TREND JOURNAL
Amira Al-Hatlani Professor Jonevski FA S M 4 3 0 : 0 1 May 24, 2018
CONTENTS I. CATCH-22
II. MODEST PROPOSAL III. LIKE A PRAYER IV. HEADING EAST V. RETAIL THERAPY VI. PERFECT MATCH
I. CATCH-22
You’ve probably heard it before: the fashion industry is the second least sustainable industry in the world. And we’ve also noticed a huge increase in the amount of sustainable fashion retailers all across the globe. Brands such as Everlane, Reformation, and Stella McCartney are popping up in the sustainable clothing industry, promising to reduce your carbon footprint and look good while doing it. Brands such as Patagonia have been on a sustainability mission since day, offering clothing repairs and transparent supply chain practices. For many of these sustainable companies, they’re trying to tap into every retailer ’s current favorite generation: millennials. Millennials consist of people born between 1982 and 1996, who are 21 to 35 years old. There are 80 million of them in the US, and they are forecasted to comprise 35% of spending by 2030. It’s understandable why retailers want to tap into what is about to be the nation’s biggest spending power. Millennials also have much different priorities than previous generations: they want to be eco-friendly. 66% of millennials say they are willing to spend more on brands that are sustainable. 90% of millennials say they would boycott a brand if it were not sustainable, and 69% say they check claims like “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” when buying clothes. It all seems clear enough: millennials care about sustainability in general, including fashion. But do they buy it? The answer is, no, not really. Actual sales data is hard to come by; however, while 60% say they are interested in sustainably certified clothing, only 37% have actually purchased said products. So roughly half of environmentally conscious millennials actually make that purchase. There are numerous factors at play here. First, product availability. Second, poor marketing. And third, pricing. The fashion industry is not offering choices that meet millennials’ most important criteria.
For millennials to be convinced to buy something, there must be ease of purchase, price, and value. While brands such as Reformation and Everlane are pushing the boundaries of eco-friendly fashion, they still are not offering a wide enough variety of items for a generation raised mostly on fast fashion. Many millennials are also just now entering their peak income and spending years, so they are also looking for the right price. While they say they care about sustainability, for many it is still not enough to justify the larger price tag associated with it. Fast fashion is already deeply engraved in our culture and expectations. Fast fashion is creating an environmental crisis, with a majority of the clothing going to landfills. The world’s five largest fast fashion retailers grew nearly 10% last year. Fashion chain Boohoo has almost doubled its sales this year. In the US alone, $250 billion was spent on fashion. So fast fashion is undoubtedly a massive, earth-destroying behemoth. Yet the exact same people who say they care about the environment are the ones fueling the fast fashion industry. Millennials need sustainable clothing to be more accessible and more clearly marketed. Many brands have developed easily recognizable symbols for sustainable clothing, so the shopper immediately recognizes that this suits their values. E-commerce sites could also offer shoppers the option to filter clothing by sustainable attributes, such as “fair trade” or “organic cotton.” On REI, shoppers can filter products through options such as “vegan,” “biodegradable,” and “organic.” Millennials do care about certain keywords and product attributes, but they still want it to be easy, as attention spans get shorter. Millennials may be the first generation to see through marketing tactics and false advertising. Companies have been greenwashing for years in an attempt to gain that millennial customer. However, sustainability is the next major area for retailers to compete for millennial spend. What retailers need to realize is that, while the generation cares about sustainability, they still care more about price and accessibility. The challenge is for retailers to gain millennial spend through these tactics in an authentic and transparent way. Retailers and consumers have been talking the talk for a long time, but with a growing millennial spending power, people are now ready to actually start walking the walk.
II. MODEST PROPO
OSAL
Modest fashion for Muslim women is no new phenomenon, but the fashion industry is just now tapping into it. In the last year alone, there was been a huge increase in coverage on modest fashion. But it’s not like Muslim women are just now needing clothing, or they just started wearing hijabs- the fashion industry has just now noticed their spending power and is trying to access that market. Brands such as DKNY, Dolce & Gabbana, and Mango have all offered modest fashion lines to women, though missed the mark a bit. Debenhams just became the first department store to sell hijabs on the high street. Nike gained attention for releasing their first Pro Hijab. The Islamic economy is growing at double the global rate, and brands are trying to access them, even if for their own profit. Muslim women have had this industry for a long time, and the industry is just now starting to notice. There is a huge misconception in Western culture that just because a woman chooses to dress modestly for her faith, she is not interested in fashion. On the contrary, Muslim women love fashion and beauty, and spend more on it than many non-practicing women due. They love discovering fashion that suits their needs, and to share these discoveries with their friends. In 2015, Muslim women spent an estimated $4 billion on modest fashion alone. In one year, global Muslim fashion expenditure is set to rise to $484 billion. And this industry applies to women of other religions who choose to dress modestly as well, such as Christian and Jewish women. Recently, a luxury e-commerce site called The Modist launched, catering to women who want fashion that suits their needs. The site was founded by 38 year old Ghizlan Guenez, from Algeria. Last year, Vogue Arabia launched its first ever print issue, with Saudi Arabian princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz as editor in chief. London also has its own Modest Fashion Week now. And with social media, many women are finding ways to share their style with women everywhere, as style bloggers on Instagram, etc. What is important for brands to keep in mind, however, is to remain authentic, rather than tapping into the market just for a buck.
If a brand is trying to sell modest clothing merely to tap into a market, and not understanding the substance and meaning behind the clothing, they risk their chances of truly connecting with the modest market. Instead, they may push these customers away. Sarah Elany, a modest fashion designer, said, “There are negative impacts when religious consumers feel that companies are purely in it for the money... This creates suspicion and weakens brand loyalty.” Though not the first athletic brand to cater to religious women, Nike’s Pro Hijab campaign raised awareness of female Muslim athletes, and marked the company’s shift toward Middle East expansion. Brands are showing less fear of being associated with “something Islamic.” Furthermore, Elany states, “ Being able to dress physically in such a way whereby Muslims can be perceived by others as ‘modern’ and ‘one of us’ is empowering.” The best way to capitalize on the financial opportunity of modest fashion, brands must understand that this demographic still has multiple segments and the diversity of the Muslim consumer. A Business of Fashion article argues that rather than segmenting modest fashion from other clothing, brands should incorporate the products in the same retail stores and social media advertising as you would any other category. Religious practices and fashion have always been considered separate from the outside perspective. However, brands must take time to understand the religion and understand that for these customers, fashion is just as important to them. And for the majority, modest fashion is a huge source of empowerment for these demographics. Modest fashion label Blue Meets Blue is an American brand that employs refugee women who have settled in the Chicago area. Shahd Asaly, founder of the brand, explains, “We’re trying to change the stereotype of refugees in the US... Modest fashion comes in many ways and people tend to stereotype it and pigeonhole it.” Modest fashion influencer Dina Torkia says, “I think we need to take Muslim out of it. I’m pretty sure every religion promotes modesty.” The fashion world forgets that these women are just like any other, who love to shop with their friends, look good, and feel good.
III
I. LIKE A PRAYER Before the Met’s Heavenly Bodies exhibition exploring the influence of Catholicism on fashion and culture, many young designers have been making Catholic-inspired clothing in recent years. Rising brands such as Palomo Spain, Dilar Findikoglu, and Vaquera all draw inspiration from Catholicism. While Heavenly Bodies is the Costume Institute’s largest exhibition to date in terms of square footage, its still only represents a fraction of collections that draw inspiration from the church. Now there is a next generation of designers exploring fashion through the Catholic imagination.
Palomo Spain (left) is a spanish brand created by 26 year old Alejandro Gomez Palomo. Palomo was raised in a Catholic family in a village in Southern Spain. Every Easter, the religious festival of Semana Santa transforms the streets of Sevile into a baroque Catholic fantasy. Churchgoers dress in robes with hoods, and saint statues are dressed in gold brocade garments. “Growing up, I wasn’t going to Chanel shows, I was going to see Jesus Christ on his cross walking around the city,” says Palomo. “Of course, it has a lot to do with what I do as a designer.” In 2015, Palomo founded his brand Palomo Spain, which shows during men’s fashion week but still plays with the concept of gender in fashion. His pieces reflect a certain rococo feel, with embroidered satin capes, tulle collars, and puff-sleeve bustiers. They visibly reference the shapes and fabrics that Palomo first experienced as a child in church. He explains, “As a child, the church was the only thing that had something to do with fashion that was outside of the normality of everyday life.” He always thought that in Catholic paintings, there wasn’t that much difference between Jesus’s tunic and evening gown. For his collections, Palomo now works with many Spanish artisans who embroider the clothes seen during Semana Santa. But he repurposes their technique to create something modern. He designs garments for anyone regardless of gender. Beyonce wore a silk organza robe by Palomo Spain in an Instagram photo posing with
her newborn twins. He is a young designer inspired by traditions but still very connected to his generation. Last Feburary, New York based brand Vaquera (right) closed its F/W2018 show with a two foot tall gem-encrusted cross. The look closed for a collection inspired by two dualities: Catholicism and casinos. The designers said they were totally unaware of the Met’s Heavenly Bodies subject manner, and were not trying to align with it. Other looks included a jumpsuit paired with a miter (a tall headdress worn by bishops), an oversized dress with a biretta (worn by Catholic clergymen), and a high necked dress that looked like a christening gown. “We like to be explicit,” says designer Patric DiCaprio, who designs Vaquera along with Bryn Taubensee, Claire Sully, and David Moses. DiCaprio and Sully were both raised Catholic, and Catholic school uniforms show as a recurring theme in their work. The designers explain that it’s really easy to explore religion currently and what is happening now in visual culture, with Instagram and celebrity worship. Dicaprio states, “It was a commentary on what’s happening in America now, with faith and doubt.” “Our generation is struggling to find who new gods are,” says Taubensee. Exploring this, the designers of Vaquera created what they call “saint polos.” Collared dresses depict Vaquera’s own communion of fashion saints, including Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood, Andre Walker, and Miguel Adrover. They also explain how they drew inspiration not only from actual Catholic garments, but also from cheap mockeries of it in consumer products. Take, for example, the cheap priest or nun costume you can buy at Party City for Halloween. It was another example of the brand’s narrative approach to fashion. DiCaprio explains, “Vaquera is all about telling a story without opening your mouth, which I think is very Catholic.” There are also young designers like Dilara Findikoglu, who presented her first runway show in an Anglican church in London. Even as millennials and Gen Z steer further away from religion, young fashion designers continue to dissect its dichotomies in their work.
IV
V. HEADING EAST Located on the crossroads of Asia and Eastern Europe, Georgia is gaining reputation as an up-and-coming source of contemporary culture. The country was part of the Soviet Union for most of the 20th century, followed by a turbulent decade in 90s that saw civil war and economic crisis. While its Soviet past is still fresh in minds, Georgia is now heading towards global integration. With new developments in art and design, fashion is the field that Georgia is banking on most to redefine its image. This Georgian fashion renaissance is certainly connected to the rise of cult label Vetements, created by native Georgian Demna Gvasalia. He is also the creative director of Balenciaga. Although Gvasalia fled the country’s civil war in the 90’s, his success as a designer has still served as a catalyst for Georgian fashion and brought the area to international attention. With lack of infrastructure and institutional support, the Georgian fashion industry is still a small community which relies on committed individuals for its growth. Among the notable include Sofia Tchkonia, founder and creative director Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tbilisi. She also used photographer Grigor Devejiev to create a cutting-edge aesthetic for Georgian Fashion. Bringing together a post-Soviet aesthetic with Georgian folk tradition, they’ve succeeded in creating an image that captures international attention. Among the designers gaining notoriety include George Keburia. The designer gained international attention with a sleek version of narrow cat-eye sunglasses. Seen on Rihanna, Solange, and Khloe Kardashian, the glasses are now stocked at Galeries Lafayette and Opening Ceremony. Designer Gola Damian creates playful, gender fluid designs popular among the city’s party crowd and LGBT community.
Eastern Europe as a whole has been growing in terms of creative fashion. Out of Moscow, Russia, designer Jenia Kim created lable J Kim, which is a testament to Russia’s multiculturalism. Kim comes from a family of Korean immigrants to Uzbekistan, and he moved to Moscow to study. J Kim is rooted in the designer ’s research into her cultural heritage. She has found inspiration from South Korean women practicing the art of free diving; in busy and eclectic Uzbek markets; and the tradition of Korean food. Kim has used variations of the Hanbok, the traditional Korean dress, reinventing its design for the contemporary global consumer. Her designs are bold and playful yet structured. Her “fish bags” were even endorsed by the first ever virtual influencer Lil Miquela. Another up-and-coming Eastern label is Yulia Yefimtchuck+ out of Kiev, Ukraine. The designer likes to discusses Soviet heritage in her work, which is not easy to discuss in contemporary Ukraine. Many Georgian designers avoid this topic. But for Yefimtchuck, Soviet references are about socialist ideology, strong work ethics, and values of equality. In 2014 she received special recognition from Opening Ceremony at Hyeres Festival, and was the first to integrate Soviet slogans into her collection. “Everyday it becomes happier to live” and “Peace to the world” are printed on uniform-inspired garments. Her research into Soviet cultural history spans everything from constructivist architecture to Soviet ambitions to “Technical Aesthetics,” a magazine published in the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1992, which covered topics such as the theory and practice of design in the USSR and abroad. Now, the fashion world craves more of the roughness and youthful desparity that Eastern fashion designers are creating. With more and more high profile stockists seeking out these designers, it’s not long before we see more breakout Eastern European labels becoming fashion royalty, much like Vetements.
V. R
RETAIL THERAPY Fashion psychology now has its own magazine. While the idea of fashion psychology sounds a bit phony, it’s growing in popularity. Fashion psychologists want us to understand our aesthetic impulses, which informs both customers and businesses on the science behind shopping habits. London College of Fashion even has a recently developed masters degree in fashion psychology. Three recent graduates of the program, Judith Achumba-Wollenstein, Susan E. Jean, and Pak Lun Chiu, have founded an online magazine dedicated to fashion psychology. The magazine is called Hajinsky, named after Hajo Adams and Adam Galinsky, the psychologists who realized the link between fashion and human feelings. So what is fashion psychology and how exactly does it work in the modern world? Chiu explains that in the past, fashion psychology has been more related to trivial insights, such as how yellow makes you happy. Fashion psychology doesn’t tell you who you are based on what you wear. Rather, it’s about identifying the relationships we have with clothes and understanding these connections to create a longer-lasting experience with fashion. Wollenstein describes how fashion is a very human experience- “we are the only mammals that put on this second skin.” The trio started Hajinsky after realizing that people are still struggling to understand fashion psychology and what is has to offer. The three all come from different backgrounds of psychology. Wollenstein studied cognitive psychology, which looks at memory, attention, and perception, and problem-solving. Pak comes from a clinical psychology background, which means using psychology to support people. Jean started in fashion design, which eventually led her to social psychology, which looks at how people are influenced by their social settings. In fashion psychology, Jean studies how we construct our identity based on the social groups in fashion, and applies that knowledge to develop solutions for greater diversity and inclusivity in fashion. She has spoken to black, Asian, and minority ethnic women working for fashion brands, and found that most of them felt they didn’t belong in their workplace.
Fashion is a part of everyday life and can cause societal shifts. It influences our interactions with one another and can improve lives by establishing a sense of identity. Research has shown that wearing formal clothing can improve one’s abstract thinking. Brands can also change a person’s life by being inclusive. Brands need to recognize the social importance of fashion and the power it has to create change. For example, many brands are tackling the issues of sustainability in fashion. However, Pak explains that without realizing the real emotional relevance of fashion to people’s live, these developments cannot be translated as well as they could be. Susan explains that the most common misconception about fashion psychology is that we can read your mind and make judgments about you based on what you’re wearing. They explain that in Hajinsky, they’re more concerned about creating richer fashion experiences for every individual. Fashion psychology is empowering and can help people reclaim their sense of value and self-worth. There are a select few leaders in the world of fashion psychology. One of them includes Dawwn Karen, a leader in the field. She has been featured in Daily Mail, Good Morning America, and the New York Times. Karen has developed her own lexicon of terms, such as “mood enhancement therapy” and “repetitious wardrobe complex.” The former explains how a single item can boost someone’s mood, while the latter explains the psychology behind wearing the same thing over and over. In addition to her academic writing, Karen also offers a list of services to businesses and high-profile individuals. Karen received a masters in counseling psychology from Columbia University and credits Harvard professor Henry James with starting the fashion psychology field. She now teachers fashion psychology at FIT. The practice of explaining motives and meanings behind appearances isn’t new, but the scientific lens to it is unique. This rise in fashion psychology will be a huge benefit to the fashion industry as it grows more advanced and complex. It equips people to make a positive impact in a multi-trillion dollar industry that employs millions of people and ultimately involves us all.
VI.
PERFECT MATCH Google has officially launched Style Match this month, a feature which makes shopping easier. Style Match allows Android users to utilize its newly released Google Lens app in real time, to pinpoint and buy apparel and objects. The new feature allows smartphone users to simply point their camera at an item, and Google will bring up where you can buy this item or similar items. Style Match applies artificial intelligence and image recognition to find products instantly. For years now, startups and retailers have been trying to achieve this concept of instant see-and-buy gratification. You see someone carrying a bag you like, and you take a photo and find out in seconds where it’s from. But no one has really emerged as the winner in creating this technology, until Google. There are other apps, such as Screenshop, which allow people to see where each product is from on an Instagram post. But still, it’s not quite the same as the technological efficiency that an innovator like Google can achieve. So now instead of just searching “Kylie Jenner ’s jumpsuit,” you can hold your Google Lens up to it and it will instantly solve your shopping questions. Once you find the item you want, you can purchase it through Google shopping. Amazon Firefly and Samsung Bixby Vision are other programs attempting to do the same, however Google’s technology has the potential to reach far more people, since it is a capability in numerous different smartphones. Google Lens, which is the program Style Match falls under, is currently built into the Google Assistant on Android phones, as well as Google Photos. Google Lens is a highly developed application that could change our methods of finding and receiving information, more than they already have changed. Lens can identify landmarks and teach you more about them, recognize QR codes, pull contact information from business cards, and more. After a couple of uses of Style Match, the app can even recognize your own personal style and will offer clothes based on your learned preferences. Style Match is a perfect example of how machine learning can change fashion’s reach and accessibility.
Google’s Style Match will certainly give way to other machine learning applications for the fashion industry. Researchers at an Amazon lab in San Francisco are working on an algorithm that can learn about style from images, and recreate similarly styled garments from scratch. In addition to the research at Amazon, a group of researchers from Europe are exploring ways the massive amounts of fashion data available on social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest could be used to predict trends and recreate the online shopping experience. In February 2016, Amazon launched seven of its own private label fashion brands on its site. It also unveiled the Echo Look, camera that has Alexa’s intelligent assistant built into it. Echo Look views your outfit and then suggests matching clothes for the ones you’re wearing. Such an important part of all these developments includes machine learning’s potential ability to forecast trends more accurately and efficiently than ever before. By constantly analyzing what customers are snapping, choosing, and wearing, it will be easier than ever to identify upcoming trends and worthwhile investments for retailers. Forecasting agencies, such as WGSN, are already making use of data collected from retailers’ IT systems. In 2013, WGSN launched INStock, a retail analytics service which uses past sales figures to predict upcoming bestsellers. However, AI and fashion is still in its infancy. A study found that the best predictive models still get predictions wrong half of the time. But with things like Google Style Match, forecasters like WGSN face greater competition as technology firms like these enter the market. Google also now has a “Trendspotting” division, which releases a regular” Fashion Trends Report” based on Google’s vast trove of search data. Olivier Zimmer, the project’s data scientist, says that the goal is to produce more sophisticated combinations of search and other data. It’s hard to tell if AI will ever truly replace the current methods of fashion forecasting. Some worry that using AI my dull design and creative processes. That being said, Google’s Style Match paves the path for a new era of instant gratification, helping both consumers and retailers.
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