Fashion brands need a culture change, says the thinker – WWD

Fashion and culture have an age-old relationship, but perhaps it could benefit from a revamp.

In particular, the post-George Floyd era has brought about an important need for cultural sensitivity that many previously lacked.

Today, Roberto Ramos, founder and CEO of cultural innovation consulting firm and former Donagher Group senior vice president, says, “Culture can play a role, but a healthy and organic relationship with the outside culture. [of the organization] But inside, too.”

A trend forecaster always looks beyond the world to see what’s happening, but the cultural shift Ramos has dictated to fashion can see changes in the way people looking to move in the right direction start looking for inspiration.

While some were once observing and leading trends, that kind of “cave-view” of culture, he said, “tends to use culture for culture.”

Now companies need to look at culture – just as they need to look at their workforce, product and marketing – differently.

“It’s about paying more attention to the outside, how to go in and have these kinds of conversations. How to create systems that really embrace diversity, different cultures,” Ramos said. They are not designed to reflect.

Brands, Ramos says, must be “listening brands” and listen not only to what customers want in terms of product or sustainability, but also to what different consumers are saying to them and why. But doing so requires some self-reflection and strengthening of the brand identity, not just running “all over the place” in the often chaotic environment, but to quickly catch up on what’s new and current.

“Of course, brands differ in their emotional intelligence, where they play culturally. There are those who are true creators of culture. [and there are others among which] There is a lot of mistrust. And you see that manifested in terms of extreme collaboration, trying to collaborate. A lot of it is good, we can’t judge it because it’s a time of extreme re-trending, and creative chaos is part of that, but fashion can do better in terms of going above and beyond,” said Ramos.

Today’s consumers, (especially younger ones) are rethinking ownership, shying away from large institutions, hungry for new leadership styles, and demanding efficiency without creating overlapping identities, he said. Wearing clothes. All this raises the notion of a long-term trend.

“The idea of ​​what a trend is, it’s more fluid, and that’s why there’s less and less talk about colors and fabrics and all that. [being had]Ramos said. “That’s why brands need to have a better system for embracing culture, from directly to how they find inspiration for the process and what that looks like through trend inspiration and design.

“To get this right, you have to use the power of culture from the outside, but it’s more important from the inside,” he said. “The kinds of decisions you make, how you show compassion, how you show courage will resonate for a long time.

This means looking at cultural change holistically. That’s what The Ideatelier recommends to its brand and retail customers – targeting the most recent among them – from commitment to cross-cultural hiring, ensuring cultural diversity is part of the brand’s DNA, and guiding culture and trend forecasting with international. View and then hear directly from the people of the world.

why? Ramos spoke during traditional immersion sessions. It’s about trying to get into a culture rather than looking at it from afar and determining what’s compelling. It’s about talking to influencers and artists, reading literature and listening to podcasts that connect the community, looking at the black experience, the Asian experience, the Latino experience and the diversity within each. Participating in cultural discourses and the groups engaged in them is a different matter. He calls it the “house party approach,” where brands and retailers are active guests at the house party and let it all in.

“The goal is to help clients navigate the accelerated journey that’s going on in culture, what opportunities there are in terms of creative concepts, product concepts, categories, if there’s an index of these groups, etc.” He said. “And then with most of them, once we have the product, to tell that whole story from a marketing perspective.”

As for what’s happening in culture right now, The Ideatelier looks at a whole sociocultural shift that he calls “Hyperflux.”

It is characterized by flexibility, adaptability, “deep personalization”, mixing between soft/hard, art/science, or what Ramos calls “extreme form balance”. As a fashion, it’s a travel outfit with all the comforts of athleticism but the fashion of high fashion.

“This shift revolves around the tectonic shifts we are seeing in socio-cultural structures and the relationship between the individual,” he said. “There continues to be strong anti-establishment sentiment. In order to make up for lost time in the chaos of the post-pandemic, the fun is launching a carefree, over-the-top and futuristic beauty code. There is an unruly vibe at work and how it draws inspiration is vast. The result is a sense of excessive flirting and experimentation.

That experimentation among young people may be one of the factors contributing to the nudity of the fall/winter 2022-23 season, the way Marofia – couture is not free – is often more likely to follow than what is happening in the world today. Lead it. But equally, and in a nod to Ramos’ mashup, that nudity served to preserve rather than reveal style on the runways, with heavy velvet, layered looks and understated elegance.

Mainly due to covid-19, people are trying to embrace the lockdown that has taken the better part of the last two years and at the same time protect themselves from the world where everything is happening at once, which is the other side of Ideatelier. He sees in Hyperflux.

“We see a hunger for systems and designs that protect and augment us,” Ramos says (so at least the supposed ‘security’ of scaling and augmentation that comes with it). “We see the fusion of technology with sleeker sensory systems and designs that make technology smoother, more interconnected and an extension of beauty. Think the new aesthetic of headphones or the ever-increasing sleekness and playfulness of phones, home audio systems, etc.”

This is the kind of creative chaos that Ramos says. And in this day and age there is no choice but to accept it.

“It’s all about embracing the uncertainty and contradictions of this very stressful time and giving the individual a creative way to express themselves,” he said. “We see this in the incredible experimentation in personal design and style. Current trends include Y2K’s obsession with mashup and gaming, emerging indie trends that take strong cues from the underground club scene, and futuristic dystopian styles. (Read: Demna Fall 2022 Couture collection for Balenciaga).

Brands and retailers will lead the necessary culture change boldly, deliberately, in a post-pandemic world, Ramos said.

“What we’re experiencing is the biggest reset of the century,” he said. “This creates an urgency for radical change.”