Peiru Zhao

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Purpose

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Purpose, as the last pillar, is essential in the development of any brand. It is obviously complementary to the brand’s image, with a clear purpose of helping to construct a positive brand image from the public perspective. Undoubtedly, in order to ensure profitability, one necessarily takes into account how to effectively develop its purpose consideration, while awareness of social obligations is always the key to creating a preferable environment for human beings. (Londrigan &Jenkins,2018) As a major resource to environmental pollution, it appears on the surface to be achieving the goal of profits, but deeply a sublimation of brand values.

The European Commission (2017) defined corporate social responsibility (CSR). The fashion industry may consist of various sectors including brands, retailers, consumers, etc. Although they might hold diverse points on the core philosophy of the brands, and the image from consumers’ perspective is one of the most vital elements impacting the brand, which will largely influence the scope of the social obligations the brand needs to fulfil. (Londrigan &Jenkins,2018)  Therefore an expanding number of brands are putting social responsibility at the forefront of their philosophy at present. Basically, the fashion industry reflects its trustworthy side. With these brands truly awakening, they are to some extent effective support for sustainability. For instance, the sports brand Girlfriend Collection is committed to sustainability, stating on its website that “We’re like the earth’s number one fan, so being eco-friendly is at the top of our priorities,” (Girlfriend Collection, 2022), which indicates that their clothes are made from recycled materials, such as used water bottles, fishing nets from the ocean, fabric waste etc. Furthermore, consumers do not experience worry about the quality. As they are durable, despite the damage caused by wear and tear of the clothes. The ReGirlfriend strategy (Fig7.) enhances consumers’ awareness of environmental issues and encourages them to respond energetically. In addition, consumers are allowed to pack up their clothes and send them to the brand, where the brand will be processed and put back into the production line, truly realising upcycling, and then the customers would receive a $15 shop credit in the process. (Girlfriend Collection, 2022)

As the new generation of mainstream consumers, Gen Z who are both the first digital natives and the realist generation, as they experienced the “Black Lives Matter” and the Covid-19 pandemic, Gen Z is more pragmatic. (Schneider & Lee, 2022)  Thus, it can be proven that Gen Z values the truthfulness and transparency of the message. If brands are willing to effectively communicate their purpose to consumers, they must avoid only providing meaningless words on social media or in the news to announce that they have a transparent positive purpose and can be socially responsible. What brands need to do is to directly present to consumers how the brand is responding to social issues through real and purposeful actions. The brand purpose would be subliminally and convincingly reflected in the wake. For example, the well-known sports brand Jordan brand has collaborated with African sneaker retailers on footwear (Nike,2022), which highlighted their inclusiveness and diversity. Throughout declare consumers that the brand respects people from different races and religions, which will be an effective way to communicate the brand’s purpose and complement the brand reputation.

Text reference

European Commission (2017), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/industry/corporate-social-responsibility_en. (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Jordan Brand’s First Africa-Based Collaboration Brings the Air Jordan 2 to the Next Generation About.nike.com. Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/jordan-brand-s-first-africa-based-collaboration-brings-the-air-jordan-2-to-the-next-generation (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Londrigan, M. and Jenkins, J. (2018) Fashion Supply Chain Management. New York: Fairchild Books.

Recycle. Reuse. Regirlfriend. (2022) Girlfriend Collective. Available at: https://girlfriend.com/products/regirlfriend?query=2c36c33cdfac94a851845c0a470a76c6&objectID=39691023712319 (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Schneider, B. and Lee, D. (2022) Bof Insights: Gen-Z and fashion in the age of realism, The Business of Fashion. The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/reports/retail/gen-z-fashion-in-the-age-of-realism-bof-insights-social-media-report/ (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Sustainability FAQs (2022) Girlfriend Collective. Available at: https://girlfriend.com/pages/about-girlfriend (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Picture reference

Jordan Brand’s First Africa-Based Collaboration Brings the Air Jordan 2 to the Next Generation About.nike.com. Available at: https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/jordan-brand-s-first-africa-based-collaboration-brings-the-air-jordan-2-to-the-next-generation (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Recycle. Reuse. Regirlfriend. (2022) Girlfriend Collective. Available at: https://girlfriend.com/products/regirlfriend?query=2c36c33cdfac94a851845c0a470a76c6&objectID=39691023712319 (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

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Profit

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Profit is one of the pillars that cannot be ignored as the fashion industry needs to ensure maximum profit without damaging people, animals and the environment.

The fashion industry as a mass and colourful industry is continuing to grow with an upward trend in sales. Statista (2022) provides compelling data which suggests that as life is returning to normal after 2020, clothing consumption is expected to rise steadily to reach 197,316 million pieces. However, the development of savings in the fashion industry has offered a negative impact. According to McKinsey, the fashion industry contributed more than 4% of global CO2 emissions during that period. Additionally, 84% of them were released from supply chains, following a report by the World Resources Institute and the Garment Impact Institute. Almost 1 billion tonnes are totally produced each year. (Moran, 2022)

The fashion industry is undoubtedly complex. Thus, there are various sectors in the fashion industry. Initially, the understanding is necessarily held by the marketing sectors, both current fashion trends and consumer purchase habits. Followed by fashion designers make good use of skills to design, select the colours, fabrics and measure the sizes. The clothes are then made by the manufacturers. It is delivered to different stockists and retailers in various locations to ensure that the majority can buy in multiple areas such as offline flagship shops, online shops and select shops.

Due to the dramatic development of social media, it has become an integral part of the lives of the younger generation. (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015) As social media has become an effective way to be competitive in an uncertain economy, 50% of social network users nowadays share or retweet news stories. 46% of them discuss news topics or events on the Internet. Thus, it can obviously connect unrelated people from different countries (Hethorn and Ulasewicz, 2015). It also provides an effective opportunity for brands to construct a bridge with consumers regularly, enabling them to acquire consumer preferences and behaviours to engage with more potential. As a result of this change in consumer behaviour, more brands have taken successful action to create their social media creation. For instance, fast fashion brands like H&M were followed by hundreds or even thousands of users, communicating frequently and effectively with their consumers and encouraging them to wear by posting on official social media accounts. Brand’s followers are constantly influenced by this marketing strategy, which will stimulate their desire. Brand could clearly catch the fresh trends. Thus, H&M, grew by 13%, while other retailers only increased by 2% during the same period (Mau, 2012).

Brands could hold various people from a wide range of professional people managing brand departments. Diverse talents work on the brand in order to keep genuine and maximise the brand’s profit. Therefore, the commercial section can master the current consumer habits and communicate in depth with the creative director so that they can clearly understand the current brand in terms of marketing to maximize creativity without violating the brand concept and consumer style. This enables the design to be as creative as possible and at the same time appeal to the consumer.

Text Reference

Apparent consumption of apparel worldwide from 2013 to 2026 (2022) Statista.com . Statista. Available at: https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/forecasts/1307850/worldwide-consumption-of-clothing-items (Accessed: October 21, 2022). 

Hethorn, J. and Ulasewicz, C. (2015) Sustainable fashion what’s next?: A conversation about issues, practices and possibilities. New York: Fairchild Books, An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc. 

Mau, D. (2012). NYC releases fashion report: Fashion Week, fast fashion see biggest growth. Retrieved September 25, 2014, from http://fashionista.com/2012/04/nyc-releases-fashion-report-fashion-week-fast-fashion-see-biggest-growth. [Accessed 20 October 2022].

Moran, G., 2022. Collaborating for Change: Sustainability Report 2022 – Drapers. [online] Drapers. Available at: <https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/collaborating-for-change-sustainability-report-2022> [Accessed 20 October 2022].

Photots Text

Apparent consumption of apparel worldwide from 2013 to 2026 (2022) Statista.com . Statista. Available at: https://www-statista-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/forecasts/1307850/worldwide-consumption-of-clothing-items (Accessed: October 21, 2022). 

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People

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Due to the emergence of the epidemic, the internet era has grown rapidly in a short period of time.  Online is full of fresh especially for Gen Z. The virtual world of the internet, which has not yet been fully explored, has managed to attract the Gen Z population with a spirit of exploration. The advent of the ‘virtual’ has encouraged them, who are not yet saturated with experience compared to the previous generations, to seek confidence in integrating themselves into society in an innovative way.

Amidst myriad changes, it is obvious that the upsurge in social media has come out on top. It has provided the public with the possibility to access the world without having to travel and offers unprecedented commercial value to numerous brands. At the same time, the emerging generation is transparently presenting a strong sense of social responsibility on top of this. However UAL Fashion Business School defined the four pillars, planet / people / profit / purpose, which totally encompass it.

The relationship between the world and people has been magnified to the greatest extent possible, and focusing on the fashion industry, how to effectively connect the two has certainly become an unignored topic. Shifting the perspective to the internet era and a larger community with strong curiosity. According to the Moran （2022） study, the concept of the metaverse is known and respected by 61.6% of GenZ due to the development of digital technology. Obviously, countless brands effectively engaged with recent largest consumer group, the GenZ, via the creation of avatars and virtual worlds.

For instance, RTFKT snapped by Nike, a brand of high-end digital clothes and sneakers popular in the metaverse, created virtual sneakers with artist Fewocious selling 600 pairs online (Fig1.), with a total profit of over 2.3 million pounds (Behrmann, 2021). Additionally, Gucci has made significant efforts to attract a younger generation. A virtual lounge, featuring the function to try on and purchase a newly launched collection with unique brand elements(Fig2.), was partnered with the Roblox gaming platform, followed by more than 42 million active 17-24-year-olds (Mcdowell, 2021).

On the other hand, GenZ’s awareness of sustainability and ethicality is also extremely considerable. According to Moran’s analysing data （2022）from exclusive survey of 2,000 consumers, 48.4% of GenZ are willing to give up on fashion items as the brand does not demonstrate transparent sustainability, ethics, quality and diversity (Fig3,). Therefore, if the brand desires to reach the GenZ more directly, these key points should not be neglected.

In terms of how a brand has responded to diversity, Reformation completely stood up. Girls of almost all shapes have the potential to buy freely here and to select the fashion items that showcase their strengths. In other words, Reformation treats females with the utmost respect and admiration, while subliminally responding to diversity in a natural but powerful way (Fig4.). Precisely as a result of the deepening of its own brand value , it has gained a more loyal potential audience basis.(Reformation,2022)

For a number of key skills are important to the success of a brand. Initially, those working with fashion brands require a comprehensive understanding of the aesthetic preferences and spending habits of their target consumers to assist brands in generating a more effective B2C strategy. Ultimately, this can drive consumer buying behaviour and realise revenue. Secondly is the ability to communicate effectively, due to the development of social media, more consumers choose to discover brands, learn about brands and buy brand products online, so social media is a good bridge to connect consumers and brands. Therefore, brands should set up a brand image to spread the brand concept on social platforms attracting more consumers.

Text Reference list

 Behrmann, A. (2021) Nike snaps up metaverse start-up, Drapers. Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/nike-snaps-up-metaverse-sneaker-start-up (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

Moran, G., 2022. Gen Z and Millennials 2022 – Drapers. [online] Drapers. Available at: <https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022> [Accessed 15 October 2022].

Mcdowell, M. (2021) Inside gucci and Roblox’s new Virtual World, Vogue Business. Available at: https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/inside-gucci-and-robloxs-new-virtual-world (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

Our stuff: Better, Sustainable Materials (2022) Our stuff | Better, sustainable materials. Available at: https://www.thereformation.com/sustainability/our-stuff.html (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

Picture Reference list:

Giulia Velvet Top Es (no date) Reformation. Available at: https://www.thereformation.com/products/giulia-velvet-top-es/1311677PAG.html?dwvar_1311677PAG_color=PAG (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

Kolbrener, C., 2022. The FEWOCiOUS x RTFKT Sneaker Project is Paving the Way for NFT Collaborations. [online] One37pm. Available at: <https://www.one37pm.com/nft/fewocious-rtfkt-collaboration-sneakers> [Accessed 16 October 2022].

Ladue knit two piece (no date) Reformation. Available at: https://www.thereformation.com/products/ladue-knit-two-piece/1311848BAB.html?dwvar_1311848BAB_color=BAB (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

McDowell, M. (2021) Inside gucci and Roblox’s new Virtual World, Vogue Business. Available at: https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/inside-gucci-and-robloxs-new-virtual-world (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

Moran, G., 2022. Gen Z and Millennials 2022 – Drapers. [online] Drapers. Available at: <https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/gen-z-and-millennials-2022> [Accessed 15 October 2022].

Zoe Skirt Es (no date) Reformation. Available at: https://www.thereformation.com/products/zoe-skirt-es/1306069BLK.html?dwvar_1306069BLK_color=BLK+https%3A%2F%2Fwww.voguebusiness.com%2Ftechnology%2Finside-gucci-and-robloxs-new-virtual-world (Accessed: October 15, 2022). 

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Planet

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Playing an important role in society, national economy and the environment, sustainable development provides an effective solution for the whole world to protect the planet while receiving the benefits of resources without any waste. It is also beneficial to our future generations. There are important four pillars which were identified by LCF Fashion Business School: planet, people, profit, and purpose.  They are also referred to as social, environmental, and economic pillars. This blog will focus on the planet pillar to explore the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

The circular economy, as an effective system in the fashion industry, entails recycle, refuse, reduce, re-use, repair, re-gift, and recover. All materials will end up being infinitely recyclable or biodegradable. (Gwilt,2020) Moreover, according to The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017, the circular economy plays a key role in mitigating the negative impact of fashion consumption and pollution, which acts as a financial buffer. Apart from that, it presents more business and economic opportunities while protecting the environment and creating social benefits.

Regarding sustainability in relation to fashion, The fashion industry is now known as one of the most wasteful industries. (Moran,2022) This is largely attributed to the prevalence of overproduction. According to McKinsey & Company, the scale of clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, followed by a further surge. Additionally, there are 500,000 tonnes of plastic microfibres are discharged each year into the ocean due to laundered clothing, equivalent to over 50 billion plastic bottles. (Mccartney,2018)

Furthermore, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Fig1.) were set out by the UN in 2015, which is a move that urges different industries to collaborate in working towards sustainable development. (Zhenmin, 2022) As a huge industry, the fashion industry is linked to many other industries such as the chemical industry, transportation , etc. Therefore, the fashion industry is more related to and influential on SDGs. The first thing that comes to mind is The first thing that comes to mind is the 11 goal, Sustainable Cities And Communities. (Fig2.) United Nations (2022) point out that Cities and metropolises are important areas of economic growth, accounting for around 60% of GDP, therefore this also leads to some negative impacts, for example, they also account for around 70% of global carbon emissions. The fashion industry influences Sustainable Cities And Communities in different aspects such as packing aspect. Due to its dependence on plastic and paper across the supply chain, including paper return labels, plastic packaging for online orders, and polybags in factories. (Brown,2020) Thus, more brands take positive action for 11 goal. For example, British brand weird fish announced in November 2020 the introduction of wood pulp and at least 30% grass fibre eco-straw paper bags (Fig3.)  in 17 physical shops in order to replace plastic bags. (Brown,2020) According to this effective action, would reduce CO2 emissions by 75%, which is a good way to reduce the carbon footprint. Another packaging is available on the market, for example, the platform SupplyCompass. Launch biodegradable garment bags (Fig 4.)  to retailers (Brown,2020)

References

Brown, H., 2022. Unpacking fashion’s packaging problem. [online] Drapers. Available at: <https://www.drapersonline.com/topics/sustainable-fashion/unpacking-fashions-packaging-problem> [Accessed 9 October 2022].

Division, U., 2022. — SDG Indicators. [online] Unstats.un.org. Available at: <https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].

Gwilt, A., 2020. A practical guide to sustainable fashion. London ; Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2020.

Liu, Z., 2022. Finding transformative pathways in turbulent times — SDG Indicators. [online] Unstats.un.org. Available at: <https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/finding-transformative-pathways-in-turbulent-times/> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

McCartney, S., 2018. H&M, Gap and Stella McCartney Join Forces for Sustainable Fashion. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: <https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/hm-gap-and-stella-mccartney-join-forces-for-sustainable-fashion/> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

Moran, G., 2022. Collaborating for Change: Sustainability Report 2022 – Drapers. [online] Drapers. Available at: <https://www.drapersonline.com/guides/collaborating-for-change-sustainability-report-2022> [Accessed 8 October 2022].

Unstats.un.org. 2022. Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. [online] Available at: <https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/> [Accessed 9 October 2022].

Figure list:

Figure 1. The 17 Sustainble Development Goals ( United Nations,n.d.)

Figure 2. ‪Sustainable Cites And Communities (Unired Nations,n.d.)

Figure 3. ‪SupplyCinpass (Drapers,n.d.)

Figure 4. ‪Weird Fish (Drapers,n.d.)

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My Favorite Brand- Jacquemus

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Jacquemus is founded by a self-taught designer, Simon Porte Jacquemus, born in the countryside of Southern France. This is a brand full of romance and simplicity. A wide range of product categories is sold including shoes, hats, bags, womenswear and menswear etc. Moreover, the clothes from Jacquemus fabrics pursue more natural and semi-natural materials such as cotton, linen and viscose. This is a good way to reduce the use of chemical products, resulting in more pollution. (Deslandes,2020)

According to primary research from Jacquemus social media account, the brand posts lots of influencers and KOLs photos such as Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid. The target consumers who have their own fashion style and love fashion are from 20 years old-29 years old The consumer groups are middle class or even upon such as white-collars and models, which is because the price of Jacquemus is high GBP200-GBP1500. Meanwhile, Jacquemus sell plus size clothes, which is a good method to extend the more potential consumers and encourage fashion plus-size girls more confident. What is important is that sets a positive image for the public.

Moreover, Jacquemus has unique design, which attracts lots of consumers. For example, the popular mini bag Le Petit Chiquito is very popular on social media. Most influencers and KOLs took photos with the bags to post on social media such as Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber, Kim Kardashian etc., which become a new fashion accessory. (Northman, 2019) Meanwhile, the surprise is that the brand had designed a bag extravagant straw hat called La Bomba that contrasts with the mini bag. most people took photos posting on social media. it improved the brand’s popularity. To ensure that the brand can expand to more style consumers, the collaboration with Nike will be released in June 2022. This design combines the sporty style of Nike with the simplicity of Jacquemus and the romance of southern France. Consumers incorporate more fashion elements into sports-centric styles so that consumers can wear them in their daily lives. (Nike, 2022)

Jacquemus is excellent in marketing, especially on social media, brand uses social media to bring a positive brand image to their followers. The operation of Jacquemus’ Instagram is run by the designer Simon. He likes to share his daily life such as sports, food, and his boyfriend’s sweet daily life on the official account of Jacquemus. This kind of affinity is like sharing daily life with friends, which can enhance the brand’s favorability. Therefore, there are 5.1m fans. Moreover, due to the lockdown of the 2020 epidemic, people were locked at home. Jacquemus held a campaign Jacquemus at home so that Jacquemus girls who are locked at home could also show their unique beauty home. There were also many models participating in this event. Jacquemus is a brand with its own position. The follower of Jacquemus commented on the official Instagram of Jacquemus, saying that she is homophobic, but Simon did not choose to be silent, and refuted the follower, saying my bag don’t want you . Also, he said there are a lot of gays working in jacquemus company. Even though it might hurt some of the potential consumers who are homophobic, it will increase the loyalty of gay consumers.

To sum up, Jacquemus uses a brand with unique design concepts and a keen ability to observe the market based on this high-quality and unique design style to attract consumers in different ways.

References

About.nike.com. 2022. Nike and Jacquemus Fashion a New “Runway to Sport”. [online] Available at: <https://about.nike.com/en/newsroom/releases/nike-jacquemus-partnership> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

Drslandes, M., 2022. Jacquemus decoded: Behind the French label’s success. [online] Fashion network. Available at: <https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Jacquemus-decoded-behind-the-french-label-s-success,1247982.html> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

Northman, T., 2022. How Jacquemus Conquered the Internet. [online] HYPEBAE. Available at: <https://hypebae.com/2019/8/jacquemus-celebrity-brand-instagram-tiny-bag-trend-kylie-jenner-kim-kardashian> [Accessed 4 October 2022].

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