#fashioncontexts

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The 5 Best Sustainable Fashion Brands for Women

1.Thought

Thought’s pieces are made from natural, recycled and organic fabrics. GOTS-certified organic cotton, hemp, Tencel and recycled PET all feature in the collections and dyes are azo-free. Thought also makes clothing in one place to keep its carbon footprint down.

2. P.i.C Style

Discovered by two fashion-designer friends, the London brand’s philosophy is to help people buy less, know where their clothes come from and who makes them. Its collection of just eight pieces will give you a total 50 looks.  

3. People Tree

Since it started 25 years ago, People Tree has made fair trade practices their main priority.  It supports producers in the developing world across and is a member of the World Fair Trade Organisation. Clothes are made from environmentally friendly fabrics like organic cotton and wood-pulp-derived Tencel.

4.Kowtow

 The New Zeland brand have said its pieces are ethically and sustainably made “from seed to garment”. This means fair trade and organic-certified cotton, dyes free of chemicals and safe and fair working conditions in the Indian factory where pieces are made.

5.Beaumont Organic

Manchester-based Beaumont Organic’s aim is to create “contemporary conscious clothing”. The pieces are made from organic, fair trade and eco-friendly fabrics, with most incorporating GOTS-certified cotton. 

By Ellie Williams

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The Generational Difference of Retail Consumers: Generation X,Y and Z

Generation X

Generation X is actually quite often forgotten about and represent people born between 1965 and 1980. They produce 31 % of total US income despite representing only 25 % of the population.

Generation X tends to shop more conservatively than other generations. They’re more sceptical about marketing tactics adopted by retailers, which means they only persuaded to make a purchase practicality and with proof of the quality of the product. To ensure they don’t regret their purchase decisions, they won’t buy a product until they’ve researched it thoroughly using all platforms including search engines, online reviews, and social media networks. That being said, having any doubts about product performance will easily dissuade them from their buying journey. Most importantly, they rely on quality customer service for brand loyalty as they see store associates as people who can relate to them and can relay the most trustworthy and best options for their purchases.

Generation Y (Millennials)

Generation Y, also known as Millennials, are currently aged 20-34 and were born between 1980 and 1995. For this generation, they see shopping as a social event and derive enjoyment from shopping in physical retail spaces and like to have that tactile, tangible experience in a store. They feel that this adds to their overall interaction with the brand. According to Gen Buy, the majority of Millennials admit that they shop with other people at least half the time, and a total of 60% consider advice from their friends when deciding what to buy.

Similar to Generation X, this generation is also sceptical of overbearing marketing tactics. They often dismiss retailers who constantly push products through advertising and messaging. Instead, they prefer authentic interactions with sales associates who happen to also be consumers of their retailer’s products. Millennials are also likely to interact with brands and retailers through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Generation Z

This generation consists of people born 1995 or later. Combined with Millennials, these two generations represent almost half of the buying public. However, the Millennials and Generation Z ’s shopping habits are very different. For ‘Gen Z’ the shopping experience isn’t as vital and instead their main priority is the feedback they get in social media when the post pictures of their purchases.

Gen Z is the generation that can’t remember a time before the Internet. Therefore, they heavily rely on the digital resources they have to compare prices, styles, availability, and ratings of products to make the most educated purchase possible.  They also are more selective when making big expenditures and often only buy products when they’re on sale. Like Millennials, providing comments that voice their opinions and concerns online. Whilst much of their research is digital, Gen Z still enjoys visiting stores as a social excursion in the same way Millennials do. This means that brick-and-mortar stores still remain relevant with 58% still choosing this as their favourite method of shopping despite the recent growth in e-commerce.

By Ellie Williams

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A picture is worth a thousand words

As a Fashion Communication student, I am often asked what I actually study. Usually, when thinking of Fashion, people picture the design part, which is why my course is often confused with just that. It ends up with me having to explain how complex my course is, and how much I actually learn: everything that helps communicate in the fashion industry. Once the clothes are designed and ready, it is the communicator’s job to bring them to the attention of the public, bring them to life, tell a story, do anything and everything in their power to make that item sold. 

Fashion Communication includes Journalism and Editorial, Photography, Film, PR and Branding (including Social Media), Trend Forecasting, Fashion Space. 

The very best example I can give is fashion photography. So much can be expressed through a single photo. There is so much photography out there, in magazines and online. Through fashion photography, not only do brands and magazines try to get a collection sold, but they also communicate a story, a theme, a concept.  

One of my favourite editorials is this one in Fashion Magazine Winter 2018 starring Zendaya, shot by Arkan Zakharov. First things that come to my mind are disco and natural beauty. Here, Zendaya is the queen of disco, bringing this music genre back to life again, modernising it. She is embracing her natural hair and her beautiful features through minimal makeup. She is fearless, powerful, strong. It’s bold, stunning.     

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Having a moment: Head-to-Toe Animal Print

Animal-inspired fashion prints are set to be the trend for the upcoming Autumn season! Seen all over the Milan fall/ winter 2018-19 runway, whether it be bright and bold or understated and sophisticated, there are endless ways to make this print work as part of your autumn/ winter wardrobe this year. 

By Ellie Williams

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Retail Shopping vs Online Shopping: The Big Debate

Online shopping has never been easier and it is continually being perceived as the most convenient option for consumers. With this growing popularity of online shopping, rising brands and new businesses no longer need to open a physical store and instead opting for an online market. One of the reasons for this is that the option of an online store is much cheaper than a retail storefront as it allows the avoidance the rent and bills associated with maintaining a physical store.

Despite predictions that e-commerce would jeopardize the need for a physical retail store, according to research from TimeTrade, 85% of consumers have said they would still prefer to shop in physical stores as opposed to online. Even though there has been an undeniable rise in e-commerce, the brick-and-mortar stores are still as ever relevant and evidently from this study, remain favourable. But why is this the case when online shopping is deemed the most convenient?

The California Institute of Technology found that a consumer is willing to pay significantly more for products they can view in person. This is due to the fact that it is desirable to have that tactile experience with the ability to see, touch and feel products which is an element a physical store can offer but an online competitor can’t. Thus, for particular designer brands and fashion houses who offer high- value items, a retail storefront is more suitable and will generate a higher profit on their products by driving consumer appeal through offering a more personal retail experience.

It seems that through the balance between our desire for the convenience of modern technology and also a personal, social experience, both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores remain relevant in the fashion retail sector. However, with these recent studies revealing that physical stores are gradually becoming more favourable for consumers, will there be a future shift in dominance that will jeopardize the growth of the online fashion market?

By Ellie Williams

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Pop up stores - the future of retailing

Pop up stores are a trend of opening short-term sales spaces. They are the perfect way for online stores to make an appearance, to promote their products and have the customers actually experience before buying them online. That is why most pop up stores don’t actually sale their items: they are there just to give the customer an experience. Or, to connect with the customers they were not able to reach online. It’s the future of retailing, transforming the traditional store and modernising it, but still keeping the offline aspect in a world where everything is online.

The pop up space is temporary, and it can be anywhere, lasting from a day to a few months. The trend involves "popping up" one day, then disappearing. There are multiple benefits to this: marketing, testing products or locations, and a low-cost way of starting a business.

Moreover, pop up stores are a perfect way for artists to engage their fans even more. Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West or Frank Ocean created their own pop up stores in order to sell their merchandise and to communicate with their fans, express their ideas and bring them into their world. ASAP Rocky even created his own bodega in collaboration with Selfridges. It’s their way of trying something new, but bringing some exclusivity by making it temporary.

A few pop up stores ranked by hypebeast.com as the best, in no particular order:

1. KITH x Nike - New York, 2016

2. A$AP ROCKY AWGE x SELFRIDGES BODEGA - London, 2017

3. VIRGIL ABLOH x NIKE “THE TEN” - New York, 2017

4. VETEMENTS - Hong Kong, 2017

5. SUPREME X LOUIS VUITTON - 12 locations including Beijing, California and Hawaii, 2017

6. THE LIFE OF PABLO by Kanye West - 21 cities including NYC, LA and San Francisco, 2016

7. DAMN EU by Kendrick Lamar - Paris, London, Oslo, Frankfurt, Antwerp, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Rotterdam, 2018

8. MASTERMIND WORLD x THE NORTH FACE URBAN EXPLORATION - Beijing, 2017

9. Off-White™ x Le Bon Marche Pop-Up Cafe (”Off-White™ recently announced its latest collaborative venture for the busy brand, this time a pop-up cafe with French retailer Le Bon Marche”) - Paris, 2018

10. ADIDAS ”KNIT FOR YOU” - Berlin, 2017

Not included in the list by hypebeast.com, but my personal favourite, is the Glossier pop up in London. It was open for only about one week, 15th to 22nd of November 2017, but it was a perfect way to promote the brand, after they just arrived to the UK. As you can expect, every big fashion magazine website wrote an article promoting the pop up. A few examples are vogue.co.uk, instyle.co.uk, glamourmagazine.co.uk, refinery.co.uk or harpersbazaar.co.uk.

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Fashion research

Being a Fashion Communication student, I constantly need to stay informed and do some research on any given topic. At the beginning of my first year of university, I was confused. I had no idea where to find the information I needed, but through searching and practicing, I finally got an idea how to do research. Now that I have this blog, I need to constantly create content on a lot of given topics, so I have to find the information somehow. 

The only place where I get my research from is the Internet. I love how, just by Googling the right thing, I have the possibility to find thousands of websites that provide me with the information I need, and for free. Many websites focus on fashion: fashion business, fashion journalism, PR, branding, basically all of the sectors of the industry. 

Moreover, most social media websites can be very useful when doing your fashion research. Instagram and Pinterest are my favourite, because they provide both engaging content and beautiful pictures that are perfect to use in my blog posts or other assignments that I have due. 

Northumbria University, where I study, offers us the possibility to access loads of online books on the library website. Our lecturers give us a list of books that they recommend us to read for each module, which is so useful  when writing an essay for a module.  

For my latest blog post “Fashion illustrators you need to follow now!”, I did my research on Vogue.com, HarpersBazaar.com and Stylecaster.com, and I found the pictures on Instagram. 

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Illustration Inspiration of the Week: Clément Louis

Click here to find out more about the artist.

Instagram:@clementlouis

Tumblr: http://clementlouis.tumblr.com/

By Ellie Williams