Profit
In the current economic climate the primary objective of brands must be to ensure financial stability and achieve growth.
Although profit is the fundamental focus, it must not be at the expense of the environment or society. According to ‘Fashion Management: A Strategic Approach’, globally, the fashion industry is estimated to be worth 3 trillion dollars in terms of apparel alone. Bringing in such a vast amount of revenue, it is reported that “the apparel and the textile industry is one of the four biggest industries in the world.” (Vilaća, J. 2022).
Revenue generated from the women’s apparel market is much higher than that of men’s or children’s. In 2018, womenswear made up more than half (53%) of global fashion retail spending. Spending on menswear accounted for 31% and childrenswear for 16% (Fashion United 2022).
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion industries global revenue was estimated between $1.7 trillion and $2.5 trillion according to two different research reports by Euromonitor and McKinsey (Fashion United, 2022). (McKinsey, 2022) states that the fashion and apparel industry suffered a 20% decline in revenues for the 2019-2020 financial year. Once lockdown restrictions started to ease, consumers began to return to shops and the industry returned to pre-pandemic profit levels showing that these sectors need to adapt quickly in challenging times to avoid decline in revenue and profit.
If 2020 taught the industry anything, it’s that brands must plan for the unexpected. Marketing is an important signal to consumers that a business is viable and has a future. There is opportunity to capture greater market share from competitors who have reduced marketing activities (Steward, D. 2022).
Creative directors bridge the gap between creativity and commerce by selling products which are creative and wearable. Collaborations between artwork and brands provide creativity interlinked with fashion. Yves Saint Laurent illustrated this in his 1965 Mondrian collection. The dresses altered the connection between fashion and art transforming a painting into an animate work of art in a kind of “manifesto”, achieved by transforming a two-dimensional painting into a three-dimensional dress as powerful as the original. (Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris, 2022).
Bibliography
Fashion United (2022). Global Fashion Industry Statistics. [online] Fashion United. Available at: https://fashionunited.com/global-fashion-industry-statistics [Accessed 16 Oct. 2023].
Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. (n.d.). The Mondrian Revolution. [online] Available at: https://museeyslparis.com/en/stories/la-revolution-mondrian.
Stewart, D. (2022). 5 Ways Brands Can Stay Competitive In A Recession. [online] Branding Strategy Insider. Available at: https://brandingstrategyinsider.com/5-ways-brands-can-stay-competitive-in-a-recession/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2023].
Sulejewski, A. (2021). Council Post: How To Stay Competitive In An Uncertain Economic Climate. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/12/01/how-to-stay-competitive-in-an-uncertain-economic-climate/?sh=7bead8873aa4 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2023].
the Guardian. (2013). Bridging the gap between art and business | Ajaz Ahmed. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2013/oct/16/bridging-gap-art-business.
Varley, R., Roncha, A., Radclyffe-Thomas, N. and Gee, L. (2018). Fashion management : a strategic approach. [online] London: Red Globe Press, p.4. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ual/reader.action?docID=6234690 [Accessed 16 Oct. 2023].
Vilaća, J. (2022). Fashion Industry Statistics: The 4th Biggest Sector Is More Than Clothing. [online] fashinnovation.nyc. Available at: https://fashinnovation.nyc/fashion-industry-statistics/#:~:text=Discussions%20around%20the%20fashion%20industry [Accessed 16 Oct. 2023].
Wikipedia. (2023). Mondrian Collection. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondrian_Collection.
www.coolset.com. (n.d.). The three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. [online] Available at: https://www.coolset.com/academy/three-pillars-of-sustainability.