What's Next in the Fashion Industry? 2024 and beyond

Bret Schnitker  00:00

I think luxury has its own kind of moniker. But I would definitely say that better quality garments in general are something that people are coming to us coming to us for. How can we keep a specific garment where it looks good longer? How are we using better fabrication? Can we put technology into the garment to help resist break down of garment fibers and fabrics to environmental conditions or human conditions? And I think that's a that's an exciting change.

Emily Lane  00:44

Welcome to Clothing Coulture, a fashion industry podcast at the intersection of technology and innovation. I'm Emily Lane.

Bret Schnitker  00:51

And I'm Bret Schnitker. We speak with experts and disruptors, so we're moving the industry forward and discuss solutions to real industry challenges.

Emily Lane  01:00

Clothing Coulture is produced by Stars Design Group, a global design and production house with more than 30 years of experience.

Emily Lane  01:11

Welcome back to another episode of Clothing Coulture. We have a special episode. You know why, Bret?

Bret Schnitker  01:17

It's the last episode of the season.

Emily Lane  01:19

Can you believe it?

Bret Schnitker  01:21

Time flew

Emily Lane  01:21

I know it really did. And you know, don't be don't be too afraid out there. We do already have the next season really pretty mapped out. So we will only be gone for a short while. But in this episode, we're planning to talk a little bit about what's next in the fashion industry. 2024 I can't believe it's 2024 Let alone the end of another season.

Bret Schnitker  01:47

I'm still writing 2023 more months, maybe I'll catch on

Emily Lane  01:52

a yes, it's always how it is. So we have you know quite a few things that we can talk about with regards to our industry and things that we're seeing, trending not just to the wearer, but things that are influencing our industry as a whole. Let's start with I think one of the more exciting topics that we really saw come to light in 2023. And I think more companies are going to be putting them into practice this year. You know what I'm talking about Bret? AI.

Bret Schnitker  02:21

Yes, for sure. It's it, it. It's an amazing technology. You know, there's obviously two sides to every story. But our experimentation and experience with AI as it relates to design has been really fascinating. First time, I saw some generations that the team had put together you know, they it takes it's not like you just say a word. And all of a sudden there's a magical collection that shows up, you know, there's still a lot of work that goes into, I guess sort of training AI into what you're specifically looking for with respect to a particular style or trend or whatever.

Emily Lane  03:02

Yeah, you're still kind of art directing.

Bret Schnitker  03:04

Its. very interesting. And then, but the results blew my mind. I mean, goosebumps, I was just super excited. And it's, it's interesting when you originally think about computers, robotics, you know, you don't associate creativity. With AI, we're really kind of discovering that computers can be creative. And the results are pretty astounding.

Emily Lane  03:37

It's absolutely amazing. You, you're seeing something really fresh and different. And that is always really incredible to witness. And we're gonna see AI in multiple forms of our industry, not just in design,

Bret Schnitker  03:51

definitely communication, marketing, all sorts of different areas for sure, right.

Emily Lane  03:55

Supporting websites in curating selections for the consumer that are custom. So it's really going to have it's an active role. It all really all facets of our industry.

Bret Schnitker  04:11

Yes, absolutely.

Emily Lane  04:13

Okay. What about some of the things that we're seeing with regards to speed to market?

Bret Schnitker  04:21

You know, thats always been sort of a not always but as of the last 10 years or more or so. speed to market fast fashion has always been a big industry. And certainly, big groups like Sheehan have discovered not only speed of manufacture, but direct distribution, which kind of opens a big can of worms that do. The direct distribution is usually managed under deminimis clause. They're not paying the duties and tariffs that that the the American brands do when they bring in in bulk and so, you know, that's kind of changing a little bit of dynamics where you can produce and then courier goods in, you know, directly to clients. And it and it accelerates you know, a lot of different things, it accelerates, meeting customer demand, reduces cost, therefore, people buy more disposably, And so, you know, for those that are the slow fashion fast fashion camps on either side, you know, it's not helping the reduction of fast fashion for sure.

Emily Lane  05:37

Right, yeah. But you know, as on the consumer side, I totally see the allure, like, you know, you you order your cashmere sweater, and two days later, it shows and there are, there are some new players out there that are really take taking a hold on their portion of the market.

Bret Schnitker  05:54

And there are some players in the US taking advantage of this situation, too. But, you know, for the most part, you know, you really look at, at the overall dynamic and say, you know, are we is there an unfair competitive advantage, for those that are, that are taking advantage of this loophole, we'll see what the government ends up doing about that. But it is, it is part of something that speeds that up, the rest of the, the rest of the manufacturing world is experiencing probably a little bit of the reverse, you know, since COVID, manufacturing has slowed down, you don't get that speed, speed of manufacture that used to and then as manufacturing,

Emily Lane  06:38

What do you attrubute that too?

Bret Schnitker  06:38

I think shift of production base to so you know, the world wants to run from China based upon the stuff that's going on. And so they start to entertain new new areas of manufacture, the truth of the matter is, is trying to produce things better and faster than most other countries, today, they've perfected the industrial engine. And so if you're moving from China to other parts of the world, they just move slower their infrastructure is isn't as good. Their aggressiveness and speed of manufacture is not as fast. So that kind of slows down that pipeline. And so, you know, that's what complicates this whole speed to market timing. Now, you know, we're seeing this direct shipment customer, which speeds up some transmitted transit and creates a new new dichotomy for the, for the overall industry. But if you're using the traditional route, shipping, on ocean containers, for the most part, if you want to be economical, you know, there are a lot of things that are really messing about with speed to market for sure.

Emily Lane  07:59

You know, you've you've mentioned a few things, you You've talked a little bit about, you know, the government and their what's going to be their reaction to some of these workarounds to paying duties. You've mentioned duties. Let's talk a little bit about geopolitical and global conditions and their influence on the industry. You mentioned China, you know, we we've talked about that, in previous episodes, this, this desire for people to move their manufacturing, beyond China. And we talked a little bit about those challenges. You know, we're seeing some other other kind of forces at play right now. You know, Suez Canal, for example. Let's talk about that.

Bret Schnitker  08:43

There's a lot of things you know, you know, backing up to the manufacturing center in China, I think a lot of our politicians are being really short sighted, we haven't developed a supply chain to offset the massive amounts of goods that China has perfected. Yeah, we're putting a lot of pressure on that situation. And that's going to indirectly affect the American consumer. And I and I, and I would, I would urge that it reviewing and understanding that most economists say that tariffs have never worked. Today, we've implemented tariffs, there's conversation that should apart a particular party get back in power, there's going to be raised tariffs and raised restrictions out of China, the ultimate cost is going to be to the consumer and the ultimate benefit of that increased tariff is going to be the government. They're going to basically they're increasing taxation on the American consumer. The American consumer will pay that China won't. And so I think that it's an important thing to be aware of, you know, for those that are in the industry, it does put pressure on them to seek other areas. I don't know If that kind of policy to increase tariffs, while not having alternatives to manufacture will spread from China to other countries, but the ultimate, the ultimate result will be that American consumers will pay more. And in our industry, will will be experiencing with higher higher expenses and higher costs across the board. You know, the other cost impact and slowdown. Tying back into the previous question is what's happening with the Houthi rebels and things like that in the Suez Canal? You know, war and conflict are something that we're getting very, very used to, and all sorts of different parts of the world, I would have thought we would have evolved as a human race, but we still have people that that, unfortunately, for whatever reason believe war is an answer. And the conflict that exists impacting our business is that, you know, we were seeing it on the news this morning. And pretty much every morning now, where, you know, trade routes are being affected by one of the particular wars that are going on in the world. That's going to greatly extend our trade routes, the Suez Canal, reduced freight time from Near East, to the US. Now, there are considerations, and I think some are actually implementing the shift of boats to go around the Cape, the Cape of Africa, right, which is going to add a significant timeline. Some of the other answers are, if you're producing in places like India, instead of going west, you could go east. And, you know, via Singapore, and then into our West Coast ports, but infrastructure becomes a major issue. If you're shifting, massive amount of things that were split between the East Coast and the West Coast, and now they're all going the West Coast, we're gonna start to see major backlogs like what we saw during COVID. Right. So while you solve for the extended freight time, you will see large slowdowns in the ports.

Emily Lane  12:20

Okay, prepare, it's going to be an interesting, you know, something that I was just thinking of, you know, knowing some friends of ours in the industry, and some of the challenges they've been seeing recently is related to cotton, knowing that we've got the kind of the Xinjiang cotton banned that that

Bret Schnitker  12:44

Takes 20% of the world's reserve, right, yeah,

Emily Lane  12:49

that now, you know, cotton coming into the United States states, especially from China is under greater scrutiny. And and what's happening, there's, it's kind of crazy, because goods are getting getting held up. It's a there's a they're lacking traceability. And so I'm wondering, with those challenges, do you think that we can anticipate more synthetics coming into our.

Bret Schnitker  13:16

There's already a prediction, you know, consumers liked the fact that things are easy care. synthetics are more easy care. So there was some estimates that synthetic would rise from 55 to 80%. Over the next couple of years, you know, because of some of the restrictions that we have in cotton cotton's also a super thirsty crop. So you know, as we're talking about climate change issues, water reductions, things like that you've got, you've got a crop that can be really, you know, impactful on water supply. And so, you know, managing both those issues that that we would be seeing with, you know, clear global warming, reduction of, of water supplies and some areas. Synthetics become more and more important as cotton becomes more and more expensive, or in some cases could be more scarce because of either a political decision that we've made, or a climate situation.

Emily Lane  14:29

So that really complicates the other trend that could consumers are eager to see really make its way in the industry sustainability.

Bret Schnitker  14:41

This has been an ongoing topic for people dialogue and sustainability is going to be one of those big monitors for 2024. Also, sustainability like I've said in other conversations, it's it's the industry's biggest failure as it relates to the the fibers and fabrics primarily. We've made large inroads from the people part of sustainability. There's a lot of social compliance groups that help improve the lives of many workers that didn't exist when I started in the industry. And it's, you know, based on our last episode with wrap, there's some really good inroads. We have other improvements, like water reclamation, is on the rise, solar power is on the rise, sustainable biofuel is on the rise, all of those things are kind of necessities. For countries, unfortunately, human beings kind of move by necessity. But we are seeing positive movements in that respect. The number one failure still comes back to our fabrication fibers and fabrication, especially when it comes to synthetics. As we move from more natural fibers to more synthetics, the the answer today, and mass is polyester, nylons, things like that, right? We've talked again about, you know, the, the long periods that it takes for biodegrade biodegradability in landfills. And there's just no real solutions out there that have scalability and value today. And so I think there's a continued conversation about sustainability. But in our conversations, the challenging part to be really frank, is that while people have the dialogue, they're pretty quick to shift when they start looking at longer lead times for sustainable fabrics, more expensive, sustainable fabrics, limited design and limited fabrication, and in each one of those categories, and in some cases, some of these sustainable organizations that are creating these unique fabrics. They make it pretty exclusive. It's not like you just go in and buy it and go. Sometimes you have to jump through a few hoops. Who are you this is a that's a very disappointing thing when we deal with sustainability. So I think we'll still have continued conversations about that. And sustainability, the solution on sustainability is not one that we're going to solve immediately. So I think, a continuing cadence in in the conversation. And hopefully, additional groups will weigh in, it would be great that some of the like the 10 major poly producers around the world do embrace a scaled model of bio degradable poly product. But I'm not seeing that happening quite yet.

Emily Lane  17:33

You know, on the fiber side of things, we just had a really wonderful experience touring a factory in India, where we got a chance to see recycled cotton in that process. It really helps me understand why this is more expensive and why it takes a lot more time. It's still a very human process.

Bret Schnitker  17:54

Yeah, the especially the sorting and shredding as you saw it. I mean, this is a large large mill in India, one of the one of the largest, I would say and their entire unit that they dedicated to recycled cotton was a testament to, to the commitment in that country that we're seeing a lot of different areas. But yeah, when you were walking through and you're seeing them shredding this stuff together and then picking the fibers under an ultraviolet light pulling out some

Emily Lane  18:24

hand of the sorting and hand pulling these fibers very, very interesting.

Bret Schnitker  18:29

You know how time consuming that was? I think part of the the answer for sustainability is in this circularity of recycled cotton's and or recycled Polly's. You know, recycled poly only really gives you one more time through before the stuff becomes too brittle to be used in fabric. But it is it it is part of something that's going on but circularity or or the the change or the change to slower fashion is something that can also benefit sustainable initiative where if we're buying better, we're buying clothing that lasts longer, that is more transcendent of fad. Much like many European practice than the industry can actually be supported in such a way where cost can rise. Quality can arise we're not focusing on the cheapest lowest common denominator in terms of the cheapest fabric for fast fashion. But

Emily Lane  19:40

And we are not over consuming

Bret Schnitker  19:41

and we're not over consuming landfills slow down. I think that that's a viable alternative. There's a lot of are a lot of studies out there that are having these conversations that if we were to just get specific percentage subtle increases in costs throughout the chain. All parties benefit

Emily Lane  20:07

I'm so glad you brought this up because this is a trend I was seeing. And really, we're experiencing at Stars is luxury, we are getting more and more people reaching out with the desire to put better quality garments out there for, for consumers.

Bret Schnitker  20:29

Yeah I, I think luxury has its own kind of moniker. But I would definitely say that better quality garments in general are something that people are coming to us coming to us for. How can we keep a specific garment where it looks good longer? How are we using better fabrication? Can we put technology into the garment to help resist breakdown of garment fibers and fabrics to environmental conditions or human conditions? And I think that's a that's an exciting change. And so hopefully that that part in this overall conversation about sustainability is something that seems to be on the rise.

Emily Lane  20:29

Yeah Let's talk a little bit about the actual fashion trends that we're going to see on people. We have a wonderful friend, Sharon Graubard who has launched SG files, and we're really excited for her. She's just the perfect blend between artists and just trend forecasting savant. And we've had an opportunity to review her latest trend report. And I was excited about some of the things we saw on that,

Bret Schnitker  21:42

yes, she's so insightful, when it comes to overall trends I've seen and read and looked at all that all of these different trend forecasting sites, and they all have kind of their purpose in the industry for different levels of the industry. But Sharon's, just shown over the years one, you know, wisdom is created with how many years you've been in the business and Sharon's been in the business quite some time like me, and, and I think that she, she's got a really good, connected insight into what's happening in fashion, but she's applying the practicality of what actually is going to come to the table. And she distills it in such a way that's very, very clear, I would suggest anyone listening to podcast that's looking at forecasting, to reach out. Look at Sharon and her evolve company SG files for sure.

Emily Lane  22:33

So one of the things that we've seen, not only just with, with our clients and the things they're asking for, but we're seeing great evidence of it out there is this kind of gender blurring, much more, you know, people wearing what they want, how they want, and and also, you know, yeah, kind of removing the idea of who wears what, yeah,

Bret Schnitker  23:02

well, we talk that designers are just as much artists, as people that paint with paint on a canvas. And artists, whether they're working in fabric, or whether they're working in paint, they're influenced by conditions and conversations, and, you know, what's happening around them all the time. And certainly, the, the overall conversation about acceptance for those that are marginalized in these various areas are a topic and when you have these conversations, the explosion in art, to support that conversation, to bring it to light, you know, to talk about transgender and talk about you know, the challenges that society is having with, with with some of these groups, and the desire to bring them into the fold and accept them and reduce the challenges that are going on where suicide rates are so high in transgender communities. You see it in art, and you see it in fashion art, and that's on the rise. And I think that, that that certainly is an influence in what's happening today. It's, it's, it's saying we accept, you know, many are saying that we accept human beings in all shapes, sizes, celebrate those steps, celebrate the step forwards. Yeah, people are saying, Look, you know, we we just need to care about them.

Emily Lane  24:39

So we saw Yes, I completely agree. And that's, that's something very exciting that's happening right now. We saw of course, during COVID this, you know, comfort, the age of comfort, come to the table and we've talked a little bit about easy care, fabrics and all of those things that really, really do did well during these COVID time. There are some trends that really are now kind of counteracting some of that we're seeing more tailored come into the back into the fold, kind of as people are ready to move beyond their PJs,

Bret Schnitker  25:16

yeah, well, we're seeing once they're leaving their house, and there's some conversation about with all of us being connected to our phone and computers, how much we're leaving our house and socializing. But we're certainly doing more of it than we did during COVID. And in that shift, obviously, different markets are benefiting outdoor sports in general outdoor activities. And then when you could dress for yourself, right. And now that you're out amongst the population, look, we like to look good in whatever way that is. And we like to express ourselves and, and fashion always has these kinds of lifecycles. And tailored is certainly on the rise coming back. But tailored evolved, tailor tailored today is tailored plus comfort, the fabrications or stretch the linings or straps, there's lots more mobility. You know, tailored pants still have drawstrings, the legs are getting more comfortable. Yeah. So it's always there's always this evolution that embraces some of the things that we learned about, wow, I can put something on and feel really, really comfortable. But how do I elevate the look? And then how do I ensure I think there's always something in the back of some people's minds, and hopefully it continues to grow? And how do I ensure this is more of a timeless decision?

Emily Lane  26:40

Right? Yeah. You mentioned something, also, that the outdoor space really saw a benefit during COVID times, and we're still seeing the influence of outdoor industry like different sports, golf, for example, that has continued to flourish. And we're seeing that influence in fashion today.

Bret Schnitker  27:06

For sure. And you know, as technology and fashion, we keep talking about that being more and more interconnected, outdoor sports, outdoor activities, clothing that they were that people were doing all of these different things. Demand this kind of blend between, they still want to look good outdoors, but they want to have performance. And so I think it plays right into all the major trends that are going on.

Emily Lane  27:31

Okay, as we wrap this up, is there anything else we should be either excited or celebrating or happy to see unfold in this 2024

Bret Schnitker  27:44

I think there'll be some interesting things in terms of supply and demand that are that are going to influence our industry, I think that pre planning is going to be important for those that are in our industry from a supply perspective. There's a lot of volatility that's going on today. We've mentioned it wars, political conditions, we've never been more separate as a country. We've got two factions, two sides polarized more than ever, upcoming elections make people nervous. In general, we've talked about whether the recession or whether we've got to inflation, and nobody has any clue from day to day. So you're going to see ups and flows of demand, you're going to see spurts of people feeling pretty good about the economy in general, as you know, we get rises in the stock market. And so demand is going to be there. And with that challenge of supply chain, that's going to scope squeeze the supply chain going back, and then we're going to see some maybe moments of panic if things start to drop in terms of our economy or challenges around the world. And so then we might have access inventory, it's going to be a very, very interesting year with respect to how we manage our distribution and the amount of distribution to clients at particular times.

Emily Lane  29:06

Wow, thank you for ending on that positive note bread. We keep it real here. Well, regardless, I'm excited to see what what's going to be unfolding with regards to technology, continued influence of AI and of course, I love seeing how people embrace trends and make it all their own. So it'll be it'll be interesting to see it

Bret Schnitker  29:29

will be a great, interesting, fun year as most.

Emily Lane  29:32

That's right. And we will be here to keep you posted on what's happening. And you know what, what's next in this great industry of fashion. Thank you for joining us on this episode of Clothing Coulture. We will be back soon with another season coming your way. Don't forget to subscribe stay apprised of upcoming episodes.

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