(Profit) Fashion: Money’s or creativity’s kingdom?
Week 4 revolved around the “profit” pillar, which is arguably fashion’s strong point. Producing 1.53 trillion US dollars as of 2022 despite the adversities of the socio-political global scenario, “the sun never sets on the runway” (Wilson, 2008). It is difficult to assess how large the fashion industry truly is as it can be measured by different components. Nevertheless, to focus on the profit pillar this article will assess size by looking at revenue of production and employability. In 2018 fashion produced 2 million USD in Average Annual Wages (Bureau of Labor Statistics NAICS, 2019) across the different sectors of the industry. Considering the fashion industry amounts to 2% of the world’s GDP, it is safe to state that it is significantly large and can even compete with industries like the food industry. As the intricate business it is, fashion has infinite sectors. If analyzed pragmatically it could be divided into four:
- Creative (creative direction, styling, etc)
- Wholesales (business operators, buyers, merchandisers, sales associates)
- PR & Marketing
- Media (journalists, critiques, photographers, etc)
Unlike most businesses, it is hard to determine a certain course of action that would lead to a brand’s success. Mainly due to the heavy acceptance the product (clothes) may obtain from the client. It is possible to argue that a more high-stream label might be able to predict the demand and acceptance of the customer by following current trends, but the issue comes when tackling luxury brands. They are the ones setting the trends and each collection can be a hit or miss that can be of high economic risk. Arguably luxury brands’ economic model is more like that of the art market than of a regular product. According to the designer Colm Dillan (KidSuper Creative Director), the recipe for a successful brand is to create a community. Thus, the clothes become an item of significant value between the participants rather than just a material good they feel attracted to. However, Pharell Williams (Louis Vuitton Creative Director Menswear) argues that the way to succeed is by providing a luxurious experience through the clothes, whichever form that takes. These diverse opinions show that there is not a clear formula for success when it comes to fashion, but it does draw attention to the fact that what is most important is the alignment between the creative director and the label’s image/vision. It is through this alignment that the gap between creativity and commerce is bridged. There is no clear formula just like there is no clear strategy for becoming a selling artist. While it is true that factors like marketing and trend forecasting can help, the most important thing is to develop a strong brand identity that creates a community of loyal consumers.