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INTRODUCTION KRISTA HELLON #1820108
AW/30 SUPERNATURAL TREND REPORT - AD5605 FASHION FORECASTING & NARRATIVES
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS
4. OVERVIEW
6. REWIRING FASHION
7. PHYGITAL
8. SUSTAINABILITY
10. LUXURY
12. BIOCOUTURE
14. 2030 TREND
16. REFERNCES 3
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O verview
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented industries and consumers with new challenges, opportunities, and attitudes to all aspects of life. “Industries are having to adapt to a new reality that demands flexibility, resilience, and creativity” – Carla Buzasi, Managing Director, WGSN (WGSN, 2020). Although some of these changes may be a reaction to ‘the new normal’ tectonic shifts in industries like fashion and trends are inevitable, making the need for innovation stronger than it’s ever been. Through extensive summer research, I have identified all aspects of change that have come about in recent months and how this will predict a future trend for 2030. My research has led me to the conclusion that the direction of the forecast will be right, innovation with sustainability at its heart.
looking at the purpose of fashion and what luxury truly means. “People have been redefining luxury through the pandemic, increasingly, health and well-being are becoming much more prized elements, alongside a sense of community and human connection,” she says (South China Morning Post, 2020). Whether we lean towards extravagance or a more restrained kind of luxury lies within each individual and perhaps isn’t a one size fits all answer. The fashion industry has been facing an existential crisis long before the pandemic hit, and some see this as an opportunity to fix the deep-rooted environmental and social issues within the system. Global Fashion Agenda has called on companies to use the aftermath of the crisis to rebuild a more responsible fashion system. The organisation has outlined six focus areas that represent opportunities to drive change like calling on executives to improve transparency and traceability in order to measure negative environmental and social impact and build trust and brand loyalty (Business of Fashion, 2020).
Clothes are like mirrors - they reflect the state of the world and how people are thinking. Some of the most ground-breaking moments in fashion have come after a crisis, one example being Dior’s revolutionary ‘New Look’ after WW2 and years of fabric rationing. Investment feels different after times of uncertainty because people will value things that are well made and designed to last. Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci argues we will want beautiful things once we get through the pandemic. Whereas Petah Marian, senior strategist at WGSN believes we are entering a time of reflection when we’re
“Clothes are like mirrors - they reflect the state of the world and how peaople are thinking”
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REWIRING FASHION A group of over 60 independent designers, executives, and retailers from around the world have published a proposal for rewiring the fashion system and resetting the fashion week calendar. “We find ourselves facing a fashion system that is less and less conducive to genuine creativity and ultimately serves the interest of nobody: not designers, not retailers, not customers – and not even our planet. It’s time to slow down and rediscover the storytelling and magic of fashion” the proposal read. It also disclaimed the practical issues they are faced with such as a fashion calendar that is out of sync with the end customer, unsustainable for industry professionals and damaging for sales, and an ‘outmoded’ fashion show format (Rewiring Fashion, 2020).
“It’s time to slow down and rediscover the storytelling and magic of fashion”
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‘PHYGITAL’
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Covid-19 has forced the fashion industry to find new ways to make their shows more optimised for digital user experience. According to Leslie Russo, the executive in charge of global fashion events for IMG, many of these changes will be lasting “there’s a lot to be gained right now by doing business in a new way,” she said. Better digital offerings have queried whether fashion weeks tied to cities are necessary when digitally advanced shows are as close as a smartphone away. Russo also predicts a big future for live streams where users can also purchase products. Shows produced by IMG will have expanded camera options to make a live-streamed event feel more energetic (Vogue Business, 2020). Burberry’s SS21 show merged the real and the virtual in the form of a live ‘Phygital’ presentation that was open for all to experience digitally (Vogue, 2020). E-commerce has had a huge impact on consumers shopping behaviour and brands are constantly finding new ways to better their offer and online presence as more and more consumers are turning to online shopping. Recent trends include the usage of user data and AI to predict and meet user’s needs (The Upcoming, 2020). Brands like Tommy Hilfiger have started using digital designs in showrooms and social media platforms like Instagram to discover which designs are most popular among users.
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S ustainability Sustainability has shifted to a mainstream concern now that consumers around the world are becoming increasingly more aware of the impact of their choices, making transparency key for brands. These concerns are especially common among Gen Z as they are becoming a larger part of the consumer market (The Upcoming 2020) and seek to express who they are rather than what they have. Designers like Christopher Raeburn are also stepping up – his ‘Raefound’ non-seasonal range of original military clothing and accessories contained no new fashion items and was personally sourced by Raeburn himself. With fashion industry waste estimated to reach 148m tons annually by 2030, according to Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group, brands are innovating with commercial programmes that drive a circular economy in the fashion sector (LSN Global, 2020). Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2020 has presented an Innovation Forum featuring some of the world’s most exciting sustainable solutions. There is a significant effort to distance from chemical processes and a greater focus on ecological and greener methods such as upcycling and recycling. Innovative brands leading the way in planet-friendly solutions to reduce the impact on the planet include SpinDye, who offers a clean and traceable colouring method for textiles, and Evrnu, a company behind a fibre technology that transforms old clothing into high quality, new raw materials (Blanc, 2020). BODE is a sustainable luxury menswear brand that expresses a sentimentality for the past through the study of personal narratives and historical techniques. BODE is a fantastic example of a luxury brand creating a deep and more meaningful engagement with today’s affluent consumer, delivering personalised narratives with its tailor-made pieces through the art of storytelling (Bode New York, 2020). 8
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Luxury brands need to redefine their purpose to reflect current societal shifts now new generations of demanding consumers are rewriting the rules of the industry. Luxe Digital believes existential luxury will be one of the themes that will take centre stage in the future. “Luxury will be refined to its very essence – raw, sensible, deeply rooted in craftsmanship and fuelled by innovation” (Luxe Digital, 2020). Brands need to deliver a range of personalised experiences and reinvent both their business models and values to fit modern digital-infused lifestyles, empowering individual identities and expressions. Luxury brands need to adapt their message to a contemporary cultural context to offer personal relevance now that relevance has become the new legacy (Luxe Digital, 2020).
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“LUXURY WILL BE REFINED DOWN TO IT’S VERY ESSENCE”
INTRODUCTION
B iocouture
The traditional model of making clothes and then selling them is shifting towards selling clothes and then making them. On-demand manufacturing is a concept that reduces overproduction while providing affordable personalisation to customers. The business model is an alternative to the mass production of clothing, offering a more sustainable model with small batch production cycles and reduced levels of overstock. One downside to this is the production costs are generally higher due to the small batch sizes used. However, on-demand manufacturing offers customers more say in their design choices with bespoke clothing measured and made for them personally, created in just a few clicks on their smartphone. Lectra, a technology company located in Paris at the forefront of this movement has recently launched a solution that automates the entire personalisation process from product development to final cutting (Fashion United, 2019).
The smart thing about this concept is that it’s biodegradable and compostable, so you could essentially throw it away as you would with your vegetable peelings, eliminating waste and reducing the impact of old-world practices. Ultimately, Suzanne believes the future will be about designing the bacteria to spin the thread to give it the qualities desired. One example is delivering nutritious qualities to your skin by genetically engineering them into the material. With the increased concern over our health and wellbeing brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, perhaps in the future, we could genetically engineer certain health-enhancing qualities into our clothing that’s personal to each individual and their specific needs. Not only is the fashion industry looking towards single-celled organisms as their future, but packaging producers are also experimenting with fungi to grow biodegradable replacements for products like bubble wrap and polystyrene (The Girl, 2020). Packaging will play a dominant role in delivering premium experiences to luxury e-commerce, presenting a challenge for many brands to find an equal balance between luxurious packaging and sustainability goals. According to Luxe Digital, we will see more luxury brands experimenting with new sustainable practices, digital storytelling, and reimagining how they can turn their packaging into treasured keepsakes (Luxe Digital, 2020).
‘The Next Black’ is a film looking at some of the most innovative companies in the world to get their opinion on clothing and its future. ‘Biocouture’ is a design consultancy founded by Suzanne Lee focused on bringing living and biological materials into fashion and sportswear. It is an innovative concept where bacteria produce materials that can create clothes. “The recipe that I’ve been exploring to grow a piece of clothing is using a symbiotic mix of yeast and bacteria,” Lee said. “It’s a fermentation method that grows bacterial cellulose, it’s kind of like a vegetable leather if you like” (The Girl, 2020).
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CONCLUSION In conclusion to this introduction, my trend for 2030 will be based on the scientific and sustainable production technologies that will change the world and how we live forever. In a new socially distanced world, clothing has the power to become a second skin, offering protection, comfort, and reassurance for those venturing out into the unknown.
REFERENCES WGSN. (2020). 2022 Future Consumer. Retrieved from https://createtomorrowwgsn.com/1927340/?fbclid=IwAR3edyGdO_VuBefDAw7QzkkTSSfZ9NQ5wqLJRHL6B1TT4TznrB728Ec09ks South China Morning Post. (2020). What will the focus of fashion be after the coronavirus? Post-pandemic designer wear, from uber glam to understated. Retrieved from https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3095142/what-will-focus-fashion-be-after-coronavirus-post-covid-19 Business of Fashion. (2020). A Proposal for Rewiring the Fashion System. Retrieved from https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/a-proposal-for-rewiring-the-fashion-system Rewiring Fashion. (2020). Rewiringfashion. Retrieved from https:// www.rewiringfashion.org Vogue Business. (2020). New York Fashion Week is going to vastly change. Here’s how. Retrieved from https://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/new-york-fashion-week-is-going-to-vastly-change-heres-how The Upcoming. (2020). The future of fashion. Retrieved from https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2020/07/01/the-future-of-fashion/ LSN Global. (2020). Christopher Raeburn’s new collection is entirely circular. Retrieved from https://www.lsnglobal.com/news/article/25694/christopher-raeburn-s-new-collection-is-entirely-circular Vogue. (2020). Burberry’s Immersive Digital SS21 Show Is Open For All. Retrieved from https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/burberry-digital-fashion-show-ss21 Blanc. (2020). 5 Trends That Will Shape the Future of Fashion. Retrieved from https://blancliving.co/blogs/news/5-positive-trends-that-will-shape-the-future-of-fashion Bode New York. (2020). Bode New York about. Retrieved from https://www.bodenewyork.com/pages/about Luxe Digital. (2020). The Future of Luxury: Trends to Stay Ahead in 2020. Retrieved from https://luxe.digital/business/digital-luxury-trends/luxury-future-trends/ Fashion United. (2019). Future of Fashion: Production – sustainable, high-tech and on-demand. Retrieved from https://fashionunited.uk/ case/future-of-fashion-production-sustainable-high-tech-and-on-demand The Girl. (2020). What is Biocouture?. Retrieved from https://www. thegirl.co.uk/what-is-biocouture/ Campaign. (2020). Luxury 2030: what luxury brands need to start doing now. Retrieved from https://www.campaignasia.com/article/luxury-2030-what-luxury-brands-need-to-start-doing-now/456408 .
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