Profit, being typically defined as ‘the money you have left after paying for business expenses’ (Xero.com, n.d) is obviously one of the main drivers for most businesses. However, a business’s success doesn’t solely depend on finance, and other factors such as community and well being contribute into how well a business performs. The ‘profit’ pillar studies business performance throughout the entire fashion industry. The revenue of the global apparel market was calculated to amount to 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2021 and was predicted to increase to approximately 2 trillion dollars by 2026. The apparel market is dominated by the biggest companies. For example, Nike had the highest brand value of any apparel brand in 2021, at roughly 84 billion dollars. LVMH is another company that consistently placed highly. (Smith, 2022). Sportswear brand, Nike is currently the highest earning brand in the fashion industry, reportingly earing $47,149 billiion. Nike is followed by luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci (Fashionunited.com, n.d). According to fashion accessories industry statistics, the global accessories market is projected to reach £375.49 billion in 2022. The largest fashion accessory market in 2022 is China with an estimated £76.5 billion in revenue (fashiondiscounts.com). Currently, womenswear is the largest category of clothing, as it is worth more than 600 billion dollars, and menswear is worth around 400 billion dollars. 

In order to remain competitive in uncertain economic times, businesses must place more emphisis on inside sales, to their current customers. (Clausen, 2020) By reaching out to current customers will create a stronger relationship between the consumer and the business itself. It may create more of an incline for the consumer to want to purchase from the company again. Brands should also consider using their social media during uncertain economic times to commicate with their current customers. Social media enables seemingly unrelated people around the world to organize around common interests to bring about social change. It allows people to have a public dialogue directly with companies and hold them accountable for their actions. (Peterson, 2015) Another key action to consider throughout uncertain economic times, would be to focus on customer’s behaviour. You must achknowledge that customer behaviour is going to change as a result of the changing environment, and use data to anticipate what you believe your customer will be looking to do. (Clausen, 2020). Therefore, brands must incorporate fashion forecasting and trend predictions during econmic times as it is likely that throughout the period of economic crisis, people’s taste will change and there will be different trends due to social media. To bridge the gap between creativity and commerce, collaberations are the most effective way to interweave the two. Today’s most obvious examples of art and business overlap admirably, but they also thrive because of an uncomplicated fit between the audience for the brand and the artwork. Burberry and British music groups get mutual leverage through a shared sense of national style and sexy chic. Fashion labels from Cos to Cartier sponsor contemporary artists and art events because they all tap into a certain demographic’s sense of culture and credibility. (Ahmed, 2013) 

References: 

Ahmed, A (2013) Bridging the gap between Art and Business, Available at: bridging-gap-art-business (Accessed 19^th October 2022) 

Clausen, E (2020) Marketing Rules To Follow During Uncertain Economic Times, Available at marketing-rules-to-follow-during-uncertain-economic-times (Accessed 18^th October 2022) 

Peterson, D (2015) Social Media as a Tool for Social Change, Available at: encyclopedia-chapter (Accessed 18^th October 2022) 

Smith, P (2022) Global Apparel market – Statistics and Facts, Available at: apparel-market-worldwide (Accessed 18^th October 2022) 

Xero.com (n.d) What is profit? Available at: https://www.xero.com/uk/glossary/profit/ (Accessed 18^th October 2022) 

Fashiondiscounts.co.uk (2022) The most important fashion industry statistics in 2022, Available at: fashion-industry-statistics (Accessed 18^th October 2022) 

‘People’ is focusing on the connection between society and the fashion industry. Each of us have the option to choose where, when, and how we spend or choose not to spend our money, on a particular brand, line of clothing, or style of T-shirt. More and more, we are acting like socially responsible agents who desire personal change and respond as social entrepreneurs by investing the transformation of our industry, society and planet (Leonard, 2013). 

The current and future consumers, being specifically Gen Z consumers, defined as the generation born between 1997-2012, will play a huge part in brand’s decision making. Gen Z will soon become the largest cohort of consumers and brands who want a piece of this opportunity will need to understand their tendencies and digital expectations (Meola, 2022). Gen Z have become about one-third of the global population, which equals to around 2.56 billion people, out of the total world population, 7.4 billion. Therefore, brand’s need to focus on how to draw in these customers as well as persuading them to buy their products. 

Gen Z are also known as ‘digital natives’, and are progressive, more racially and ethnically diverse than the generations before them, as well as them being on track to be the best educated generation. In order to connect with Gen Z, you first must understand their online behaviours which will differ to Millennials (Kim, 2021). One huge difference between these two different generations, is that Gen Z grew up with technology, social media and the internet. 

When it comes to social media, 81% of Gen Z say Instagram and YouTube are their preferred social media networks of choice. Because these are both visual platforms, brands should consider incorporating visual platforms into their strategies such as Instagram stories which are interactive to engage Gen Z as research suggests that the most effective way to gain Gen Z’s attention on social media is by using a mixture of creativity and interactivity. For instance, tap, swipe or click when they see a brand’s post. 

Gen Z consumers expect brands they support to share the same values on diversity and sustainability, and many more brands have responded to these issues in a positive way by bringing consumer’s attention to current issues. An example of where a brand has done this is ‘Dove’. In the last few years, Dove has committed to more diversity in its marketing with a global push for more progressive representations of women in its ads. Dove’s Real Beauty campaign launched in 2004 and continues to run over a decade later. This shows that the brand is dedicated to make a difference in the industry and are trying to change the typical ‘beauty standards.’ The campaign features ‘real women, never models’ and includes women of all different ages, body types and ethnicities through user-generated content. Dove do not manipulate or distort any of their images, so every image used by them is 100% authentic. (Pixlee.com, n.d) 

In summary, the key people skills needed for a fashion brand to be successful include good communication skills, adaptability, having an inclusive mindset, knowledge of current fashion trends and being a team player. Businesses must also be ethical and transparent. Transparency in business helps drive significant progress, both on an individual and a company-wide level. (Hart, 2022) 

References:

Hart, G (2022) Why is it important to have transparency in business, available at: https://www.myhrtoolkit.com/blog/why-important-have-business-transparency (Accessed: 13^th October 2022) 

Kim, K (2021) How to make sure you’re marketing to Gen Z the right way, available at: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/marketing-to-gen-z/  (Accessed: 13^th October 2022) 

Leonard, A (2013) Sustainable Fashion What’s Next?, available at: https://www-bloomsburyfashioncentral-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/encyclopedia-chapter?docid=b-9781501312250&tocid=b-9781501312250-chapter2&pdfid=9781501312250.ch-002.pdf (Accessed: 13^th October 2022) 

Meola, A (2022) Generation Z News: Latest characteristics, research and facts, available at: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/insights/generation-z-facts/ (Accessed: 13^th October 2022) 

Pixlee.com (n.d) 4 Brands Embracing Diversity In Their Content, available at: https://www.pixlee.com/blog/4-brands-embracing-diversity-in-their-content (Accessed: 13^th October 2022) 

‘Planet’ is one of the four pillars connected with the Fashion Business school at London College of Fashion, alongside ‘People’, ‘Profit’ and ‘Purpose’. 

The pillars are important for us to follow in order to build a sustainable future. ‘The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries on the planet’ and tremendous amounts of waste characterise the fashion industry. There are approximately 40 million tons of textiles sent to landfills every year. 

Sustainability is described as “meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. (The Brundtland Report, 1987)  

Sustainable fashion aims to reorient the industry and consumers away from the fast fashion model and towards sustainable practices in sourcing, production, distribution, marketing and consumption. Slow fashion is the concept of a fashion ecosystem that uses better design processes, better materials and better working practices and skills. Encircled is a Canadian brand that has adopted ‘slow fashion’. They are transparent about their materials and provide an online listing of their core fabrics. 

The circular economy means moving away from the world’s current – and enormously wasteful – economic model of ‘take, make, throw away’, in which resources are extracted, turned into products, used, and discarded (Chatham House, 2021). An example of circular fashion is the brand ‘Patagonia’. which is titled ‘The world’s most circular fashion retail brand” ((Kearney, 2022). Patagonia provides a range of outdoor clothing and gear, as well as materials for sports such as climbing, surfing and skiing. their mission statement is “To build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis”. Patagonia uses a high share of recycled materials – for example, 36% of cotton or 90% of nylon. Meanwhile, a new equipment rental programme with the gear-renting platform ‘Awayco’ has further helped its use of an even higher share of recycled fabrics. 
 

In September 2015, the United Nations decided to take the next step in order to make our future’s brighter and more sustainable, and introduced the 17 Sustainable Development Goals with the aim of “ending global poverty” and “building a life of dignity for all and leaving no one behind”. The goals are aimed to be achieved by 2030. The 12 SGDs address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice (United Nations, 2015). 

The most relevant goal to the fashion industry is goal number 12, ensuring Sustainable Consumption and Production patterns. This is because a fashion business’s entire supply chain can be linked to this goal. This SDG focuses on wastage, overproduction, overconsumption, excessive usage of water and greenhouse gas emissions, these targets are some of the main issues that the fashion industry face. This SDG intertwines with the fashion industry as the main goal of SDG number 12 is to ‘do more and better with less’ (United Nations, 1972). Therefore, to overcome this issue, we need to ‘produce less’. The big fashion houses and designers must cut down their collections so this reduction will be echoed on the high-street. (Norwich University of The Arts, 2022) 

References:

Brundtland, G. H (1987), The Brundtland Report, available at: brundtland-report.html (Accessed: 7^th October 2022)  

Consultancy.uk (2022), Patagonia The World’s Most Circular Fashion Brand, available at: kearney-finds-patagonia-to-be-worlds-most-circular-brand (Accessed: 8^th October 2022) 

Kiko, E (2022) 5 ways the fashion industry can be more sustainable, available at 5-ways-the-fashion-industry-can-be-more-sustainable (Accessed: 7^th October 2022) 

Oliveira Guterres, A. M (2015), Take action for the sustainable development goals, available at https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/ (Accessed: 7^th October 2022) 

Schroder. P (2021), What is the Circular Economy?, available at: what-circular-economy (Accessed: 7^th October 2022) 

Dior

Why have I picked Dior?

I have picked Dior as my favourite fashion brand because they use high quality fabrics throughout all of their luxury items. All of their items are designed with detail using elaborate techniques which I believe justifies the price of each item.

The history of Dior

The company was founded in 1946 by French fashion designer Christian Dior. However Pietro Beccari has become the CEO of Christain Dior couture since 2018. Dior soon went global, with the first store opening up on Fifth avenue and 57th street in New York City in 1948. Dior first started with fragrance where Miss Dior was introduced, and was dedicated to Christian Dior’s sister. Around this time was when Dior started to licensed the Dior name for accessories and provided the entire fashion experience, so the customer could not only have perfume, but now was able to buy the coats, hats, shoes and every other accessory one could want. Dior started to dress the biggest stars of the moment, such as Marlene Dietrich for her 1950 role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright and his designs remained an essential in her wardrobe throughout her lifetime.

The introduction of Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent started working with Christian Dior in 1955 when he was only 19 years old. He started off at the fashion house as Dior’s assistant, but Dior was soon able to spot the potential in the young Frenchman. Dior soon met with Yves Saint Laurent’s mother to tell her that he had chosen her son to succeed him at the brand when the time comes. This happened in 1957, where Dior died of a heart attack at age 52, and Saint Laurent was given the role of artistic director.

Planet

Dior is not yet particularly sustainable. The brand only uses few eco-friendly materials, but has set an intensity target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated from its own operations. However the brand has not set a supply chain target.

Purpose

Dior was born out of passion and desire to make a change in how society perceived women. The goal was to inspire and empower women and indeed, since the beginning and until today this is presented in Dior’s designs, materials used, even marketing approach. Dior’s mission is ‘To only leave beauty as a legancy’. This means being fully committed to reducing their carbon emissions by 46% full scope by 2030 and aligning their business with the 1.5oC pathway. It also means to gather their efforts in favour of biodiversity with flower forming as driver of regeneration.

Profit

Dior not only is able to measure success in terms of traditional financial metrics. The brand’s profit and purpose is aligned in order for the company to be able to foster a value-driven organisational culture.

People

since 1947 Christian Dior has celebrated beauty and uniqueness. ‘Today we believe its our responsibility to seed positive change in the world through our cultural influence. Empower each and every individual to blossom their own beauty, starting with the people of Dior who make our house. we also value and commit to preserving the exceptional terroir, savoir-faire and craftsmanship.’ Dior is promoting diversity with brand identity campaigns. For example their #DIORSTANDSWITHWOMEN campaigns. They will continue to develop partnerships and campaigns with organisations to promote diversity and work towards their progressive vision of feminity celebrating bold feminine role models and sisterhood and more inclusive gender relationships.

References:

https://www.instyle.com/fashion/history-of-dior