Connected Thinking: Future of Fashion Takeaways

From fandoms bringing micro-trends into the mainstream to fashion’s growing fascination with food and sports spawning collaborations like Balenciaga x Erewhon, 2023 brought about an exciting sense of community in the fashion space. Community seems to be the key word here - 62% of Gen Z and millennials say they believe brands have the power to create communities based on common interests and passions.

But with tech advancing quicker than you can say “OpenAI,” it’s also safe to say the impact on tech is reshaping the fashion sector at lightning speed - while also contending with a growing demand for new legislation in sustainability. So, what’s next? 

To take a deeper dive into what 2024 holds, we kick-started our Connected Thinking series by looking into the future of the fashion and retail space.

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Here are our key findings:

1. Luxury Re-Sale Surges. 70% of second-hand buyers make their first luxury purchase through vintage products, and with brands like eBay broadening their authenticity services to include watches, handbags and sneakers, trust in pre-loved luxury only continues to grow. However, high-value products need a consistent and long-term creator strategy to build brand loyalty and  show they are worth the investment.
2. AI =  Greater Personalisation. More and more brands are introducing plans for customers to design their wearable artwork - take H&M group’s Creator Studio, whose new AI tool enables anyone to mockup and produce garments utilising AI-generated custom visual artworks based on text input by the user. Ray Ban are also playing heavily in this space, developing a Meta-back AI lens - saying “Hey Meta” while wearing the Ray-Ban smart glasses will summon a virtual assistant that sees and hears what’s happening around you. You don’t need to be producing wearable tech to stay ahead of this trend, though – a recent Vogue Business study showed that when it comes to traditional consumers,37% are encouraged to purchase by personalised details, and 62% are encouraged by personalised recommendations, which leads us nicely onto point three…
3. Keep your creator SEO strategy watertight. - 25% of the path to purchase is spent in the research phase. We have a whole post dedicated to this, where you can read more of our thoughts. With the journey from brand awareness to product purchase, brand ads have to be incredibly targeted – power comes from understanding the keywords that are relevant to their product and niche. If you need help tightening your creator SEO strategy for 2024, we’re here to help.

If you missed the webinar and you’d like to hear more about this year’s trends in the fashion and retail space, drop us a line at info@seenconnects.com to arrange a call for the 411.

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