Profit

The fashion industry has created new business models and cultural values from the combination of creativity and labour and the association of intellectual property (Popović,2017). The fashion factory in today’s capitalist society is in search of a balance between supply and demand. Many fashion items have increased their prices to increase demand. To illustrate, a small Chanel Classic now retails for £6,520, compared to £4,627 in January 2021 and £3,786 in 2019 (Dazed, 2021). Since the epidemic happened, luxury shops had to close for a while. Therefore, all luxury bags need to be kept in line with inflation to maintain a balance between the cost of labour and materials and the profit gained (Ni, 2021).Many brands have a large number of consumers who pay for them even if they increase their prices significantly. LVMH enjoys growing global revenues, reaching over 53 billion euros in 2019. in 2021, the group’s revenues grew by around 44%, eventually reaching 64.2 billion euros this year (Sabanoglu, 2022).

The UK fashion industry is expected to reach nearly £6.1 billion in 2022 (Fashion United, n.d.). The number of garments purchased in the EU has increased by 40% over the decades due to falling prices and increased availability. Global per capital textile production grew to 13 kg (Peter; Sandin; Spak, 2019). However, the increased consumption of textiles has also had a negative impact. According to data, textile treatment and dyeing accounts for approximately 20% of global water waste. It is responsible for approximately 7% of the loss of local groundwater and drinking water (Niinimäki; Peters; Dahlbo; Perry; Rissanen; Gwilt, 2020). 

According to statista July 2022 analysis, there are 5 billion internet users worldwide, representing 63.1% of the world’s population, 59% of which are social media users. Social media is not only a tool to quickly deliver information, but also to expose problems in various industries. A reputable fashion brand company can gain the trust of consumers. For example, the company cares for its employees even in difficult economic times. A company in India would use child labour to make a profit and these children were mercilessly abused (Haryana, 2015). In comparison, John Lewis offers a range of benefits and perks to its employees (Dunne, 2017). When customers gather information and send it to social media, there will be a large number of supporters commenting and praising the company for the good treatment, not only creating a good image of the brand, but also gaining a lot of trust and followers from consumers

Art is rich in stories and meanings, and has always inspired fashion. To instance, Gentle Monster took a year of research to create model called “The Giant”. Designed to express humanity and emotion, the model The Giant communicates with consumers about human relationships and visions of the future of humanity (Designboom, 2021). The Giant is a contemporary art project that will appeal to a younger audience by imagining the future. Fashion is more than just fashion, it is the outworking of culture and awareness. People appreciate art and love fashion, and all the beauty presented is an expression of the creator’s ideas.

References

Popović, J. (2017). What defines the value in the fashion industry? [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@janja.popovic/what-defines-the-value-in-the-fashion-industry-52764da97f7c.

Peters, G.M., Sandin, G. and Spak, B. (2019). Environmental Prospects for Mixed Textile Recycling in Sweden. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 7(13), pp.11682–11690. doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b01742.

Niinimäki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T. and Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, [online] 1(4), pp.189–200. doi:10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9.

Dazed (2021). Chanel hikes its prices for the fourth time since the pandemic started. [online] Dazed. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/54724/1/chanel-price-increase-handbags-pandemic-classic-flap-birkin-resell-market.

Ni, Y. (2021). The Frontiers of Society. Science and Technology, [online] 3(3), pp.78–82. doi:10.25236/FSST.2021.030314.

fashionunited.uk. (n.d.). UK fashion industry statistics. [online] Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/uk-fashion-industry-statistics.

‌Haryana, H. (2015). Fashion Industry: Labour behind the Labour. [online] Volume 2 (1&2), pp. 54-59. http://scientificresearchjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Home-Science-Vol-2_A-54-59-Full-Paper.pdf.

‌Dunne, S. (2017). Companies Who Take Great Care of Their Employees. [online] Bizimply. Available at: https://www.bizimply.com/blog/6-companies-take-great-care-employees/.

Statista Research Department (2022). Global Digital Population 2021. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/617136/digital-population-worldwide/.

Sabanoglu, T. (2022). Total revenue of the LVMH Group worldwide 2019. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/245852/total-revenue-of-the-lvmh-group-worldwide/.

designboom | architecture & design magazine. (2021). GENTLE MONSTER discusses the giant, a 2-meter-high uncanny face robot. [online] Available at: https://www.designboom.com/technology/gentle-monster-interview-the-giant-face-robot-11-18-2021/.

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