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Why do we have fashion seasons

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What are the levels and what do they mean?

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The fashion market is a colossal industry made up of an abundance of brands, all of which offer a variety of different products, price points, atmospherics and many more unique attributes to the trade. Looking at the entire fashion market as a whole can be quite overwhelming, however branching the market into more compact segmentations, enables a clearer comparison of brands and market levels.

The fashion market can be deciphered into 7 separate market levels; Haute Couture, Luxury Fashion, Bridge Brands, Diffusion Lines, High Street, Fast Fashion and Economy. These 7 segmentations divide the market into smaller components and individual brands are categorised into each section based on a variety of elements, including designers, price range, consumers, accessibility, etc. Analysing each of these levels closely conveys which brands are housed within which section and why the market level was initially established.

The highest market level, sitting at the top of the fashion hierarchy is Haute Couture. Haute Couture dates back to the nineteenth century where is was created in Paris, and now the label 'Haute Couture' is actually a legal term. This means that for a garment to be considered as being Haute Couture it must meet the four main requirements of the French Ministry of Industry. Due to these criteria's it is not an easy feat for fashion designers or fashion houses to be classified as Haute Couture and therefore only a concise list of people in the industry are included. Chanel, Christian Dior, Versace, Valentino are some examples of the big names in the exquisite industry of Haute Couture. Consisting of opulent bespoke garments which have been "constructed by hand from start to finish, made from high quality, expensive, often unusual fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced sewers, often using time consuming, hand-executed techniques" (Britta von Basedow. 2017), every piece in this category is made to measure and is one of a kind. Although many people desire to have these kinds of pieces in their wardrobe, the reality is that the actual consumer market for Haute Couture is not vast at all. In fact, it is estimated that there are no more than 2,000 women globally who purchase Haute Couture items, and the main buyers are from Russia, China and The Middle East. The reason for the small clientele is predominately down to the fact that only the select few can actually afford it, as the entry price for a Haute Couture garment is somewhere in the region of about £10,000, depending on the intricacy of the piece being created. With prices like this it comes at no surprise that Fashion houses receive very little profit from Haute Couture, and a lot of their financial gain comes from people who buy into the brand through their more affordable collections, such as their fragrance and cosmetics lines for example.

Sitting second in the market level segmentation pyramid of the fashion market is, Luxury Fashion. This level includes high quality designer brands, most of which belong to the three main designer conglomerates, LVMH, Kering and Richemont. Unlike Couture, the garments in Luxury Fashion are produced rather than hand-made, however they are not mass-produced, so they do still offer the desirability which comes with having limited availability and finite accessibility. The entry prices for Luxury fashion vary per item and depend of the type of product being purchased, yet due to the nature of how the pieces are made, the price of a luxury garment is not as steep as a Couture one. However, most items are still priced high enough to be considered as maintaining the feeling of being a part of an elite market. The largest consumer group of luxury products comes from China and it is usually individuals who have a high income.. Typically those who are earning more than 100,00 per year. Over the last few years, the Luxury market has grown significantly, and it is forecasted to continue growing further on an upwards trend. The Luxury Fashion Market is dominated by French Fashion House, Louis Vuitton, who are ranked as one of the most valuable luxury brands around. Other Luxury Fashion brand names are normally the ones who are featured in the four major Fashion Week shows, and it includes the likes of Hermes, Gucci, Prada and Burberry, just to name a few.

The third market level of fashion is known as Bridge Brands, and these include brand names which are considered to be placed below Luxury but above High Street, and they have been created to bridge the gap between the two. Bridge Brands originated in the 70's, when a space in the market was identified for high quality garments without the price tag associated with a designer name. The brands within this level offer great quality clothing at a more adequate price point, so they are considered as being at the high end of affordable products. The typically entry price for a garment from a Bridge Brand would be around £50, and prices will increase depending on different items. Bridge Brands are perfect for those who may not be able to afford Luxury Fashion items, but still want to purchase pieces which are of a higher quality. Some example of Bridge Brands include names like Reiss, Whistles, Jaeger, Ted Baker, Cos and many more. They all offer a range of simplistic and minimalistic pieces which focus on giving the highest quality possible within an affordable price bracket.

Taking central place in the fashion market hierarchy are Diffusion Lines. Similarly to Bridge Brands, these also build a bridge between high street and luxury, but the difference is that Diffusion Lines have actually been created by luxury labels as a more budget friendly, secondary line. Like the levels above, Brand Diffusion is produced in bulk, but is still not mass produced, and these lines usually offer more variety of items than what the luxury brand itself does..However, the original brand will create more niche products in order to not devalue them as a brand. Once created, the fashion house then decides on the price point which they want to retail their lines at in accordance to other similar diffusion lines on the market. The entry price for products in diffusion lines can be anything between £40 - £400 depending on the type of item being sold, and usually the diffusion lines are priced at 30% less than the original brand full prices. These Diffusion brands make the inaccessible luxury brands accessible for an audience who desires to wear the brand but can not necessarily afford the designer labels. Typically, diffusion lines appeal to a younger consumer who may potentially end up being able to afford to shop the main luxury line in future years. These secondary lines are a perfect stepping stone into shopping a luxury label. There are many luxury labels who now offer Diffusion Lines, but some of the most well known ones would be; SEE by Chloe, RED by Valentino, DKNY by Donna Karen, CK by Calvin Klein, Mui Mui by Prada and Versus by Versace. In addition to these, there are some brands which actually offer multiple diffusion lines. For example, Armani have four different diffusion lines under their label and they cater for a variety of ages and a variety of budgets too.

Moving towards the lower end of the market levels there is High Street, which was established in the early 1900's in an era where women predominantly stayed at home and cared for their children. In attempts to offer a new and exciting experience to these women, the Department Store was created. These stores offered accessible, quality fashion, with a longer life span than economy items at affordable prices. Due to the reasonable pricing of pieces available and the fact that the products are mass produced to ensure the cost of each individual item can be bought down as much as possible, this market level sits third from the bottom. Typical high street consumers include both males and females, whose purchases and lifestyles are dictated by their finances. The traditional High Street brands that can be found nationwide in most towns and cities include stores such as Marks & Spencers, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Debenhams and Harvey Nichols, all of which are department stores offering a wide range of budget friendly products and a customer experience as well. However, it is becoming apparent more recently that the tradition high street is actually turing into a dying trend. The majority of the high street customers are moving to fast fashion and a vast number of transactions are now being carried out online instead. If this continues, bricks-and-mortar shops will inevitably fail eventually.

The penultimate market level of the fashion industry is Fast Fashion, and this is the level where you will discover the majority of the well-known, affordable brand names. The main conglomerates which are included are Inditex, H&M Group and Arcadia, and the likes of Topshop, Zara, H&M, Primark, Forever 21 and River Island are just a few brands which are renowned for having an extremely quick turnover in fashion and trends, meaning they are considered as Fast Fashion labels. Fast Fashion is a phenomenon in the Industry where the process of production is expedited in order to get new trends to the market as quickly and as cheaply as possible..it is a term used by fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk to stores extremely quick in order to capture the current fashion trends. The clothing collections created are usually based on latest fashion trends which have been presented at the most recent Fashion Weeks, and one of the main focuses of these Fast Fashion companies is to create quality clothing which has been inspired by the the foreseen up-and-coming trends, but to offer the similar pieces without the designer price tag..All of which needs to be done in a minimal time scale. Typically, a fast fashion brand is known for their ability to develop a new product and have it inside their stores ready for sale within just two weeks, whilst other retailers can often take up to six months. As a result of this, the tradition of introducing new fashion lines on a seasonal basis is being challenged. Today, it is not uncommon for fast-fashion retailers to introduce new products multiple times in a single week, meaning that new styles and trends can become obsolete in just a matter of weeks. The consumers of fast fashion can vary for each particular store, with many attracting the mass market. However, these labels would typically appeal to individuals who have a deep desire to look stylish and appear on-trend, but they want to do so in a budget friendly manner.

Last but not least, there is the Economy market level which is the lowest level of the fashion hierarchy. This is the home of mass production and it works efficiently at getting items from sweatshops to store. Creators of economy fashion will take on board key seasonal trends and they will attempt to turn them into affordable pieces in order to let their consumers look stylish at a much lower cost. The entry price for economy fashion can be as little as 50p for an accessory or £2 for an item of clothing, and prices do not tend to exceed the £40 mark. Economical fashion brands are able to maintain such low prices due to the fact that the manufacturing of products is done in bulk, and whilst the price point is great, this technique actually results in low quality and short lifespans of products making it the least environmentally friendly fashion market. Another disadvantage to economy fashion is that this value market can often be late to big, up-and-coming trends at most times, meaning that they launch them at their peak time, which in turn makes them more undesirable than their fast fashion competitors. Economy brands usually fulfil peoples basic needs, yet with the low budget that economy fashion labels have, items can tend to look cheap, therefore it is beneficial for these brands to focus mostly on selling the essential pieces that the mass audience are most commonly purchasing, so items such as vests, tops, leggings and jumpers are going to be most advantageous to produce as they are likely to sell best for the brand. Some examples of Economy Fashion labels are George at ASDA, F+F at Tesco, Tu Clothing at Sainsbury's, all of which are perfect for mums on the go. These kinds of brands are ideal for people who have limited amounts of time to spend clothes shopping for themselves, as they are able to do it whilst doing their weekly food shop.

The distribution of Fashion can be described in several forms; A movement, a flow, a trickle from one element of society to another. From the centre to the periphery, the diffusion of influences may be envisaged in hierarchial terms, such as the Bubble Up or Trickle Down theories.

The Trickle Down Effect theory is the oldest theory of fashion distribution and it was first coined in 1899 by Thorstein Veblen, an American economist and sociologist. His idea was generated on the concept that fashions worn by the upper class were imitated by the lower class. To operate, the trickle down theory relied upon hierarchical society and the desire to move up the social ladder. In this model, a style is first offered by the people at the top strata of society and then gradually becomes accepted by those lower in the strata. Not only was this evident in history, but also continued into the haute couture with "knock-off" designer labels being sold to lower class consumers. This effect presumes a social hierarchy in which people seek to identify with the affluent and those at the top seek distance from those socially below them, so once the fashion is adopted by those below, the affluent reject it and continue to look for something different.

The Bubble Up Effect is the latest of the fashion movement theories. In this pattern the innovation is initiated from both different cultures and the streets, and the fashions become a trend. These fashions are firstly adopted by the lower income groups, and the innovation then eventually flows to the higher income groups where they go on to emulate the styles; thus the movement is in reverse, and goes from the bottom end of the hierarchy, to the top end.

From the bespoke pieces of Haute Couture to the mass produced items of Economy lines and everything in between, this break down of different market levels shows just how vast the fashion industry is, and by separating everything into smaller categories it is easier to get a better understanding of how the industry works.

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THE MARKET LEVELS OF FASHION | Alicia Amy Jones

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The Current Market Levels of Fashion. The fashion market is a colossal industry made up of an abundance of brands, all of which offer a variety of different products, price points, atmospherics and many more unique attributes to the trade. Looking...

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By predicting the trends of tomorrow, WGSN Fashion helps the world’s largest retailers, brands and manufacturers lead with confidence.

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Fashion Trend Forecasting 2021-2023 | WGSN

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WGSN Fashion is a fashion trend forecasting subscription service, providing unique inspiration and data-backed trend direction.

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What is the purpose of trend forecasting

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Design & Branding

Combining my passion of beautiful aesthetics, with the logic of good design, I create design solutions that bring creativity and visual beauty to your needs. Whether you're looking to develop a new brand, update your current branding, require input on product design or are in need of a social media overhaul, I can work closely with you to achieve your creative vision.

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Amber Grant | Trend Forecaster, Creative Consultant & Designer

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Design & Branding Combining my passion of beautiful aesthetics, with the logic of good design, I create design solutions that bring creativity and visual beauty to your needs. Whether you're looking to develop a new brand, update your current branding, require input on product design or are in need of a social media overhaul, I can work closely with you to achieve your creative vision.

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Fashion marketing is that branch of marketing in which the industry deals with advertising campaigns and promotional events of the items of clothing and accessories to the targeted customers.

Fashion marketing can be carried out by advertising through print media or through online platforms.

Meaning of fashion marketing

Thus fashion marketing, in general, is related to the marketing of the fashion industry where the items of clothing and accessories are marketed keeping in mind the different sectors of the demographics. Now there are various methods for fashion marketing.

One can use both the offline and the online marketing strategy to reach out to the maximum number of customers. In the offline mode, various options are available. These can be in the form of print media like newspapers, magazines; templates, etc. other than that television and radio broadcasting are also included in the offline mode of fashion advertising.

Now coming to the online mode of promotions, the internet provides with several social media sites majorly the maximum number of users are on the facebook or the twitter. So with the help of these online sites, fashion marketing can be done.

The practice of fashion marketing is done to advertise fashion brands and their products to targeted customers who may eventually become potential buyers.

Now, this fashion marketing is quite different from the rest of the marketing practices. In another type of marketing research is done in a particular targeted customer and then advertising is done keeping those targeted customers in mind.

But in the case of fashion marketing, there are targeted customers but there isn't just one single group of targeted customers. In fact, there are several different groups of targeted customers. The fashion industry sells clothing and accessories which is worn by every single person on this earth.

So for fashion marketing to take places, the marketing advertisers simply can't focus on one set of demographics. Instead, they have to segment all of them considering all the demographics on the basis of different parameters.

Here the parameters that are chosen are gender, age, generation, location, occasion, incomes, etc. On the basis of these parameters first, the companies have to section the demographics and then they will approach to them depending upon the category that they depend.

Thus with the extensive research that is required, very thoughtful planning must be done so that each segment of the demographics can be approached in a way that they eventually turn into targeted customers. Also while researching one must take care of the fact that they also considered the preference of their audience and then come with innovative ideas and other creative ways to present their products to the customers.

The approach should be such that the customers get motivated enough to buy those products.

How is fashion marketing different from the other marketing industries?

In this fast pace of the fashion industry, fashion marketing has become quite unique. Also while in other sectors/industries of marketing one can use a similar marketing strategy for years which helps the in miant8ing a long term relationship with their customers.

In the case of fashion marketing, the reverse is true. The fashion industry takes huge leaps and that too in a very short span of time. The cycle of fashion marketing is considered to be way too short as compared to the other marketing industry.

In fashion marketing, the marketers and the advertisers have to keep looking for new ideas and new theme to promote their brands otherwise it may become old fashioned or outdated. Thus a regular change is required in the fashion marketing making it a challenging task.

Thus while in other marketing industries the same campaign could be run for years or so, in the fashion marketing this is not at all applicable. The fashion marketing will have to keep with the latest trends and repeatedly devise changes in their advertising strategies, bringing out creative ideas every single time.

Also along with the latest trends, fashion marketing will also have to remain in sync with their targeted customers while also focusing on the business part of the fashion industry.

Above all, they should make sure that there is a significant growth happening on a regular basis in term of the increased sales and profit margin. In this ways, fashion marketing is able to balance both the creative aspect of the fashion as well as the demands of the users, while keeping in mind their profitability.

What is the importance of fashion marketing?

The right kind of fashion marketing plays a key role in the growth and developments of the fashion industry. With the help of fashion marketing, the creations of the fashion designers from different parts f the world is brought into the vicinity of the consumers and the buyers.

When this fashion marketing is done with the right approach there is a cent percent chance that it will bring a lot of success to that particular brand of fashion. Thus as important as it is to have good designs for the fashion industry to flourish, so is the right type of marketing so that it could produce efficient results.

Now fashion marketing is also important because it helps the brands to emotionally and strategically connect with the brands. This is because fashion is not just about clothing. It is also about the story behind that and the message that the designer wants to convey through it.

It is also about the company that is producing that particular line of fashion products. In this marketing does more than just increasing the value of the sales revenue. It emotionally connects the brands o its customers and vice versa.

Also, fashion marketing is important because it helps in increasing the brand loyalty thus enhancing the public image of that particular company.

Now for fashion marketing to take place efficiently, the role of fashion marketers is quite important. The fashion marketers need to have knowledge of both the company and the market in which they will be competing with other similar brands. A fashion marketer performs several tasks on a daily basis to ensure that the brand value is maintained.
What are the various roles of fashion marketers?
They are involved in the media planning and branding, they take care of the products display, they also look after the ad creativity and photography and many other tasks. Thus a fashion marketer has to be multi-dimensional and also needs to have a good knowledge of fashion marketing.
What are the different essential aspects?
Fashion marketing is one of the branches of the marketing industry that deals with marketing and advertising fashion brands. This is done with the help of creative ad campaigns. Now the most important aspect of fashion marketing is that the companies should be able to identify their target customers.

Now since the fashion industry is for all. But there is a different, line of fashion for different segments of demographics. For example, the fashion industry for kids will be different from that of an adult.

It will be different for males and females. It will be different for senior citizen and for the youth. Thus to successfully segments the demographics into several groups and then identifying who their targeted customers are, is one of the most important aspects of the marketing industry.

Once they identify their target customers, they will be easily able to determine what they are demanding for, what is the latest trend going on for that sector of customers. Thus by defining their target customers, they will know to whom they are aiming at.

This way it will also help them in fixing up a price so that the products can be affordable for them. This way their sales will increase hence profiting the company. The other important aspect is that they should understand the ways in which they can display the products.

Here the creativity and the resourcefulness of the advertisers and the marketers can be a game changer. If used in the right ways it can take the companies to new heights.

The third important aspect is that the people who are involved in fashion marketing have to have knowledge in both the business field and the marketing field. The markers should be efficient enough that they can do the planning, designing and coordinating the ads so that it can reach out to the maximum number of customers and encourage them into buying their products.

Thus the fashion marketing is one of the branches of marketing whose approach to influence the targeted customers is quite different.

When fashion marketing is done in the right manner, it can bring a lot of profit to the business involved in the fashion industry.
Conclusion

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What is Fashion Marketing? Definition, Meaning and Importance

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Fashion marketing is that branch of marketing in which the industry deals with advertising campaigns and promotional events of the items of clothing and accessories to the targeted customers.

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What can we do?

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The fashion industry needs to fundamentally change in order to mitigate the environmental impact of fast fashion, experts have said.

Clothes rental, better recycling processes, pollution control technology and the innovative use of offcuts are among measures that could help, they said.

The researchers produced a report - pubished in the journal Nature Reviews Earth & Environment - into the environmental cost of the industry, and how it needs to change to deal with some of the many associated problems.

While the figures are debated, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, while it is estimated to use around 1.5 trillion litres of water annually. Meanwhile concerns have been rising about pollution, from chemical waste to microplastics.

Among the developments deemed to be exacerbating the problems, is fast fashion - cheap clothes bought and cast aside in rapid succession as trends change - such as the £1 bikini sold by Missguided last year.

The £1 Missguided bikini highlighted the issue of fast fashion last year. Photograph: Missguided

"It is really a global problem," said Dr Patsy Perry, a co-author of the research from Manchester University.

Perry and an international group of colleagues point out that the global nature of the fashion industry means clothes may have travelled around the world several times during manufacture, while it is estimated that if 3% of garment transportation shifted from ship to air cargo - a burgeoning trend in the industry - it could result in over 100% more carbon emissions than if all garment transportation was by ship.

The team also points to the industry's water consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, textile waste, and use of chemicals - substances they say not only pose environmental risks, but health risks for those involved in the industry. "In one example, a single European textile-finishing company uses over 466g of chemicals per kilogram of textile," they write.

And while many garments are designed in the US or EU, they are often produced in developing countries. The team says that not only increases fabric waste through poor communication of requirements, but regulations around pollution are often less strict in the countries of manufacture. "The waste water is going out into freshwater streams and polluting the rivers that people are fishing from [and] living from," said Perry.

A garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The production of clothes for foreign designers is one of the issues highlighted in the report. Photograph: NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The report stresses limited natural resources mean the fashion industry must change, and sets out a number of ways it could become greener, including embracing renewable energy and developing new methods for recycling, as well as reducing the use of polyester - a non-biodegradable fibre, produced from petrochemicals, that dominates the fashion industry.

They also argue the industry should focus on producing better quality, long-lived items, while innovations like clothes rental and new approaches to resale should be scaled up.

But they add: "Consumers must understand fashion as more of a functional product rather than entertainment, and be ready to pay higher prices that account for the environmental impact of fashion."

It is not the first time solutions to fast fashion have been mooted. Last year, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) proposed a number of measures, including a 1p charge on each new item of clothing to fund better recycling and collection. All were rejected by the government.

Extinction Rebellion protests outside London Fashion Week in February targeted fast fashion. Photograph: Ollie Millington/Getty Images

Libby Peake of the Green Alliance said the UK had a particular problem when it came to fast fashion.

"We buy more clothing per head than any other country in Europe, including nearly twice as much as Italians, who are better known for their fashion sense," she said.

As well as emphasising the need for improved quality and clothing rental schemes, she said, the report highlighted the importance of buying clothing second hand. Industry-led initiatives to reduce environmental costs had been ineffective while consumption continued to rise.

"Slow fashion is the only sustainable future for the industry and the planet," she said.

Carry Somers, the co-founder of the campaign Fashion Revolution, also stressed the use of chemicals in the fashion industry, as flagged by the new report, is of particular concern, especially in clothes made outside the EU where it is difficult to know what substances have been used.

Prof Steve Evans, an expert in industrial sustainability at Cambridge University, also welcomed the report. But he said it was unclear what proportion of the industry's environmental impact was down to fast fashion per se. A key challenge for the "closed loop" industry was that different sectors, from production to retailing and recycling, must begin to work together.

But Evans said a future where the rate of fibre production and disposal was lowered need not mean a dearth of new outfits, if garments were rented or re-sold. "It might be fast fashion from the perspective of the fashionista," he said, "but it is slow from the perspective of the planet."

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Fast fashion speeding toward environmental disaster, report warns

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Study highlights industry failures and calls for shift in consumer attitudes

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Trend Video

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FASHION TRENDS FALL / WINTER 2020-2021 (but wearable)

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The global apparel market is projected to grow in value from 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015 to about 1.5 trillion dollars in 2020, showing that the demand for clothing and shoes is on the rise across the world.

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Find the most up-to-date statistics and facts on the global apparel market

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Fashion: Is it a dirty word?

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Opinion

Humanity faces no bigger threat than climate change, and the fashion industry needs to take responsibility for our role in warming the planet. We look at what the issues are, and what steps fashion can take to clean up its act.

Limiting the damage from climate change requires cutting net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, and every industry has a part to play

The fashion industry is responsible for around 2-4 percent of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions, and that percentage is set to grow

Most emissions come from raw materials, so improving the way we produce polyester and cotton could have a huge impact

Challenging the current fast fashion ethos of the industry is going to be essential in the fight against global warming

Although it doesn't have the reputation of, say, the oil industry, fashion is making a sizeable contribution to warming the planet - the fashion industry was responsible for 2.1 billion metric tons of GHG emissions in 2018, according to McKinsey Fashion on Climate report. To put things in perspective, the annual green house gas (GHG) emissions of the fashion industry equals the annual emissions from economies of France, Germany and the UK combined. ¹
The fashion industry produces 2-4 percent o...
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Humanity faces no bigger threat than climate change, and the fashion industry needs to take responsibility for our role in warming the planet. We look at what the issues are, and what steps fashion can take to clean up its act.

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Environmental impact with examples.
What are your views?

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Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including "cutting CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions".

In 2020, it was found that voluntary self-directed reform of textile manufacturing supply chains by large companies to reduce the environmental impact was largely unsuccessful. Measures to reform fashion production beyond greenwashing requires policies for the creation and enforcement of standardized certificates, along with related import controls, subsidies, and interventions such as eco-tariffs.

In the early 1990s, roughly coinciding with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the Rio Earth Summit, 'green issues' (as they were called at the time) made their way into fashion and textiles publications. These publications featured well-known companies such as Patagonia and ESPRIT, who's founders Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins, were outdoorsmen who witnessed the environmental harm of overproduction and overconsumption. Doug Tompkins and Yvon Chouinard were early to note that exponential growth and consumption are not sustainable. In the late 1980s, they brought environmental concerns into their business models, commissioning research into the impact of fibres used in their respective companies. For Patagonia, this resulted in a lifecycle assessment of four fibers: cotton, wool, nylon, and polyester. For ESPRIT, the focus was on cotton -representing 90% of their production at the time-and finding better alternatives to it. A primary focus on materials' provenance, impact and selection, fibre and fabric processing is still the norm in sustainable fashion 30 years on.

In 1992, the ESPRIT e-collection based on the Eco Audit guide by the Elmwood Institute, was developed by head designer Lynda Grose and launched at retail. In 2011 the brand Patagonia ran an ad and a PR campaign called "Don't Buy This Jacket" with a picture of Patagonia merchandise. This message was intended to encourage people to consider the effect that consumption has on the environment, to purchase only what they need.

In parallel with industry, research around sustainable fashion has been in development since the early 1990s, with the field now having its own history, dynamics, politics, practices, sub-movements and evolution of analytical and critical language. The field is broad in scope, including technical projects that seek to improve the resource efficiency of existing operations, the consideration of brands and designers working within currently understood frameworks as well as those which look to fundamentally re-imagine the fashion industry, including the growth logic.

In the European Union, the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations required in 2007 that clothing manufacturers and importers identified and quantified the chemicals used in their products. In 2012, the world's largest summit on fashion sustainability was held in Copenhagen, gathering more than 1,000 key stakeholders in the industry to discuss the importance of making the fashion industry sustainable. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition also launched the Higg Index, a self-assessment standard designed to measure and promote sustainable supply chains in the apparel and footwear industries. Founded in 2011, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition is a nonprofit organisation whose members include brands producing apparel or footwear, retailers, industry affiliates and trade associations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, academic institutions and environmental nonprofits. The Global Change Award, is an innovation challenge created by the H&M foundation.

Retailers must take responsibility for the social and environmental cost of clothes. They should use their market power to demand higher environmental and labour standards from suppliers. Offering rental schemes, lifetime repair and providing the consumer with more information about the sourcing and true cost of clothing are all measures that can be more widely adopted. Shifting business practice in this way can not only improve a business' environmental and social impact but also offer market advantage as they respond to the growing consumer demand for responsible, sustainable clothing.

Environmental Audit Committee of the UK Parliament, "Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability"

In 2019, the UK Parliament's Environment Audit Committee published a report and recommendations on the future of fashion sustainability, suggesting wide-ranging systemic change, not least government regulation and tax-incentives for sustainable practices, such as lowered VAT for repair services. The report highlights the need for wide political and social changes to push the fashion industry towards more sustainable practices and levels of consumption, with the goal of "less harm" being too low to be of any helpful consequence. In the same year, a group of researchers formed the Union for Concerned Researchers in Fashion (UCRF) to advocate for radical and coordinated research activity commensurate with the challenges of biodiversity loss and climate change. In the fall of 2019, the UCRF received the North Star Award at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards during Milan Fashion Week.

Fashion industry followers believe the business sector can act more sustainably by pursuing profit and growth. This is done while adding increased value and wealth to society and the global economy. The goal of sustainable fashion is to create flourishing ecosystems and communities through its activity. The movement believes that clothing companies should incorporate environmental, social, and ethical improvements on management's agenda. This may include: increasing the value of local production and products; prolonging the lifecycle of materials; increasing the value of timeless garments; reducing the amount of waste; and reducing the harm to the environment as a result of production and consumption. Another goal is to educate people to practice environmentally friendly consumption by promoting the "green consumer", which can allow the company itself to gain more support and a larger following. Providing more sustainable option decrease the huge amounts of clothing that end up in landfills.

Consumption geared towards saving money, lowering utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting the country's energy needs is described as green consumerism. In recent years there has been an increase in research centered around consumer reactions to the advent of green products within fast fashion. Critics doubt the effectiveness that this has, but companies have already begun slowly transitioning their business models to fit a more eco-friendly and sustainable future. Thus the industry has to change its basic premise for profit, yet this is slow coming as it requires a large shift in business practices, models and tools for assessment. This became apparent in the discussions following the Burberry report of the brand burning unsold goods worth around £28.6m (about $37.8 million) in 2018, exposing not only overproduction and subsequent destruction of unsold stock as a normal business practice, but behavior amongst brands that actively undermine a sustainable fashion agenda.

The challenge for making fashion more sustainable often requires systematic reinvention, and this call for action is not new. The UCRF has argued that the industry focus remains the same ideas originally mooted in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Union observes, "so far, the mission of sustainable fashion has been an utter failure and all small and incremental changes have been drowned by an explosive economy of extraction, consumption, waste and continuous labor abuse."

A frequently concern of those working in the area of sustainable fashion is whether the field itself is an oxymoron. This reflects the seemingly irreconcilable possibility of bringing together fashion (understood as constant change, and tied to business models based on continuous replacement of goods) and sustainability (understood as continuity and resourcefulness). The apparent paradox dissolves if fashion is seen more broadly, as a process not only aligned to expansionist business models and consumption, but instead as mechanism that leads to more engaged ways of living.

Challenges associated with implementing sustainability in fashion design are shaped by the perceptions, attitudes, and involvement of fashion design practitioners in sustainability. Both design and designer roles are key to inspiring sustainable design practices; their role can contribute to sustainability by shaping design production practices and influencing consumption processes.

Traditional textile manufacturing in Teotitlán del Valle. Clothes made with techniques like this are considered more sustainable than fast fashion.

Protesters holding a placard linking fast fashion to climate change.

One of the most apparent reasons for the current unsustainable condition of the fashion system is related to the temporal aspects of fashion; the continuous stream of new goods onto the market, or what is popularly called " fast fashion." The term fast fashion is used to refer to the fast paced production of goods at an unethical level which often has a negative impact on the environment. As a way to conform to the latest fashion styles and keep consumers wanting new garments, current fast fashion trends pre-suppose selling clothing in large quantities. Due to fast fashion being affordable and able to keep up with the trends, there has been an increase in apparel consumption. Consumption has risen to 62 million tonnes annually and is projected to reach 102 million tonnes by 2030. This type of fashion is produced in vast quantities with low-quality materials and are sold through chains such as H&M, Zara, Forever21, Shein, etc. Fast-fashion retailer Shein is one of the most visited fast-fashion websites in the world and ships to 220 countries. However, there are questions about Shein's ethics and sustainability as it was responsible for about 706 billion kilograms of greenhouse gases in 2015 from the production of polyester textiles and uses up hundreds of gallons of water per garment. Additionally, leaving an aftermath of 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide while missing 45% of the UN's goal to reduce carbon emissions by 2030. In January 2021, Shein offered over 121,000 garments made from polyester, making up 61% of their clothing total. The fashion industry has a value of three trillion dollars. It is two percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) - the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period. Out of the three trillion dollars, the majority is made of fast fashion.

However, the "fast" aspect of consumption is primarily a problem for the environment when done on a massive scale. As long as fast conspicuous consumption was reserved to the rich, the global impact was not reaching public attention or seen as a problem. That is, "fast" shopping sprees of haute couture is not seen as a problem, rather it is celebrated (for example in movies such as Pretty Woman), whereas when people with less means shop fast fashion, it is seen as unethical and a problem. Today, the speed of fast fashion is common across the whole industry as exclusive fashion replicates the fast fashion chains with continuous releases of collections and product drops: the quality of a garment does not necessarily translate to a slower pace of consumption and waste. These releases are only exasperated by the acceleration of fashion trends. As micro-trends are only lasting an average of 3 years, the demand for clothes has also accelerated.

In addition to its negative environmental impact, fast fashion is unethical. Keeping up with fashion trends causes clothing to be produced in a harmful manner. "Fast" clothing is made with synthetic fibers as opposed to natural fibers. The synthetic fibers are made using the Earth's fossil fuels. Almost sixty percent of clothes are made this way. Since people spend so much money on these types of clothes and purchase them so frequently, landfills are filling up quickly. Over sixty percent of clothes made every year end up in landfills as consumer waste, and almost twenty percent of the world's waste is constituted by fashion products. Therefore, because fast fashion frequently introduces new collections, consumer consumption increases. Consequently, leading consumers to view low-cost apparel as disposable since there are continuous releases of products. Production of these types of clothing is also commonly exploitative, with most factories that produce "fast" clothing employing workers on low wages in exploitative environments. Workers from Shein are reported to make as little as ~4 cents per garment produced, as well as operating on 18-hour workdays with 1 day off per month. Exploitative fast fashion production is prevalent in countries like China, Bangladesh and Vietnam. Hard labor was always around in the fashion industry dating back to when slave labor helped factories gather their materials. People making these clothes today suffer from harsh working conditions, low wages, and risks to health and safety.

"Slow" fashion

" Slow fashion" is a proposed sustainable alternative to fast fashion. The term was coined by Kate Fletcher of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion and inspired by " slow food".

Slow fashion challenges growth fashion's obsession with mass-production and globalized style. It becomes a guardian of diversity and changes the power relations between fashion creators and consumers, therefore forging new relationships and trust that are only possible at smaller scales. It fosters a heightened state of awareness of the design process and its impacts on resource flows, workers, communities, and ecosystems.

A slow-fashion garment often consists of durable materials, traditional production techniques, or design concepts that are seasonless or will last for more than a season. Several points of the production chain are affected by slowness. Textile workers in developing countries earn higher wages because of slow fashion. For end-users, slow fashion means that the goods are designed and manufactured with greater care and high-quality products. From an environmental point of view, it means that there are less clothing and industrial waste that is removed from use following transient trends. Throughout the process, durability is considered; emotionally, materially, aesthetically, or by including services that extend the garment's life. Additionally, creative ideas and product innovations constantly redefine slow fashion, so using a static, single definition would ignore the evolving nature of the concept.

Examples of stability of expression over long times are abundant in the history of dress, not least in ethnic or folk dress, ritual or coronation robes, clerical dress, or the uniforms of the Vatican Guard. The emphasis on slowness in branding is thus an approach that is specific for a niche in the market (such as Western-educated middle-class) that has since the 1990s become dominated by "fast" models. One of the earliest brands that gained global fame with an explicit focus on slow fashion, the Anglo-Japanese brand People Tree, embraces the concept of ethical trade, manufactures all products in accordance with ethical commerce standards, and supports local producers and craftsmen in developing countries. The People Tree brand is known as the first fashion company to receive the World Fair Trade Organization product label in 2013, demonstrating their dedication to fair trade and the environment.

The environmental impact of fashion also depends on how much and how long a garment is used. With the fast fashion trend, garments tend to be used half as much as compared to 15 years ago. It has been estimated that each year around $172 million worth of garments is expected to be discarded, many of them after being worn only once. There has been a 7.1 kg increase in global per-capita textile production from 1975-2018. This would not only an increase in textiles but an increase in the amount of water pollution from dying and treating the textiles. The increase can be contributed to the need for consumers to keep up with the latest fashion trends and the quick disposal of clothing. This is due to the inferior quality of fabrics used but also a result of a significant increase in collections that are being released by the fashion industry. To combat this issue at hand, longer lasting materials and products are being promoted to increase sustainability.

Typically, a garment used daily over years has less impact than a garment used once to then be quickly discarded. Studies have shown that the washing and drying process for a pair of classic jeans is responsible for almost two-thirds of the energy consumed through the whole of the jeans' life, and for underwear about 80% of total energy use comes from laundry processes. The dyeing process also contributes close to 15%-20% of wastewater. For this reason, innovative techniques are being introduced to reduce energy and water consumption, such as utilizing CO ₂ in the dyeing process where heat and pressure turns liquid CO ₂ into dye used for various garments. Thus, use and wear practices affect the lifecycles of garments and needs to be addressed for larger systemic impact.

However, there is a significant difference between making a product last from making a long-lasting product. The quality of the product must reflect the appropriate fit into its lifecycle. Certain garments of quality can be repaired and cultivated with emotional durability. Low-quality products that deteriorate rapidly are not as suitable to be "enchanted" with emotional bonds between user and product. It is important to notice that choosing and promoting "emotional bonds" with consumer objects is an endeavor more easily done under circumstances of excess, as the needy have no other option than to keep and care for their belongings.

The fashion industry has a disastrous impact on the environment. In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. And, the environmental damage is increasing as the industry grows. The textiles and fashion industries are amongst the leading industries that affect the environment negatively. One of the industries that greatly jeopardize environmental sustainability is the textiles and fashion industry, which thus also bears great responsibilities. Globalization has made it possible to produce clothing at increasingly lower prices, prices so low, and collections shifting so fast, that many consumers consider fashion to be disposable. However, fast, and thus disposable, fashion adds to pollution and generates environmental hazards, in production, use, and disposal. The globalization of the textile and fashion industry has also contributed to the uneven distribution of such environmental hazards and consequences. Developing countries who typically produce the textile and clothing bear the burden for developed countries who largely consume the products.

Putting the environmental perspective at the center, rather than the logic of the industry, is thus an urgent concern if fashion is to become more sustainable. The Earth Logic fashion research action plan argues for "putting the health and survival of our planet earth and consequently the future security and health of all species including humans, before industry, business, and economic growth." In making this argument the Earth Logic plan explicitly connects the global fashion system with the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C.

Furthermore, the Earth Logic fashion research action plan sets out a range of possible areas for work in a sustainable fashion that scientific and research evidence suggests are the most likely to deliver a change of the scale and pace needed to respond to challenges like climate change. Earth Logic's point of departure is that the planet, and its people, must be put first, before profit. It replaces the logic of economic growth, which is arguably the single largest factor limiting change towards sustainable fashion, with the logic that puts earth at its center.

The clothing industry has one of the highest impacts on the planet. Cotton requires approximately 15,000 liters of water to grow for a pair of jeans. High water usage, pollution from chemical treatments used in dyeing and preparation and the disposal of large amounts of unsold clothing through incineration or landfill deposits are hazardous to the environment. There is a growing water scarcity, the current usage level of fashion materials (79 billion cubic meters annually) is very concerning because textile production mostly takes place in areas of fresh water stress. Only around 20% of clothing is recycled or reused, huge amounts of fashion product end up as waste in landfills or are incinerated. It has been estimated that in the UK alone around 350,000 tons of clothing ends up as landfill every year. According to Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization committed to promoting and supporting sustainable development, "At least 8,000 chemicals are used to turn raw materials into textiles and 25% of the world's pesticides are used to grow non-organic cotton. This causes irreversible damage to people and the environment, and still two thirds of a garment's carbon footprint will occur after it is purchased." The average American throws away nearly 70 pounds of clothing per year. Around 5% of the total waste worldwide stems from the textile industry, the clothing section of the textile industry has elevated the amount of waste contributing to global waste.

There is increasing concern that microfibers from synthetic and cellulosic fabrics are polluting the earths waters through the process of laundering. Microfibers are tiny threads that are shed from fabric. These microfibers are too small to be captured in wastewater treatment plants filtration systems and they end up entering our natural water systems and as a result, contaminating our food chain. One study found that 34.8% of Microplastics found in oceans come from the textile and clothing industry and the majority of them were made of polyester, polyethylene, acrylic, and elastane; but a study off the coast of the UK and US by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory in May 2020 suggested there are at least double the number of particles as previously thought. Eliminating synthetic materials used in clothing products can prevent harmful synthetics and microfibers from ending up in the natural environment. While some clothing companies and NGOs support the use of washing bags to filter out microfibers in washing machines and thus reduce microfiber release, microfibers are also shed during wear and disposal. Plastic debris covers the surface of the whole ocean. If no progress is made to reverse the damage, it is calculated that there will be an increase of 850 Mts of plastic debris in the ocean by 2050.

"Fossil fashion"

In February 2021, Changing Markets Foundation released a report on the fashion industry's dependence on oil extraction. The report analyses the current production model across the fashion industry is dependent on massive fossil-fuel extraction to fuel the production of fibers. The report spotlights how the production of the most popular fibers, primarily polyester, is reliant on oil extraction. Production of polyester has grown ninefold since the 1970s, and is the fastest growing component in fashion production. The popularity of polyester is due to its low price, but also the fiber's flexibility as a material. The report suggests, synthetic fibers in the textile industry currently accounts for 1.35% of global oil consumption, and this is projected to more than double in the coming years: "BP's energy scenario presumes plastic production will account for 95% of future growth in demand for oil demand, while the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts petrochemicals will represent up to 50% of growth in oil demand by 2050 and 4% in the projected growth of gas demand." (p. 8)

One of the main social issues related to fashion concerns labor. Since the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, labor rights in the fashion industry has been at the center of this issue. The 2013 Savar building collapse at Rana Plaza, where 1138 people died, put the spotlight once again on the lack of transparency, poor working conditions and hazards in fashion production. Attention is increasingly being placed on labour rights violations in other parts of the whole fashion product lifecycle from textile production and processing, retail and distribution and modeling to the recycling of textiles. Whilst the majority of fashion and textiles are produced in Asia, Central America, Turkey, North Africa, the Caribbean and Mexico, there is still production across Europe where exploitative working conditions are also found such as in Leicester in the UK Midlands and Central and Eastern Europe.

The environmental impact of fashion also affects communities located close to production sites. There is little easily accessible information about these impacts, but it is known that water and land pollution from toxic chemicals used to produce and dye fabrics and have serious negative consequences for the people living near factories.

Supply chain transparency has been a recurring controversy for the fashion industry, especially since the Rana Plaza accident. The issue has been pushed by many labor organizations, not least Clean Clothes Campaign and Fashion Revolution. Over the last years, over 150 major brands including Everlane, Filippa K, and H&M have answered by publicizing information about their factories online. Every year, Fashion Revolution publishes a Fashion Transparency Index which rates the world's largest brands and retailers according to how much information they disclose about their suppliers, supply chain policies and practices, and social and environmental impact. The top scorers of the 2019 Fashion Transparency Index included Adidas, Reebok, Patagonia, and H&M. The high place of several fast fashion retailers caused controversy regarding the parameters used for such rankings.

While social "inclusivity" has become almost a norm amongst brands marketing ethical and sustainable fashion, the norm for what is considered a "beautiful" and "healthy" body keeps narrowing down under what researchers have called the current "wellness syndrome." With the positive thinking of inclusivity, the assumption is that a consumer can be whatever he or she wants to be, and thus if the person is not living up to the ideals it is the person's own fault. This optimism hides the diktat of aesthetic wellness, which turns inclusion into an obligation to look good and be dressed in fashionable clothes, a "democratic" demand for aesthetic as well as ethical perfection, as argued by philosopher Heather Widdows.

China has emerged as the largest exporter of fast fashion, accounting for 30% of world apparel exports. The country exports over approximately $159 billion USD worth of clothing garments annually. However, some Chinese workers make as little as 12-18 cents per hour working in poor conditions. Each year Americans purchase approximately 1 billion garments made in China. Today's biggest factories and mass scale of apparel production emerged from two developments in history. The first involved the opening up of China and Vietnam in the 1980s to private and foreign capital and investments in the creation of export-oriented manufacturing of garments, footwear, and plastics, part of a national effort to boost living standards, embrace modernity, and capitalism. Second, the retail revolution within the U.S. (example Wal-Mart, Target, Nike) and Western Europe, where companies no longer manufactured but rather contracted out their production and transformed instead into key players in design, marketing, and logistics, introducing many new different product lines manufactured in foreign-owned factories in China. It is the convergence of these two phenomena that has led to the largest factories in history from apparels to electronics. In contemporary global supply chains, it is the retailers and branders who have had the most power in establishing arrangements and terms of production, not factory owners. Fierce global competition in the garment industry translates into poor working conditions for many laborers in developing nations. Developing countries aim to become a part of the world's apparel market despite poor working conditions and low pay. Countries such as Cambodia and Bangladesh export large amounts of clothing into the United States every year.

At the heart of the controversy concerning "fast fashion" lies the acknowledgment that the "problem" of unsustainable fashion is that cheap, accessible, and on-trend clothes have become available to people of poorer means. This means more people across the world have adopted the consumption habits that in the mid-20th century were still reserved for the rich. To put it differently, the economic concern of fashion is that poor people, or populations in developing economies, now have access to updating their wardrobes as often as the rich, or consumers in Western economies. That is, "fast" fashion is only a problem when poor people engage in it. In alignment with this, the blame for the proliferation of poor-quality, high-quantity and cheap fashion is often put on poorer consumers.

In order to promote more sustainable forms of consumption, there is a multitude of emerging business models that challenge the prevalent ready-to-wear model. Here is an example of a study that provides insight into innovative business models in the fashion industry that are geared towards sustainability.

A number of emerging business models go under the name of " circular fashion," inspired by the circular economy. While there are many models under development, some are gaining more traction. Much of the work on circular fashion builds on ideas and initiatives explored in the 1990s and onwards, by scholars such as Lynda Grose, Kate Fletcher, Rebecca Earley, Mathilda Tham, and Timo Rissanen, especially the thinking around the "metabolism" of garments and wardrobes, "zero waste" production, and the focus on the whole life cycle of garments. The popular terminology around circular fashion, reached the mainstream through a report that has come to define the field, the 2017 "A New Textile Economy: Redesigning Fashion's Future" by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

The " cradle-to-cradle" model, a circular system named after the influential 2002 book with the same name by German chemist Michael Braungart and US architect William McDonough has been a popular inspiration amongst proponents of circular fashion, it is not easy to achieve. Most textile fibers in consumer fashion are amalgamations of various materials to achieve flexible or aesthetic properties, and thus not optimal for circular reproduction. Industrially shredded fibers often need addition of new materials to achieve elasticity or durability. Up until now, most companies contributing to circular fashion are either mechanical or chemical textile recyclers such as Lenzing, Recover Textile Systems, Renewcell, Evrnu, Spinnova or Infinited Fiber Company. Although all work with textile waste as their raw material, it is often from pre-consumer origins as it is easier to sort and process. More recently, some industry initiatives to develop and scale pre-consumer and post-consumer textile recycling have been emerging around the globe, particularly as a response to new legislation. On March 30, The European Commission published the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, a new strategy that lays out key principles to drive change in the textiles industry. The European Commission's vision of the future of the textiles industry in Europe lays on several pillars that include recycled textiles, ecodesigns, waste management, transparency, labelling, microplastics and extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Biomimicry, natural cycles, and processes

Biomimicry suggests a perspective emphasizing the "Wisdom of Nature" where the industry looks into materials in tune with natural cycles. Biomimicry replicates the cycles of nature, seeking to infinitely reuse materials to make commerce compatible with nature. Fashion from the viewpoint of biomimicry tries to make fashion work as a sustainable ecosystem, aligning with natural systems in harmony with the biosphere. Materials should be bio-compatible, combining biodegradable fibers with processes of fermentation and gasification, or materials that have been seen as waste could act as a more sustainable method to making new clothing.

Fashion companies are also innovating by incorporating biotechnology materials for the production of products such as sustainable fashion and sportswear, leading to a reduction in the impact of climate change. Biofabrication refers to the process of using microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, algae, and fungi, to produce materials and ingredients used by humans, ranging from fuel to food to fibers. With the aim of harnessing biology and microorganisms, biofabrication aims to produce high-value ingredients without relying on fossil or limited land resources. American fashion designer and CEO of Biofabricate, Suzanne Lee, is developing biofabricate materials for the fashion world and gathering experts in the area to explore the possibilities of this new materials: "We've already seen various automotive concept cars with interiors made from biomaterials rather than animal or petrochemical materials. But it's probably going to be a while before it goes mainstream in the automotive sector because the volumes are so huge."

Multi-national clothing retailers are making progress in sustainable clothing production utilizing biofabrication materials. In 2022, Zara offered party dresses made of polyester produced from bio ethanol created from the carbon emissions of a steel mill. Similarly, H&M Move has partnered with LanzaTech, a breakthrough material science company that diverts carbon emissions from the atmosphere, traps them, and transforms them into thread. Although the technology is still in its early stages, it has the potential to be transformative in the coming decades.

Rental models are gaining popularity across the industry, a model that has traditionally been used in attire for masquerades or special events, such as weddings. The idea is that sharing garments ultimately lowers the volume of new purchases and disposal of clothing, which means less waste. Rent the Runway is a company building on the "Rent a Closet" approach to consumption, where a consumer leases a garment instead of purchasing it. Fashion rental is a model expected to grow over 10% annually until 2027 across the fashion industry, thus also increasing sales (and expected waste) of garments. Renting and sharing clothing is also known as CFC (collaborative fashion consumption) but its environmental impact and mitigation of pollution are debated. While convenient for the consumer, reducing the number of items housed in the wardrobe, the environmental impact of rental may however not be reduced as much as advertised. Transportation between users and storage, dry-cleaning, and re-packaging causes more environmental impact than reselling or hand-me-downs. As noted by Levänen et al. (2021), the lowest global warming impacts are achieved be reducing consumption, followed by reusing and recycling, whereas rental services are likely to increase customers' consumption, logistics, and use, making sharing and rental scenarios having the highest Global Warming Potential.

As noted by sustainability researcher Timo Rissanen, it is the total amount of clothing units in circulation that needs to be reduced, as well as their environmental impact during their life cycle, and rental services could, if improved, play a role in that.

Other resale models also contain elements of upcycling and repairs. Repairing and reselling used clothing has less environmental impact than creating, processing, dying, cutting, sewing, and shipping new clothing to the consumer. Through the upcycling process for clothing, the end-of-life management process of clothes is not applied because it extends the life of a clothing article instead of being disposed into a landfill.

A more technologically minded trend is "innovative recycling", which seeks to view waste itself as a source of value. Within the fashion industry, some[who? ] manufacturers have created incentives for consumers to participate in the recycling of their clothing. Innovative recycling is also aimed at clothing stores themselves, who do not always have sustainable methods to properly dispose of boxes and plastic bags; innovative recycling also looks at the packaging that clothes come in having been sent from manufacturers. A change in approaches towards recycling within the fashion industry could potentially greatly impact the amount of waste the industry creates.

Using digital technologies and blockchain can promote more "Connected Clothes" which allows for more opportunities in digitalizing clothing for personalization, life-tracking, and traceability of its origin.

Open-source content has become a popular reference with designers sharing patterns and designs, connecting to the success of the open-source software movement. By sharing designs freely, using digital technology, the aim is to make consumers more engaged in the design, production, and lifetime use of the garment. While the terminology is new, the concept builds on the sharing of patterns across European courts in 16th century (such as Kleidungsbüchlein or Trachtenbuch (usually translated as "Book of Clothes") of Melchior Lorck, and the wide range of sewing magazines, such as Burda Style, in the early 20th century. By making garments more open and adaptable across their lifecycle, the hope is that "garments can be multi-functional, beyond simply clothing our bodies; that fashion should be both useful and inventive; and that what we wear should relate to the world around us." Examples of open-source fashion range from freely available patterns and production techniques, platforms for exchanging materials and patterns, and maker spaces.

A large amount of clothing purchased annually is discarded and eventually ends up in landfill. Sustainability advocates highlight reselling and donating old clothes and buying secondhand fashion as an approach to sustainable fashion.

Some efforts have been made to recycling textiles and clothing, as the technology to do this has existed for centuries. However, only around 1% of recycled clothes are turned into new items, primarily due to the difficulty and high cost of separating mixed and blended textiles. Most discarded clothing is recycled for other uses, such as building insulation or carpet.

Textile recycling firms process about 70% of the donated clothing into industrial items such as rags or cleaning cloths. However, 20-25% of the second-hand clothing is sold into an international market. Where possible, used jeans collected from America, for example, are sold to low-income customers in Africa for modest prices, yet most end up in landfill as the average US sized customer is several sizes bigger than the global average.

Typically, upcycling creates something new and better from the old, used or disposed of items. The process of upcycling requires a blend of factors like environmental awareness, creativity, innovation, and hard work and results in a unique sustainable product. Upcycling aims at the development of products truly sustainable, affordable, innovative, and creative. For example, shirts can be upcycled into a value-added product like a unique handmade braided rug, whereas the opposite of upcycling is downcycling such as cleaning rags made from worn T-shirts.

It is meant to be innovative by making certain materials into something re-usable and improved, which gives companies and manufacturers higher values for their products. Recycling is a big factor in sustainability, so creating new materials to avoid mass pollution can help improve the economy.

The advantages of circular fashion include: reduced dependency on imported raw materials, creation of eco- friendly industries and jobs, eco-friendly brands benefit from a better public image, and reduction in environmental damage caused by resource extraction. On the other hand, disadvantages include dependency on the consumer's actions, creating a new business model on the basis of recycled is tough, and the entire cycle requires integrating product life cycle from raw material to disposal.

Clothes swap in Wrocław, Wyspa Tamka. Event is manifesting slow fashion movement, focusing on Fashion Revolution actions

Clothing swapping can further promote the reduction, reuse, and recycling clothing. By reusing clothing that has already been made and recycling clothing from one owner to another, source reduction can be achieved. This moves away from usage of new raw materials to make more clothing available for consumption. Through the method of clothing swapping, an alternative resource for consumers to ultimately save in regards to money and time is provided. It reduces transportation emissions, costs, and the time it takes to drive and search through the chaos of most clothing stores. Swapping clothes further promotes the use of sustainable online shopping and the internet as well as an increase of social bonds through online communication or effective personal communication in "clothing swap parties." The EPA states, that by reusing items, at the source waste can be diverted from ending up in landfills because it delays or avoids that item's entry in the waste collection and disposal system.

There are negative social and environmental impacts at all stages of the fashion product life: materials production and processing, manufacture of garments, retail and marketing, use and maintenance, and at the discard phase. For some products, the environmental impact can be greater at the use phase than material production, leading for instance to the suggestion to wash clothes less.

Sustainability and Style event held during Berlin Fashion Week 2016.

Consumer engagement challenges the "passive" mode of ready-to-wear fashion where consumers have few interfaces and little incentive to be active with their garments; to repair, change, update, swap, and learn from their wardrobe. This type of consumer engagement, aiming to promote fashion as an ability rather than primarily as a commodity, has been referred to as "fashion-ability." The term "folk fashion" has been used in the emphasis on craft engagements with garments where the community heritage of skills are in focus. There are currently many designers trying to find ways that experiment with new models of action that deposes passivity and indifference while preserving the positive social dynamics and sensibilities fashion offers, often in relation to Alvin Toffler's notion of the " prosumer" (portmanteau of producer and consumer). Notions of participatory design, open source fashion, and fashion hacktivism are parts of such endeavors, mixing techniques of dissemination with empowerment, reenchantment and Paulo Freire's " Pedagogy of the Oppressed." An example of such consumer engagement can be Giana Gonzalez and her project "Hacking Couture", which has tested such methods across the world since 2006. As highlighted in the research of Jennifer Ballie, there is also an increasing interest across industry to produce unique experiences amongst users, connecting co-design with social media apps and tools to enhance the user experience of consumers. A recent example has been the Open Source Fashion Cookbook, by the New York-based brand ADIFF, showing how consumers can recycle materials, share and modify patterns, and co-create more engaging forms of fashion consumption.

Enhancing the lifespan of products have been yet another approach to sustainability, yet still only in its infancy. Upmarket brands have long supported the lifespan of their products through product-service systems, such as re-waxing of classic outdoor jackets, or repairs of expensive handbags, yet more accessible brands do still not offer even spare buttons in their garments. One such approach concerns emotionally durable design, yet with fashion's dependency on continuous updates, and consumer's desire to follow trends, there is a significant challenge to make garments last long through emotional attachment. As with memories, not all are pleasant, and thus a focus on emotional attachment can result in favoring a normative approach to what is considered a good enough memory to manifest emotionally in a garment. Cultural theorist Peter Stallybrass approaches this challenge in his essay on poverty, textile memory, and the coat of Karl Marx.

There is a broad range of organizations purporting to support sustainable fashion, some representing particular stakeholders, some addressing particular issues, and some seeking to increase the visibility of the sustainable fashion movement. They also range from the local to global. It is important to examine the interests and priorities of the organizations.

Fashion Revolution is a not-for-profit global movement founded by Carry Somers and Orsola de Castro which highlights working conditions and the people behind the garments. With teams in over 100 countries around the world, Fashion Revolution campaigns for systemic reform of the fashion industry with a focus on the need for greater transparency in the fashion supply chain. Fashion Revolution has designated the anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh as Fashion Revolution Day. Fashion Revolution Week takes place annually during the week on which the anniversary falls. Over 1000 events take place around the world, with millions of people engaging online and offline. Fashion Revolution publishes the Fashion Transparency Index annually, ranking the largest fashion brands in the world on how much they disclose about their policies, practices, procedures and social and environmental impact.

Red Carpet Green Dress, founded by Suzy Amis Cameron, is a global initiative showcasing sustainable fashion on the red carpet at the Oscars. Talent supporting the project includes Naomie Harris, Missi Pyle, Kellan Lutz and Olga Kurylenko.

Undress Brisbane is an Australian fashion show that sheds light on sustainable designers in Australia.

Global Action Through Fashion is an Oakland, California-based ethical fashion organization working to advocate for sustainable fashion.

Ecoluxe London, a not-for-profit platform, supports luxury with ethos through hosting a biannual exhibition during London Fashion Week and showcasing eco-sustainable and ethical designers.

The Ethical Fashion Initiative, a flagship program of the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and World Trade Organization, enables artisans living in urban and rural poverty to connect with the global fashion chain. The Initiative also works with the rising generation of fashion talent from Africa, encouraging the forging sustainable and fulfilling creative collaborations with artisans on the continent. The Ethical Fashion Initiative is headed by Simone Cipriani.

Eco Age, a consultancy company specializing in enabling businesses to achieve growth and add value through sustainability, is an organization that promotes sustainable fashion. Its creative director, Livia Firth, is also the founder of the Green Carpet Challenge which aims to promote ethically made outfits from fashion designers.

Trans-America Trading Company is one of the biggest of about 3,000 textile recyclers in the United States. Trans-America has processed more than 12 million pounds of post-consumer textiles per year since 1942. At its 80,000-square-foot sorting facility, workers separate used clothing into 300 different categories by type of item, size, and fiber content. About 30% of the textiles are turned into absorbent wiping rags for industrial uses, and another 25-30% are recycled into fiber for use as stuffing for upholstery, insulation, and the manufacture of paper products.

ViaJoes - Sustainable clothing manufacturer producing eco-friendly fabrics from recycled cotton and other sustainable products confirmed to GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard International Working Group standard

In fashion, the consideration of sustainability of materials is critical. The renewability and source of a fiber, the process of how a raw fiber is turned into a textile, the impact of preparation and dyeing of the fibers, energy use in production and preparation, the working conditions of the people producing the materials, and the material's total carbon footprint, transportation between production plants, chemicals used to keep shipments fresh in containers, shipping to retail and consumer, how the material will be cared for and washed, the processes of repairs and updates, and what happens to it at the end of life. The indexing of the textile journeys is thus extremely complex. In sustainability, there is no such thing as a single-frame approach. Issues dealt with in single frames will almost by definition lead to unwanted and unforeseen effects elsewhere.

Overall, diversity in the overall fiber mix is needed; in 2013 cotton and polyester accounted for almost 85% of all fibers, and thus their impacts were, and continue to be, disproportionately magnified. Also, many fibers in the finished garments are mixed to acquire desired drape, flexibility or stretch, thus affecting both care and the possibility to recycle the material in the end.

Natural fibers are fibers which are found in nature and are not petroleum-based. Natural fibers can be categorized into two main groups, cellulose or plant fiber and protein or animal fiber. Uses of these fibers can be anything from buttons to eyewear such as sunglasses.

Other than cotton, the most common plant-based fiber, cellulose fibers include: jute, flax, hemp, ramie, abaca, soy, maize, banana, pineapple. Bacterial cellulose is currently being tested and better developed as a new fiber alternative.

Cotton is one of the most chemical-intensive crops in the world, but growers in California have reduced their dependence on these chemicals. Conventionally grown cotton uses approximately 25% of the world's insecticides and more than 10% of the world's pesticides. However, growing and processing this particular fiber crop is largely unsustainable. For every pound of cotton harvested, a farmer uses up 1/3 lb of chemical, synthetic fertilizer. As a whole, the US cotton production makes up 25% of all pesticides deployed in the United States. Worldwide, cotton takes up 2.4% of all arable lands yet requires 16% of the world's pesticides. The cotton hulls contain the most potent insecticide residues. They are often used as cattle feed, which means that consumers are purchasing meat containing a concentration of pesticides. The processing of cotton into usable fibers also adds to the burden on the environment. Manufacturers prefer cotton to be white so that cotton can easily be synthetically dyed to any shade of color. Natural cotton is actually beige-brown, and so during processing, manufacturers would add bleach and various other chemicals and heavy metal dyes to make cotton pure white. Formaldehyde resins would be added in as well to form "easy care" cotton fabric.

To reduce the use of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, companies have produced genetically modified (GMO) cotton plants that are resistant to pest infestations. Among the GMO are cotton crops inserted with the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene. Bt cotton crops do not require insecticide applications. Insects that consume cotton containing Bt will stop feeding after a few hours, and die, leaving the cotton plants unharmed.

However, there are concerns regarding Bt technology, mainly that insects will eventually develop resistance to the Bt strain. According to an article published in Science Daily, researchers have found that members from a cotton bollworm species, Helicoverpa zea, were Bt-resistant in some crop areas of Mississippi and Arkansas during 2003 and 2006. Fortunately, the vast majority of other agricultural pests remain susceptible to Bt.

Micha Peled's documentary exposé Bitter seeds on BT farming in India claimed to reveal the true impact of genetically modified cotton on India's farmers, with a suicide rate of over a quarter-million Bt cotton farmers since 1995 due to financial stress resulting from massive crop failure and the exorbitantly high price of Monsanto's proprietary BT seed, although the evidence does not support this claim as the suicide rate of Indian famers has decreased since the introduction of Bt cotton. The film also refutes false claims purported by the biotech industry that Bt cotton requires less pesticide and empty promises of higher yields, as farmers discover the bitter truth that in reality, Bt cotton in fact requires a great deal more pesticide than organic cotton, and often suffer higher levels of infestation by Mealybug resulting in devastating crop losses, and extreme financial and psychological stress on cotton farmers. Due to the biotech seed monopoly in India, where Bt cotton seed has become the ubiquitous standard, and the organic seed has become absolutely unobtainable, thus coercing all cotton farmers into signing Bt cotton seed purchase agreements which enforce the intellectual property interests of the biotech multinational corporation Monsanto.

Organic cotton

Organic cotton yarn

Organic cotton is grown without the use of any genetic modification to the crops, without the use of any fertilizers, pesticides, and other synthetic agro-chemicals harmful to the land. All cotton marketed as organic in the United States is required to fulfill strict federal regulations regarding how the cotton is grown. This is done with a combination of innovation, science, and tradition in order to encourage a good quality of life and environment for all involved. Organic cotton uses 88% less water and 62% less energy than conventional cotton.

Naturally colored cotton

Cotton is naturally grown in a variety of colors. Typically, cotton color can come as mauve, red, yellow, and orange hues. The use of naturally colored cotton has long been historically suppressed, mainly due to the industrial revolution. Back then, it was much cheaper to have uniformly white cotton as a raw source for mass-producing cloth and fabric items. Currently, modern markets have revived a trend in using naturally colored cotton for its noted relevance in reducing harmful environmental impacts. One such example of markets opening to these cotton types would be Sally Fox and her Foxfiber business-naturally colored cotton that Fox has bred and marketed. On an additional note, naturally colored cotton is already colored, and thus do not require synthetic dyes during process. Furthermore, the color of fabrics made from naturally colored cotton does not become worn and fade away compared to synthetically dyed cotton fabrics.

Soy fabrics are derived from the hulls of soybeans-a manufacturing byproduct. Soy fabrics can be blended (i.e. 30%) or made entirely out of soy fibers. Soy clothing is largely biodegradable, so it has a minimal impact on environment and landfills. Although not as durable as cotton or hemp fabrics, soy clothing has a soft, elastic feel. Soy clothing is known as the vegetable cashmere for its light and silky sensation. Soy fabrics are moisture absorbent, anti-bacterial, and UV resistant. However, soy fabrics fell out of public knowledge during World War II, when rayon, nylon, and cotton sales rose sharply.

Hemp, like bamboo, is considered a sustainable crop. It requires little water to grow, and it is resistant to most pests and diseases. The hemp plant's broad leaves shade out weeds and other plant competitors, and its deep taproot system allows it to draw moisture deep in the soil. Unlike cotton, many parts of the hemp plant have a use. Hemp seeds, for example, are processed into oil or food. Hemp fiber comes in two types: primary and secondary bast fibers. Hemp fibers are durable and are considered strong enough for construction uses. Compared to cotton fiber, hemp fiber is approximately 8 times the tensile strength and 4 times the durability.

Hemp fibers are traditionally coarse and have been historically used for ropes rather than for clothing. However, modern technology and breeding practices have made hemp fiber more pliable, softer, and finer.

Bamboo

Kombucha (SCOBY)

Furnished by a grant from the US. Environmental Protection Agency, associate professor Young-A Lee and her team are growing vats of gel-like film composed of cellulose fiber, a byproduct of the same symbiotic colonies of bacteria and yeast (abbreviated SCOBY) found in another of the world's popular "live culture" foods: kombucha. Once harvested and dried, the resulting material has a look and feel much like leather. The fibers are 100 percent biodegradable, they also foster a cradle-to-cradle cycle of reuse and regeneration that leaves behind virtually zero waste. However, this material takes a long time to grow about three to four weeks under lab-controlled conditions. Hence mass production is an issue. In addition, tests revealed that moisture absorption from the air softens this material makes it less durable. Researchers also discovered that cold conditions make it brittle.

Other alternative biodegradable fibers being developed by small companies include:

leather alternative using pineapple leaves;

bio-composites, fabrics, and leather alternative using various parts of coconut;

fabric and paper made from banana plant stalks and stems.

garmets made from tencel fibers.

Protein fibers originate from animal sources and are made up of protein molecules. The basic elements in these protein molecules being carbon, hydrogen oxygen and nitrogen.

Cashmere is obtained from the fine, soft hairs of a cashmere goat's underbelly coat. This specific breed of goat is found throughout Asia. Due to the rarity of the breed, four goats are needed to produce enough cashmere for one sweater. Initially, cashmere was relatively expensive, but due to increased demand, the industry is beginning to take a toll on animals and the land. More and more goats are needed which results in more mouths to feed. Overpopulation of the goats degrades the land due to increased grazing. The cashmere industry is becoming more and more controversial with the questioning of the working conditions of goat herders and the underpaying of farmers. Oxfam reported in Spring 2021 on a project in Afghanistan being undertaken jointly with the Burberry Foundation and PUR Projet, working with goat farmers to improve their business operations and make the Afghan cashmere industry more sustainable.

Italian company Zero Grado Espace has developed MuSkin, an alternative to leather made from the cap of the phellinus ellipsoideus mushroom, a parasitic fungus that grows in subtropical forests. It is water repellent and contains natural penicillin substances which limit bacteria proliferation.

Wild Rubber, developed by Flavia Amadeu and Professor Floriano Pastore at the University of Brazil, is an initiative that promotes wild rubber material which comes from the sap or latex of the pará rubber tree that grows within a biodiverse ecosystem in the Amazon Rainforest, Acre, Brazil. It is tapped by local communities who typically have a close relationship the forest and will gather medicinal plants or wild food during their tapping rounds.

Qmilch GmbH, a German company has innovated a process to produce a textile fiber from casein in milk but it cannot be used for consumption. Qmilk fiber is made from 100% renewable resources. In addition, for the production of 1 kg of fiber Qmilch GmbH needs only 5 minutes and max. 2 liters of water. This implies a particular level of cost efficiency and ensures a minimum of emissions. Qmilk fiber is biodegradable and leaves no traces. In addition, it is naturally antibacterial, especially against the bacterial strains, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is ideal for people that suffer from textile allergies.

Fabrics made from Qmilk fiber provide high wearing comfort and a silky feel. The organic fiber is tested for harmful substances and dermatologically tested for the wearer's skin and body compatibility 0% chemical additives.

Manufactured fibers sit within three categories: Manufactured cellulosic fibers, manufactured synthetic fibers and manufactured protein fiber (azlon). Manufactured cellulosic fibers include modal, Lyocell (also known under the brand name Tencel), rayon/viscose made from bamboo, rayon/viscose made from wood and polylactic acid (PLA). Manufactured synthetic fibers include polyester, nylon, spandex, acrylic fiber, polyethylene and polypropylene (PP). Azlon is a manufactured protein fiber. Rayon/ viscose is a fiber out of pulp highly used in fast fashion as it is cheaply manufactured. To extract rayon/viscose, plantations cut down 30% of endangered and ancient forests threatening the life of ecosystems.

PET plastics are also known as Polyethylene terephthalate(PETE). PET's recycling code, the number within the three chasing arrows, is one. These plastics are usually beverage bottles (i.e. water, soda, and fruit juice bottles). According to the EPA, plastic accounts for 12% of the total amount of waste we produce. Recycling plastic reduces air, water, and ground pollution. Recycling is only the first step; investing and purchasing products manufactured from recycled materials is the next of many steps to living sustainably.

Recyclables at transfer station, Gainesville, Florida

Clothing can be made from plastics. Seventy percent of plastic-derived fabrics come from polyester, and the type of polyester most used in fabrics is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET plastic clothing come from reused plastics, often recycled plastic bottles. The Coca-Cola Company, for example, created a "Drink2Wear" line of T-shirts made from recycled bottles. Generally, PET plastic clothing are made from recycled bottles as follows: plastic bottles are collected, compressed, baled, and shipped into processing facilities where they will be chopped into flakes, and melted into small white pellets. Then, the pellets are processed again, and spun into yarn-like fiber where it can be made into clothing. One main benefit of making clothes from recycled bottles is that it keep the bottles and other plastics from occupying landfill space. Another benefit is that it takes 30% less energy to make clothes from recycled plastics than from virgin polyesters.

The global political economy and legal system supports a fashion system that enables fashion that has devastating environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts to be priced at a lower price than fashion which involves efforts to minimize harm in the growth, manufacturing, and shipping of the products. This results in higher prices for fashion made from reduced impact materials than clothing produced in a socially and environmentally damaging way (sometimes referred to as conventional methods).

3D seamless knitting is a technology that allows an entire garment to be knit with no seams. This production method is considered a sustainable practice due to its reduction in waste and labor. By only using the necessary materials, the producers will be more efficient in their manufacturing process. This production method is similar to seamless knitting, although traditional seamless knitting requires stitching to complete the garment. In contrast 3D seamless knitting creates the entire garment, eliminating additional work. The garments are designed using 3D software unlike traditional flat patterns. Shima Seiki and Stoll are currently the two primary manufacturers of the technology. The technology is produced through the use of solar energy, and they are selling to brands like Max Mara.

Zero waste design in fashion is a concept that aims to reduce material waste throughout the textile and fashion production process. Although the concept has existed for a number of years on the grounds of reducing costs through reducing waste, zero waste design is increasingly being integrated into fashion production for environmental reasons. Zero-waste pattern making designs patterns for a garment so that when the pattern pieces are cut, no fabric is wasted.

Traditional methods of dyeing textiles are incredibly harmful towards the earth's water supply, creating toxic chemicals that affect entire communities. An alternative to traditional water dyeing is scCO ₂ dyeing (super critical carbon dioxide). This process creates no waste by using 100% of the dyes, reducing energy by 60% with no auxiliary chemicals, and leaving a quarter of the physical footprint of traditional dyeing. Different names for this process are Drydye and Colordry. Another company called Colorep has patented Airdye, a similar process that they claim uses 95% less water and up to 86% less energy than traditional dyeing methods.

No brand is considered by environmental experts to be fully sustainable, and controversy exists over exactly how the concept of sustainability can be applied in relation to fashion, if it can be used at all, or if labels such as "slow" and "sustainable" fashion are inherently an oxymoron. Brands that sell themselves as sustainable often lack systems to deal with oversupply, take back used clothes, fully recycle fibers, offer repair services, or even support the life of the garment during use (such as instructions on washing, care and repair). Almost no brands offer replacement parts, such as buttons, straps or pockets, for their garments.[citation needed ]

Some brands that sell themselves as sustainable are listed below;

Eastern European prisoners are designing sustainable prison fashion in Latvia and Estonia under the Heavy Eco label,[252] part of a trend called "prison couture".[253]

Other sustainable fashion brands include Elena Garcia, Nancy Dee, By Stamo, Outsider Fashion, Beyond Skin, Oliberté, Hetty Rose, DaRousso, KSkye the Label,[254] and Eva Cassis.[181][255][256][257][258][259][260]

The brand Boll & Branch make all of their bedding products from organic cotton and have been certified by Fair Trade USA.[261]

The Hemp Trading Company is an ethically driven underground clothing label, specializing in environmentally friendly, politically conscious street wear made of hemp, bamboo, organic cotton and other sustainable fabrics.[262]

Patagonia, a major retailer in casual wear, has been selling fleece clothing made from post-consumer plastic soda bottles since 1993.[23]

The Golden Book Gown made of recycled and discarded paper book pages.

There is no certain stable model among the designers for how to be sustainable in practice, and the understanding of sustainability is always a process or a work-in-progress, and varies by who defines what is "sustainable;" farmers or animals, producers or consumers, managers or workers, local businesses or neighborhoods. Thus critical scholars would label much of the business-driven discourse on sustainability as "greenwashing" as under the current economic paradigm, "sustainability" is primarily defined as keeping the wheels of perpetual production and consumption turning; to keep the "perpetuum mobile" of fashion running and in perpetual motion.

There are some designers that experiment in making fashion more sustainable, with various degrees of impact;

Ryan Jude Novelline created a ballroom gown constructed entirely from the pages of recycled and discarded children's books known as The Golden Book Gown that "prove[d] that green fashion can provide as rich a fantasia as can be imagined."

Eco-couture designer Lucy Tammam uses eri silk (ahimsa/peace silk) and organic cotton to create her eco friendly couture evening and bridal wear collections.

Amal Kiran Jana is a designer from India and the founder of Afterlife Project which is a sustainability development project supporting global and unique designers in 360 degrees.

Stella McCartney pushes the agenda for sustainable fashion that is animal and eco-friendly. She also uses her name and her brand as a platform to push for a greener fashion industry. The brand uses the EP&L tool which was created to help companies understand their environmental impact by measuring greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, water pollution, air pollution and waste across the entire global supply chain.

Gabriela Hearst during her tenure at Chloé and under her own name has made sustainability a key focus of her work. The runway presentation for her Spring/Summer 2020 eponymous collection was certified carbon neutral. Gabriela Hearst also avoids single use plastic in retail and supply chain networks, using compostable polymers and recycled cardboard. While she was at Chloé, the label became the first major luxury brand to receive a B Corp certification.

The increase in western consumers' environmental interest is motivating companies to use sustainable and environmental arguments solely to increase sales. Because environmental and sustainability issues are complex, it is also easy to mislead consumers. Companies can use sustainability as a "marketing ploy" something that can be seen as greenwashing. Greenwashing is the deceptive use of an eco-agenda in marketing strategies. It refers mostly to corporations that make efforts to clean up their reputation because of social pressure or for the purpose of financial gain. Companies continuing to be using greenwashing in turn hurts companies that are true to their environmental goals, losing their competitive edge to bigger corporations.

A major controversy on sustainable fashion concerns how the "green" imperative is used as a cover-up for systemic labor exploitation, social exclusion and environmental degradation, what is generally labelled as greenwashing. Market-driven sustainability can only address sustainability to a certain degree as brands still need to sell more products in order to be profitable. Thus, almost any initiative towards addressing ecological and social issues still contributes to the damage. In a 2017 report, the industry projects that the overall apparel consumption will rise by 63%, from 62 million tons today to 102 million tons in 2030, thus effectively erasing any environmental gains made by current initiatives.

Used clothing is sold in more than 100 countries. In Tanzania, used clothing is sold at Mitumba markets ( Swahili for "bundles"). Most of the clothing is imported from the United States. However, there are concerns that trade in secondhand clothing in African countries decreases development of local industries even as it creates employment in these countries. While the reuse of materials brings resource savings, there are some concerns that the influx of cheap, second-hand clothing, particularly in Africa, has undermined indigenous textile industries, with the result that clothing collected in the West under the guise of 'charitable donations' could actually create more poverty. The authors of Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste warn that in the long run, as prices and quality of new clothing continue to decline, the demand for used clothing will also diminish.

Black, Sandy (2008). Eco-chic : the fashion paradox, London: Black Dog. ISBN 1-906155-09-7. OCLC 966078563.

Black, Sandy (2013). The sustainable fashion handbook, New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 9780500290569. OCLC 939743661.

Choi, Tsan-Ming; Cheng, T. C. Edwin, eds. (2015). Sustainable fashion supply chain management: from sourcing to retailing. Springer series in supply chain management. Vol. 1. New York: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-12703-3. ISBN 9783319127026. OCLC 907012044.

Friedman, Vanessa (May 7, 2022). "Redefining 'Sustainable Fashion'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.

Gardetti, Miguel Ángel; Torres, Ana Laura, eds. (2013). Sustainability in fashion and textiles: values, design, production and consumption. Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf Publishing. ISBN 9781906093785. OCLC 827952084.

Shell, Hanna Rose (2020). Shoddy : From Devil's Dust to the Renaissance of Rags. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9-780226-698-22-9.

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Sustainable fashion (also known as eco-fashion) is a term describing efforts within the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, protect workers producing garments, and uphold animal welfare. Sustainability in fashion encompasses a wide range of factors, including "cutting CO2 emissions, addressing overproduction, reducing pollution and waste, supporting biodiversity, and ensuring that garment workers are paid a fair wage and have safe working conditions".

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Mood boards examples

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Trend Forecasting - Amber Grant | Trend Forecaster, Creative Consultant & Designer in 2020 | Fashion trend forecast, Color trends fashion, Women trends

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Aug 17, 2020 - I am a Trend Forecaster based in Durban, South Africa. I compile bespoke Trend Forecasting reports with global content that is localised in interpretation.

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Fashion Industry contribution to society

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Fashion Industry contribution to society

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Beauty may only be skin deep, but the impact of sartorial statement goes beyond the surface. It’s easy to turn your nose up at fashion and dismiss it as something trivial and superficial. But, in actuality, the fashion industry contributes to society.

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Beauty may only be skin deep, but the impact of sartorial statement goes beyond the surface. It's easy to turn your nose up at fashion and dismiss it as something trivial and superficial. But, in actuality, the fashion industry contributes to society.

Fashion Industry Contributes to Society: It's Personal, Fun, Political & Reflective

This is a reductive reaction, and one that is founded more in ignorance than reality. Just like how some people write-off sports as silly 'games' with no meaningful impact on the world, fashion falls victim to the same attitude.

However, like sports, there is so much more than fun and frivolity to fashion. Fashion is personal. And the personal, as second-wave feminists convincingly argued, is political.

Fashion is more than amped up dress up for adults. It's a reflection of who we are and what we believe. The fashion industry contributes to society by allowing us to express ourselves, our creativity and our beliefs to the world.

Think this is a lofty claim? Then you don't know fashion. Read on to find out just how fashion industry contributes to society and change in general.

Fashion as a Zeitgeist

We already pointed out that fashion reflects ideological shifts in our society: the suffragette movement saw skirts getting shorter and clothing in general became less cumbersome.

What is Zeitgeist? It's the defining mood or spirit of a specific era in history as displayed by the beliefs an ideas of that time. So, how does this relate to fashion?

In the 1970's, free love was seen in free-flowing clothing and hair. The disgruntled youth of the 90's expressed themselves with grunge style. Pick any era, and you can see how the fashion reflects prominent schools of thought.

Fashion as an Impetus

But fashion does more than reflect: it can change society. It can act as an impetus to affect the dynamics of the world as a force that makes things move or occur more swiftly.

After all, whether or not you choose to use fashion as an art form, one would be hard-pressed to deny that fashion is a form of self-expression. And self-expression is a kind of art.

Even your decision to slip into sweatpants and your favorite worn-out oversized tee is a form of self-expression: You're saying that comfort is your kingdom and that you are shedding the shackles of more high-maintenance style, if only for the night.

Your decision to not keep up with trends speaks toward your beliefs, just like not voting speaks to your political beliefs. You can't get away from what your style says about you, and because it can say so much, it can be a driving force of change, not just a reflection of it.

Take, for example, the death of the white wedding. While many brides still wear white wedding dresses, it is by no means a necessity. In a desire to freely express sexual liberation, many women decided to wear different colored and more seductively styled wedding dresses.

Designer Made Fashion Styles

Designers have also made it their mission to use their labels to express their beliefs, in hopes they can affect change in the world through style. Some designers use only sustainable sourced materials to make their clothing: clothing that is meant to reflect the diversity of the world.

Other designers create chic, sexy dresses to promote fearless and unapologetic femininity. And others create style that promotes and reflects a more conservative world-view.

Fashion is not a baseless and frivolous part of our society. It is one of the most obvious and tangible means to track and affect societal change.

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How the Fashion Industry Contributes to Society & Change

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Beauty may only be skin deep, but the impact of sartorial statement goes beyond the surface. It's easy to turn your nose up at fashion and dismiss it as something trivial and superficial. But, in actuality, the fashion industry contributes to society. This is a reductive reaction, and one that is founded more in ignorance than reality.

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It’s no secret that, when it comes to diversity on the runway, fashion month has a long way to go. Not that the industry hasn’t made visible progress

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It's no secret that, when it comes to diversity on the runway, fashion month has a long way to go. Not that the industry hasn't made visible progress. Case in point: on February 22, Sudanese model Anok Yai, who was raised in the United States after arriving as a refugee in 2000, became the first black model to open a Prada runway show in more than 20(!) years. (The last being Naomi Campbell in 1997.)

Still, models who don't fit Prada's erstwhile waifish, Lolita-esque standard remain the minority. The problem is not a lack of diverse talent for designers and casting directors to choose from. The problem is that only a handful of designers - most of them in New York - choose to practice inclusive casting season after season.

Thus, when our New York Fashion Week Fall 2018 Diversity Report revealed only minor improvements in the number of nonwhite and transgender or non-binary models and regressions on the plus-size and over-50 fronts, it did not bode well for the Fall 2018 season as a whole. Scroll to see how (and if) European designers tilted the scales.

RACE

During the Fall 2018 season, more women of color walked the runway than ever before. Out of 242 shows and 7,608 model appearances in New York, London, Milan and Paris, 32.5 percent of castings went to models of color, a 2.3 point increase from Spring 2018's 30.2 percent. (Interestingly, that's the exact same jump we saw between Fall 2017 - wherein 27.9 percent of models were women of color - and Spring 2018.) For comparison, when we first started keeping track of runway diversity back in Spring 2015 that number was only 17 percent.

New York was, per usual, the most racially diverse of all four cities and, per usual, its 37.3 percent nonwhite runways helped raise the average significantly. Still, there were notable improvements overseas. For the third season running, London's runways were the second most racially diverse. For Fall 2018, 34.6 percent of castings in London went to models of color, a 3.6 point increase over Spring 2018's 31 percent and a 6.2 point increase over Fall 2017's 28.4 percent.

In Paris, the Fall 2018 runways were 31.1 percent nonwhite, a 4.1 point increase over Spring 2018's 27 percent and a 5.2 point increase over Fall 2017's 25.9 percent. This is the first time that nonwhite models have accounted for over 30 percent of Parisian castings.

In Milan, which consistently falls behind the other fashion capitals in terms of inclusion, the runways were 27.1 percent nonwhite, compared to Spring 2018's 24.7 percent (a 2.4 point difference) and Fall 2017's 23.8 percent (a 3.3 point difference). Still, here's some happy news: the number of models of color cast in Milan finally exceeded 25 percent. For comparison, both London and Paris hit this benchmark a year ago during the Fall 2017 season. Nevertheless, it's a step in the right direction. It's also encouraging that the number of nonwhite model castings in Milan, London and Paris has now been on an upward trend since Fall 2016. (New York's numbers dipped between Fall 2016 and Spring 2017.)

PLUS-SIZE

Last season, the number of curve model castings reached an all-time high with 38 plus-size models appearing across 12 runways (or 93 models across 14 runways, if you count the models cast by plus-specific retailers Torrid and Addition Elle, which, for the sake of consistency, we will not).

Conversely, for Fall 2018, we saw our first regression in plus-size castings since Fall 2016: a total of 30 plus-size models walked in all four cities this season. That's eight castings shy of last season's figure, but on par with Fall 2017. That said, if we look at the data in terms of percentage, the past three seasons are in a dead heat: Fall 2018's 30 plus-size castings, Spring 2018's 38 and Fall 2017's 30 each made up close to 0.4 percent of the total castings in those respective seasons - proof that the category has seen little progress in years.

Moreover, while plus-size models regularly walk alongside straight-size models at the New York shows, Paris Fashion Week featured only three models in the category, London and Milan none. Note that since we first started keeping track of size inclusiveness on the runways in Spring 2016, Fall 2017 has been the only season in which any plus-size models walked in Milan and Spring 2018 was the first in which a London designer hired a non-straight-size model.

Per tradition, the majority (19) of the season's plus-size model appearances were divided between two New York labels: Christian Siriano and Chromat. Siriano hired 10 plus-size models, including Ashley Graham, Candice Huffine, Danielle Brooks, Georgia Pratt, Marquita Pring, Precious Lee, Tara Lynn, Sabina Karlsson, Seynabou Cissé and Chloe Vero. Chromat's Becca McCharen-Tran hired nine, including Karlsson, Denise Bidot, Ericka Hart, Priscilla Huggins Ortiz, Tash Ncube and Victoria Gomez. Additionally, Graham and Karlsson walked at Michael Kors, Prabal Gurung cast Graham and Paloma Elsesser walked for Eckhaus Latta for the second season running.

Across the pond, Dutch model Betsy Teske took her second turn on the Alexander McQueen runway (she made her catwalk debut at the brand's Spring 2018 show). Elsewhere in the City of Light, social media sensation Naomi Shimada and West Indian model Gabrielle Richardson walked for H&M, another habitual body diversity advocate.

While the scarcity of plus-size models on the Fall 2018 runways was disappointing, one silver lining came from the fact that most (21) of the season's curvy model castings went to women of color and that the remaining 9 (white) models included two women over age 50 (Emme and Mia Michaels at Chromat).

TRANSGENDER/NON-BINARY

To call the Fall 2018 runways gender inclusive would be a stretch, but transgender and non-binary models did see a significant boost in visibility. As in our New York-centric report, this was the only category, apart from race, to see any sort of improvement.

A record 64 transgender women and non-binary models (56 transgender, 8 non-binary) walked in 52 shows, besting Spring 2018's showing (45 transgender women, 4 non-binary models, 47 shows) by 15. For comparison, only 12 trans or non-binary models walked in 5 Fall 2017 shows - and that was just one year ago. When we first started tracking this figure back in Spring 2016, we counted only 6.

Moreover, the number of transgender and non-binary models on the runway increased in all but one of the four cities, the exception being Milan. New York saw 33 trans and non-binary model castings (up from 31 last season), London 10 (up from 1 last season, the biggest jump of any city), Paris 14 (up from 10 last season). Milan had only seven such castings, matching its Spring 2018 season.

We'd be remiss not to (once again) point out that Teddy Quinlivan's September 2017 coming out greatly bolstered Spring 2018 and Fall 2018's numbers for this category. Last season, the runway staple accounted for over half (27) of all transgender and non-binary castings, including all those that took place in Milan and all but one in Paris. For Fall 2018, Quinlivan was responsible for roughly 39 percent (25) of the trans and non-binary model appearances, including, again, all those in Milan and 9 of the 14 in Paris.

Still, it appears the industry is (slowly) moving beyond tokenism: between Spring 2018 and Fall 2018, the number of gender-inclusive, non-Quinlivan castings increased by 13.

In London, Massima Lei walked for Fashion East, Halpern, Natasha Zinko and Matty Bovan; Hunter Schafer for Matty Bovan, House of Holland, Mother of Pearl and Ashish. Non-binary model Ziggy joined Schafer at Ashish; Benedict Douglas Stewardson made an appearance at Gareth Pugh. (Note that Christopher Bailey's rainbow-splashed final Burberry collection, dedicated to the LGBTQ community, featured zero transgender women.) Paris' non-Quinlivan sightings included Lei at DROMe and Unravel, Schafer at Miu Miu, Dara Allen at Kenzo and non-binary model Axelle Doué at Uma Wang.

Per usual, New York yielded the most racially diverse castings within the category. Ten of the city's 33 gender-inclusive castings went to models of color (for the full breakdown, head to our preliminary Fall 2018 diversity report). One non-binary model of color (Ziggy) walked in London, one transgender woman of color (Allen) in Paris. Milan Fashion Week saw no transgender and non-binary models of color cast.

AGE

This season, women in their 50s, 60s and upward were not only the least represented category (as is typically the case), their numbers also suffered the steepest decline. For Fall 2018, only 0.2 percent of those on the runway were age 50 or above - in other words, 13 models. That's the lowest number recorded since Spring 2017, which also saw 13 over-50 model castings and 14 fewer than in Spring 2018, the most age-diverse season on record.

Even with Tome, J.Crew, Opening Ceremony and Tracy Reese - which regularly prioritize age inclusivity - off its calendar, most (9) of the over-50 model appearances were in New York.

Eckhaus Latta hired two women over 50, including fashion designer and artist Susan Cianciolo, who regularly models for the brand. Stout heiress and style icon Daphne Guinness walked for The Blonds. Creatures of Comfort's "celebration of womanhood" featured models of a wide range of ages, one of them over 50. Cecilia Chancellor turned up at The (notoriously exclusionary) Row. Plus-size supermodel Emme made her second Chromat appearance, fellow quinquagenarian and curve model Mia Michaels (of So You Think You Can Dance fame) her first. They were the only non-straight-size over-50 woman cast all month.

For the rest of fashion month, we saw only two over-50 models in London (down from three last season), two in Milan (down from seven last season) and zero in Paris (again, down from seven last season). It appears Spring 2018's embrace of 90s and early-2000s supers was not a lasting trend, just a case of stunt casting. (Though 41-year-old John Galliano muse Debra Shaw did walk in Paris, at Uma Wang, and London, at Gareth Pugh.)

As for the European brands doing their part, Milan's Arthur Arbesser and Daniela Gregis continue to champion age inclusivity within fashion. Cordula Reyer returned to Arbesser's runway for the second season running; Benedetta Barzini did Gregis the same honor.

In London, Tiphaine de Lussy modeled a party-ready look - multicolor fur coat, ruffled leather skirt, gold-flecked Lurex sweater - by her pal Osman and Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones' three "chapter" show featured one gray-haired model in a silky, cornflower-blue sundress.

Sadly, of the above-mentioned castings, none went to women of color or transgender models, whereas last season's tally included four women of color and one transgender woman of color.

TOP MODELS

Of the 12 top models who racked up the most runway appearances this season, half were women of color: Shanelle Nyasiase (with 43 shows), Hyun Ji Shin (with 40), Yoon Young Bae (with 37), Chu Wong (with 34), Adut Akech (with 33) and Alyssa Traoré (with 32). What's more, Fall 2018's most in-demand model - Nyasiase - is of South Sudanese descent. And heartening as it is that a woman of color topped the list, no transgender, plus-size or mature models made the top 12. (Transgender model Teddy Quinlivan, who nabbed 25 castings, came the closest.)

MOST AND LEAST DIVERSE SHOWS

While the days of New York labels featuring zero nonwhite models are seemingly behind us, the days of European brands committing said offense are not. Two Milan-based brands, Les Copains and Daniela Gregis, inexcusably featured not a single model of color among casts of 23 and 12, respectively. (The fact that Gregis was one of the few European labels to hire a model over age 50 makes its entirely whitewashed lineup all the more puzzling.)

Several other brands also failed at adequate racial representation, though not quite as miserably. Also in Milan, Elisabetta Franchi, Piccione Piccione and Daizy Shely hired 1 out of 30 (3.3 percent), 1 out of 23 (4.4 percent) and 3 out of 37 (8.1 percent) nonwhite models, respectively. In London, Jasper Conran cast 3 out of 25 nonwhite models (12 percent); Delpozo only 4 out of 29 (13.8 percent). In Paris, Junya Watanabe and Undercover, two labels that have a bad habit of producing all-white shows, again missed the mark. Watanabe cast 1 out of 18 (5.6 percent) nonwhite models, Undercover 2 out of 32 (6.3 percent). Finally, New York was not without its offenders: Vivienne Hu, Jill Stuart, Zang Toi and Katie Gallagher only included 2 out of 18 (11.1 percent), 4 out of 29 (13.8 percent), 2 out of 14 (14.3 percent) and 2 out of 13 (15.4 percent) nonwhite models, respectively.

Even with several of its diversity tentpoles - Yeezy, Tome, Tracy Reese, J.Crew, Opening Ceremony, Kimora Lee Simmons, Helmut Lang under Isabella Burley - gone or on hiatus, New York still gave us four of the top five most racially diverse shows of Fall 2018: Gypsy Sport (80 percent models of color), Chromat (72.7 percent models of color), Matthew Adams Dolan (70.6 percent models of color), Jeremy Scott (70 percent models of color) and Brandon Maxwell (70 percent models of color). The only extra-New York show to make the list was London's Ashish, which, with 79 percent models of color, was the second-most racially diverse show of the season.

Of course, the shows listed above were far from the only labels to embrace inclusive casting. Apart from Ashish, Gareth Pugh (67 percent models of color), Sophia Webster (63 percent models of color) and Osman (52 percent models of color) hired London's most ethnically diverse casts.

In Milan, Vionnet cast 53 percent models of color, Antonio Berardi 56 percent, Missoni 63 percent. Meanwhile, the Parisian runways supported the oft-repeated hypothesis that edgy (young) designers are the ones truly embracing diversity - Kenzo (67 percent models of color), Jacquemus (63 percent models of color) and Off-White (59 percent models of color) had the week's most racially diverse lineups.

As for the labels that adopted a more comprehensive view of runway diversity - prioritizing not only race but also size, age, ability and/or gender identity - you'll see a lot of the same names repeated. Again, New York designers - Christian Siriano, Marc Jacobs, Eckhaus Latta, Chromat and Gypsy Sport - rose to the top of the pile.

Siriano hired 44 percent women of color, two non-binary models and gave more runway spots to plus-size models than any other Fall 2018 designer. Thirty-seven percent of the models in Marc Jacobs' body-swamping clothes were women of color; four were transgender. Chromat featured models of a wide breadth of ages, sizes and ethnicities, among them trans activists, breast cancer survivors and prosthesis-wearers. Eckhaus Latta's 40 percent nonwhite runway was one of the few on which women over the age of 50, women above a size 8 and women not assigned female at birth all saw themselves represented. Gypsy Sport, known for its reliably inclusive casting, hired a slew of unconventional models, among them self-proclaimed "drag kid" Desmond Is Amazing.

A handful of European designers likewise challenged the status quo. Teatum Jones' lineup featured 41 percent models of color along with one model over age 50. In addition to hiring mostly models of color, Gareth Pugh, Ashish, Missoni and Kenzo each cast at least one transgender or non-binary model. (Of course, Missoni's choice was white, slender, cis-presenting Teddy Quinlivan, but progress is progress.)

That we're able to call the Fall 2018 season the most racially diverse and gender-inclusive one yet - even in the absence of several diversity-championing designers - speaks to the fact that fashion's narrow view of the ideal is, in some respects, changing, albeit very slowly. Of course, creeping, consistent change is preferable to great forward leaps that are ultimately unsustainable, like the ones we saw in Spring 2018.

And while a cynic might say that African and transgender models are simply Fall 2018's flavor of the month, fashion's way of capitalizing on popular public movements - what with Black Panther dominating box offices and Sarah McBride, transgender volleyball stars and President Trump's proposed military ban dominating headlines - we suppose we'll have to wait and see if the progress holds even after the PR buzz dies down.
Additional reporting by Mark E.

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Diversity Report: The Fall 2018 Runways Were the Most Race and Transgender-Inclusive Ever; Not So Much for Age and Size Diversity

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It's no secret that, when it comes to diversity on the runway, fashion month has a long way to go. Not that the industry hasn't made visible progress. Case in point: on February 22, Sudanese model Anok Yai, who was raised in the United States after arriving as a refugee in 2000, became the first black model to open a Prada runway show in more than 20(!)

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The supply chain

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In a polarised fashion market that has hollowed out the middle, leaving luxury and affordable, budget fashion items are thriving. Not only is this still a focus for growth, there is a lot to be learned from how this segment operates.

Fast fashion has changed the market for good. Across most apparel categories, items are kept half as long as they were over a decade ago, with the some of the lowest priced garments disposed of after seven or eight wears, according to McKinsey.

Companies have achieved this by compressing production cycles. In the space of two weeks a trend exhibited on the catwalk can be turned into an affordable high street fashion item on the shelves of a store. This enables shoppers to expand their wardrobes in an affordable manner and to refresh them at speed, keeping up with the latest fads. A tight grip on the supply chain is essential in the process.

This is epitomised by brands like H&M, Primark, Boohoo, and Forever21 churning out affordable garments. It used to be about slashing prices simply to shift stock and push sales, but this model has shifted. When companies discount to shift stock, margins are compromised.

There are many ways labels feed consumers' insatiable demand for fast fashion. For instance, Revolve's reordering platform automatically pushes out a notification to buyers on a daily basis when an item is selling quickly.

There is now a backlash against the fast fashion movement driven by a need for more sustainability within the industry. The idea of 'craft' or 'artisan' is being profiled as an antidote to fast fashion. The concept and culture focused on the idea that fashion items should be crafted by craftsmen and women, as well as artisans.

The fashion supply chain

Those in the fashion business that have a formidable supply chain - taking their products from a nascent trend to a clickable online purchase with a deliverable garment at lightning fast pace - are the ones that are winning. This involves superior digitalisation, great analytics, and a backend process that is second-to-none. Key elements are:

Quick turnaround - Turning out the latest trends in ultra-quick time is what it's all about. Don't forget a garment takes roughly the same amount of time to make whatever it is. It's the processes before and after production that take the time. When designs can go on sale in as little as two weeks it can make a big difference.

Take Zara, its 300 designers can create 12,000 new patterns every year. For the fastest-fashion pieces, it takes six weeks to go from a sketched design to a product in a store. Now take Boohoo it can design, manufacture and dispatch batches of 300 pieces of a particular design in two weeks. That makes it even more responsive to customers.

Inventory turnover - This is crucial for the bottom line. There's no point in clothes being on the rack, they're better off in someone's wardrobe. Some companies in the fast fashion business realise this. Boohoo turns over its inventory 6.7 times a year, compared with 4.4 times for Inditex, owner of Zara, and 3.1 times for ASOS.

Test and repeat - This is a good tactic for those brands that work heavily online. They can try out examples of styles before ramping up production. For instance, Boohoo makes just 300 examples of a single style before going all out on those that sell best.

Transparency - Consumers are increasingly expecting companies to be fully transparent about their supply chain, according to McKinsey. There are now many questions around how the industry values those who grow the cotton, stitch the products, the environment and equitable profit for those in the supply chain. Many believe positive change starts with transparency and traceability.

The environment - Supply chain agility and fast fashion is a strength for a good number of companies. But right now, this is directly contributing to our overconsumption of clothes, which is having a monumental impact on the environment. Sustainability in fashion is a must, and sustainable clothing brands are becoming more and more popular among Gen Z and Millennial consumers.

Smart forecasting

To get ahead of the game, smart fashion brands are investing in forecasting efforts. This is essentially predicting the garments, shapes, and colours that consumers will click on in a frenzy with the coming seasons.

Dominated by the likes of WGSN and Stylesight, who shed light on the latest fashions, it has been a thoroughly instinctual affair, but not anymore.

Now it's all about data-driven analysis. Forecasting agencies pour over information collated from retailers' IT systems, and supply chains. We also live in the social media age where online communities are easy to follow and access because they live on Instagram. It's a marriage of both quantitative data and qualitative analysis both for short and long-term predictions.

The integration of artificial intelligence, machine learning with fashion is still a nascent science. Right now, algorithms are playing a complementary role in the fashion design department. Will the ingenuity of exciting designers prevail over the homogeneity of data-driven algorithms? It remains to be seen.

AI is yet to generate creative concepts itself, designers are unlikely to be out of a job in the years to come and need to keep on innovating and experimenting. However, with the ability to analyse spending patterns, preferences, and trends in seconds, AI-driven insights will continue to power forecasting at lightning speeds.

Heuritech works with the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Adidas. The company's data also helps fashion labels make decisions on purchasing, marketing, and stocking products. It does this by offering guidance about how far and long a trend might run and who exactly may be receptive to it.

The French start-up's technology can scan three million Instagram images every day. The company then uses AI to predict whether a specific style will sell or fail. Heuritech scans text used in hashtags and posts, as well as visual content to filter out commercial posts and seasonal trends. That way it gets to the images it can really focus on.

The Paris-based company has raised over US$4 million recently. Visual search is and will play a significant role, both for fashion brands, trend forecasters, as well as consumers going forwards. With social media accelerating at a rapid pace, with so much content as well as the rise and fall of mini-fads, fashion companies are struggling to stay on trend.

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The Fast Fashion Supply Chain - A Strategy of Speed - IT Supply Chain

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In a polarised fashion market that has hollowed out the middle, leaving luxury and affordable, budget fashion items are thriving. Not only is this still a focus for growth, there is a lot to be learned from how this segment operates. Fast fashion has changed the market for good.

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They can also be a response to offset the effect of chain stores copying their products and undercutting the designer's prices.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal artistic line, that typically retail at much higher prices. Diffusion products may be on sale alongside designers' signature line but they can also be made available at concession outlets and certain chain stores. The use of a diffusion line is a part of the strategy of massification where luxury brands attempt to reach a broader market in order to increase revenue and brand recognition.

Diffusion lines serve several purposes for designers. They can substantially increase sales volumes as their products become affordable to a wider audience at the lower price point, with the designer at the same time leveraging the desirability of their premium ranges to create a kind of halo effect. They can also be a response to offset the effect of chain stores copying their products and undercutting the designer's prices.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia A diffusion line (also known as a bridge line) is a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's "signature line", or principal artistic line, that typically retail at much higher prices.

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What is sustainable fashion

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WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE FASHION? — Sustainable Fashion Matterz

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What is Sustainable Fashion? Brands & Consumers. Pros and Cons of Second Hand, Slow-, Vegan, Organic, Clothing Swaps and Upcycling. Here is: How to be Sustainable!

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What is the point of a fashion show??

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The international collections are currently in full throttle. This week, the haute couture season hit Paris, showcasing the world's most expensive and exclusive garments, all hand-stitched, beaded and embroidered by the world's most accomplished craftspeople who do their jobs wearing little white lab coats and with tiny purses of pins tied round their necks. Anachronistic? Surely not?

An haute couture garment costs upwards of £10,000 a pop, which makes it unsurprising that there are only around 1,000 women in the world wealthy enough, and indeed with the inclination, to buy them. The rather less rarefied although still reassuringly expensive Paris menswear collections follow the haute couture. Then the fashion caravan moves to New York, then London, to Milan and finally back to Paris again for the month-long haul that is the autumn/winter 2007 women's ready-to-wear.

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What's in it for the rest of us?
Good question. After all, it does seem somewhat previous to dwell for any length of time on what we may - or may not - be wearing come autumn next year. That said, we all need clothes and they take time to produce.

More importantly, however extreme the designs seen on the catwalk may appear, they do actually inform clothing right across the board. M&S (yes, even M&S) may not choose to plunder directly John Galliano's Madame Butterfly looks for the esteemed house of Christian Dior - not many mere mortals are likely to dress in a full geisha make-up and with floor-sweeping kimono to match, even for the office party - but the powers that be everywhere else on the high street will probably take note of the colours, say, and even the basic silhouette. Similarly, if, in Milan, Miuccia Prada - aka She Who Must Be Obeyed - decrees that everything we wear should barely graze the thigh, then rest assured that Topshop, Primark, New Look et al. will follow suit.
What's in it for the designers?
That's more straightforward. In the first place, the shows are attended by buyers from around the world who purchase the clothes to sell in their stores six months from now. For lesser known designers in particular, the shows are a direct source of income. It should be noted, however, that buyers also visit designers' showrooms following the initial impact of the show and, depending on the brand in question, are likely to see the more obviously commercial pieces behind the scenes.

The shows are packed with journalists interested in the more show-stopping pieces. These duly appear in print, on television and on the internet even before the last model has made it backstage. Although the more expensive shows may cost upwards of £500,000, they still work out cheaper than advertising campaigns shot with big-name models and superstar photographers and have a much more immediate and mainstream audience.

Finally, and most obviously , such marketing may well persuade us to buy more affordable, spin-off designer sunglasses/ cosmetics/fragrance and so forth.
Can you buy the clothes you see on the catwalk?
Sometimes you can. There are certain designers who feel very strongly that what you see on the catwalk should be just what you get in a store six months down the line. There are others who use the shows as inspiration, a high-impact, quick fix to let press and buyers into the mood of their forthcoming collection, safe in the knowledge that a great pair of black trousers, say, and, more crucially, the season's "must-have" accessories are best seen in the showroom, after the main event.

Most designers do include at least some "show pieces" in their collections - gowns made entirely out of fresh flowers, say, or so huge the model wearing them needs to be escorted as she walks. Even these have their use beyond the catwalk. They may appear in the windows of designer or department stores, for example, or may be ordered by those who, well, let's just say like to stand out in a crowd.
How important are the models?

No hype, just the advice and analysis you need

Very. It doesn't matter how impressive a garment may be, if the woman wearing it is less than lovely or supremely elegant it will die a death. It's been a while since the era of the supermodel and it is these days considered more chic to spot fashionably obscure new faces - the models who everyone will be clamouring for six months from now - and employ these young women to showcase the clothes. Only the desperate resort to celebrity appearances - Julien Macdonald take note - and Kate Moss and the like usually appear in advertising campaigns rather than on the catwalk itself.
What about the high street?
It should perhaps be noted that to buy and take considerable pride in wearing cheap fashion - as opposed to just clothes - is primarily a British, and indeed middle-classed, obsession. Time was, anyone even remotely interested in design would save up to purchase a single piece from their favourite name and the less said about snapping up a dress to wear out on a Saturday night then never again the better.

The high street likes to claim that it takes inspiration from the catwalk but many of the items that fill the rails are, in fact, almost exact copies sold for a fraction of the price of the original and available even before it. Designers - particularly those heading up big brands - don't seem to mind this too much, the general view being that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Whichever way one chooses to look at it, all sides are laughing all the way to the bank.
So what's the point of fashion anyway?
Another good question and one that can be answered variously, depending how you choose to look at it. For those who bow down at the altar of designer fashion, the industry is a valid reflection of society as a whole and, for that reason, as important a part of culture as, say, pop music. More basically, we all need clothes and there are now very few clothes that are purely functional. Most of the things we wear these days may loosely be branded fashion. The sight of someone dressed in clothing from a different era entirely would seem remarkable, after all.

Most tellingly, the importance of considered design in our lives - from cars, to interiors and from architecture to, of course, clothes - should not be underestimated. The sheer beauty of the finest fashion shows has been known to bring tears to the eyes of even the most hard-nosed fashion followers' eyes.
Do we need fashion shows? Yes...
* We can't go to work naked. Even if we don't all buy designer fashion, the vast majority of us wear clothing that is informed by it

* Design is important. Considered clothing - like considered cars and homes - improves our quality of life

* Fashion shows, even the worst, are entertaining - which makes a welcome respite from the usual run of news
No...
* Given most people's clothing budgets wouldn't run to designer pieces, this is one indulgence too far

* So long as we cover our bodies when we leave home, it really doesn't matter what clothes we wear

* Fashion shows have always been, and still are, unashamedly elitist and anachronistic to the point of folly

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The Big Question: What is the point of fashion shows, and how do they

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The international collections are currently in full throttle. This week, the haute couture season hit Paris, showcasing the world's most expensive and exclusive garments, all hand-stitched, beaded and embroidered by the world's most accomplished craftspeople who do their jobs wearing little white lab coats and with tiny purses of pins tied round their necks.

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What is fashion forecasting

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To cope with the ever-changing world, the marketing segmentation and targeting techniques are rapidly evolving from traditional, static, demographic-based criteria towards dynamic, mood, lifestyle and psycho graphic influences. Fashion forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer. It is no longer a question of identifying your customers by age, geography or income, but looking into how and why they buy, based on their mood, beliefs and the occasion.

Fashion is a style that is popular in the present or a set of trends that have been accepted by a wide audience. But fashion itself is far from simple. Fashion is a complex phenomenon from psychological, sociological, cultural or commercial point of view. Fashion trends are the styling ideas that major collections have in common. They indicate the direction in which the fashion is moving. Fashion forecasters look for styles they think are prophetic, ideas that capture the mood of the times and signal a new fashion trend.

The fashion system has spread across all other sectors, from cosmetics to cars via politics and sports. All sectors observe fashion as an endless source of inspiration. Gilles Lipovetsky points out that the more the fashion society develops, the less importance will be given to the affordability of clothes! To hold on to its role as a pioneer and enhance its brand image, fashion has to continue to innovate.

Forecasting the future demand for particular styles, fabrics and colors is an important aspect of the fashion industry. Textile specialists work two years ahead to determine the general guidelines for each fashion season. Fashion forecasting is an important activity to ensure that the process of observation related to short and long term planning can be based on sound and rational decision making and not hype. Forecasting can bridge the gap between ambiguous, conflicting signs and the action taken by the design team. "Fashion forecasting combines theories of fashion changes with the process of organizing and analyzing the information and synthesizing the data into actionable forecasts." (Brannon 2000) Forecasting is a creative process that can be understood, practiced and applied. Forecasting provides a way for executives to expand their thinking about changes, through anticipating the future, and projecting the likely outcomes. (Lavenback and Cleary 1981)

Long term forecasting (over 2 years ahead) is used by executives for corporate planning purposes. It is also used for marketing managers to position products in the marketplace in relationship to competition.

Short term forecasting is used by product developers, merchandisers and production managers to give style direction and shape collections. For short term forecasting most apparel companies subscribe to one or more services, whose job is to scan the market and report on the developments in color, textiles and style directions.

Forecasters reflect the earliest views on trends some eighteen months in advance of the season. At this stage, color is a crucial consideration of yarn mills. It is also the focus of discussion among others who are interested in very early trend decision-making. Fashion forecasters combine the views emerging about color and fabric from the early yarn and fabric trade shows with their socio-economic and cultural analysis. Major trends in lifestyles, attitude and culture in particular music, sport, cinema and television are used to predict changing consumer demands.

Fashion forecasting involves the following activities such as studying market conditions, noting the life style of the people, researching sales statistics, evaluating popular designer collections, surveying fashion publications, observing street fashions etc.

The Direction of Fashion Change

Observation is not enough. If the trend watcher is to take advantage, he needs a framework for explaining how the trend began and its likely path within a social system. The directional theories of fashion change trickle down, trickle up and trickle across to make prediction easier by pointing to the likely starting points for a fashion trend, the expected direction that trend will take and how long the trend will last.

Some trend watchers visualize the dynamics of fashion as a pyramid of status level. In some theories, fashion trickles down from a highly visible elite. In others, fashion trickles up from street once it is discovered by the fashion elite and introduced to mainstream audiences in an edited version. If a fashion look is promoted by the media and manufactured rapidly enough, the look can trickle across all levels of the market simultaneously for denim, introduction of an unusual color range, a modification in a silhouette or detail, a different way to wear an accessory or a mood expressed in a distinctive style. The pattern of acceptance (or rejection) can be mapped in time.

Fashion responds to whatever is modern i.e., to the spirit of the times or the Zeitgeist. People choose among competing styles, those that "click" or connect with the spirit of the times. This collective selection forms a feedback loop between the fashion industry and the consumer, a feedback loop moderated by aesthetic trends and social-psychological processes.

The Look; Design Concept As fashion insiders and forecasters have a mental map of the marketplace, the locations where innovations are likely to be glimpsed early, the supply chain of the textile/apparel industry and the retail conduct to consumers. Fashion insiders also have another mental map - the map of seasons and shows. When consumers shop for winter coats or summer swimsuits, fashion insiders are seasons ahead in their thinking.

Forecasters use these mental maps to organize their observations of directional information. Since innovations rarely apply to the entire marketplace, information must be tagged for the appropriate price point, category and classification. In this way, forecasters turn random bits of data into useful information for decision support, points and style directions.

The drivers of fashion change

Social and cultural changes are major determinants of emerging fashions. However, they are themselves affected by the other drivers of change that include globalization of world markets and accessibility of more sophisticated communications technologies. The latter has provided people with faster and wider access to more ideas and influences from other cultures and societies, driving demand for wider choice in fashion products.

The Fashion Forecasting Process

a) Trend forecasting businesses

French companies based in Paris have traditionally dominated fashion forecasting. Although a number of larger ones are still based in Paris, many with satellite offices around the world, a number of new niche forecasters have emerged offering their own specialties of product and services.
Some better-known trend forecasters include:

.SachaPacha
.Peclers Trend Union
.Line Creative Partners
.Au Studio Promostyl
.Promostyl

Forecasting is more that just attending runway shows and picking out potential trends that can be knocked off at lower prices (although that is part of it). It is a process that spans shifts in color and styles, changes in lifestyles and buying patterns and different ways of doing business. What appears to be near random activity is in fact a process of negotiation between the fashion industry and the consumer, and between the various segments in the supply side chain.

b) Consumer research

Manufacturers and retailers may ask consumers directly about their buying preferences. Consumer reactions are compiled and tabulated to find preferences for certain garments or accessories, colors or sizes and so on ,or products to fit specific consumer tastes.

Surveys, by telephone or mail are conducted by publication and market research companies for manufacturers and retailers. These surveys include questions about income, life-style, fashion preference and shopping habits. Customers are usually selected by the market research firm to meet with manufacturers or retailers. In-store informal interview can help researchers obtain information by simply asking customers what they would like to buy, what styles they like that are currently available and what merchandise they want, but cannot find. Because of their close contact with their customers, owners of small stores can often do this most effectively.

The apparel supply chain has one purpose, i.e. to provide an appealing and desirable product to satisfy customer needs, wants or aspirations. When successful, the connection results in a sale, because this connection is the purpose of the process. Every forecast begins with the customer, by observing the customer's adjustments to the marketplace and in the unexpected ways the customer adjusts the marketplace to his lifestyle and preferences.

Consumer research figures are important in decisions about product development, brand marketing and retailing.

c) Colour Forecasting

Stimulating sales is the driving force behind color forecasting. Color grabs the customers' attention, makes an emotional connection and leads them to the product. Even when the basic product stays the same, changing the color gives a sense of something new. Color consultants help companies decide on the right color story to sell the product. Some consultants specialize in advising on color. Others develop color forecasts as part of their overall product development function. Some large companies have departments dedicated to setting color directions for multiple lines. Professional color organizations bring together experts to collaborate on forecasts for industries like women's wear, men's wear, children's wear and residential and non-residential interiors.

d) Textile Development

Frequently, the development of a completely new product is the result of a particular functional need, but often it is driven by the benefits offered by a new fabric. Specialist forecasters make the point that the technology is changing the range of product, as through the ranges of benefits that designers can build into garment product through the textiles used in construction.

Fabrics range from slick surfaces like leather and futuristic plastic to softer surfaces like cashmere, from flat weaves to heavy textures like boucle and from the solid structure of flannel to the web-like open structure of crochet. Clothing has been called "the second skin" in recognition of its intimate connection with a person's physical and psychological comfort (Horn, 1975). So it is not surprising that news about which fabrics are "in" or "out" plays such a prominent role in forecasting fashion. Newness in fabrics comes from the introduction of new fibers, the manipulation of yarn and fabric structures, variation in pattern and prints and innovative finishing processes. These innovations are introduced in trade shows and exhibitions held in the fashion capitals of the world.

e) The Range of shows

The fashion shows: The word here is its widest possible interpretation to refer to the range of organised textile and fashion garment trade shows, operating over the 16 months preceding season. Trade shows, whether yarn, fabric or product have a basic function, which is to sell products.

Visitors vary according to the nature of the show. A yarn show will attract a range of people including fabric manufacturers, some retail buyers and designers. The fabric show performs a more balanced role with great emphasis on then sales of the fabric, but with more retail designers and buyers attending, as the product on the show has a greater relevance to garment design. Garment design shows are much more diverse, ranging from the products trade shows through to the high profile Ready -to-wear Designer shows like London Fashion week and then the exclusive Couture shows.

Continuing this sequence, specialist product trade shows are held after the fabric shows. These shows are segmented according to broad sector like men's wear or women's wear, and by specialist product categories, like sports wear or lingerie. These shows are a good indicator of color, fabric, styling and new products.

f) Sales Forecasting

Forecasting is relatively easy, straightforward and accurate for products with long lifetime and steady sales. However, the fashion apparel business is one of the most volatile, because it creates products that are new, highly seasonal or have short lifetimes. In such situations forecasts become increasingly inaccurate. Errors in sales forecasting result in two kinds of losses:

. Markdowns, when retailers have unwanted goods remaining at the end of a selling period, such goods then must be sold, even at a loss.
.Lost sales on more popular items because of stockouts (merchandise not available in stock at the time when consumers request it).

Companies have been slow to recognize the changing market environment and adapt forecasting practices to decrease the uncertainty about product demand. Sales forecasting impacts every apparel executive's work life, whether they help develop the analysis, read and act on the reports or merely react to the result of over- or under-estimating sales. For this reason, apparel executives need a basic understanding of the traditional approaches to sales forecasting and the leading-edge technologies making real-time marketing a reality in the apparel industry.

Eventually, a manufacturer and retailer researches his own sales record. Rising sales statistics show what fashion trends are developing and declining sales show what styles have passed their peak.

Overall sales show, that as style is not meeting consumer needs for quality or fit , its time to drop it from the line and move on to new styles.

Introducing Innovation

While attention is showered on the most exciting and extreme runway fashions, the mechanisms of fashion change work in the background to create patterns familiar to the most experienced fashion watchers. When an innovation arrives on the scene, individuals consider it for adoption. The cumulative effect of those decisions can be tracked in sales and visually on the street. In fashion terms, the innovation may be the invention of a new fiber or a new finish.

g) Cultural Indicators

In the apparel field, companies need an early warning system so that specific product categories can be fine-tuned to trends within a market segment. While timing is important, an agile and responsive company will be able to capitalize on trends whenever they are spotted; sometimes just as a glimmer far in the future and sometimes as a phenomenon in the building stage. Waning trends are another signal. When some avocation, interest or lifestyle loses cultural power, it is a good time to survey the information landscape for the next big thing.

h) Final Stage of fore casting

The 'Fashion look' for the season is therefore the result of a process of development that combines the evolved views of textiles and product trade show, forecasters, designers buyers and ready to wear shows. Like collage, the final picture emerges after various layers have come together. Even though these shows have an impact on some last minute high street fashion buys, their major impact is mainly on reflecting the final views on trends close to the season. Crucially, the media coverage of the shows is another important dimension in the trend development process, as it highlights fashion trends that fashion editors believe will be strong for the forth coming season. Such 'authoritative' coverage of the media, focusing attention on aspects of fashion, including the 'must-have' looks, colors and products influences the consumers' acceptance of hot trends for a season.

Forecasting fashion in the Indian scenario

The phenomenon of fashion moving from the ramp to the road seems to have started happening in India. Over the last one year, fashion has been highly visible, at least on the streets of metros. Western winds of fashion are reaching metros like Mumbai and New Delhi virtually overnight. We also see new categories added to customer wardrobes like clubwear, travel gear and loungewear. This indicates a segmentation of the customers' wardrobe. This also means that there are new brands and labels, although not heavily advertised, easing into the market riding on the trend of new segments. We expect this trend to rise further, mainly because fashion as a market allows brands to be created mainly on the product look. The biggest achievements are not from increasing efficiency, but by risk management. This would mean that by riding on fashion trend one would fetch maximum benefits. However, there is no agency today, which brands or retailers can follow for fashion forecast of domestic market. We still have to follow international forecasts and thereby miss out on lot of opportunities.

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To cope with the ever-changing world, the marketing segmentation and targeting techniques are rapidly evolving from traditional, static, demographic-based criteria towards dynamic, mood, lifestyle and psycho graphic influences. Fashion forecasting is the prediction of mood, behavior and buying habits of the consumer.

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Marrakech's Inspired

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Yves Saint Laurent, who began winging from Paris to Marrakech in the late '60s, once said that the city introduced him to color: "Although I was used to the light and the colors of North Africa, it was only later, when I discovered Morocco, that I understood my colors were those of zellige mosaics, zouacs, djellabas, and caftans." Men's fashion is currently undergoing a similar transformation, as a crop of new stars reintroduce eye-popping hues, sensual textures, and ornate patterns into their collections. It's no wonder Morocco is "having a moment," as GQ Style fashion director Mobolaji Dawodu puts it. So Dawodu and photographer Lou Escobar brought a wild streak of menswear to Marrakech, where for two days they roamed the Pink City's bustling souks and ancient medinas, meeting locals for whom vibrant shades and big silhouettes are second nature. Post-Yves, Marrakech isn't a fashion capital, but it's clear that what Saint Laurent saw remains to this day. "I find that people who live in the desert," Dawodu says, "have good style."

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We Took the Season's Best Tailoring to Marrakech, Morocco

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Marrakech's bustling markets and breathtaking vistas have been all over your Instagram. But maybe it's time to log off and actually go. We spent two days in and around Marrakech's maze of alleys, meeting, styling, and photographing the people who call it home.

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From Senegal inspired to the catwalk

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"Dakar is a very cool, laid-back place," says GQ Style fashion director Mobolaji Dawodu. "And one thing that stands out? The clothing. They're not scared of any type of print. The prints and colors are dynamic." Dawodu and French photographer Fanny Latour-Lambert touched down in Senegal on the final day of Ramadan with several suitcases of clothes and some camera gear. The plan? To meet and shoot a few dozen Dakarites who exude a natural cool, whether they're wearing traditional patterned boubous or a floral Off-White suit. "There are a lot of beautiful, elegant people in Dakar," Dawodu says. In a crowded fashion season, the pieces that left the deepest impression on Dawodu did not hold back on prints and patterns-that were as celebratory as the garments you'll find on the streets of Dakar. So every piece of high fashion Dawodu brought to Senegal was covered in the best bold designs of the season. And like we found when we visited Fela Kuti's shrine for the holiday 2017 issue of GQ Style, the juxtaposition of local attire with designer fashions proves that for some, style is simply inherent.

Senegal's capital is the westernmost city on Africa's mainland, a hook-shaped peninsula that juts into the Atlantic, boasting expansive beaches and excellent surf year-round. It's the epicenter of Senegal's very tuned-up economy, and a hub for Senegal's new generation of young artists, models, and students. As the Ramadan fast came to an end and hype for the country's World Cup squad built, the squares were flooded with revelers. Dawodu put out a casting call for models but ended up meeting most of the characters here on the street, in bars, and at a dance party that had to be shut down by the police. The next day, as the city slowly hummed back to life, the team we'd gathered got dressed and represented the soul and spirit of Senegal. -Samuel Hine

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Is Dakar, Senegal the Flyest City on the Planet?

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The capital of Senegal is booming with development. But not even a skyline of cranes can interrupt its hypnotizing elegance and legendary chill. We took the season's best printed and patterned high fashion and spent 72 hours capturing the vibe on the street.

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What is the purpose of a fashion show.

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It's all about art, publicity and prestige

You've probably heard the saying that "fashion is art." And that is no more a truism than at a fashion show.

Fashion shows are not events that designers use to showcase what you'll be able to buy in stores the very next day.

(N.B. However, as the nature and purpose of Fashion Week continues to evolve, there has been more talk of taking runway collections straight to market and even being able to " shop the runway ".)

Instead, a fashion show is a chance for a designer to show off a particular aesthetic, a particular mood, a particular feel or point of view. As a result, fashion shows can tend to be more conceptual and focused on a higher level idea.

A lot of the designs you see during runway shows are really a form of wearable art that's focused on beauty (for beauty's sake), innovation and not so much functionality. The designs that do make it into stores are often toned-down versions of what you see on the runway.

If fashion shows sometimes have a reputation for being shocking, that's because of one of their other main purposes: publicity.

Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson walk in Maison Valentino. It's not just generating buzz for Zoolander 2, but it's also getting millions and millions of eyes on Valentino.

Moschino stages a McDonald's-themed runway show, which makes pretty much the entire world cringe. But on the flip side, everyone was talking about it. The show started a conversation. There's no such thing as bad press.

Finally, there's the matter of prestige. Not all designers can afford to put on a runway show. So for the larger houses - and small ones as well - a show is a way to attempt to make a big statement; one that hopefully will make an impression and get people talking.

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What Is The Purpose Of A Fashion Show? - He Spoke Style

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It's all about art, publicity and prestige You've probably heard the saying that "fashion is art." And that is no more a truism than at a fashion show. Fashion shows are not events that designers use to showcase what you'll be able to buy in stores the very next day.

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The different market segmentation in fashion

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Market Segmentation in the Fashion Industry | 440 Industries

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The fashion industry is very complex: segmentation can assist firms provide a unique value to their unique customer base.

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It's no secret that western fashion often borrows very heavily from African culture in the ongoing quest to spot the latest fashionable trend. This influence is mostly harmless and can be amusing for many of us until fashion houses and retailers fail to acknowledge where they got their inspiration from.
It's even more provoking when the items are sold for extortionate prices, with no benefit to African communities. Lynette Nabbosa reminds us about 10 times the motherland influenced high fashion.
This year's Victoria's Secret fashion show in Shanghai, referenced very heavily to African culture as an ongoing source of inspiration for high fashion. The Motherland has long been a hub of influence for fashionable trends in the Western world, from the ear-stretching fad which was adopted from the Maasai tribe of Kenya, to festival face paint, which is reminiscent of many tribal practices...

...For the curious fashionistas out there, we have highlighted ten times that African culture has appeared in high fashion and the high street....

Alexander McQueen was berated on social media after the fashion house exhibited a new jacket priced at £4,895, looking like a replica of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Kaba. This traditional cape is worn at ceremonies by the Habesha community, who are resident of the horn of Africa. Needless to say, there was much fury over McQueen's failure to acknowledge its source.

Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2017 campaign proudly paid homage to " a return to roots, to heritage, to formative influences, to the blueprint " through a combination of safari and tribal prints and textiles.

Valentino's 2016 Spring campaign aimed to honour the thousands of refugees who have risked (or lost) their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of a better life in Italy. In an effort to develop tolerance towards the refugees, the fashion house aimed to push the message that " every person coming here is an individual, and we can show that we can improve ourselves by understanding other cultures." Unfortunately, this message was lost to resentment over the use of European models with cornrows, which was perceived as cultural appropriation. In response, real Maasai people from Kenya made appearances in the photographed campaign.

Nigerian coordinated partywear (aka Aso-Ebi) x Dolce and Gabbana

Aso-Ebi is the traditional dress of choice for most Nigerian celebrants. It's common to attend a celebration and find groups co-ordinating their Aso-Ebi and Gele (head tie) according to colour schemes and fabrics, including lace. The 2016 Golden Globe Awards saw Scandal actress Kerry Washington don a Dolce and Gabbana dress which seemed to take inspiration from this culture.

For those who aren't familiar with the history of Ghana-must-go bags, here's a quick rundown. The year is 1983 and Nigerian president, Alhaji Shehu Shagari suddenly orders all aliens to leave Nigeria. The majority are Ghanaian. They are given a few weeks to exit to Ghana, so they pack what they can into the large checkered bags and make their way to the Seme border which leads to Ghana. Celine's 2013 Autumn collection found a few ways of paying homage to the all-purpose bag...

...While Louis Vuitton simply added their stamp to the original design and priced it at $300!

Kenyan Maasai Shuka x Louis Vuitton

The Shuka is a blanket of red and blue hues, worn in various styles by the Maasai tribe. Louis Vuitton tapped the Shuka for their Spring/Summer 2012 men's collection, to the distaste of many who thought that the originators of the Shuka should have benefitted in some way.

Women carrying items on head x Junya Watanabe

Anyone who has experienced the customs of an African village should be familiar with the vision of women and girls elegantly walking with a basket full of anything from food to eateries atop their heads. Needless to say, Japanese designer Junya Watanabe's attempt to replicate this culture did not go down too well.

Many African groups use waist beads for different purposes. In Uganda, where waist beads are known as 'Butiti', they can be used by women to either arouse their men, or to control the size of their waist. The beads are easily accessible because of the low cost of production and purchase, which is why ASOS caused such outrage in some quarters when they charged £65 for a single strand!

Kenyan Maasai beaded jewellery x Mood Debenhams necklace

We've picked on this beautiful Debenhams necklace but make no mistake, Maasai beaded jewellery has a strong presence in both the high streets and high fashion. Maasai jewellery is identified by its beautiful assortment of colourful beads which hold different meanings, often related to cattle, which are the main food source of the tribe.
Can you think of any more examples of Africa in fashion? We'd love to hear about them in the comments below. This article was written by Lynette Nabbosa

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10 times African culture inspired western fashion - Melan Magazine

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It's even more provoking when the items are sold for extortionate prices, with no benefit to African communities. Lynette Nabbosa reminds us about 10 times the motherland influenced high fashion. This year's Victoria's Secret fashion show in Shanghai, referenced very heavily to African culture as an ongoing source of inspiration for high fashion.

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Japanese

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Japanese Fashion Trends, History, Street Fashion, Sustainability | WTVOX

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WordPress database error: [Duplicate entry '8388607' for key 'id'] INSERT INTO `wp_et_bloom_stats` (`record_date`, `optin_id`, `record_type`, `page_id`, `list_id`, `ip_address`, `removed_flag`) VALUES ('2020-11-13 17:16:06', 'optin_0', 'imp', 41999, 'mailchimp_b7c874c605', '162.158.79.238', 0) Japanese fashion is very much in vogue right now, in 2020.

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Lauren Taylor

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design by Dóri Sirály for Prezi "If you love fashion, design and consumer culture, this fashion promotion degree will put you at the cutting-edge of one of the UK’s most vibrant and dynamic creative sectors. The Fashion Promotion degree introduces you to a range of omni-channel

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India/Pakistan

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What is the role of fashion Promotion within the fashion Industry, and how will it develop over the next five years?

In an age where fashion and technology is constantly evolving it is important that we take a step back and take a look at the current happenings in the promotional side of the fashion industry. The fashion show,a key tool to making designers collections accessible to its consumer, will be the main focus of this essay. We shall define fashion promotion before looking at how the catwalk sits under this title. A brief history of the fashion show shall lead us into the present day, where we shall begin the debate of whether some fashion shows need be as extravagant and expensive as they are. We will look at well known designers that have showcased their collections in an artistic and creative way and discuss the success and motive behind each performance. In conclusion we shall discuss whether this promotional tool shall grow to become more extravagant or whether a new form of presenting a brand should develop.

To begin we must look at the meaning of the word, fashion, and how that then sits along the side of promotion. Barnard acknowledges the different senses of the word, 'fashion'. Ranging from, 'the action or the process of making' through to, 'conventional usage in dress' (2002b). The former recognizes,'fashion' as a verb as opposed to the latter which we would understand the word to be a noun. To promote, is defined by Gem as 'to further the progress of,raise a higher rank,status degree'(1990). In other words to take what you have got and develop it in some way. Bugg combines both words to explain that fashion promoters deal with what happens to clothes after they have been made (2007). This confirms both Barnards understanding of 'fashion' as a noun and the definition of the verb, 'to promote' (1990). Once the process of creating the clothing has been fulfilled the ideas and final result must be communicated. These creators or designers are keen to promote their own wares (Breward, 2003). Therefore, designers hold fashion shows as media events to attract attention (Oelhers,2004). These shows can be seen at certain events such as London fashion week, which is organized to promote this £13 billion industry (Alexander,2005).

'The catwalk can be traced back to the turn of the twentieth century. Although fashion shows are hard to identify,documentation exists from 1885,that show four women modeling clothes. However the actual promotion of the clothing from such events did not happen until designers recognized that photographers could in fact benefit their work. Photographers are highly marketable and allowing photographers into shows as well as more people would increase the marketability of the products being displayed'(2006). Here it is important to be aware of how designers attitudes changed from just producing a garment to thinking about the marketability of it, which in turn lead to the consumption of it.

As you can see the main purpose of the show has always been either to connect the viewer with the retail store or to gain publicity for a designers collection (Oelhers 2004).It is a fast way to reach the consumer,explain what the brand is about and to achieve recognition within the industry. Designers want to ensure that when you see an image from their show, you can immediately identify their particular look. It is a fast way of illustrating a brand.(Tungate, 2004,12) Let us remind ourselves of what we are currently seeing in todays show. Bugg describes the catwalk as a stage(2007),it would be fair to say that it not only presents the clothes to its audience but also presents a spectacle that tells a story. Fashion shows have grown from being promotional events into artistic creations in themselves (Bohdanowicz & Clamp, 1994). Yes, a show can range from a very complex, expensive production by a designer to a simple,informal showing in a store (Oelhers,2004). And of...

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Alexander, Hilary
Barnard, Malcolm. (2002b). Etymologies and definitions of fashion and clothing. In:Fashion as communication,pp.8.New York.Routledge.
Bohdanowicz, Janet and Clamp,Liz. (1994). Fashion Marketing.Routledge.
Chandes, Herve. (1994). Interview with Issey Miyake.
Disclaimers (2006). Articleworld.org. http:// www.articleworld.org/index.php/catwalk.(Accessed:26 November, 2007)
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Green, Andy. (2001b). Creativity in Public Relations.
McDowell, Colin. (1997).Galliano. Weidefeld and Nicolson.
Menkes, Suzy. (2000). Beauty and Horror:The Magnificence of McQueen.
Oelhers, Dotty. (2004). Promoting Through Events
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Star-Ledger-Staff,Heather Rohan. (Oct, 2007). Fashion Today.Fendi Walks the Great Wall of China.

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What Is the Role of Fashion Promotion, and How Will It Develop over the Next Five Years? Essay - 1912 Words

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What is the role of fashion Promotion within the fashion Industry, and how will it develop over the next five years? In an age where fashion and technology is constantly evolving it is important that we take a step back and take a look at the current happenings in the promotional side of the fashion industry.

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"Couture" is a word thrown around to describe the pinnacle of fashion -- but when asked to create a couture garment, even the up-and-comers on the fashion reality show "Project Runway" have trouble figuring out exactly what "couture" means. The technical term is "haute couture," a French phrase that literally means "high sewing." It refers to high-end garments that blend together fashion and costume, explains the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. "Costume" in this sense refers to the arts of dressmaking and tailoring, says the Metropolitan Museum.

It's in the Details

Couture refers to handmade garments, designed and proportioned specifically for the wearer -- you won't find it mass produced in a department store. Bridal gowns and Academy Award ceremony dresses are often couture designs. Individual designers and top design houses, such as Chanel, produce couture designs for a few high-end clients or runway shows to demonstrate fashion-forward trends. Couture clothing involves detailed, unique construction, intricate design elements and expensive fabrics.

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What Does Couture Mean in the Fashion World?

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"Couture" is a word thrown around to describe the pinnacle of fashion -- but when asked to create a couture garment, even the up-and-comers on the fashion reality show "Project Runway" have trouble figuring out exactly what "couture" means. The technical term is "haute couture," a ...

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Fast Fashion

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Trend Forecasting is a type of Fashion Research that analyses market trends and buying habits to make educated decisions on how to move forward on designing a new collection.

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How Trends are Implemented into a Brand's Aesthetic

In trend forecasting you'll find that there are smaller, detailed trends as well as overarching themes. In general, you will find that most brands implement seasonal themes and maybe a few trends. However, fast fashion brands tend to focus on a more trend-heavy collection. When you go about researching trends, know that it's not always smart (or best for your brand) to implement a trend into your line. It's more about understanding the overall themes and implementing them in a way that makes sense for your brand.

Trends can be caused by consumer habits, political events, geological events, and societal norms. Let's use a recent trend to illustrate this - tie dye sweat suits. This trend is really taking off because consumer habits have changed due to a worldwide event that has impacted many areas such as politics, the economy, and more due to Covid-19. So, our consumers are spending more time at home and are going to be more apt to wear casual clothing. The print is a nod to the hippie revolution of non-violence protesting the Vietnam War of the 60's (and 70's) in which it became a uniform of a rebellion against war and for peace. Additionally, the print (even in neutral hues) evokes a sense of creativity, fluidity, and freedom of expression - all things that people are desperate for in a time of confinement. It may even be a subconscious uniform in the war against this disease. On a less serious note, tie-dye is also a lighthearted and fun print that you can create yourself at home! All of these events have created the perfect "storm" to make it one of the biggest unexpected trends this season. Just as you can analyze a movie, book, or painting, you can also analyze a trend and understand the underlying reasons for why it has become popular.

It's almost always more important to understand the reason for the trend rather than what the trend is. Understanding why consumers are gravitating towards certain silhouettes or prints gives you a broader understanding of the market and the direction that it's heading so that you can make important design and buying decisions for your own brand.

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Fashion Trend Forecasting - Points of Measure

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In trend forecasting you'll find that there are smaller, detailed trends as well as overarching themes. In general, you will find that most brands implement seasonal themes and maybe a few trends. However, fast fashion brands tend to focus on a more trend-heavy collection.