Change,
speed, and innovation are now the name of the game. According to the State of
Fashion 2018 report by BoF & McKinsey, 66 percent of millennials around the
world are willing to spend more on sustainable fashion. It is time brands
listen to their millennial customers demanding more sustainable options,
without sacrificing quality and affordability.
Reformation
is a sustainable women’s clothing and accessories company that practices
complete transparency, posting their CO2 and waste savings on their website.
For every product! Millennials care a lot about sustainable fashion, even
willingly choosing to switch loyalty from brands that don’t promote sustainable
production to more ethical options.
Part of the
problem could be that there is not enough product availability and effective
marketing to cater toward this demographic’s needs. While millennial consumers
state an interest in sustainable brands, the reality is that few labels promote
ethical production. A few are: • Patagonia • Everlane • Reformation
Natalie
Massenet
Natalie
Massenet, the serial fashion-preneur who founded luxury ecommerce site,
Net-a-Porter, launched a venture capital firm focusing on the intersection of
technology and retail in direct-to-consumer, consumer fashion startups. It
could just be that the brands best able to balance newness with affordability
and sustainability will experience the most success.
Sustainability
is just a piece of the puzzle, and it won’t even matter unless brands also meet
consumers’ price point while demonstrating product uniqueness. For consumers to
care, brands must take an all-in approach. Instead of lengthy reports hidden in
a brand’s website, the focus should be on making sustainability information
quick, easy, and digestible.
Fast fashion
is just so, well, easy. A 2016 report by McKinsey revealed that nearly
three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfills within a year
of being made. So although today’s consumers value sustainability, the reality
is that most clothing is not made to last and ends up in the garbage.
Reformation
Reformation’s
online shopping tool, RefScale, shows consumers how much waste they will
contribute in buying a Reformation product versus a less-sustainable option
like a cotton t-shirt. With millennial consumption expected to rise to 45
percent of the global luxury goods market by 2025, our days of ownership may be
over.17 “I think a huge portion of what we wear in the future is going to be
comprised of things we don’t own forever,” says founder and chief executive
Jennifer Hyman, of Rent the Runway.
Companies
are starting to learn that their customers value having more options through
renting over ownership. Hyman claims that consumers would rather have limited
access to designer goods for the price of one article of clothing at Zara. Consuming
sustainably and with purpose is fashion’s new frontier.
Elizabeth
St. John
Liz makes
accessories, hand-made flowers, and details for other gowns with her extra
material. Elizabeth St. John does not print catalogs and runs her atelier
entirely on wind power. Textile dyeing is the second largest polluter after
agriculture. The obsession with immediate access to fashion promotes a
throwaway culture, shortening the lifespan of clothing.
Stella
McCartney, for instance, has been an avid supporter of sustainable fashion
throughout her career. Circularity in the fashion industry refers to the reuse
of materials, discouraging the typical production and waste cycle of clothing.
According to a 2017 study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, fifty-three
million tons of clothing are produced globally each year, of which 87 percent
is ultimately either incinerated or dumped in landfills.
At the 2017
Copenhagen Fashion Summit, fashion brands made a commitment to employ a
completely circular fashion system by 2020.23 Together, all of the brands that
push for a more sustainable fashion cycle account for 12 percent of the global
apparel market, according to the Global Fashion Agenda.
H&M was
one of the first brands in 2012 to institute a global clothing collection
initiative, and since 2015, H&M has offered grants to companies and
startups with the most innovative ideas in closed-loop textiles. The problem of
overconsumption in clothing has grown to be massive and must be tackled, and
soon.
Technology
AI Chatbots
and the Rise of the See-Now-Buy-Now Model
Advancements
in Wearable Tech
3-D printing
Biofabricated
Leathers
Solidarity
for a Cause—Authentic Brand Messaging
Today’s
consumer wants more than just a product.
• Young
fashion innovators and consumers gaining influence and demanding their voices
be heard
• Increasing
irrelevance of the traditional fashion trend cycle—consumers continue to
gravitate toward clothes that can be worn in any season.
Young Innovators
• The shift
toward increasingly younger entrepreneurs as major innovators in
fashion—younger people have the pulse on street culture and the most relevant
trends.
• Fashion
labels shifting focus from exclusive product promotion to an inclusive and
integrated retail experience for customers
Past
influence on New Trends
• An
athleisure revolution rooted in a nostalgic nod to the past
• More
brands looking to past trends for tomorrow’s fashion inspiration
• Increasing
relevance of current events and pop culture in forecasting trends
Diversity
• A
continued shift to a more inclusive fashion
• Emergence
of more designers and models of color into positions of power in fashion
• More
brands channeling the influence of youth culture into clothing
• A move
away from a tokenistic approach to diversity in fashion and a push for more
diverse and inclusive appointments
• A
continued spike in streetwear culture, sparked by today’s youth
• Mix of
luxury with streetwear, further pushing the boundaries on what constitutes high
fashion
• Heightened
visibility of people of color in all aspects of the fashion industry
• Fashion embracing
diversity in beauty and clothing lines
Accessible
Fashion
Sinéad says
“one of the challenges of fashion is that it is notoriously hierarchical, and
it profits from exclusivity. In order for the disabled market to be relevant
and to have their voices validated, there must be power sharing.
• Millennial
push for more realistic and relatable faces in fashion
• Movement
embracing size inclusivity
• Increased
activism and raised awareness around the issues of those typically left out of
the fashion conversation If we don’t begin to create fashion that is more
inclusive and available for people of all abilities, we will be leaving out a
large portion of the population from the conversation.
• Increased
integration of retail experience for adaptable fashion
• Consumer
call to action addressing the needs of underrepresented groups and urging
companies to pay attention to their unique needs
The Changing
Face of Leadership
• New innovations
on social media channels like Instagram revolutionizing fashion imagery and how
consumers engage with this content
• The push
for a more inclusive social media experience to attract and retain the interest
of new customers
• Products
packaged and branded with a message to capture consumer interest
•
Inclusivity encompassing more people from varied backgrounds in positions of
power
Shifting
Beauty Standards
•
Flourishing body positive movement to embrace people of all looks and sizes
• Shifting
beauty standards to an appreciation for individuality
Fashion as
Empowerment
• Consumer
shift to interest in products created from passion instead of following trends
• Increasing
representation in fashion and models like Halima Aden setting a powerful
example for girls everywhere
• More women
getting involved in fashion, using it as an outlet to share their creativity
• Boosting
self-esteem for women through fashion is a major focus.
Brand
Personalization
•
Customization of brand experience transforming consumer expectations and
raising the bar for brand experience integration
• The
importance of strong customer service in brand success
• More
brands embracing personalization to appeal to younger consumers
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder