For people who do fashion brands, time has stitches, and a stitch and a thread lead to the story behind the brand, and the runway is usually the communication field of this story, and the exchange in this field has undoubtedly become Generation Z.
Image from Prada
Speaking of Generation Z, we have to talk about the concept of "circle layer", but playing this concept to a high level is not something that only exists today. Let's take our thoughts back to the 19th century, and the story begins with this Englishman named Charles Frederick Worth.
Charles Frederick Worth
Charles, who was originally a small tailor with no name, was able to transform himself into a royal designer and later the "father of couture", perhaps people at that time would feel that he was due to his pioneering designs. However, in today's view, he is an uncompromising "heart boy", excellent craftsmanship can only become his stepping stone, so that he really stands in the center of the European fashion stage, he will know how to use KOLs (duchesses) to "sell stories" and carry out "circle marketing".
Of course, the circle layer at that time was only a broad circle layer distinguished by class, but the upper class also had the fixed preferences of the upper class, so he let his beautiful wife wear the clothes he designed to "walk the catwalk" in front of the nobility, which undoubtedly became the earliest form of "carrying goods", and the show also naturally became the best carrier of fashion communication. After all, there is no gimmick, what aristocrat has the leisure to listen to a tailor tell his design story?
The movie "The Phantom Sewer" is the prototype of the story
In this way, there is nothing new under the sun, although today's fashion brands are still marketing with a set of techniques that were used a hundred years ago. But what we care about is, why does this set still work today? How do today's brands communicate with Gen Z through the runway?
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<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Gen Z who pay for "personalization</h1>."
Humans as emotional animals crave the deeper connections that stories provide, and many successful brands know this and use that understanding to dominate their consumers. For the luxury industry, Generation Z is by far the most influential consumer group, because whether they are buying luxury goods today or not, they will have to start buying sooner or later.
In the "2021 China Luxury Products Report" jointly released by Ruder Finn Communication Group and the Precision Market Research Center, it is pointed out that Gen Z consumers (21-25 years old) have become an important force in luxury consumption, and their consumption concept, in addition to "improving the quality of life" (52%), they pay more attention to "expressing their achievements" (38%), and they also value the recommendation of KOLs.
It can also be seen from KPMG's "China's Online Shopping Consumers" report that when the same young millennials choose luxury goods, in addition to service and quality, the most important thing is the "expression of personality".
For today's young people, fashion is less associated with "integration into others and society", and more of a reflection of self-identity. They were more interested in how the brand I chose had in common with my views, lifestyle and priorities. J. J. Thompson Advertising Agency Walter Thompson) noted in "Innovation Group Trends", published in May 2015: "Gen Z is a refined and curious optimist who questions everything from formal education to gender politics. ”
Once the Chinese people chose luxury goods, more importantly, they valued "scarcity". Therefore, luxury goods are also fascinated by a thick historical image and a high sense of coldness, but as the post-90s and post-00s gradually become the main force of consumption, "high on top" cannot make them pay for it with a rebellious spirit. The biggest contributor to this change in preferences compared to the past is the explosion of information. The Internet has no secrets, which means that if you hang people's appetites, it will make people have no appetite, but it will appear extremely uninspired.
Luxury brands that realize this are seeking to "get younger", so who is the story king on the luxury runway?
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<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > talk to young people, you must first learn to take the pulse</h1>
/"Genderless" trends/
When it comes to the players who will "do things" on the runway, Chanel is definitely on the list, and on the road of brand "rejuvenation", it is also the first to smell the trend and react quickly, but this does not mean that it is just pandering.
At Chanel's Spring/Summer 2016 fashion show, 15-year-old Ouyang Nana became the top guest and sounded the Clarion Call of Generation Z. Immediately after the Chanel 2015/16 autumn/winter couture runway, the grand palais in Paris turned into a casino, the Asian top Kwon Ji-yong, the rebellious and personality of the "Twilight Woman" Kristen Stewart and other stars are dressed in Chanel coats and jewels, appearing at the roulette table in the center.
If you think that "traffic" and "love beans" are Chanel's bets, you may be too contemptuous of Lafayette (Carl Lagerfeld), who can bring Chanel back to life.
First of all, starting with Kwon Ji-yong, as Chanel's only asian global spokesperson at that time, he did not rely on a model-like figure and handsome face. On the contrary, he is not tall, even a little "feminine", but he is the first male star who can wear Chanai's children without any sense of violation, which does not prevent thousands of young girls from still feeling that he "man exploded" in women's clothing, and later the fashion industry began to popular women's clothing men's clothing is just following his trajectory. The clue we can see from this is that male charm has long ceased to bloom from the traditional perception of "tall" and "rough".
Image from CHANEL/Spring/Summer 2020 Haute Couture Collection/
And Kristen Stewart from the popularity of "Twilight", to the top of the wind "out of the closet", without the slightest regard for the public to label her as a "popular idol", and is not keen on "fried CP" with the male protagonist, but always in the brave expression of "who I am" she can not define her charm, so the road ahead of the sea and the sky. It can be said that the little K we are most familiar with has the most typical characteristics of the new generation of women today - de-symbolization.
Image from CHANEL
If you think it's just a coincidence, let's take a look at the "foreplay" that Chanel paved the way for this.
In 2015, Chanel turned the Grand Palace runway into a feminist parade. Popular supermodel Cara, Brazilian supermodel Giselle Bundchen and the new generation of representative Gigi Hadid, etc., raised their horns and raised their fists, while the slogans in their hands were full of feminist meaning: "History belongs to her story", "Fashion is not war", "Have your own style"...
If the "sexlessness" of Grandma Chanel is rooted in the bones, then the exploration of gender cognitive context by other brands is a performance that has caught the pulse of the times.
The Dior Fall/Winter 2020 fashion show was unveiled at the Tuileries Garden in Paris, France, and the slogan "I SAY I" outside the runway door is also a new way to explore the multifaceted subjective consciousness of women.
The runway was filled with "feminist" slogans
In July 2020, in the "Finale" fashion collection released by GUCCI, designers "mixed" stereotypical elements of men's and women's clothing on the runway, women wearing men's jackets and suits, men wearing silk scarves and bow ties, and wearing printed or silk embroidered fabrics.
Image from GUCCI
"I've seen a new generation of attitudes towards fashion where the cut, shape and characteristics of clothing are crucial, rather than seeking social approval or following established guidelines." Jonny Johansson, founder of Swedish luxury fashion brand ACNE, expresses his views on young consumers.
While the brand exploration of "sexlessness" is underway, it may not be the concept of "genderlessness" that young people pay for, but the practice of not "labeling" things. Maybe it's like Madame Chanel's words: "I want to be part of the future".
Use the DNA that runs through the brand to express "who I am" to consumers – whether your ideas are outdated or not, Gen Z who advocate "personalization" will salute you.
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<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > cut the conversation into a life scene</h1>
The story shows the client the "they were seen" thing. If done properly, this is probably the most powerful tool in the branded tool band. Therefore, for the show, what is "seen" is the cultural orientation and values of the customer group, and what is seen is the rising discourse power.
Just like the rise of "sexless" dressing, more than 5 brands at the Autumn and Winter New York Fashion Week showcased sexless clothing, and the American Fashion Design Association had to add a "unisex" category. And we are concerned that under the epidemic, there is a trend that has quietly emerged, that is, the "life market" fashion.
If you have paid attention to Prada recently, you will find that you can walk into the Wuzhong Market of Shanghai's "net red" market and see the "Queen of Prada" - every bunch of vegetables, every fruit, and even the packaging and store stalls are wrapped in wrapping paper with the Prada Logo printed on them. Is Prada really pioneering her own little universe? If you study closely, you will find that these prints wrapped around vegetables and fruits are actually the clothing patterns of the brand's autumn and winter collections.
But it's not just the wet market, Prada had been working in a bakery in Milan long before the Shanghai project. In the shop, items such as bread and napkins are repackaged on Prada-patterned paper. In fact, it is not surprising that luxury goods are eyeing the wet market.
Back in 2014, the Chanel Fall/Winter show was transformed into a giant supermarket. Everything in the supermarket is real, but all are labeled with chanel's logo. The models came out of the fish, but instead of walking the catwalk, they went shopping, chatted, and discussed what dinner to make tonight. When opening model Cara Delevingne appears in a Chanel classic-style coat and steps briskly, it is as if to say: "Girls, chop your hands." ”
Let fashion enter daily life, is the luxury brand to complete the change from art" to "life", is to rob the user's mind in all aspects, is to play marketing gimmicks or not, luxury goods in the dialogue with young people spare no effort.
As Prada says, the purpose of "Feels Like Prada" is to convey an emotional experience. This emotional experience connects and transmits the emotions that are closely related to people's daily lives by entering bakeries, wet markets, and urban buildings, so that people can regain the magic of life and subtle things. Then, disk it.