People
This pillar’s main focus is about the consumer, diversity and representation, and the relationship between company and consumer. The main demographic that this pillar si focusing on is Generation Z. Gen Z are the people born between 1995-2010, this generation grew up in the height of technological advancement, social movements and many political changes and rifts, this means that their values and moral compasses are different to their older counterparts. This comes into play when coverinmg the topic of diversity and inclusion within a company and how this collides with this consumer’s inner values and morals.
In the height of cancel culture fashion brands need to be very cautious about the image they put out to the public. For example, Nike has been called a brand that has “Championed diversity throughout their company” (Corcoran, 2017) and therefore is hasn’t come under fire. However, brands like Abercrombie and Fitch had a very public downfall due to the fact that they part took in discrimination based on skin colour and looks when hiring people ti work in their stores across the world, on writer wrote, “The culture was also seen as very discriminatory” (Biondi ,2022). In addition the CEO of the company would micromanage to the point of what hairstyles were appropriate for the shop floor, (Biondi,2022)
On the flip side, cultural appreciation is also more prevalent within the fashion industry, the designer for Dior’s 2020 cruise collection collaborated with Spanish designers and credited them as a part of the project therefore injecting the Spanish culture and design within a big fashion house’s collection. This demonstrates “the tribute to diversity and savoir faire”,(Radica, 2019)
REFERENCES
Annachiara Biondi –https://www.ft.com/content/b96016f7-9c16-4730-8378-4e9436f996e8
Amy Corcoran- https://swaay.com/6-brands-championing-diversity-inclusion-company-culture