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Dissertation Presentation - Presentation (16:9) by Shiphrah Parry

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As I prefer writing by hand as opposed to typing, many of my notes and planning are on physical paper.

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Explores a topic that is very current and being explored by many in fashion retail landscape.

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It doesn't give me a chance to showcase my whole skillset range and capabilities.

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Incorporating Data Analytics and Internationalisation & Globalisation in to the report.

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G7 Summit
'This industrial decoupling has a potential collateral impact on luxury brands selling in China. What will demand for luxury goods look like under this increasingly strained relationship between China and the rest of the world?' (Sleevehead, 2021)

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Will luxury fashion be profitable if they return to their ultra exclusive ways?
Is the profit margin of accessible luxury worth ruining luxury legacy for?
New Money vs Old Money
Demographics

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Gen-z consumers behave very differently to previous generations and they have major external influences and factors affecting their purchasing decisions such as social media pressures. They also have strong internal influencers such as their beliefs of ethics, inclusivity etc.
Commitment to philanthropy and corporate social responsibility is important as well as establishing relationships with charities etc.

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'Social media and technological innovations have democratized luxury, bringing the brand closer to consumers than ever before.' (Achim, 2020)

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Laws coming in to pl

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G7 Summit

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Accessible luxury. It's an oxymoron, sure - but it's an oxymoron that has launched a thousand ships. A thousand ships, filled with ten million handbags, that have netted the designer brands embossed across their surfaces - Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Tory Burch - billions.

That oxymoron is the fashion phenomenon of our time.

Do you need convincing? How about the fact that in June, Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel scooped a Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) award for emerging accessories designers? Although no bag in their Mansur Gavriel line is priced higher than three-figures, you probably can't buy them: key styles, such as a drawstring leather bag with poppy contrast lining (£485), are perpetually sold out. Clothing is next for Mansur Gavriel. It sounds like the start of an empire - to rival, perhaps, that of Tory Burch, who won a CFDA for her accessible accessories in 2008.

What does accessible luxury mean, for those unschooled in fashion's unique, often meaningless, verbiage? It's occasionally dubbed, more transparently, "affordable" luxury. It's about an egalitarian approach, of brands aiming not high, but wide, at a broad swathe of middle-class consumers eager to snap up status symbols, provided the price is right.

"Accessible luxury is about making exceptional fashion available to a wider range of shoppers," says Mary Beech, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of New York's Kate Spade & Company, via a carefully measured email. She's right, and she's wrong. These clothes are widely available, but they're not especially exceptional: they're simple designs in decent materials with a cachet-laden name attractively attached. They are accessible economically and aesthetically. They're not breaking new stylistic ground.

But Beech doesn't talk about design. Because these brands aren't really about that. They're about innovative pricing architecture, new ways to entice customers, sating mass demand for luxury. "It is really about balance - this approach enables us to reach a broader consumer base while staying true to who we are."

The approach also enabled Kate Spade to pass the all-important $1bn (£640m) turnover threshold in 2014. Accessible luxury brands talk about turnover in billions, not millions. Tory Burch and Michael Kors are both personal billionaires (the only other in American fashion is Ralph Lauren).

Kors fought through bankruptcy in the Nineties; Burch was, back then, just another a well-heeled Manhattanite working in fashion PR. Maybe she had dreams of her own brand? Maybe not. She only founded it in 2004; a decade later, it was worth £1.92bn. Meanwhile, the Michael Kors brand is now worth £12.8bn. That's £12.8bn built not on Michael Kors' mainline - with its £6,000 leather coats or £2,000 sundresses in fil coupé organza - but on accessible stuff, like a £230 watch, or a £315 bag, called the Selma, that's so ubiquitous I've stopped counting how often I've seen it.

This kind of stuff sounds simple, like a high- fashion get-rich-quick scheme: affix a logo and name to a relatively simple bag, price it at under a grand, and watch the dough roll in. But it often goes wrong. There have been a few blips even at behemoths like Kors and Spade. (Share values in the latter have dropped 35 per cent since the start of 2015; Kors' profits are down for the second quarter in a row.) But their troubles pale next to British brand Mulberry, whose value hit a high of £1.5bn in 2012, but had 75 per cent wiped off over the next three years as the brand sought - unsuccessfully - to move into higher levels of luxury. Mulberry backtracked: last year, 46 per cent of its handbags cost under £1,000; now it's closer to 70 per cent, and profits are rising again.

Other labels have similarly repositioned, and have reaped the rewards. For instance, the Paris based, LVMH-owned label Kenzo installed Humberto Leon and Carol Lim - founders of the successful Opening Ceremony retail chain - as creative directors in 2011 as part of an overall overhaul. Under their watch, Kenzo has evolved into something younger in feel and customer, and lighter in price.

"When Kenzo Takada founded the brand he dreamt of creating collections accessible to the street, and that idea of accessibility for consumers was something we were determined to bring back," comment Leon and Lim. "There's a real diversity in our price points - there are pieces in the collection for £30 and there are pieces for £3,000, but that £3,000 item looks like it's worth it." The offering, however, is weighted towards the former: walk into Kenzo's refurbished store on London's Bruton Street and merchandise costs hundreds, not thousands: signature sweatshirts cost £175; a Kalifornia clutch just £210.

Designers have offered alluring ranges of cut-price merch before, of course: in the 1980s and 1990s, the watchword was "diffusion" - lines that offered less intense (diffuse, geddit?) versions of catwalk styles. Accessible luxury labels, however, are the big kahuna. You're not buying into a pinchbeck version of Tory Burch when you purchase a pair of £220 Reva flats with her cruciform double-T logo glistening on the toe (still the brand's top-selling product in Selfridges). They're the real deal, just like Kate Spade and Kenzo.

Michael Kors is an anomaly, in that he still has a higher-priced line, and his accessible range is called Michael Michael Kors (and you only get the all-important latter two names on his £300-ish Selma, Ava and Cindy totes). But apparently, rather than cheapening his name, the tactic acts as a form of promotion. Selfridges have a newly opened mainline Kors boutique, saying that the accessible line has driven awareness - and demand - among luxury customers.

So, this all sounds very accessible. But is it really luxury? That's the tricky question, when it's obvious that certain corners are cut to ensure a bag retails at that all-important under-£1,000 price mark: materials may be slightly cheaper (a Tory Burch twill coat mixes polyester and acrylic with wool; a Kors jumper is equal parts mohair and nylon). Still, that issue is bypassed with utilitarian fabrics such as denim or cotton - so Kenzo has a range of "Kanvas" bags, for instance.

"It's about hard-working easy-to-wear pieces that still have an incredibly luxe feel," says Natalie Kingham, the buying director of MatchesFashion.com - which stocks accessibly priced ranges including Kenzo and Mansur Gavriel. She remarks that designers as varied as Marni, Valentino and Gucci have begun to offer pieces with similarly accessible (or maybe that should be competitive) prices. Their simpler handbags and denim-based separates offer "a strong fashion look and design in luxurious-feeling fabrics at more accessible price points," she says - and it could be Tory Burch herself talking, in 2008. "I wanted to start a company that was a designer luxury brand that was accessible," she said. "I love fashion. I love designer clothing, but I was tired of spending." Spending too much, that is.

However, maybe it's not about cost, or aspiration. These accessible brands are offering something new; at least, that's an opinion one fashion buyer touted to me, after visiting an Asian outpost of her store where brands like Kors, Burch and Spade were dubbed "the new luxury". They're new, as they don't have the heritage of an Hermès or Vuitton, but their approach is also new. Perhaps "accessible" isn't the important term. Perhaps it's the overused word "luxury" that needs a re-think. "Luxury to us is to be able to look at a runway show and say, 'I can buy that'," say Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Kenzo. Maybe that's new luxury, for the 21st century.

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How brands are making a mint from devaluing the concept of 'luxury'

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Accessible luxury. It's an oxymoron, sure - but it's an oxymoron that has launched a thousand ships. A thousand ships, filled with ten million handbags, that have netted the designer brands embossed across their surfaces - Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Tory Burch - billions. That oxymoron is the fashion phenomenon of our time.

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Between the extremes of fast fashion and high-end design, there's a subtle, but massive, industry shift happening toward accessible luxury items. It's largely thanks to the tastes and conscientious shopping habits of millennials.

But what is accessible luxury exactly? The definition is open to interpretation depending on your disposable income. But in general, it's offerings that aren't as lavish or expensive as those from traditional fashion houses such as Chloé and Gucci. Yet, they tend to include nicer materials and craftsmanship than what you'd find at the mall. Think buttery leather jackets and French-seamed denim. While the concept itself isn't new (Kate Spade and Coach have become billion-dollar brands by selling $300 handbags in this space) the way it looks now is rapidly evolving.

Accessible luxury is about more than "stuff"

First things first: "accessible" luxury doesn't mean that prices are cheap. For most American women, a $400 bag or a $500 dress is a prohibitively expensive price point. But for a growing number of consumers who value owning fewer, well-made products over lots of disposable, cheap items, the investment is worthwhile.

That's partly because a flurry of young labels and cool-kid designers, like Rouje, Anine Bing, Sandro, and Ganni (really, the list is too extensive to include here), haven't just created clothes and bags. They've created an aspirational, beautiful, nearly all-encompassing world that includes on-point social media feeds, in-the-know messaging, and fresh points of view. Crucially, they speak the language of women in their 20s and 30s, partly because so many of these brands are helmed by millennials.

"They paint an overall landscape of that picture-perfect life-or lifestyle," says Alyssa Coscarelli, a fashion writer and style influencer in New York City. "Aside from making a pretty product, they create imagery that's save-worthy on Instagram, stores that beg to be photographed, a brand name you dream of adding to your arsenal." It's an incredibly attractive universe, she adds.

Low-key luxurious

The level of quality and craftsmanship within accessible luxury is, unsurprisingly, better than what you'd find in fast fashion. However, the finishes and techniques often approach, if not meet, levels typically found among the most exclusive designer names. For instance, Cuyana and Everlane use Grade-A cashmere, and shoe brand M.Gemi makes its footwear in Italian factories that also produce for high-end brands.

Direct-to-consumer brand AYR (which stands for All Year Round) is among those aiming to put high-end touches and luxe details within reach. "Starting AYR, we very clearly saw a divide in the market between exceptional quality at unattainable price points or throwaway, high-trend fashion," says Max Bonbrest, a co-founder. "From the beginning, we made the choice to align ourselves with truly premium partners from the mill to the production stage." The brand's $595 Italian camel-hair coat, for example, is made in a factory in Portugal that also manufactures garments for top-tier lines.

So what's the difference between these two categories other than pricepoint? According to handbag designer Aimee Kestenberg, traditional luxury brands usually have high prices because of branding. Thanks to her apprenticeships, she learned that when it comes to ultra-spendy bags, unless the raw materials are expensive (e.g., real precious metals or exotic skins), you're paying for prestige.

"From that point on, I just couldn't justify breaking the bank knowing that three-fourths of what I was spending was for the name and not for the quality of the product," she says. That knowledge inspired her to create a high-quality bag for her thesis, which ultimately became the $228 Tamitha backpack that launched her accessories company.

The new aspiration

In the past, people may have saved up for a $2,500 handbag. Today, though, they're now happy to tote a less-expensive (but still quality) purse and earmark the rest of their money for the types of status symbols by which millennials measure their lives these days.

"People are feeling less connected to 'things,'" says Kestenberg. "They are more connected to the idea of self-care, experiences, travel, and other non-tangible elements like having an amazing dinner with friends."

It's helping to put the mindfulness back into consumption-one attainable, well-crafted item at a time.
Something else that's helping to slow down the fashion cycle is sustainable design. Here are the sneakers, handbags, and clothing brands that are ushering in a new generation of eco-friendly dressing.

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Fashion...but make it accessible: The millennial mantra that's reshaping an industry

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Between the extremes of fast fashion and high-end design, there's a subtle, but massive, industry shift happening toward accessible luxury items. It's largely thanks to the tastes and conscientious shopping habits of millennials. But what is accessible luxury exactly? The definition is open to interpretation depending on your disposable income.

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Why accessible luxury is winning over Millennials and Gen Z | News

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Luxury fashion needs to become more inclusive. Content Marketing Executive, Salomé Bakpa, discusses how brands can navigate the new rules of consumer…

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The profile on the Gen-Z consumer.
After the WW11 they targeted the youth.
Rental market.

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Attire | Conscious Fashion, Events & Resources

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The Economics of Luxury Fashion: Is luxury fashion sustainable? | Attire Media

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What is luxury fashion, why is it so expensive, and can it be sustainable?

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The luxury industry is often tied in with terms like excessive consumerism, disposable income, and guilty pleasures. Yet, as Millennials and Generation Z consumers are driving 85 percent of global luxury sales growth, their expectation for luxury brands to be aligned with their values becomes increasingly important. The younger affluent generations are indeed more conscious of the environmental and social impact of their purchase decisions and are more likely to buy from a brand that resonates with their own personal values. High-end brands that want to retain their status in the luxury market need to evolve to keep up with this growing trend towards ethical and sustainable luxury.

A study from Nielsen showed that 73 percent of Millennial respondents were willing to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable or socially conscious brand. That's more than what older generations indicated. Furthermore, 81 percent of Millennials expect the brands that they buy into to be transparent in their marketing and actively talk about their sustainability impact.

This is the age of philanthropic luxury retail with an increasingly strong consumer demand for upscale brands to provide a positive contribution to their ecosystem.

Luxury brands pivot towards sustainability and conscious models

How can luxury brands reposition themselves to embrace this change and build sustainable luxury into their narrative? The key is to be authentic. Brands need to genuinely implement sustainability and environmentally-friendly models into their practice from the ground up before they start to create a hype around it.

Famous diamonds luxury brand Tiffany, for example, operates in an industry that has come under fire for bringing conflicts to communities in Africa. In order to positively change this perception, the high-end brand was one of the first big jewellery names to source metals and diamonds from responsible mining companies. Tiffany now has a zero-tolerance policy for purchasing diamonds from countries with human rights infringements. They also have a philanthropic foundation working on reef conservation and awareness for responsible mining. Andy Hart, Head of diamond supply for Tiffany, explains his motivation for building a responsible brand: " I just ask myself, if I had to pull back the curtain on our factories, would I want our customers to see what's there? "

Luxury marketing build awareness on sustainable and conscious impact

With sustainable and eco-friendly luxury practices in play, luxury brands also need to communicate that message to their audience. This should be done with a subtle tone to keep an authentic narrative. A good way of building this into your editorial and communication is through transparency, such as behind the scenes features, along with microsites and projects.

High-end mechanical watch brand Rolex has been a precursor in the field with their ongoing awards program. With the Rolex Award for Enterprise, the luxury watch brand gives a large cash prize to entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 30 for projects that are bringing about a positive environmental or cultural change. This approach towards sustainable luxury and socially conscious innovation is bright, refreshing, and taking real steps to improve, not only the lives of individuals but the planet as a whole.

Balancing transparency with exclusivity to inspire Millennials and Generation Z affluent consumers

Luxury brands have always embraced an element of mystique, but times are changing, in the digital age - consumers are hungry for more information. They want to make sure that their purchase decisions reflect their ethics.

Fashion brands like The People Tree and Everlane are embracing this by offering consumers the opportunity to meet the makers of their clothes or take digital tours of their factories. Not only does this method offer transparency to its consumers to showcase fair and ethical practices, but it also underlines the fact that these garments are created by local artisans, making them authentic and unique - the true ethos of social luxury.

High-end brands that want to continually position themselves as ethical and sustainable luxury companies can actively campaign for change. Once they have showcased what they are doing to change the world, they have a platform to invite their consumers to do the same.

Patagonia's Don't Buy This Jacket campaign was a bold move. It marked the company out as being true pioneers for proposing change above profit. Embracing a cause that ties into your brand values and doing so in a sincere way can reinforce your place as a leader in this modern trend.

Social responsibility and positive environmental impact: the rise of sustainable luxury

Large luxury brands are already catering to their affluent Millennials' expectations for social responsibility and positive environmental impact. The Kering group, for example, which owns Gucci, Stella McCartney, and Saint Laurent, among other high-end labels, is increasing the share of its raw materials that are renewable to improve its sustainability. " Our ambition is to redefine luxury to help influence and drive these positive changes, " says Marie-Claire Daveu, Kering's chief sustainability officer.

With Millennials and Generation Z consumers making up 30 percent of all luxury shoppers and on track to represent 45 percent by 2025, luxury brands need to accelerate their work towards sustainability and conscious living if they want to stay relevant.

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Sustainable Luxury: Millennials Buy Into Socially Conscious Brands

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85% of luxury growth is driven by Millennials who care about the environmental and social impact of their purchases. As a result, luxury brands are embracing sustainability and social responsibility. Encouraged by Millennial consumers, high-end brands strive to be transparent and authentic in their marketing.

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Getty Images

"Fashion for all" is hardly a novel conceit. It has no single beginning to pinpoint; it's the unceasing stream of information between the fashion industry and its consumers that has existed since seamstresses first sewed custom-designed gowns (haute couture almost literally means high sewing) for queens and socialites.
Long before fashion weeks showcased the next season's trends some six months in advance, designers held trunk shows for aristocratic clients to order before they packed up and shipped off for extended vacations. Money and status weren't the only barriers to all-access fashion. In the early days of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, it was called Press Week with store buyers prohibited from attending.

Still, the artificial walls between the people and high fashion have never stood from floor to ceiling. The democratization of fashion largely started when Vogue first pressed pages in 1892 and New York rolled out Press Week runways in 1943 to divert attention from couturiers in Paris, which was Nazi-occupied and therefore impenetrable to the needy stateside fashion world. Its DNA partly lies in Anna Wintour's choice to put Michaela Bercu in jeans on the first cover she oversaw at the helm of Vogue and her engineering Fashion's Night Out during the recession in 2009 to encourage full-price shopping through red carpet treatment.

Fast forward to 2013, when Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week announced that all 54 shows would be streamed online from Lincoln Center on Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week's own website (as opposed to YouTube, which has done so for the past three years), the once-exclusive world of fashion and beauty struts ever further from its once exclusive realm. Not only are the designs and styles more accessible than ever, the entire industry, from inspiration to presentation, are exposed to anyone with a keen curiosity.

( MORE: Fashion Week Backstage: 5 Questions with Publicist Emily Bungert)

Social media's constructed craving for minute, behind-the-scenes details and access kicked in the door that these institutions opened, which had since been propped open by expository reality TV, diffusion brands and fast fashion.

Here, we take a look at this brief history of the democratization of fashion.

Target/Isaac Mizrahi: Fans of Prabal Gurung, Proenza Schouler and Missoni should thank Isaac Mizrahi for designing Target's first high-end diffusion collection 10 years ago. Mizrahi was an acclaimed designer with an inconsistent track record before he paired up with Target to design clothing and home goods under his name in 2002. The venture was mutually beneficial-Mizrahi's clothing, accessories, bedding and more sold for as much as $300 million a year and created luster for the chain bargain store. The six-year partnership made Mizrahi a household name and turned Target into a destination for high fashion. Marc Jacobs and Vera Wang have since lent their name and vision to store items.

Street style Blogs/Instagram/Twitter: When Man Repeller Leandra Medine invites Instagrammers to her arm parties, she lets them simultaneously mingle with Hermes and Forever 21. The fashion blogger's take on style-"outfitting oneself in a sartorially offensive mode that may result in repelling members of the opposite sex"-exemplifies the ironic nature of haute couture. It is elusive and expensive, but often impractical and unappealing. Medine's method of mixing high and low is typical of the most popular fashion blogs, which show readers how to mix as few as one luxe item into an outfit. Cupcakes and Cashmere, The Sartorialist, Atlantic-Pacific and others show "normal," i.e. not (at least prior to blogging) famous or particularly wealthy subjects regularly wearing fashionable outfits. The blogs, whether informative or self-serving (or both), inspire shoppers to binge and/or experiment, which creates curiosity in and consumers for high-end brands.

Social media has become the great equalizer in fashion. Insiders use social media the same way that Medine does, and in doing so, reveal traces of inspiration and mystery. Prabal Gurung Instagram photos of stimulating images like a bright-colored sari and Oscar PR Girl shares behind-the-scenes pictures and anecdotes with Oscar de la Renta to her Instagram accounts. Alexander Wang, Christian Louboutin and Diane von Furstenber g are among the most popular designers on Twitter, with hundreds of thousands of followers each. Their tweets, whether mundane or scintillating, demystify the fashion industry and let followers interact with every part of the process.

( MORE: Highlights from Haute Couture Fashion Week 2013)

ANTM/Project Runway: The reality show juggernauts are as backstage as it gets. Project Runway shows how a seed of creativity blossoms into a 10-look runway show through the course of a three-month season. Aspects like standby judge Michael Kors' commentary presented fashion through the eyes of seasoned veterans. The show lets viewers spot uneven hems, critique a gown's fit, think like a designer and watch a sartorial story unfold as if they are sitting in the front row of an avant garde show. Similarly, America's Next Top Model turned interest in model from niche to normal. Watching hopeful cover girls walk, pose and mug for Tyra Banks, Twiggy and Janice Dickinson educates viewers on smizing and strutting as a living. The shows aim to entertain, but the effect is also a diffusion of fundamental layers of the fashion cake.

Fast Fashion: As the famous scene in Devil Wears Prada points out, a trickle-down effect is inevitable, but close copies are taboo. For that reason, we have fast fashion. Fast fashion was born in the 80's, but the public's keen eye on catwalks has made it a dynamic adult. The process is familiar-stores like Zara, Topshop, H&M and Forever 21 parlay runway designs into similar cuts, colors and patterns to be sold sooner and for less in more stores. It's not without its controversy; Forever 21 has faced several intellectual property lawsuits for mimicking fashion houses like Anna Sui and Diane von Furstenberg. The temptation to capitalize on the hottest trends is hard to resist, as it is cheap to do, it generates billions of dollars and earns the store a cache for being constantly in vogue, even if the designs are not original. Whatever the origin, the product has the effect of making every sidewalk a runway. Fast fashion stores allow even broke fashionistas to parrot their favorite designers or celebrities at a fraction of the price. It's ubiquitous, but it makes people care about, say, Rodarte, in a way they might not otherwise.

Broadcasting Lincoln Center Shows: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week's live broadcasts make the circle of life between designers and the masses a little tighter. Curious consumers can ogle next season's biggest trends without a press pass or hobnobbing with celebrities, for better or worse. Perhaps that's the biggest difference-physical presence. Virtual access to high fashion, whether online on TV or on knockoffs is cheaper and easier, it's far more democratic. But being able to say "I was there?" It seems that that is still priceless.

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The Democratization of Fashion: A Brief History | TIME.com

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"Fashion for all" is hardly a novel conceit. It has no single beginning to pinpoint; it's the unceasing stream of information between the fashion industry and its consumers that has existed since seamstresses first sewed custom-designed gowns (haute couture almost literally means high sewing) ...

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Achim, A., 2020. What Happens When Luxury Becomes too Accessible? | Jing Daily. [online] Jing Daily. Available at: <https://jingdaily.com/what-happens-when-luxury-becomes-too-accessible/> [Accessed 13 June 2021].

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Demonstrate systematic understanding of information-gathering techniques, which use a

wide range of sources, providing visual, contextual and business research as appropriate.

Quantitive and qualitative data.

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Analyse research materials leading to the generation of some new

concepts with existing key themes which inform and underpin project development.

Extensively explored, compared and contrasted research findings and data sources.
contradictions will help shape and might shift my personal opinions.
(Synthesis of findings-taking in to account an alternative side)

P-oint
E-vidence
A-analysis
L-ink

At the end, have a limitations for my research in a section after my recommendations.

Perpetual innovative, insightful new ideas.

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Demonstrate a confident working

knowledge, production skills, selection, application and

systematic understanding of the

creative potential of a range of processes, materials and methods

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Develop a range of possibilities leading to generate innovative

solutions

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Communicate projects and business solutions effectively, creatively and professionally

(visual, oral or written form) to a wide range of situations appropriate to the audience and the purpose of the work.

# data[].attributes.body
Demonstrate highly effective transferable and employability skills, assessing own abilities

to work independently, set goals, respond to change and communicate effectively.

# data[].attributes.body
Professionally position personal identity in complex, unpredictable

contexts that require the selection and application of varied techniques and information sources.

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The ability to critically evaluate the subject of study as well as your

own performance at all stages of the project; to synthesise and

evaluate a range of information and develop a course of action; to

reflect on performance and independently set personal learning goals.

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SWOT on both Inclusivity and Exclusivity within the luxury sector.

PESTLE on a global scale.

Generational Trends.

Semiotics.

Consumer Behaviour (Gen-Z vs Silent Generation).

Bourgeoisie history.

Marketing Campaign analysis.

Global Economic Growth.

Guccifest.com

Social Media

Marketing Placement

How do they advertise to people in china?

French Revolution.

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Interviews with 3 people (1-Farfetch, 2-Victoria Beckham, 3-Burberry?)

Response analysis

Case study (Gucci)

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Is the Luxury Fashion sector losing it's exclusivity in the current retail landscape? 

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Is the Luxury Fashion sector losing it's exclusivity in the current retail landscape? 

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Has the Luxury Fashion Industry abandoned it's Unique Selling Point in an attempt to win over Gen-Z?

Has the Luxury Fashion Industry betrayed it's original identity for higher profit.

Is the luxury fashion sector devaluing their

Is the luxury fashion losing it's appeal with Gen-Z?

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Edited
Books about Luxury fashion and Gen-Z.
Falmouth library old FMP's on luxury fashion.

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Undressed: Fashion in the Twentieth Century.

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Undressed: Fashion in the Twentieth Century.

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"Women were restricted-held in bourgeois restraint. The corset helped women stand and assert-(even mentally)-their social position. In the 19th Century, the crinoline was a symbol of aristocracy (the upper class). The large skirts prevented women from working by isolating them in a sphere of fabric."-Christain Lacroix

"Art influences fashion but contrary to what artists think, fashion can also influence art"- Karl Largerfield

"Paris couture dominated fashion"-Mary Quant
(50's and 60's Swinging London caused by the youth that moved fashion forward).

Sex and drug culture
French Vogue Bob Richardson-series of photos taken of Donna Mitchell. There was an earthquake of how wild and free the issue was.
changed fashion photography forever.

mass production promised a new society (modernism) Ostanstashion.

revolution aesthetic called Purism
a new restrained, refined simplicity modern form of dress
flaunter of convention/early radicicalism
defining emblems of 20th century fashion
Chanel changed fashion
the invention of the 'little black dress' changed the way in which black was worn and gave a sense of seriousness and almost perversity
all the components of erotic and social power brought together by Chanel in one new dress

"Black represents a general denouncing of frill in fashion, it doesn't turn people in to flowers, it turns people a little more into warriors"

"We don't realise how shocking it must have been to send women out dressed entirely in black- in a way we are immune to that because what she did was show the freedom of women and that is still how women wear the little black dress today. the ultimate easy choice that still stands and still draws the fine line, still beautifies and still negates  frivolity and indecision. having said that there was still designers who questions there limits, sense, constraints and  Amanda Harlech

Ray Cower Coobo (known as the great radical of late 20th century fashion)-"It's not good to do what others do, if you keep doing the same things without taking risks there will be no progress. You must think about the practical and financial side of things separately from the creative side. You have to find something new or there can be no progress. I can appreciate traditional beauty and values but unless there are people who seek what is not traditional there can be no progress."
'what is preconceived decided upon has been seen already'
'each period, each generation decides what avant-garde is- pf course, people want to wear trendy clothes and be fashionable because people want that, trends exist. This decade more than any other has seen everyone wearing the same things. Its always been like that, but particularly so this decade, unless there a mood to express something different from others society won't become creative. so I think the current era may be the least interesting in history.

lack of restraint and complexity

the quality of new

coming to terms with mass production and machinery loses the quality of the accident of the craftsman

'The idea of fashion as a mirror of its time is not new, nor is the desire to reflect change by literally fashioning a new society.'

Clothing that would bring ultiliatirain beauty to the masses caused by the Russian revolution.
"The idea of creating a new aesthetic after a revolution was an idea that would spread in every aspect of life."-white man
'Interesting focus on clothes and clothing by constructivists"

(Jeans) "It represents freedom, it represents trendiness, it represents anti-fashion, it represents inner city fashion. it represents soo many things. I think it represents a phenomenon of our time" -Ralph Lauren. \

Youth movement of equality and simplicity and anti-consumerism, jeans became the quintessential clothing item of consciousness

existentialism
anti-borgeou
anti-everything their parents stood for in the 1960's.
the clientele
How are they going to adapt themselves?

1967 Yves Saint Laurent
"I hate bourgeois women, their ideas, their intransigence and their tastes. They always look boring."

He claimed to be anti-bourgeois but loved putting women in bourgeois styles. he got rid of the system of things you could and could not do. He was the first one to bare breasts-showing them under muslin
anti-bourgeois revolution

Undressed: Fashion in the Twentieth Century, Rebellion, 20:00 15/02/1998, Channel 4, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/buf5d9bbe?bcast=129193180 (Accessed 01 Jul 2021)

(Undressed: Fashion in the Twentieth Century, 1998)

Undressed: Fashion in the Twentieth Century. 1998. [video] Directed by G. Koppel. England: Channel 4.

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How they came to that point of view...

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Critical and contextual
The evolution of luxury fashion from haute couture to ready to wear to fast fashion
Brand identity Theory
Brand Identity Prism

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Gen-Z (How has Ben-Z's buying behaviour affected the luxury business model?)
Generational trends
Vals Customer Journey EKB
Maslow's Heirachy of Needs
Kotler and Armstrong

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Points of parity and difference
12 P's of marketing
Sean McDonald applying Maslow to Gen-Z.
Ansoff's matrix

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(On a global scale)

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On both Inclusivity and Exclusivity

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Realistic, commercially viable, relevant and concise

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Realistic, commercially viable, relevant and concise

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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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Growth Issues:
PAGE 1-
'Is a lack of demand the source of the problem? No, the problem is just the opposite: excess of demand.'

'In the luxury market, clients not only buy an exceptional product...they also buy the exclusivity'

'To paraphrase Groucho Marx: "I would never want to be a part of a club that would accept me." This exclusivity factor is what distinguishes luxury from premium brands'.
PAGE 2-
'Growth in luxury is a fragile concept and a mixed blessing.'
'Luxury as a sector is becoming consolidated as a result of the problems raised by growth.'

'Today, niche is out: an unknown luxury brand cannot accumulate the symbolic capital needed to endow its clients with status and respect'

PAGE 3

Horizontal expansion has occurred due to the conquest of the BRIC and MINT countries. 'An example is the success of Louis Vuitton in China: the brand now symbolises the economic success of the country itself.'

'Diversification is also an answer to the problem created by new clients of luxury-that is, the absence of loyalty. New clients choose brands by contagion of desire, not by adhesion to their values, nor by connoisseurship.'

PAGE 4
'How-will the luxury sector overcome the chasm between the images it promotes-continuously defining luxury as rare, noble, crafted, exclusive, spirited, elevating and servicing-and the realities of business growth.'

'the rise of 'abundant rarity''
'artification' of luxury

PAGE 88
'Luxury is tied to the social hierarchy. Premium goods are just better goods: they are the best-in-class products, after examination of their comparative performance. Luxury is elsewhere. No comparison here, except between people themselves and their ability to stand out.'

PAGE 89
'

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Groucho Marx famously resigned from a Hollywood club, and in his resignation letter he said  ‘I don’t care to belong to any club that will have me as a member’. (Ramsden, 2015)

Ramsden, A., 2015. The club membership paradox. [online] SpinningHead. Available at: <https://airtyke.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/the-membership-paradox-according-to-groucho/> [Accessed 30 June 2021].

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The Pyramid model. The top is where you build the image and the bottom is where you exploit it and bring in the cash.

(Daniella Westbrooks)The Burberry check becoming popular with football hooligans and chavs. Burberry lost control of its own image which in turn affected it's revenue. This only happened in Britain and money was only lost here but it spread and affected world-wide opinions of the brand.

The pleasure centre in the brain lights up when the woman sees the designer handbags. craving and addictions when looking at super luxury brands. expensive items trigger deep emotions

Dr Peter Hughes (Marketing Psychologist)- "ostentation and extravagance taken to the ultimate limit"

the luxury brands tap into our instinct to pro-create but the high street brands

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The coronavirus moment is turning out to be a watershed moment for fashion. Businesses ranging from fast fashion to luxury are being stress-tested on their models and resilience in every area of their operation. One question that has become the hallmark for businesses during these times of disruption is:
How risk-proof is your supply chain?
On March 8 when Italy's government put 26 provinces in the country's northern region under quarantine, it brought to forefront the long-standing dependence luxury fashion supply chains have on Italy. This quarantined area alone was home to more than half the country's textile and apparel factories. With Italy, France and Spain manufacturing reeling under the fierce impacts of the virus, luxury brands are seeing their supply chain disrupted like never before. This pressure is further exasperated as now their Asian stores are opening and online shopping kept going through the shutdown.

Traditional risk conversations and strategies in fashion supply chains have been more focused on supplier risks than a country or a region risk. And arguably so, as in living memory when has a whole country or region anywhere in the world shut down let alone Western Europe.

Companies usually measure disruption risk in comparison to their home country where the decision-makers sit. The underlying assumption being local conditions being the regular risk of doing business and then they overlay how does an overseas country or supplier compare to that. As this crisis has shown us, even the "strongest can fall."

In a globalized world where sales are global and supply chains extremely complex there are undeniable heavy global inter-dependencies. A disruption in one country impacts supply chains across the world. It is no longer a factor of where the final product is assembled - every little component can be its weak link.

A good illustration of this was at the start of this pandemic when regions in China went under quarantine. As Chinese factories and mills struggled to operate, global supply chains around the world dependent on China for components started grinding to a halt - despite having no restrictions on operations in their own countries at that time.

As it's said, "a supply chain is only as good as its weakest link."

The pandemic is a hard reminder for the need to diversify and shockproof the supply chain and align it to your customer's needs - an important ingredient for success.

The need to diversify luxury supply stems from a few key factors, all of which are expected to intensify and accelerate in the post-COVID-19 world:
1) Luxury Market Growth and Manufacturing Capacity:
The luxury personal goods market has been witnessing rapid growth and expansion over the years with increasing spend on luxury products, the rise of China and a burgeoning affluent class in many developing countries. The last decade has seen an increase of 91 percent in this market from 147 billion euros in 2009 to 281 billion euros in 2019.

The risk of concentrating supply for this growing industry from just one country or region exposes the brands to large risks but also makes it hard for the industry to replicate a similar growth for the next decade. In addition, most brands have been facing capacity constraints in their Europe centric supply chains which has meant that they have had to either make large capital investments to own factories to secure needed capacity increasing their business complexity and asset intensity and/or make a collection and material decisions far out to maximize the available capacity adding pressure to their product calendars.
2) Reduced Tourism and Trade Protectionism:
The world entered this crisis with increased rhetoric of protectionist tariffs and Brexit. This crisis hasn't been the best example of collaboration and solidarity between countries, with each country looking out for themselves. Recessions and economic stress in history has shown a preference for increased tendencies for protectionism.

In addition, the tourism industry is widely expected to be one of the most affected making it important for luxury brands to serve their customers where they are.

A diversified supply chain mirrored closer to how customers are spread helps side-step challenges coming from shifts in customer locations, trade protectionism while helping capitalize on duty preferences from global trade blocs.
3) Online Shopping and Customization:
Online shopping percentage for luxury personal goods is currently around 12 percent. As per Bain's research, it is expected to reach 25 percent by 2025. Will this trajectory remain as is or will the "stay at home" shock of the virus lockdowns accelerates this change? Only time can tell.

From what we do know more and more, luxury personal goods customers are exploring, interacting and purchasing luxury personal goods online.

Also, the general trend in the industry on delivery is getting shorter and shorter with some brands managing to deliver within the same day and next day.

Whether it is the speed of delivery or of response to unplanned demand or having country or region focused collections or extra services of repair and maintenance - a dispersed and globalized supply base closer to the end customer is better equipped at serving a global customer.
4) Sustainability and Reduced Markdowns:
Producing only what is needed closer to where it is needed not just is good for reducing markdown volume but also is a sustainable practice.

A global supply base closer to the customer reduces cycle time and helps produce based on closer and more realistic demand versus at "far out anticipated" demand.

In fashion like in all products, the longer and more capacity constrained is the supply chain the more initial inventory is needed - hence more the risk of unsold inventory and/or markdowns. A shorter and close to customer supply chain improves inventory investment, leftover markdown volume while having a positive impact on reducing the need for unsustainable practices like the destruction of overruns and reduction in distribution miles to air or ship from far off factories to stores.
5) Seasonality:
The fashion industry has long struggled to align the timing of seasonal collection launches with when clients were wearing those clothes. There are large variances on how seasons play out by country and history and convention have held back breaking away from this mistiming.

A more dispersed and globalized supply chain with local ready to produce inventory has a better chance of adjusting to local taste, timings and demand vs a centralized supply model.

These benefits of a more globalized supply approach add up to a significant case for the luxury industry to diversify their supply chains and build agility and flexibility to serve their customers in a fast-changing world.

Going down this path will need to address some issues that have long-held back the industry:
1) The "Made in Country" Perception:
The "Made in Country" label and it's perceived connection to quality and luxury has been a challenge for diversifying luxury supply chains. Years of smart marketing has positioned a Made in Italy or France or Europe synonymously with quality or luxury.

In addition, product labeling rules that evolved have required the country of origin to be mentioned on the product.

With the changes happening in customers' expectations of consumer and luxury goods there are additional associations between where products are made that are desirable and can also be used to premium positioned products with customers.

An example would be Made in Fairtrade factories or zero-effluent or carbon-neutral factories or in factories with strong social or sustainability programs in place are extremely desirable with the customers. These labels are now available for leverage to luxury brands to reduce the risk of Made in Country perception.
2) Intellectual Property Infringement:
Luxury personal goods have long been targeted by counterfeiters who have made lookalikes of their latest designs and sold them at a fraction of the price of original goods. Where in an original is picked up from a store and within weeks fakes start being circulated. A diversified supply chain with IT-enabled traceability, control and security features and shorter concept to customer times will not enhance this risk but may actually reduce the overall risk of IP infringement.
3) Quality and Workmanship:
It has been long believed that the quality of artisan workmanship needed to make luxury products is not replicable outside a few countries. In a world with high dependence on manual tools, this could be true to some extent, even though the looming question always is whether all workers being skilled equally and extremely highly in any factory is an impossible task, no matter in which country.

The evolution and automation of production techniques have been consistently reducing reliance on skilled labor alone to produce high-quality products. Looking at other industries, when key suppliers were asked by their customers to globalize their operations, they have been able to up-skill workers in their global factories to bring them at par with their main factory so that no matter where a product is shipped its quality is consistent.

With the Millennial luxury customer forcing a rethink of everything from styling, shopping behavior, channels it is now time to configure luxury supply chains to align with this changing world.

That day is closer than we think when goods with Vicuña and Alpaca could be made in Peru, Pashmina and embroidery made in India, baby cashmere made in Mongolia, Mulberry Silk from China, linen made in Belgium, and Sea Island Cotton made in Barbados augment the classic Italian, French or Spanish goods and enhance the delight of luxury shoppers while diversifying the supply risk of luxury companies.
Roit Kathiala has led product and supply chain teams of the leading fashion companies in Europe, Asia and North America and advises companies on their product, supply chain and digital strategies.

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Supply Diversification - A Luxury for Luxury?

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The coronavirus moment is turning out to be a watershed moment for fashion. Businesses ranging from fast fashion to luxury are being stress-tested on their models and resilience in every area of their operation. One question that has become the hallmark for businesses during these times of disruption is: How risk-proof is your supply chain?

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'In a globalized world where sales are global and supply chains extremely complex there are undeniable heavy global inter-dependencies.'
'The world entered this crisis with increased rhetoric of protectionist tariffs and Brexit.' (Alexandra Pastore, 2020)

Alexandra Pastore, R., 2020. Supply Diversification — A Luxury for Luxury?. [online] WWD. Available at: <https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/supply-diversification-luxury-1203565590/> [Accessed 4 July 2021].

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The coronavirus moment is turning out to be a watershed moment for fashion. Businesses ranging from fast fashion to luxury are being stress-tested on their models and resilience in every area of their operation. One question that has become the hallmark for businesses during these times of disruption is:
How risk-proof is your supply chain?
On March 8 when Italy's government put 26 provinces in the country's northern region under quarantine, it brought to forefront the long-standing dependence luxury fashion supply chains have on Italy. This quarantined area alone was home to more than half the country's textile and apparel factories. With Italy, France and Spain manufacturing reeling under the fierce impacts of the virus, luxury brands are seeing their supply chain disrupted like never before. This pressure is further exasperated as now their Asian stores are opening and online shopping kept going through the shutdown.

Traditional risk conversations and strategies in fashion supply chains have been more focused on supplier risks than a country or a region risk. And arguably so, as in living memory when has a whole country or region anywhere in the world shut down let alone Western Europe.

Companies usually measure disruption risk in comparison to their home country where the decision-makers sit. The underlying assumption being local conditions being the regular risk of doing business and then they overlay how does an overseas country or supplier compare to that. As this crisis has shown us, even the "strongest can fall."

In a globalized world where sales are global and supply chains extremely complex there are undeniable heavy global inter-dependencies. A disruption in one country impacts supply chains across the world. It is no longer a factor of where the final product is assembled - every little component can be its weak link.

A good illustration of this was at the start of this pandemic when regions in China went under quarantine. As Chinese factories and mills struggled to operate, global supply chains around the world dependent on China for components started grinding to a halt - despite having no restrictions on operations in their own countries at that time.

As it's said, "a supply chain is only as good as its weakest link."

The pandemic is a hard reminder for the need to diversify and shockproof the supply chain and align it to your customer's needs - an important ingredient for success.

The need to diversify luxury supply stems from a few key factors, all of which are expected to intensify and accelerate in the post-COVID-19 world:
1) Luxury Market Growth and Manufacturing Capacity:
The luxury personal goods market has been witnessing rapid growth and expansion over the years with increasing spend on luxury products, the rise of China and a burgeoning affluent class in many developing countries. The last decade has seen an increase of 91 percent in this market from 147 billion euros in 2009 to 281 billion euros in 2019.

The risk of concentrating supply for this growing industry from just one country or region exposes the brands to large risks but also makes it hard for the industry to replicate a similar growth for the next decade. In addition, most brands have been facing capacity constraints in their Europe centric supply chains which has meant that they have had to either make large capital investments to own factories to secure needed capacity increasing their business complexity and asset intensity and/or make a collection and material decisions far out to maximize the available capacity adding pressure to their product calendars.
2) Reduced Tourism and Trade Protectionism:
The world entered this crisis with increased rhetoric of protectionist tariffs and Brexit. This crisis hasn't been the best example of collaboration and solidarity between countries, with each country looking out for themselves. Recessions and economic stress in history has shown a preference for increased tendencies for protectionism.

In addition, the tourism industry is widely expected to be one of the most affected making it important for luxury brands to serve their customers where they are.

A diversified supply chain mirrored closer to how customers are spread helps side-step challenges coming from shifts in customer locations, trade protectionism while helping capitalize on duty preferences from global trade blocs.
3) Online Shopping and Customization:
Online shopping percentage for luxury personal goods is currently around 12 percent. As per Bain's research, it is expected to reach 25 percent by 2025. Will this trajectory remain as is or will the "stay at home" shock of the virus lockdowns accelerates this change? Only time can tell.

From what we do know more and more, luxury personal goods customers are exploring, interacting and purchasing luxury personal goods online.

Also, the general trend in the industry on delivery is getting shorter and shorter with some brands managing to deliver within the same day and next day.

Whether it is the speed of delivery or of response to unplanned demand or having country or region focused collections or extra services of repair and maintenance - a dispersed and globalized supply base closer to the end customer is better equipped at serving a global customer.
4) Sustainability and Reduced Markdowns:
Producing only what is needed closer to where it is needed not just is good for reducing markdown volume but also is a sustainable practice.

A global supply base closer to the customer reduces cycle time and helps produce based on closer and more realistic demand versus at "far out anticipated" demand.

In fashion like in all products, the longer and more capacity constrained is the supply chain the more initial inventory is needed - hence more the risk of unsold inventory and/or markdowns. A shorter and close to customer supply chain improves inventory investment, leftover markdown volume while having a positive impact on reducing the need for unsustainable practices like the destruction of overruns and reduction in distribution miles to air or ship from far off factories to stores.
5) Seasonality:
The fashion industry has long struggled to align the timing of seasonal collection launches with when clients were wearing those clothes. There are large variances on how seasons play out by country and history and convention have held back breaking away from this mistiming.

A more dispersed and globalized supply chain with local ready to produce inventory has a better chance of adjusting to local taste, timings and demand vs a centralized supply model.

These benefits of a more globalized supply approach add up to a significant case for the luxury industry to diversify their supply chains and build agility and flexibility to serve their customers in a fast-changing world.

Going down this path will need to address some issues that have long-held back the industry:
1) The "Made in Country" Perception:
The "Made in Country" label and it's perceived connection to quality and luxury has been a challenge for diversifying luxury supply chains. Years of smart marketing has positioned a Made in Italy or France or Europe synonymously with quality or luxury.

In addition, product labeling rules that evolved have required the country of origin to be mentioned on the product.

With the changes happening in customers' expectations of consumer and luxury goods there are additional associations between where products are made that are desirable and can also be used to premium positioned products with customers.

An example would be Made in Fairtrade factories or zero-effluent or carbon-neutral factories or in factories with strong social or sustainability programs in place are extremely desirable with the customers. These labels are now available for leverage to luxury brands to reduce the risk of Made in Country perception.
2) Intellectual Property Infringement:
Luxury personal goods have long been targeted by counterfeiters who have made lookalikes of their latest designs and sold them at a fraction of the price of original goods. Where in an original is picked up from a store and within weeks fakes start being circulated. A diversified supply chain with IT-enabled traceability, control and security features and shorter concept to customer times will not enhance this risk but may actually reduce the overall risk of IP infringement.
3) Quality and Workmanship:
It has been long believed that the quality of artisan workmanship needed to make luxury products is not replicable outside a few countries. In a world with high dependence on manual tools, this could be true to some extent, even though the looming question always is whether all workers being skilled equally and extremely highly in any factory is an impossible task, no matter in which country.

The evolution and automation of production techniques have been consistently reducing reliance on skilled labor alone to produce high-quality products. Looking at other industries, when key suppliers were asked by their customers to globalize their operations, they have been able to up-skill workers in their global factories to bring them at par with their main factory so that no matter where a product is shipped its quality is consistent.

With the Millennial luxury customer forcing a rethink of everything from styling, shopping behavior, channels it is now time to configure luxury supply chains to align with this changing world.

That day is closer than we think when goods with Vicuña and Alpaca could be made in Peru, Pashmina and embroidery made in India, baby cashmere made in Mongolia, Mulberry Silk from China, linen made in Belgium, and Sea Island Cotton made in Barbados augment the classic Italian, French or Spanish goods and enhance the delight of luxury shoppers while diversifying the supply risk of luxury companies.
Roit Kathiala has led product and supply chain teams of the leading fashion companies in Europe, Asia and North America and advises companies on their product, supply chain and digital strategies.

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Supply Diversification - A Luxury for Luxury?

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The coronavirus moment is turning out to be a watershed moment for fashion. Businesses ranging from fast fashion to luxury are being stress-tested on their models and resilience in every area of their operation. One question that has become the hallmark for businesses during these times of disruption is: How risk-proof is your supply chain?

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“The best performing luxury brands have adjusted their strategies to reflect the growing importance of youth fashion consumers.”

Samantha Dover, Senior Retail Analyst at Mintel

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Main Image: Courtesy: Instagram

Luxury has an unchanging definition of fine quality, craft and status; until now, with an apparent shift underway as luxury fashion strives to cater for a newborn breed of digitally-minded consumers: Generation Z.

According to Business of Fashion, Millennials (born 1981-1996) and Generation Z'ers (1998-2006) will make up 45 percent of the luxury market by 2025. As a result, designers are adapting to revolve around this brand new society brought up online, accustomed to immediacy, vibrant visuals and a dynamic belief that anything is possible, thanks to the power of the internet.

Gen Z has never known a world without social media. Samantha Dover, senior retail analyst at market intelligence agency Mintel, explains to ORDRE how they are connected to the once hyper-exclusive realm of luxury fashion, "Apps like Instagram and Snapchat have enabled celebrities and reality stars to share their day-to-day lives with their largely young fan base which has normalised luxury fashion for Gen Z."

Having such an intimate relationship, luxury houses are becoming increasingly influenced by Gen Z desires. From the Hypebeast revolution, with every fashion house now habitually fronting their collections with sneakers, to prioritising their ethical values - the industry's becoming increasingly conscious with Versace, Gucci, Burberry, John Galliano, DKNY and Chanel all throwing out fur last year, once the holy grail of luxury fashion.

As Dover says,"The best performing luxury brands have adjusted their strategies to reflect the growing importance of youth fashion consumers, and a number are seeing incredible success from proactively courting them."

Mintel's statistics show 50% of Gen Z consumers in the UK have bought luxury goods in the last 18 months, so getting down with the kids is clearly the ultimate money move. Here, ORDRE spotlights three ways the new generation is shaping luxury fashion:

"The best performing luxury brands have adjusted their strategies to reflect the growing importance of youth fashion consumers."

PERSONALISATION

With the overflowing eclecticism of online identity, asserting individuality has never been so sought after by young people. The BoF-McKinsey Global Fashion 2018 survey identified personalisation as the number one trend. Whether it's hypebeast-mogul Virgil Abloh customising high fashion with a permanent marker or Fendi printing initials on accessories, today's consumers want that personal touch.

A very recent example of this is Selfridges' Balmain pop-up in their corner shop area of the London store, which opened on the 24th June and closed yesterday (7th July). The pop-up exemplified luxury fashion's incorporation of both streetwear and personalisation, as customers are the first to be offered the latest Balmain sneakers, uniquely customised by on-site artists.

In conversation with ORDRE, buyer at Selfridges Jack Cassidy explains how the pop-up was motivated by customers wanting an exclusive, limited edition product right there and then, "The Balmain customisation space is centred on Gen Z needs, transforming sneakers into one of a kind. Also, they can get their hands on the product before anyone else."

As Selfridges' project reflects, Dover explains that recent years have shown an increased luxury focus on individualism: "Gen Z consumers are more concerned with cultivating their own personal style than following trends."

RESALE

If you haven't already noticed, the internet has triggered a resale revolution. Mintel's statistics show that 16% of Gen Z consumers in the UK have resold luxury branded items; it might seem like a small percent but that number is sure to soar with the resale industry predicted to be worth 51 billion by 2023. It's not only fashionable to buy resale items as they're unique - tapping the individualism trend - but reselling is also creating a more circular fashion economy which appeals to our environmentally-conscious Gen Z.

Farfetch has recently recognised the potential market of resale, launching a 'second life' resale platform, motivated by sustainability. ORDRE caught up with Stephen Eggleston, VP of Commercial at Farfetch following the launch, "We've seen an increased interest in our vintage and pre-owned offering which could be attributed to the fact that consumers are now more interested in shopping sustainably. Any item that is pre-owned, whether it was vintage or not is a more sustainable option," he explains.

It's an innovative progression that is perfect for the internet-born generation, as Eggleston says, "Customers are more comfortable than ever with the online resale market, due to improved verification processes and the increased amount of varied options offered." He continues, "We're now able to help customers find hard-to-access pieces, from final collections or super brand collaborations, that they wouldn't have been able to get their hands on five years ago." Combining both rare gems and sustainable purchasing, it's a platform made for Gen Z.

"We've seen an increased interest in our vintage and pre-owned offering as consumers are now more interested in shopping sustainably."

'WOKE' FASHION

Being ethical, both environmentally and socially is an important fashion movement given the industry is the second most polluting after oil. GreenMatch's infographic results show that 72 percent of Gen Z are prepared to spend more money on sustainable products. Plus, McKinsey reports that nine in ten Gen Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues. In short, young people care about the planet.

Whether high fashion is listening to Gen Z as a growing customer-base, or they're simply just gaining a conscience, brand supply-chain transparency is slowly improving and labels are taking steps to reduce their effect on the environment. Just two weeks ago Prada announced that all its trademark nylon will be composed of 100 percent recycled materials by 2021.

This conscious generation is not only concerned about the environment, Dover reveals to ORDRE that social morale is a priority too, "They want to buy into brands that care about similar causes. 12% of Gen Z consumers in the UK have boycotted a luxury brand after reading negative press." The increase of the 'woke' consumer leads racism scandals like Dolce and Gabbana's late last year to be, deservedly, seriously damaging to sales.

It's promising to know that the new generation are working on reducing fashion's negative impact on the planet, and luxury is listening.

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Main Image: Courtesy: Instagram Luxury has an unchanging definition of fine quality, craft and status; until now, with an apparent shift underway as luxury fashion strives to cater for a newborn breed of digitally-minded consumers: Generation Z. According to Business of Fashion, Millennials (born 1981-1996) and Generation Z'ers (1998-2006) will make up 45 percent of the luxury market by 2025.

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'underestimating Gen Z’s importance is dangerous and can put a brand’s future in peril. That’s because this generation is, in many ways, the most discerning group of consumers. They are the most digital, the best informed, have the highest expectations, and are the least loyal.'-(Why Focusing on Gen Z Is A Matter Of Survival For Luxury Brands | Jing Daily, 2021)

The high expectations for experiences, the strong focus on personal branding, and the reduced attachment to always buying the same brand make Gen Z the most difficult generation to win over.

Jing Daily. 2021. Why Focusing on Gen Z Is A Matter Of Survival For Luxury Brands | Jing Daily. [online] Available at: <https://jingdaily.com/luxury-brand-strategy-genz-dior-gucci/> [Accessed 4 July 2021].

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While many brands are suffering, and some have had to take drastic measures like permanently closing stores, other brands like Dior or Louis Vuitton have been performing well, indicating that the pandemic is hitting brands with pre-existing conditions harder.

The brands that Gen Zers prefer will necessarily spark interest in Gen Xers. And similarly, they will discourage them from buying the brands they dislike. Therefore, to reach Gen Xers, brands must first be relevant to Gen Zers.

Over 80 percent of managers don't know how to address Gen Z, and more than 90 percent of brands lack the positioning and storytelling needed to be relevant to them in the future.

We are living in a time of massive disruption. To attribute all the challenges that luxury brands are currently facing to COVID-19 would be myopic. Yes, the pandemic has caused a significant short-term impact, upended markets, and impacted consumer sentiment. However, the Q3 recovery of the GDP in key European countries (Germany, France, and Spain) after a sharp second-quarter decline - and the strong performance of the Chinese economy fueled by consumer spending in the luxury sector - signal a rapid recovery once markets reopen.

While many brands are suffering, and some have had to take drastic measures like permanently closing stores, other brands like Dior or Louis Vuitton have been performing well. That indicates the pandemic is hitting brands with pre-existing conditions harder. But brands that did their homework before the pandemic and used the past months to inspire their audiences are doing relatively well.

A time of disruption calls for a critical self-assessment of strengths and weaknesses. They also call for brands to rigorously fire from all cylinders to create consumer desire, a strategy that many brands have de-emphasized while trying to manage the pandemic.

But, given the magnitude of this disruption, it is dangerous to lose sight of structural changes currently happening. Many brands still focus on Generation X (consumers that are over forty). What I hear again and again is a reluctance to shift the focus to millennials, and even more so to Generation Z (consumers under 25). The standard argument is that "these are not our customers yet."

While that may be true today for some brands, underestimating Gen Z's importance is dangerous and can put a brand's future in peril. That's because this generation is, in many ways, the most discerning group of consumers. They are the most digital, the best informed, have the highest expectations, and are the least loyal. If a brand does not see them as an actual consumer group, it is likely because they already find the brand irrelevant. And without relevance, a Gen Zer will never opt in to a brand, as consumer preferences are built early in life.

Additionally, the tastes and choices of the younger generations strongly influence the older generations. I often like to say: "The mothers shop what their daughters prefer." It is seldomly the other way around. The brands that Gen Zers prefer will necessarily spark interest in Gen Xers. And similarly, they will discourage them from buying the brands they dislike. Therefore, to reach Gen Xers, brands must first be relevant to Gen Zers. As you can see, without creating relevance in this critical group, a brand has no future.

China is the world's most important and fastest-growing luxury market. It is also the youngest and most digital by far, with Gen Z already contributing up to 15 percent of the country's luxury purchases. And that number is growing at an unprecedented pace. Chinese Gen Zers have an optimistic look on life and their future, having grown up without any economic hardship. They are highly educated, frequently study at top universities around the world, and are prouder and more patriotic of China than the previous generations.

As digital natives, they have easy access to everything they want. Like Gen Zers in other regions, they see themselves as personal brands with clearly defined brand equities. Consequently, they only surround themselves with brands that are compatible with their values. And make no mistake - the youngest generation is the most value-driven. They have zero tolerance for brands that are not socially responsible.

In a recent conversation with the head of the Asia-Pacific region of a large fashion brand, I confirmed that the amount of scrutiny his store staff in China gets regarding sustainability is unprecedented, particularly over the last few months. Consumers don't just walk into the stores and start buying anymore. Instead, they question the origin of the leather, inquire about the wellbeing of any animals used, and even ask about working conditions. According to him, these have become the decisive criteria for many consumers.

Brands should listen carefully. The real structural disruption is happening through Gen Z - more than ever and at unprecedented speed. Gen Zers all over the world want to experience many different things. They love to experiment and will follow their own paths. Unlike previous generations, they don't accept being put into a box. They decide what is good for them, and they don't care what a brand wants them to do. This seemingly minor shift has a significant impact on brand storytelling.

Most brands still have brand equity definitions that worked for Gen X but are completely wrong for Gen Z. Brands today need much more consumer-focused brand storytelling that puts rational and emotional consumer benefits at the center. Brand-centric content such as "we use the best materials, we have the best craftsmanship," etc., may have impressed previous generations, but not Gen Z. They want to know what's in for them, or they move on to other brands that will provide them with extreme value.

The high expectations for experiences, the strong focus on personal branding, and the reduced attachment to always buying the same brand make Gen Z the most difficult generation to win over. Brands that fail to address them have no future, regardless of how large they are today. Size does not protect from failure in today's hyper-competitive market.

It is a matter of survival for luxury brands to focus on Generation Z. In our research, we have seen that over 80 percent of managers don't know how to address this generation. Most companies lack the tools to generate actionable real-time insights, which allow them to keep track of rapidly changing preferences by generating critical insights. And more than 90 percent of brands lack the positioning and storytelling needed to be future-ready.

The best brands, such as Dior or Gucci, have already reinvented themselves years ago in preparation for this younger, more discerning generation. And they keep pushing the envelope to extend their lead in the luxury arena. There is no time to waste. If a brand waits until the future to solve this, it will have no future.

Daniel Langer is CEO of the luxury, lifestyle and consumer brand strategy firm Équité, and the professor of luxury strategy and extreme value creation at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He consults some of the leading luxury brands in the world, is the author of several luxury management books, a global keynote speaker, and holds luxury masterclasses in Europe, the USA, and Asia. Follow @drlanger

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Why Focusing on Gen Z Is A Matter Of Survival For Luxury Brands | Jing Daily

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While many brands are suffering, and some have had to take drastic measures like permanently closing stores, other brands like Dior or Louis Vuitton have been performing well, indicating that the pandemic is hitting brands with pre-existing conditions harder. The brands that Gen Zers prefer will necessarily spark interest in Gen Xers.

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In a recent conversation with... I confirmed/discovered that...

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Key Takeaways (Put in to the overview at the beginning of the report).

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Key Takeaways (Put in to the overview at the beginning of the report).

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The largest and most influential luxury brands haven’t just returned to form; they’re now performing better than in 2019 — a record year in the industry.

History has shown that luxury is, in fact, the most resilient category after recessions and economic downturns, with recoveries that are dramatically faster and stronger than non-luxury sectors.

The influence of Generation Z — customers who are now 25 years of age or younger — has increased significantly. Their viewpoints, habits, preferences, and opinions have shaped the entire luxury market in a shorter time frame than any generation before it.

They are by far the wealthiest generation to ever enter the market.

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The largest and most influential luxury brands haven't just returned to form; they're now performing better than in 2019 - a record year in the industry.

History has shown that luxury is, in fact, the most resilient category after recessions and economic downturns, with recoveries that are dramatically faster and stronger than non-luxury sectors.

The influence of Generation Z - customers who are now 25 years of age or younger - has increased significantly. Their viewpoints, habits, preferences, and opinions have shaped the entire luxury market in a shorter time frame than any generation before it.

The biggest and most successful luxury brands are feeling good. Hermès just posted their Q1 results, which defied expectations with revenue growth of 33 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019 - the period a year before the pandemic forced many countries into lockdown. The brand even eclipsed LVMH's growth of eight percent and Kering's of 5.5 percent, both home to major brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci, respectively. Unsurprisingly, Hermès stated that China and North America were its main growth drivers.

These results are exciting because they indicate that the largest and most influential luxury brands haven't just returned to form; they're now performing better than in 2019 - a record year in the industry. These numbers are different from those many luxury analysts had predicted, with many foreseeing a slower recovery and others even decrying the end of luxury as we know it, thanks to the pandemic.

This development is reminiscent of the financial crisis of 2008, which led to the decline in 2009, one of the first significant declines in luxury during that decade. By 2010, luxury was already overcompensating. History has shown that luxury is, in fact, the most resilient category after recessions and economic downturns, with recoveries that are dramatically faster and stronger than non-luxury sectors.

Why is this? Luxury brands, especially those highly desired and leading the market, have fared well because they create extreme value for their customers, driven by ALV (Added Luxury Value). The combination of high demand and extreme value creation draws consumers to those luxury brands much more than normal brands. In my book "Luxury Marketing and Management," I describe how luxuries become drivers of desire and preference by defining and shaping people's personalities. All these factors help jumpstart the luxury economy much faster than any other.

In one of my previous Future of Luxury columns during the pandemic, I shared the insight that Net-a-Porter had one of its best shopping days on the afternoon of 9/11. The reason? People were looking for inspiration during a traumatic event. Luxury brands that create extreme value give their customers a strong emotion or fantasy.

Meanwhile, another seismic shift happened during the pandemic. The influence of Generation Z - customers who are now 25 years of age or younger - has increased significantly. They are the most digital generation and, therefore, the one most prepared for the pandemic. As such, the viewpoints, habits, preferences, and opinions of this generation have shaped the entire luxury market in a shorter time frame than any generation before it.

And if you think Gen Zers are not old enough to be your customers yet, think again. In fact, it may be already too late because if less than 5-10 percent of your brand's purchases come from Gen Z, your brand is already irrelevant to them. The notion that many people of this generation don't have money to spend is simply wrong. They are by far the wealthiest generation to ever enter the market. In China, where Gen Zers already have a double-digit contribution to luxury sales, it is also the most optimistic and future-embracing generation ever, which translates into purchase behavior (income is not saved but spent and often on luxury.)

It is a critical generation because, thanks to their digital lifestyle, their choices are different. Practically all purchase decisions are made digitally. So their "moment of truth" moves from the store to social media, which I sometimes call "the new real estate." Brands that cannot convince Gen Zers digitally lose them. And spending more time in front of screens means that their physical experiences count more - another way this generation predicted post-pandemic behavior at large.

Deprived of a "normal" life for months, customers will start scrutinizing brand experiences much more. All aspects matter - from the way luxury brands inspire and entertain to the way they convince digitally and make you feel when you go into a store. Transactional sales in luxury will continue being replaced by holistic, radically customer-centric approaches.

And especially for brands focused on the Chinese market, the mindset needs to shift from just playing to playing to win. Stakes have never been higher in China, and its importance to brands has grown at rates never before seen. Chinese Gen Zers are increasingly patriotic and are now buying Chinese brands. Entire industries are about to be disrupted or have been disrupted already. The recent Shanghai Auto Show featured a lineup of high-tech Chinese car brands, and consumer preferences are shifting toward them. The same thing is happening with Chinese beauty brands and Chinese fashion brands.

These brands have a massive strategic advantage: They are close to the sentiment of Chinese consumers, especially Gen Zers. Given that the strength of the Chinese luxury market will further increase, a luxury brand not being in China is not an option. However, brands that lose now with Chinese Gen Zers may never win them in the future. That is what makes this time so pivotal.

Brands need to adapt quickly. That means switching from sales to storytelling, bragging to inspiring, transactional thinking to relationship building, and talking about sustainability to creating truly sustainable business models. And regarding China, international brands will need to up their game dramatically. I still see too many brands without enough insights into rapidly changing sentiments, and they are steering their China approach from thousands of miles away. But without digital insights or tools, which have been evolving at warp speed, they might as well be throwing darts with a blindfold on.

When I analyze brand performances in China, on WeChat, for example, less than a handful are excellent at providing customer service or connecting via a real digital luxury experience. Most brands are, at best, mediocre. Even some of the most iconic names in luxury have significant deficits on Chinese digital platforms. In building Gen-Z preferences, these weaknesses put brands at a long-term strategic disadvantage.

The rebounds by Hermès, LVMH, and Kering prove that luxury and Gen Zers are turbocharging the recovery post-COVID-19. But when taking a closer look, it becomes obvious that this recovery will look different across brands, and many brands are still underperforming. Creating extreme value and desire and connecting with the most influential young customers have never been as critical as right now.

Daniel Langer is CEO of the luxury, lifestyle and consumer brand strategy firm , and the professor of luxury strategy and extreme value creation at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. He consults some of the leading luxury brands in the world, is the author of several luxury management books, a global keynote speaker, and holds luxury masterclasses in Europe, the USA, and Asia. Follow

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Hermès Is Proof That Gen Z Is Turbocharging The Luxury Recovery | Jing Daily

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The largest and most influential luxury brands haven't just returned to form; they're now performing better than in 2019 - a record year in the industry. History has shown that luxury is, in fact, the most resilient category after recessions and economic downturns, with recoveries that are dramatically faster and stronger than non-luxury sectors.

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the mental process behind these feelings

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the mental process behind these feelings

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Dissertation Interview Questions (Elena Rigon)

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Dissertation Interview Questions (Monicha Tully)

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Youth and pop culture provocateurs since 1991. Fearless fashion, music, art, film, politics and ideas from today's bleeding edge. Declare Independence.

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Use the beginning when Virgil is speaking for the beginning of the mini clip that I will be making to introduce my presentation.

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Behind-the-Scenes at Virgil Abloh’s Louis Vuitton Men's Fall-Winter 2019 Show | LOUIS VUITTON

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'It’s about that fearless spirit and imagination when pushing boundaries.' #RiccardoTisci

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Gucci Aria | Behind the Scenes with Alessandro Michele

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Backstage — Fall-Winter 2020/21 Ready-to-Wear collection — CHANEL Shows

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Moncler | High End Fashion | Luxury Brand | Remo Ruffini | Bloomberg Documentary | English

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Moncler | High End Fashion | Luxury Brand | Remo Ruffini | Bloomberg Documentary | English

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The True Cost | FAST FASHION | Modern Slavery | Fashion Industrie | Child Labour | English

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Prada in conversation with Thomas Demand

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Shaping a Sustainable Future Society_the best of 2019

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Shaping a Sustainable Digital Future_the best of 2018

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"Shaping a Sustainable Digital Future" was the second edition of Prada Group's "Shaping a Future" conversations.

This year's conference explored the relationship between sustainability and digital innovation. Our guest speakers examined how technology contributes to the sustainable development of business and society, and reflected on the pressing risks posed by technology's onward march.

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"Shaping a Sustainable Digital Future" was the second edition of Prada Group's "Shaping a Future" conversations. This year's conference explored the relationship between sustainability and digital innovation. Our guest speakers examined how technology contributes to the sustainable development of business and society, and reflected on the pressing risks posed by technology's onward march.

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Jul 31, 2019 - Nick Mag Spread #001 designed by Savannah Taylor. Connect with them on Dribbble; the global community for designers and creative professionals.

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Dec 9, 2019 - Behance is the world's largest creative network for showcasing and discovering creative work