People.
People are an essential part of the fashion industry, from designers to consumers. As of recent though, the focus being more so on Gen Z – the people of now AND of the future. “Gen Zers will make up a quarter of the population of the Asia-Pacific region by 2025.” (McKinsey&Company, 2023.) This statement alone proves the significance of them.
As consumers ”Gen Zers value individual expression and avoid labels. They mobilize themselves for a variety of causes.” (Francis et al, 2018.) In other words, they want something unique and authentic. They will not be easily persuaded, they see through greenwashing, they ask questions.
Following on from this, in order to attract Gen Z, companies need to keep it relevant and real. Read the news, follow the trends and one of the most important elements in the current digital ages: have a strong social media presence. “… the Generation Z is the most ethically diverse and technologically sophisticated generation. Generation Z has an informal, individual and straight way of communicating, and social networking is a vital part of their lives.” (Agarwal et al, 2018.)
As a result of Gen Z being such a free-spoken generation, brands must be conscientious when it comes to topics such as diversity. A positive example of a brand responding to diversity is Nike.
In 2019, Nike introduced a plus size mannequin to their flagship store on Oxford Street, London. Formerly, a debate was sparked between critics, some thought it was ”giant leap forward for inclusivity in sportwear” whilst others were ”commenting that the message being sent was ‘unhealthy’ and ‘dangerous’ and that the mannequin ‘promoted obesity’” (Mitton, 2019.) Tanya Gold, a British journalist, was the most vocal and origin of the negatives in the debate. However, she is 49 years old, perhaps the reason she doesn’t understand their marketing is because she wasn’t the original target consumer?
But target consumer or not, ”Nike’s mannequin may not be promoting obesity as some believe, it is a reflection of modern reality.” (Mitton, 2019.) Bluebella, a lingerie brand, stocked in stores such as Selfridges, completed a report and found ”Ms. Average in the UK is actually a size 16” (Bluebella, 2017.) Proving that Nike was just providing for it’s clientele.
In summary, Nike has shown that in order to be successful, companies must have active listening, problem solving and creativity skills. Through possessing these abilities, they grew their target market.
Bibliography:
Argarwal, H. And Vaghela, PS. (2018.) Work Values Of Gen Z: Bridging the Gap to the Next Generation. National Conference on Innovative Business Management Practices in 21″ Century, Faculty of Management Studies, Parul University, Gujarat, India. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pratiksinh-Vaghela/publication/334400459_WORK_VALUES_OF_GEN_ZBridging_the_Gap_to_the_Next_Generation/links/5d39cf0c92851cd04686491e/WORK-VALUES-OF-GEN-ZBridging-the-Gap-to-the-Next-Generation.pdf
Bluebella. (2017.) Bluebella, The Changing Shape of Women. https://www.bluebella.com/blogs/news/changing-shape-of-women
Francis, T. And Hoefel, F. (2018.) McKinsey&Company, ‘True Gen’: Generation Z and its implications for companies. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/true-gen-generation-z-and-its-implications-for-companies
McKinsey&Company. (2023.) What is Gen Z? https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-explainers/what-is-gen-z
Mitton, N. (2019.) MyMed, Obesity is a growing health concern, is Nike’s new plus-size mannequin helping or harming? – Plus-size mannequins – what’s the fuss really about? https://www.mymed.com/latest-news/obesity-is-a-growing-health-concern-is-nikes-new-plus-size-mannequin-helping-or-harming
Mitton, N. (2019.) MyMed, Obesity is a growing health concern, is Nike’s new plus-size mannequin helping or harming? – Nike’s plus-size mannequin reflects a growing reality. https://www.mymed.com/latest-news/obesity-is-a-growing-health-concern-is-nikes-new-plus-size-mannequin-helping-or-harming