A new class of fashion retail for the 2020s
It was the Swedes who disrupted our love of air travel in the last decade with flygskam (flight shame). In 2021 they may add nyakläderskam (new clothes shame) to our lexicon, which will cause at least some of us to re-evaluate our relationship with fast fashion.
Earlier this month the well-known Swedish environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg celebrated her 18th birthday by announcing that she intends to forego buying new clothes for the rest of her life.
At P-THREE we believe the ‘Greta Effect’ shouldn’t be underestimated. A whole generation of budding consumers (nearly one-fifth of the population of Europe is made up of young people (15-29)¹), is questioning, rethinking and in some cases overturning established norms. In their sights are the true environmental and social costs of fast fashion. (Fashion accounts for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.²)
In a remarkable volte face in consumer behaviour, buying or renting second-hand clothes is no longer something to be slightly ashamed of, but is increasingly desirable, as influencers extoll the virtues of pre-owned fashion (POF) on social media and listings on fashion marketplace apps like Depop soar. I’m convinced that this is no flash in the pan, rather we are witnessing the start of a long-term trend which will result in the acceptance of POF turning mainstream in the first half of this decade.
The implications for retail property are threefold:
A new occupier class will emerge. The rather down-at-heel image of second-hand clothes shops will be replaced by a new generation of POF boutiques, which will have all the glitz and glamour (but none of the guilt) of fast fashion stores. Recycling clothes could become a new draw for bricks and mortar stores. Shockingly, at present less than 1% of used clothes are recycled into new garments³. I think initiatives like the fibre-salvaging technology developed by Finnish company InfinitedFiber, are exciting potential game-changers. Last October H&M pioneered a recycling system within its flagship Stockholm store.
The current European economic malaise (exacerbated in the UK by the combined effects of Brexit and Covid) is likely to dampen retail rental growth in the immediate future. The upside for POF boutiques is a significant reduction in barriers to entry, encouraging a proliferation of this new occupier class into high streets and shopping centres across the UK.
POF boutiques are likely to reflect local tastes in fashion, so will be a welcome addition to the local retail mix.
For landlords and those with an interest in revitalising town centres this impending fashion revolution could be a welcome boost.
Article by Hannah McNamara, Co-founder of P-THREE
¹ Source: Statista
² Source: World Bank
³ Source: World Bank
Photo credit: Selfridges
