Riding the Wave of Diversity in Fashion
• The words futuristic and fashion seem almost synonymous in the modern world as the fashion industry aims to transform itself to become more diverse.
• The ripple effect of modernization includes three main areas: 1. rise of the market for unisex apparel that can be worn by any gender, 2. More sizes have been made available for every body type, not just the model-bodies, and 3. Fashion industry has gravitated toward people of colors as can be seen from various fashion weeks and runways.
• In the future, the trend of equality and diversity will transcend luxury in every part of the world. Brands will need to take a pre-emptive approach to adapt to this trend or they will not be able to keep up with the needs of consumers of the new generation.
Eight years ago, a book called The Future of Fashion Is Now discussed how the world of fashion was changing. Six years later, fashion magazine Vogue released a set of visual concepts called The Future Is Now with clothing that represented freedom and gender equality. In 2022 or two years later, the trend of fashion diversity has exploded unprecedentedly.
The words futuristic and fashion seem almost synonymous in the modern world as the fashion industry aims to transform itself to become more diverse. This is a result of consumers’ boredom with how the fashion world seemed to always be dominated by fair-skin models with identical body types.
The fashion industry has been developed for a long time with the concept that “fashion” should always be beautiful and luxurious. This concept has led to the blind spot and same old problem. However, the concept of luxury has not been emphasized much nowadays as a result of modernization that tends to put more value on equality and diversity.
The ripple effect of modernization includes three main areas. First is the rise of the market for unisex apparel that can be worn by any gender. It is obvious that many clothing/apparel stores nowadays tend to showcase products that look simple and can be worn by anyone of any gender. Right now, the fashion market has shifted towards Gen Z's desire for gender diversity. As a result, more and more famous fashion houses like H&M or Ader Error have started putting out more products of this style, such as H&M's Denim United collection.
The second ripple effect is the perspective on body types. Throughout the evolution of fashion industry, only those with ‘normal’ or model bodies received attention, so clothes had not been made for people with special sizes. However, nowadays more and more clothes have been manufactured to cater to different body types. Hence, it has become obvious that the competitiveness and popularity of each clothing brand will include their ability to be inclusive of customers of all sizes.
The last effect is the inclusion that refers to people of different colors. A 2021 McKinsey & Company survey reported that most black people did not even have the same access to the fashion industry as their white counterparts. However, there has been a movement to change this norm through influencers who are persons of color as well as the trend in the changing world that opens up more fashion space for these underserved group of consumers. As a result, modern clothing has been made to cater to POCs more than in the past, and their demands have been echoed on different fashion runways as well.
Finally, looking at the current fashion industry, it is clear that it has been heavily influenced by the modern movements. In the future, a new generation of people with unique ideas will fill this market, and the issue of equality and diversity will become a global trend that transcends luxury everywhere in the world. Therefore, Brands will need to take a pre-emptive approach to adapt to this trend or they will not be able to keep up with the needs of consumers of the new generation.
Sources
• Diversity Comes to The Fashion Industry
https://workforce-resources.manpowergroup.com/blog/diversity-comes-to-the-fashion-industry
• The Fashion Industry Called for Diversity, But Has It Changed? Experts Weigh In
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/future-fashion-industry
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https://brandinside.asia/future-of-fashion-is-inclusivity/