourite fashion brand

⋅

Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood is the fashion brand which I adore the most and can clearly say that this one is my favorite. The main reasons why I love it are the sustainability of the brand, uniqueness of clothes and accessories and the biography of the designer. The first time I heard about the brand was around 2-3 years ago and from that time can stop being obsessed. Vivienne was an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Obviously the death of Vivienne Westwood was a tragic event for me and many people around the world. She was a real fighter for people rights and saving planet! This position gave her a lot of respect from the society. The style of this brand is the representation of high fashion with punk references which ends up into the most iconic and original fashion style ever seen. The personal life of the woman is fascinating to read about as she had a bright life and interesting connections with many other fashion icons. 

Liked Liked
No Comments