Jessica Perkin-Davidson

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PROFIT

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Without cause for explanation why, the fashion industry is built on profiteering. If the market were entirely not-for-profit, there simply wouldn’t exist the vast amount of creativity and fashion fluidity. It is estimated that by 2027, revenues will reach the two trillion U.S dollar mark; a large proportion will be from online sales (Statista, 2023). Clear from the post-pandemic slump, due to the cost of living crisis, the fashion industry is on an upturn. Brands will successfully profit from this by understanding the important relationship between fashion, art and commerce (C. Stevenson, lecture, 2023).

As predicted, in the 2023 ‘State of fashion report’ by Mckinsey and Business of Fashion, the various sectors of the industry’s performances differ. The luxury industry was predicted to grow between 5 and 10% as economic uncertainty affects wealthy consumers less; ‘insulated from the effects of hyperinflation’ (State of Fashion, 2023).

Consequently, the luxury sector outperforms the mass market; as an example, Louis Vuitton has a singular value of 44.5 million U.S dollars (Statista, 2023). This level of protected creativity keeps the brand competitive, and ensures continuous success. This is down to its premium quality which keeps wealthier clients travelling and spending regardless of uncertainty, therefore producing a ‘modest sales growth for the luxury sector’(State of fashion, 2023).

The mass market however, was predicted to continue declining in growth rates. Due to fall in trade for less expensive products, war in Ukraine disrupting trade routes, and hyperinflation depressing consumer sentiments, the entire mass market is weighed down (State of Fashion, 2023). As a market, it is more sensitive to the current existing global external shocks than the luxury sector. 

Therefore, for brands to remain competitive in uncertain times they must stay relevant commercially, as a “brand is a living organism” (S. Tide-Frater, Lecture, 2023), evolving in response to its external conditions. Current integration of art and fashion across e-commerce platforms, changes the way fashion designers dominate design (S. Tide- Frater, Lecture, 2023), allowing creative directors to sculpt a vision for fashion to be an experience, outside of tailored structures, that will bridge gaps between authentic creativity and dynamic commerce advances.

‘Exposure to the new’- the Selfridges motto under Susanne Tide-Frater is the method to conjoining creativity and commerce; creating a vision that everybody can conform to in their own interpretation. Concluding, this is what will keep brand revenue and growth positive.

Reference list:

Statista, (2023), ‘Fashion & Accessories’ industry report

Available at: https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/markets/423/topic/463/fashion-accessories/#overview

Caroline Stevenson, (2023), Lecture, ‘Fashion: Art and Commerce’

McKinsey & Company and Business of Fashion, ‘The State of Fashion 2023’, (2022)

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

Susanne Tide-Frater, (2023), Lecture, ‘A Journey in Fashion’

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PEOPLE

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The People pillar, focuses on consumer’s demands in regards to fashion movements and “fashion transparency” (O.De Castro, Lecture, 2023) – peeling back layers of supply chains and dissecting fashion ethics. Generation Z; ‘born between 1996 and 2010’ (Mckinsey Article, 2023), are shaped by ‘digital age, climate anxiety, a shifting financial landscape and COVID-19’ (McKinsey Article, 2023) so are urgent to demand answers from the industry.

The spotlight falls on Gen Z to correct the past, as the emphasis as Orsola De castro stated is that “the fashion industry is not an industry that has gone wrong but an industry that has historically chosen to exploit”. Orosla’s #whomakesmyclothes movement, highlights the disconnected state of supply chains and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that hasn’t consistently existed amongst the fashion industry. 

Due to pressing truths that the industry was always originally constructed with an allowance of business exploitation for financial benefits (O. De Castro, Lecture, 2023), the gap between luxury and affordable therefore is questioned. What is the difference? Neither pay a living wage to employees, provide dignified work or are 100% traceable, a concept Orsola De Castro opens up as a pinnacle for why luxury must be “redesigned”, so that the products “afford luxury to the people who make it- to the entire supply chain” (O.De Castro, Lecture 2023).

“CSR and sustainability have been inextricably linked in the fashion industry” (Londirgan et al. 2018) as CSR concepts developed as early as 1930, yet the incorporation into the industry was considerably late.“Catalyst for the CSR movement”: the scandal of Kathie Lee Gifford’s exploitation of child labour in 1996 (Londrigan et al. 2018), allowed social impacts by brands to now be held accountable.

Keeping fashion political, is therefore, essential to improving working quality amongst the supply chains and maintaining the idea of ‘Vendor compliance’; focusing on the care of people and the environment by meeting standards, “signing policies, procedures and protocols for sourcing, inspecting and shipping”(Londrigan et al. 2018). 

Consequently, management of responsible sustainability intertwined with embracing diversity, attracts Generation Z. Their character has evolved around security, stability and inclusion. For a brand to be successful in the face of Gen Z, it’s therefore about ethics, principles and morals; calling for “circular fashion” (Mckinsey Article 2023), an acceleration in Inner Development Goals and the key skills to address consumers through effective e-commerce and technological platforms such as DRESSX that encourage sustainability. This is how brands successfully encounter Generation Z.

Reference list:

Orsola De Castro, (2023), Lecture 

‘What is Gen Z?’ (2023) McKinsey & Company 

Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z

‘Fashion supply chain management’ (2018) Londrigan, M.P and Jenkins, JM. 

Published at: Fairchild books

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Planet

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With every garment made on this planet, CO2 is released. The textile industry alone produces 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 annually (Katerina Rimarcikova, Monday lecture). The industry’s behaviour aids a 63% growth in emissions, once 85% of all textiles produced are sent to landfill (Katerina Rimarcikova), shaping the fashion industry as the largest global polluter. The resolution to fixing an ‘irreversible damage’ (IPCC Report, 2023), in order to put responsible consumption and production into action should perhaps start from the beginning and filter down to combine SMEs with larger corporations who side-step sustainability in order to benefit from the ease and speed of mass scale garment production. 

Fashion sustainability aims to be as carbon-neutral as possible, targeting a 50% cut on carbon emissions by 2030. (Katerina Rimarcikova). To drive forward the industry must adapt to the circular economy and incentivise reusing and returning all forms of waste to be more efficient in responsible consumer consumption and production. High Street boutiques and start-up businesses are subject to choosing cheap and convenient due to developed fashion brands that offshore manufacturing to less economically developed countries. Fast fashion thrives through bringing runway looks to highstreets, done so by producing “selected samples relatively quickly” (A.Gwilt, 2020) when compared to finely tuned brands; “30 or 40% more quickly” (A.Gwilt, 2020). Fashion sustainability must slow down fast fashion and the mindset it’s consumers adopt of the ‘usage’ stage- buying cheaper clothing to wear once, assuming it doesn’t have the durability to be reworn or sold, so discard it quickly.

Responsible consumption and production, put in place by the UN in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, provides “a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity” (sdgs.un.org). Consequently, injustice, welfare discrimination and ignorance of the dire state of the planet will only change if it starts with the designer, a concept from A.Gwilt’s ‘Practical guide to sustainable fashion’, 2020. Although minimising the time it takes to turn a sketch into a finished garment (A.Gwilt, 2020) benefits the business, the designer understands fabrics and can improve usage patterns to develop a greater appreciation for sustainable consumption and recycling amongst consumers. Responding strongly to this SDG, is the LVMH-backed platform, Nona Source, that circulates high-end dead stock to the emerging SMEs to reduce landfill waste.(Drapers report, Sabina Weston, 2022) This is an influential step towards the 2030 goal. 

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