People

Liv Parsons ⋅ 15th October 2023

“The last people with any ideas are young people”
Vivienne Westwood

The most social pillar of fashion is people. Due to the design of the industry, most brands are willing to prioritise maintaining profits, keeping up with trends and manufacturing 100 billion garments annually (Ruiz, A 2023) at the cost of fair wage and labour practices (Lambert, M 2014). Therefore, despite people being the foundation of the fashion industry, many are getting exploited in the process. Fashion wouldn’t exist without it’s consumers, 40% of consumers are apart of Generation Z (Amed, I. Berg, A et al. 2019) and are the largest living cohort of 2 billion (Branka 2023).

Generation Z is defined as people born between 1997 and 2010 (Dimock, M 2019). Gen Z has been described as digital natives (McKinsey, 2023) which means that as consumers, before purchasing they tend to turn to the internet for any reports or news on the brands they choose. (McKinsey, 2023). So to please the main consumers in the market, brands need to have a clear online presence. Sustainability and social awareness in fashion brands have been found to be more significant than shopping for brand names to 73% of Gen Z (First Insight, 2021). Businesses need to have proof online that they are practicing sustainable methods and supporting the right causes. Gen Z have also been said to be able to see through gimmicks (Amed, I. Berg, A et al. 2019) and campaigns that are made just to ‘look good’. Brands should aim to be 100% traceable and show they represent core values. Balenciaga in 2018 collaborated with World Food Programme, donning it’s slogan, “Saving Lives, Changing lives.” (Amed, I. Berg, A et al. 2019). Companies performing in this way are more likely to attract Gen Z consumers.

The fashion industry is all about collaboration. It’s a global market and therefore, to be successful brands must be able to communicate and work globally (Dsouza, R Aubry, M 2021). Inter-culture communication is a key skill they require, which includes knowledge of other cultures, patience, tolerance and good communication skills. Businesses should also aim to tap into the minds of their largest consumers, Gen Z. The Digital Fairy is a marketing team that ‘challenge brands to be braver, more inclusive and work harder for the new generation’ (Digital Fairy, 2012). Big named brands such as Nike, Adidas, Tropicals and more have turned to this agency in the recent years to learn how to successfully attract their gen z consumers. (Pagano, A 2022). To be successful in the modern day market, businesses need to draw on the People aspect and focus in on the up and coming Generation Z.

References

Amed, I. Berg, A. et al. 2019. The state of fashion.

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/retail/our%20insights/the%20influence%20of%20woke%20consumers%20on%20fashion/the-state-of-fashion-2019.pdf

Branka. 2023. Generation z statistics.