Will crop tops kill the fashion industry?
Some thoughts on youth culture and its impact on retail.
Nothing like some strolling around New York to give you a feel for what the “youths” are wearing. While I didn’t hit up Dimes Square, thanks Fashion People Podcast for teaching me that micro-neighborhood and its impact, I did spot a lot of twenty-somethings in the wild. And what I saw disturbed me. Not because I think they should be dressing any differently than they do. They’re really living that maxim that you should be dressing half naked when you’re young while you’ve got the bod. Good for them.
But I can’t imagine these lewks, such as they were, are going to drive massive growth in the retail industry. Sweatpants and plain crop tops for girls, dad jeans and basic button downs for dudes. The only bright spot was sunglasses, which skewed toward the mini/wide vibe and implies a newness or freshness from five years ago. But sweatpants and crop tops are cheap and low margin, unbranded, and, TBH, easily purchased on Amazon on Shein.
A la Bella
Side note - Sambas still holding strong on market share.
It reminded me of the recent Piper Sandler report on Teens - stating that
Upper-income female fashion spend was down -12% Y/Y with lower spend across apparel (-13% Y/Y), shoes (-3% Y/Y), and accessories spend (-21% Y/Y).
Teen footwear spend was down -1% Y/Y, led by average income teens footwear spend decreasing -3% Y/Y, partially offset by upper-income teens footwear spend increasing 5% Y/Y.
Putting aside the idea that I’m too old to understand youth culture, very (frighteningly) likely to be true, I am concerned about the vast middle of retailers trying to serve this demographic. Replenishment of sweatpants is hardly a blockbuster revenue driver.
Does the fashion industry have a real problem in terms of desire? What drives this malaise? Apathy? Disposable income? A middle finger to the wheels of capitalism that use trends to siphon funds out of consumers wallets? I’d love to hear your thoughts, hit me up!