A New Reality
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Luke Owen
A Trend in 2030... 2030 is still 9 years away, but through research and delving in to the fashion industry, we can predict and create narratives based off this research to visualize and show what we believe fashion will look like in 2030, looking at not just the visual topics, but sustainability, which market levels will lead this change and the landscape as a whole. Fashion and technology are two of some of the biggest markets in the world nowadays, with technological advances being made every year, through entertainment, medical and automotive industries. But what about the collision of fashion and technology, this would add a completely new dimension to how we consume fashion, to how we buy fashion, to how we attend fashion shows and how we share fashion content online. One of the biggest innovations in the gaming industry in particular is virtual reality and the exponential growth in recent years has shown this is a trend that will more than likely be one of the main focuses in technology over the next decade, evolving and adapting with the times, helping shape the gaming industry and I believe, the fashion industry as well. The global pandemic has seen the rise of gaming and platforms such as gaming consoles and VR, with home entertainment being the only entertainment we’ve allowed to indulge in, these fields have seen a quicker advancement than originally planned. This has also carried into the fashion industry, with virtual fashion shows taking place. For example, Patrick Dowell, in 2020. During 2020, with the global pandemic causing many changes to many lives and meaning people have to adapt to a ‘new normal’, this has meant people have tried to find a new way to entertain themselves and consume content safely, at home. VR has seen a good 2020, with a content spend of $1bn in 2020, selling over 6.4 million headsets in the year (Dams, 2020). One of the biggest selling points for VR at the moment is the nature of how different it is compared to turning on the TV or going on your phone, it offers something that these can’t, a full immersive experience in a virtual world that can be literally anything that you can make digitally, which nowadays is so much more expansive that reality itself.
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As I have mentioned, gaming and the multiple platforms of gaming have seen exponential growth year on year for years now. On a casual level, according to statistics from Statista, revenue in the video gaming industry is expected to reach in excess of £4.733bn in 2021 and this will rise to well over £6bn in 2025. This growth shows over all statistical areas in gaming, with more and more people gaming, the numbers show that 46.2 million people, or just over 68% of the UK population play games of some sort (Video Games, 2021). Whether this be a mobile game on their lunch break at school or an online multiple game they play on a £2000 computer every night after work, the scope in terms of what this industry covers is exceptional. With this information, its clear to see the narrative within the gaming industry and where it is going, but how does this benefit fashion and how can the fashion industry use this to their advantage?
The target audiences within both industries are shifting, with younger generations who have grown up surrounded by technology coming to the forefront, with generation Z’s and generation Alpha’s becoming this target market. Many brands within fashion are looking to shift their focus and attract these younger age groups, we’ve seen collaborations that have started this already, with The North Face and Gucci’s latest collaboration being just this. I’ll use this example to describe the effective transition that is happening at the moment. In Gucci, you have a brand that is royalty in the fashion world, always remaining relevant and having some of the biggest names in the world wearing and representing them, but, its seen as a brand more aimed at the millennial audience. But this millennial audience in recent years has lost the disposable income that it used to have with many millennials settling down and starting families or buying longer term investments like houses or cars. How do they create a new connection to a younger audience who have different interests and different aspirational brands? This is where TNF come in (The North Face)… 3
Probably one of the most worn brands across gen Z’s and Alpha’s is TNF, and that signature Nuptse puffer jacket. TNF have a strong presence within many types of fashion, whilst being practical as well as fashionable, the need for other brands isn’t necessary and this creates a singular need for TNF, providing coats, casualwear and accessories. Then when combined with Gucci, you have a product that younger people can relate to in terms of style because of TNF side but also an exposure to the luxury market in a way they would want to consume, through a brand they know. Parallel’s can be drawn between this collaboration and the combining of gaming and fashion. The fashion industry is Gucci, finding new ways to appeal to a new audience, through new ways of communication. The gaming industry is TNF, with a finger on the pulse of the younger generations and first refusal on these new ways of communicating to the younger markets.
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Its not as black and white as the whole fashion industry changing completely. I think there will be an entry market level that will be more suited to this change and that is the luxury market and the use of higher end technology and resources. It’s not going to simply be a new way of purchasing fashion, but it will change how we not only buy and consume, but how we wear fashion and how we share our fashion with the world. I think the luxury market would have a bigger impact with this because of the likes of Off-White and Balenciaga having an aesthetic or ‘vibe’ if you will, that people aspire to and through the innovation and access through technology, more and more people would be able to have access to this. Creating a bigger and more expansive luxury market, whilst initially this might sound like a negative aspect as the luxury market loses it’s ‘exclusivity’. This boost in accessibility also comes with more exposure to groups of people who weren’t previously interested in that particular market, this new wave of people could be a more gaming orientated person or someone who’s gained access to these brands through the natural growth and expansion of global social communication. In terms of storytelling, I think the higher markets can hone in on this, especially using virtual reality and the immersivity of it already shows that in 2030, this will be next level in terms of portraying and creating stories and campaigns people can relate to and immerse themselves in. In terms of runway shows and zealous advertising campaigns, the luxury is always looking for new ways to standout and show why their products should have that higher stature and demand the limelight. One of the most talked about topics in fashion at the moment is sustainability and how unethical the fashion industry can be and is. This exposure has shown us how damaging not only the high consumption of fast fashion can be, purchasing cheaply made clothes at a surplus rate that has a lasting and damaging effect on the environment and global warming, but the luxury market is at fault for the amount of waste it goes through annually. According to statistics, around 9 million tons of fashion waste was landfilled in 2018, and 95% of this was supposedly recyclable and wasn’t recycled or reused. Second to oil, the clothing and textile industry is the largest polluter in the world, with the industry producing 2.1 billion tons of CO2eq, this represents 4% of global carbon emissions and more combined, than France, the UK and Germany. (Fashion Industry Waste Statistics , n.d.) 5
A digital revamp could reduce the numbers of waste and pollution within fashion a lot, through virtual reality and the use of it, we can reduce the amount of physical waste and textile waste immensely. Instead of the need of buying and consuming physical fashion, travelling and polluting to do this. We can purchase, experience, wear and share our luxury fashion through virtual fashion. One of the biggest positives would be the reduction of waste and fabric waste in particular. With virtual reality, comes only the limitation of what you can imagine, not what you can source from another country or what you materials you can afford. Continuing from the limitations or lack of with virtual reality. With technology, has come a new wave of creativity and a new way of expressing this creativity, but the fashion industry doesn’t reflect this. This fashion conscious consumer, mostly from the generation Z’s shows a uniformity and conformity to trends and what is acceptable to wear. This trend that has consumed the likes of Instagram in particular has shown that people are more interested in wearing what they think other people would want them to wear, what other people would accept them wearing, not necessarily the thoughts and wants of what they themselves want to wear. This described in one word would be the generational ‘uniform’ a lot of people are living in, through no reason other than social acceptance which is hindering the fashion industry, in the short term and long term will be very self-destructive. Is virtual reality the answer? I believe so. Aiding in the shift of consumer market, helping change the tide of unsustainable practices within the fashion industry and finally, creating and carving opportunities against a solely trend-based industry. Creating an ‘Anti-Uniform’.
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References Dams, T. (2020, December 10). 2020 in Review: Virtual Reality Gets Real. Retrieved from IBC: https://www.ibc.org/trends/2020-in-review-virtual-reality-gets-real/7106.article Fashion Industry Waste Statistics . (n.d.). Retrieved from EdgeXPO: https://edgexpo. com/fashion-industry-waste-statistics/ Video Games. (2021). Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/outlook/203/156/video-games/united-kingdom?currency=gbp#market-globalRevenue
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