Samantha Hartley / 14006142 / DE1132 Contemporary Design Influences
Discuss and debate the factors affecting ‘The Future Fashion Experience’ “The fashion industry is a product of the modern age” (Themes, R, 2015). Branded as a fast- paced and increasingly complex world of creativity, fashion is immersed in a global desire to consume. This study is going to discuss and debate the concept of fashion through ‘the future fashion experience.’ The survival of the fashion industry relies heavily upon regular style changes. With the adoption of a strategy referred to as ‘fast fashion’, designed to exploit new trends as quickly as possible, companies are able to fulfil the short term needs of the everchanging consumer. With a shift in consumer behaviour, fast fashion has brought about a blur between high street and high end fashion, without the price tag, and without thought of longevity. Working on the basis of reducing mass production and increasing the number of fashion seasons, quickly replacing two wardrobe seasons a year for upwards of twenty, (Siegle, L, 2011) fast fashion is able to exploit minimal production costs to match supply with uncertain demand. Targeting a generation of those surrounded and immersed in technology, where all aspects of life are instantly gratified, retailers are forced to be more responsive to new trends, offering a wider choice that has ultimately fuelled demand and heightened the consumer expectation seen today. With the fashion industry most susceptible to trends, today’s styles are quickly overriding yesterdays, arguably leading to the rise of disposable fashion. As factories are pushed to their maximum capacities, and front page exposure is leaked to the media, consumers are becoming more aware of the environmental impact of the fashion industry. For example, the 2013 debacle of high street retailer, Primark which revealed their Bangladeshi factory collapsing due to unsafe working conditions, resulting in the death of around 1400 young workers (Gayle, D, 2013). Situations like this carry huge shock to the Western consumer, who happily
Samantha Hartley / 14006142 / DE1132 Contemporary Design Influences
continues to purchase cheap goods in the knowledge that cheap labour and poor working conditions have been exploited. More and more time is now dedicated to seek solutions to the “Primark effect” (Poulter, S, 2008) – the growing quantities of discarded clothing being sent to landfill. In a corporate attempt to salvage business and regain the trust of consumers, companies that previously had a major impact on the environment are now becoming a part of the solution. ‘Slow fashion’ has also taken off over recent years. The slower fashion is presented by bespoke and longer life products encompassing minimal impact and waste. But how does keeping clothes for longer compete with the ‘must have’ imperative for constantly changing fashions? From a consumer perspective, value is important. Slow fashion allows you to appreciate what you have for longer as it does not demand that you throw it away when something new emerges. As well as this, buying less clothes can make you more sustainable and save on the energy of constantly producing new garments. For example, you may spend more on a pair of black tailored trousers, a staple in the wardrobe, than you would on a pair of ripped jeans. Technological advances continue to underpin the fashion industry, with rapid progression in this area complimenting fashion’s constant evolution. Future fashions will soon reflect the complexities of the modern society we operate today, allowing garments to become more compatible with their surrounding environment. As fashion shifts beyond traditional craftsmanship and embraces a more wireless future, fashion is driven to act as a technological device that is clever enough to gauge the wearer’s needs and respond accordingly. Synthetic performance fabric, Coolmax, is a great example of this. The sportswear fabric can sense an increase in moisture and with this, move perspiration away from the body where it can evaporate fast, allowing the wearer to feel cooler and more comfortable. The future of fashion will aim to maximise the use of performance. With many of us on
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the go, our expectations and demands of the industry have changed over time. People are now looking for garments that serve a purpose beyond the visual aesthetics, and fashion will likely evolve to accommodate the need for protection. Thanks to modern security and safety systems, we are now a nation statistically safer than ever before (Casey, K, 2011), with protection a key concern. Fashion is readily becoming a part of this solution with scientists and researchers developing new textiles that create protective clothing for a range of applications. Many of these innovations have the potential to form part of the wardrobe of the future. For example, the future wardrobe may introduce elements of synthetic fibre, Kevlar, a stronger-than-steel, lightweight fibre often used in bulletproof vests. If a garment is an extension of the body, then its surface is an extension of the skin and future fashion will be inextricably linked with our experience wearing it. Despite interactive technology being present for some time, very few fashion brands have integrated technology that allows their clothing to become interactive. Wearing a garment can open up a wide range of emotions, which, in turn, has the ability to change how you feel and future fashion will drive on this notion. An example of this interactivity is with technology driven company ‘Iconeme,’ who have recently installed interactive mannequins in three UK stores, Hawes & Curtis, House of Fraser and Bentalls. A first for the retail industry, the interactive mannequins operate from a ‘VMBeacon’ that allow customers to receive details via an app on their smartphone about the clothes on display. This encourages a constant engagement that is vital for success in today’s society aiming to heighten consumer experience as well as drive further sales. Within a 50m radius of the VMBeacon enabled mannequin, consumers will receive an automatic alert to launch the app and explore the look, discover the location of items in store and visit the retailers online, as well as a range of other functions programmed by the retailer. This acts as an incentive to shop and introduces a bridge between the online and in-store shopping experience that is likely to be compelled in the future. In years to come, the current decade could be characterised as a culture of self-reliance.
Samantha Hartley / 14006142 / DE1132 Contemporary Design Influences
Banks have long encouraged us to withdraw and pay in money without the interaction of a cashier and self-checkouts in stores encourage the same principle. Today we are invited to design our own garments turning the consumer into the designer. Take leading sportswear brand, Nike, who focus their competitive strategy on customisation and creating personal consumer experiences, allowing you to design your own sportswear and trainers online. As well as this, with the rise of online shopping growing 15.8% in 2014 (Centre for Retail Research, 2014), consumers are becoming less loyal to brands but rather more loyal to websites selling brands as it is often more convenient to have shopping delivered straight to the door. The advancements of virtual stores leaves consumers with little need to leave home as content improves to show live streamed fashion shows, and style blogs offering an experience beyond the extent of the store. Whilst the magnification on most sites enables a more detailed examination of a product down to the fibres than what the naked eye could do in-store, they have yet to find an online substitute for physical touch. Despite the recession, luxury sales are thriving globally. The luxury consumer now wants a product that they cannot get easily forcing the market to constantly rethink their approach to ensure the consumer doesn’t get bored. As more and more consumers buy in to the luxury market, the industry must question how they can remain exclusive whilst being so accessible. The influence of the celebrity will also play a major role in the future of fashion. Over the last few decades, celebrities have evolved from being a part of fashion culture to now being a central aspect. With celebrities now acting as walking billboards for brands, the role of the celebrity often persuades consumers to buy into products through aspiration, such as supermodel Kate Moss for Rimmel London Cosmetics. In conclusion, the future of fashion lies in many forms. With our culture rapidly distorting into a culture of consumption, it is fundamental that as consumers, we alter the thought process. "What I'm always trying to say to the consumer is: buy less, choose well, make
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it last." – Vivienne Westwood. Ultimately, if fashion is to be sustainable to the consumer market, then changes are needed in the way we produce, sell and consume. As Katharine Hamnett reiterates “How we consume shapes the future of our planet.” The increased media coverage of the industry has created an undeniable demand for a greener approach to future fashion, but providing fast fashion remains as cheap and as popular as we see today, more consumption will be encouraged, creating a viscous fashion cycle that will no doubt cause huge disruption to our planet. Whilst we all want to see a more sustainable future, it also stimulates many concerns; who would actually be prepared to pay for it? A sobering thought in the current economic climate.
Samantha Hartley / 14006142 / DE1132 Contemporary Design Influences
Image Reference List Image 1: Harding, E. (2013). Rescuers use massive strips of cloth as escape chutes after Primark factory in Bangladesh collapses killing at least 275 people. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ article2313974/Bangladesh- Rescuers-usemassive-strips-cloth- escape-chutes-textilefactory- collapses-killing-275-people.html. Last accessed 25th March 2015. Image 2: Faull, J. (2014). Primark revenue 'a fraction' off ÂŁ5bn as it plots US expansion following 'magnificent' year. Available: http://www.thedrum.com/news /2014/11/04/primark-revenue-fraction- 5bn-itplots-us-expansion-following- magnificentyear. Last accessed 25th March 2015.
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