People

Fashion has always been present throughout generations, a staple in everyone’s lives and constantly evolving. With the rise of new trends and sustainable brands, it is possible to capture each generation’s impact on the fashion industry. One generation that has revolutionised the workforce and the way we shop is Generation Z or the so-called Gen-Z. This generation includes people born between 1997 and 2010 and comes after the Millennials, with people born between 1981 and 1996 (Dimock, 2019). What characterises Gen-Z is their wanting to stand out to shop, not necessarily luxury items and brands, but items that bring a sense of uniqueness that contributes to their self-expression. This brings a difference in the Millennial’s shopping habits, where purchases are made for the “showcase status” (McKinsey, n.d.).

Throughout the years, brands had to constantly adapt to the changes in preferences and behaviours that all generations brought. For a brand to build a loyal and lasting relationship with its consumers, it needs to mirror its values; otherwise, it will start losing sales. For brands to succeed in the Gen-Z marketplace, they need to be transparent in their business, for example, addressing social and environmental issues. This can be seen in brands such as Gucci and Levi’s, where campaigns launched to raise awareness regarding gun violence. Employee protection, inclusivity and diversity are also core values for this generation. Brands have started to take action to meet this generation’sgeneration’s values; for example, “H&M released its Pride collection in 2018 to back the LGBTQ+ community” (Wang, 2021).

For a brand to succeed in today’s competitive business world, it must be flexible to the change of preferences that consumers and the industry bring (Marques, 2017). However, most importantly, it must adapt certain “people skills, ” which will contribute to its growth and identity. Empathy and adaptability are two skills that can work together for a brand’s success. Let’s take Generation Z as an example of consumers. Evidently, they were born during a significant technological increase and now spend most of their time on their mobiles. Therefore, a marketing strategy could be to move the marketing campaigns to social media platforms. Additionally, brands should focus on understanding what characterises their target audiences, for example, how many Generation Z buying habits are based on how ethically sustainable brands are, e.g. the carbon emissions. (Adriana-Camelia, 2014).

References:

1. McKinsey. (n.d.). Five Fifty: Solving for Gen Z in the workplace Www.mckinsey.com. https://www.mckinsey.com/quarterly/the-five-fifty/five-fifty-the-gen-z-equation
2. Dimock, M. (2019). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins. Pew Research Center, 17(1), 1-7.
3. Adriana-Camelia, B. U. D. A. C. (2014). Strategic considerations on how brands should deal with generation Z. Revista Economică, 66(5). STILL NEED TO APPLY
4. Wang, W. (2021). How has the fashion industry reacted to Gen z’s completely different consumption concepts and shopping habits. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 4(10), 72-80.
5. Marques, E. B. (2017). Building successful brands through marketing communications: development of a framework Parfois case study (Doctoral dissertation).