The recession has made us rethink our fashion statements. It’s been well commented that the recession has to a great extent affected the fashion industry. Although recessions occur once every 15-20 years, this current recession we’re in is going to have a prolonged effect on what we think of fashion. We are living in a very practical age these days. Before these pragmatic days we’re now living in, we delighted in the frivolity of fashion – nothing was costly or too excessive – you could only be accused of being too boring. It’s different today though : the fashion labels and catwalks are copping a bad press. Even looking at the the more affordable brands, suddenly they’re under fire for sweatshop factories. What went wrong? Why is it that the public are turning against fashion brands like this?
Not at all. People need fashion, and forever will. It is burned into our pysche to spot new styles! In fact, looking on the internet there is tough competition between online shop retailers (e.g. looking for clutch bags) – a signal there is still a great demand for fashion. What’s long gone is the old way we viewed fashion – of being dictated to by the established fashion labels. In reality, fashion has always followed the public rather than the other way around, and nowadays many factors are turning us off big fashion labels. For a start, people are very much more mindful of globalization, and showing off your fashion labels makes you look narcissistic and inconsiderate in many peer groups today. Secondly, we’re bust! Fashion has forever been a luxury, not an essential. In an economic downturn, luxury items get hit the hardest. Finally, people define themselves a lot more individually nowadays – groups of friends are more tight-knit, we no longer view ourselves as being part of large groups, and fashion demands that type of herd-like thinking to sell in numbers.
What is the future for fashion brands? Like always, they need to change to survive – create a greater range of clothing lines to cater to more corners of the marketplace. If you’re a boutique shop selling unique clothing at a cheap price, you have a strong business model in spite of the dismal economic times we are experiencing. These days, people are fusing their styles, purchasing from marketplaces and more personal, low-priced fashion stores.