5/11/20 5/11/20

Building a Successful and Authentic Fashion Brand

The more competitive and saturated the fashion marketplace becomes, the more important it is for brands to be authentic in how they engage with customers. Brand authenticity must be considered from a 360 degree perspective, including the physical (products, store experience) and the digital (web store, social media), always ensuring customer needs are being met. These needs are both functional (access to product, product’s utility) and emotional (sense of community, customer service), and goes beyond group identification through logos and icons. In short, it requires brands to consider the whole brand experience from the customer’s perspective.

5/8/20 5/8/20

Bustle article features Joshua Williams discussing Fashion Post-Pandemic

Why do major historic moments change how we dress?

“Historic moments are integrally linked to sartorial response,” McElvain says. “For example, during WWII, women were used to wearing shorter A-line skirts due to austerity measures and available materials. After Christian Dior introduced huge pleated skirts in 1947, women were ready to indulge.”

You can go back even further, according to Joshua Williams, assistant professor of fashion management at the Parsons School of Design. “Specifically, [think] of fashion post-French Revolution,” Williams says. “During the Reign of Terror, children of the aristocrats used fashion as a way to create community and provoke society to bring attention to their lost families and fortunes. They would often wear transparent clothes in public, as well as exaggerated styles such as outrageous hats. They were known as “‘Les Incroyables et Les Merveilleuses.’”

Ultimately, this exaggerated style led to “a simplification of fashion,” according to Williams. “That was more the rage during Napoleon’s reign,” he says. “For example, [there was] the empire waist that was much more comfortable to wear, especially for women, than the layered, extravagant styles pre-war. I see parallels with this move toward comfort and ease of movement happening now.”

4/3/20 4/3/20

Podcasts, A Corporate Opportunity

Externally, companies are struggling to figure out how to connect with the changing marketplace. Millennials, as well as Gen Z customers, are no longer responding to the traditional “one size fits all” marketing efforts of the past. They want to feel as if they’re connecting with each brand and service they choose, one-on-one. They require more personalization as well a sense of authenticity and transparency when engaging with a brand. What’s more, they seek brands that share their values and offer a sense of community.

Podcasts are an opportunity to connect, engage and energize employees.