Current Trends Book 1 - "Inclusive and Adaptive."

Current Trend 1

Inclusive and Adaptive.

With heightened scrutiny surrounding how brands operate and approach those who go against the norm, companies will look to become as inclusive and accepting as possible.

Trend Report

Micro Trend 1.

Calls To Action

“Below is a live blog tracking responses from brands, media companies and agencies as they take a stand against racism and social injustice.”

AdAge

AdAge (Brand/Blog Post)

Staff, A., 2021. A regularly updated blog tracking brands' responses to racial injustice | Ad Age. [online] Adage.com. Available at: <https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/regularly-updated-blog-tracking-brands-responses-racial-injustice/2260291> [Accessed 23 March 2021].

In response to the worldwide protests, rioting and civil unrest, caused by the recent murder of George Flloyd; AdAge began to track brands acknowledgements of the movement. With the first post dating all the way back to the 1st of July 2020, the blog page is a resource aimed at holding brands accountable for their positive, and negative, actions. The blog follows a chronological order and follows brand stories/developments as they unfold. The most recent post was uploaded on the 13th of January, and worked to discuss TikTok’s incubator programme for black creatives. The curation of this page works to demonstrate consumers lack of patience, and acceptance, in relation to brand actions.

Inclusive and Adaptive.

Further brands that have shown to be apart of this trend are:

Savage x Fenty (Show) Taking inclusivity to a whole new level, the Savage x Fenty shows have become a staple of acceptance and free expression. Featuring models of all shapes, sexual orientations, gender expressions and ability levels; the show aims to uplift and represent every single one of its viewers. Most recently the brand has signed their first little person ambassador.

Rare Beauty (Brand) Launched in 2020 by Selena Gomez, the brand aims to be as inclusive as possible. In addition to being vegan and cruelty free, the brand boasts an impressive 48 foundation shades as well as packaging specifically designed to be disability-friendly. This approach has been unmatched by others in the industry.

Morson, G., 2020. Rare Beauty: Rare Message, Rarer Inclusivity. [online] The Courier Online. Available at: <https://www.thecourieronline.co.uk/rare-beauty-rare-message-rarer-inclusivity/#:~:text=Whilst%20Rare%20Beauty's%20mission%20to, comes%20to%20foundation%20and%20concealer.> [Accessed 24 March 2021].

Testa, J., 2020. Four Takeaways from Rihanna’s New Lingerie Spectacle. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/style/rihanna-fenty-show-amazon.html> [Accessed 24 March 2021].

The BeeHive. n.d. FTOB WWH — The BeeHive. [online] Available at: <https://thebeehive.bumble.com/whitneyftob> [Accessed 24 March 2021].

FindThemOnBumble (Campaign/Brand) As part of a recent campaign, the dating brand Bumble devised its ‘FindThemOnBumblr,’ campaign. Aimed at further highlighting the large amount of diverse users, the brand boasts. The campaign worked to inspire and connect new users to apps diverse and accepting userbase.

Sainsbury’s (Advertisement/Brand) After the release of their 2020 Christmas advert, the British supermarket chain was forced to issue a statement due to the amount of racist comments the advert received. The advert in question, depicted a black family hoping they would be able to spend Christmas day together. Upon its release the advert received a slew of racist and derogatory comments, so much so the brand had to comment against them; stating “At Sainsbury's, we want to be the most inclusive retailer. That's why, throughout all our advertising we aim to represent a modern Britain, which has a diverse range of communities.” The racist response only further highlighted the inequalities within the country, and worked to encourage an out-pour of social media support, for the brand, and nationwide media attention.

Animal Crossing (Game/Brand) In August 2020, the popular Nintendo game came under fire for not being as inclusive as it should be. Fans of the game realised that the character builder section of the game didn’t include enough hairstyle options in order to be inclusive towards all of the ethnicities of its players. This led to a Change.org petition calling for this to change, which in turn attracted over 57,000 signatures. During the same month, in collaboration with Gillette, the game released a lookbook of outfits that aimed to celebrate natural bodies. The designs featured characters with acne, wrinkles, prosthetic limbs, and tattoos. In addition skin conditions such as stretch marks, eczema and vitiligo were also highlighted. This bid to be more inclusive extended even further, when the game added more hairstyles in December.

Arellano, S., 2020. 'Animal Crossing' features realistic skin colors in Gillette lookbook. [online] Micky. Available at: <https://micky.com.au/animal-crossing-features-realistic-skin-colors-in-gillette-lookbook/> [Accessed 23 March 2021].

Staff, A., 2021. A regularly updated blog tracking brands' responses to racial injustice | Ad Age. [online] Adage.com. Available at: <https://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/regularly-updated-blog-tracking-brands-responses-racial-injustice/2260291> [Accessed 23 March 2021].

Lewis, A., 2020. The Mum Of The Children In Sainsbury’s Christmas Advert Explains How Racist Comments Have Affected Them. [online]

London Fashion Week (Brand/Event) In a year in which traditional fashion weeks could no longer go ahead, London Fashion Week not only decided to go fully digital but also gender neutral.

Wanting to “redefine,” the event. Chief executive of the British Fashion Council, Caroline Rush, states the switch will “allow designers greater flexibility to consider what collection they show when and minimise travel requirements, taking us one step closer to a more sustainable future.” This move resulted in a universal shake-up to the traditional fashion week format, with even womenswear only designers introducing unisex pieces into their collections. Examples of this, include designers such as Temperley and Molly Goddard. Even bigger houses such as Burberry, showcased androgynous and unisex looks.

The change from the traditional to the modern, is one that is both exciting and revolutionary for the British Fashion Industry.

However recent commentary of gender neutral fashion has had mixed reviews, and works to ask the question if those outside of the industry are ready for such a change. A clear example of this came after Harry styles was pictured wearing a dress on the cover of Vogue, prompting conservative commentator Candace Owens calling to “bring back manly men.” Despite such comments, the move to become more inclusive and adaptive to change demonstrates the brand’s social awareness and forward thinking nature.

Petter, O., 2021. How gender fluidity is revolutionising London Fashion Week. [online] The Independent. Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/london-fashion-week-gender-neutral-lockdown-b1805341.html> [Accessed 24 March 2021].

Current Trend 1 With heightened social responsibility, consumers have begun to hold brands accountable for their lack of diversity and methods of inclusion. This has been marked by brands such as ‘AdAge,’ that work to track brand responses, and a lack thereof, to consumer groups calling for change. Emerging brands such as ‘Rare Beauty’ and ‘Savage x Fenty’ work to demonstrate an early adoption of this trend. Whereas long standing brands such as ‘London Fashion Week’ and ‘Sainsbury’s’ work to demonstrate more inclusive practises moving forward. When a brand has lacked in their methods of representation, this has been duly felt in the form of consumer backlash. This was seen in response to Nintendo’s breakout game, Animal Crossing, not including enough ethnic hairstyles within its character builder. Instead of a trend, this area could be considered more of a movement; as consumers work to encourage, and change, brand narratives for the better.

Trend Report