The Future of Fashion

Originally posted on eurorscgpr.com/blog.

I recently contributed to Fashion Futures 2025, a forward-thinking project that I’m excited about. The initiative, which launched last week, was a call to arms for companies across the global fashion industry to plan for a sustainable future, taking into account the environment and the living conditions of their customers, suppliers and employees. But I believe it’s relevant for marketers in many disciplines—and for anyone who cares about the future of our planet and our society.

I was one of a few dozen trendspotters and communications leaders interviewed by Forum for the Future, a British nonprofit dedicated to sustainable development. Together with Levi Strauss & Co., Forum for the Future created four vivid animations that show what the world will look like in 2025 and the fashion industry’s role within it. The scenarios consider the effects of factors such as climate change, population growth and resource shortages.

They’re meant to be provocative and to challenge organizations’ thinking and encourage innovation. New ideas are crucial for any business that wants to survive in this increasingly resource-strained and responsibility-aware world. Now is the time to be thinking about the future and how our businesses can thrive in it.

The scenarios reflect four distinct visions for the future:

Slow Is Beautiful. This is a world of political collaboration and global trade. “Slow fashion” is in vogue, and brands compete on sustainability credentials. Climate change refugees have introduced new fashion influences. People own fewer, but higher-quality, clothes. “Vintage” clothes are popular.

Community Couture. Self-sufficient communities thrive in a world struggling with the effects of climate change and resource shortages. Only the rich can afford new clothing, and factories that make clothes from raw materials need protection from armed gangs. People rent garments or make their own in community recycling centers. Secondhand clothing is a valuable resource, and nothing is thrown away.

Techno-Chic. Here is a prosperous world that benefited from an early switch to a low-carbon economy. Three-D scanners allow people to “try on” clothes in virtual mirrors. Modular clothing is customized to individual taste. “Chameleon” clothing offers a blank canvas that can change color and style. Clothes are designed to biodegrade or be reused.

Patchwork Planet. This shows a world fragmented into competing blocs with rapidly changing fashions inspired by religious and cultural ideals. Resource shortages have driven innovation: Garments can be “grown” from bacterial cellulose, and edible clothing is a craze. Clothes can be zipped, tucked and strapped to create different looks.

Not all of this may come to pass, of course. But what if it did? That’s the question we should be asking ourselves. Are our strategies up to snuff? Are we thinking sustainably enough to be successful?