I'm always looking for indications of future trends in fashion, clothing and lifestyle brands.
Over the past week, a few things have been brought to my awareness through several key conversations I have had and articles I've read, plus some of my own musings. These have started to indicate something that I find quite interesting, quite a critical question for those involved in a brand's supply chain in the future.
There are several seemingly unconnected incidents that, when connected, point to something approaching a future trend.
Last Saturday, I woke up very early and started to browse the BBC website. I was attracted to an article on 'Misguided', the now almost bankrupt fast fashion brand. Recently bought by Fraser/Sports Direct in a fire sale for 20MGBP, the CEO, Nitin Passi, stepped down in May. Since then, Alteri Investors Corporation has been operating the company with suppliers forcing bankruptcy due to their unpaid invoices. The company was cited as claiming the global shipping crisis, inflated courier costs and supply chain challenges to have impacted the business so much that they could no longer trade.
The next item is: I heard that Zara is charging for returns. It may only be 1.95 GBP, but it is a charge, which we would hope would discourage customers from buying 5 and keeping 1.
My next question is: Is the fast fashion business model effective any longer? Does it really work? When we look at low price entry clothing coming from third world countries, we find a model that requires a lot of stock and inventory, plus a requirement to move this through logistics, the cost of which has escalated.
It certainly points to a chink in the armour of the previously seemingly impenetrable fast fashion industry. When we put all these challenges onto this model, it can't really work anymore.
The next question is on the proposed European legislation on Fast Fashion. As someone engaged in the Financial Times Non-executive Direct Programme, I spent a large chunk of time last weekend reviewing directors' responsibilities and what they could be held accountable for. Having been pondering the above questions and considering the European legislation, what are the potential issues for anybody on the board of a large fashion company? Are the Boards willing to take on these accountabilities? Who will take them seriously, and who will be the first to be impacted.
The future of Fashion is about Sustainable Fashion in many aspects, through Design, Materials, Sourcing and Regulation. By 2030, it will be impossible to ignore legislation implemented, and the cost of entry to Fast Fashion will become much higher and considered. So, looking forward to seeing how the state of Fashion 2030 will be, let's look forward to Fashion being a "force for good".
Thanks
Kate Padget-Koh