LABELL-D launches more options to share the love for fashion and the environment. The world’s first closed-loop fashion ecosystem allows consumers to buy new and pre-loved clothing, rent, repair and resell, all on one platform.

Oxfam, global anti-poverty movement, is urging shoppers to buy clothes secondhand rather than brand new as its new research reveals emissions produced manufacturing jeans owned by UK adults is comparable to flying a plane around the globe 2,372 times or a petrol car travelling more than 21 billion miles.

The detail to fashion within ‘Sex And The City’ has followed through to the much-awaited reboot, ‘Just Like That’. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), and her friends Charlotte and Miranda (Kristen Davis and Cynthia Nixon), now 10 years later, are showing how fashion will always be the best of you with their lavish and iconic looks.

Ph. Hieu Vu Minh, Unsplash

Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda are serving some iconic looks in 'And Just Like That' as they are strutting the Upper East Side, where the story continues as if it had never stopped.

If you are going to watch 'And Just Like That', you know by now that many fashionable looks will carry your fantasy away. We will start with the protagonist, Carrie, and the dress everyone is talking about.

Carrie's Buzzed Blue Dress

Carrie's midi shift dress sent fans crazy but not because people actually loved the dress itself. The light blue oversized shirt tucked under the ‘hippie-fied’, casual-looking dress is untypical for the character of Carrie. If you are a Sex & the City fan, you would think it is more likely to be seen on Miranda, her co-star. But it was not the style that made fans question the costume designers. It was where it is from that sent fans wild. Many speculations occurred, but designers released that they have no idea where the dress is from as it was found in a thrift shop – contradictory to Carrie's style and obsession for the latest designer everything. The image is from a scene where Carrie was struggling with her addiction to her late husband’s ex and, maybe, designers wanted her outfit to relate to this struggle. However, it was not a must-have for the fans.

 

 

 

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Similar dress Izabel London Paisley Print Maxi Dress | Izabel Dress SLSS | M&Co 

Charlotte's Look

With simplistic clothes, yet striking colours Charlotte's springtime outfit wowed the fans. Of course, Charlotte – a very wealthy character within the series – would strut around with a Burberry dog poop bag. She is a fashionable mom who still wants to live in style. Her outfit consisted of a Balenciaga polka dot skirt, layered with a white gipsy top. For once, Charlotte's look represents a calm and relaxed feel, rather than her rigid shirts and skirts. The look is styled with a yellow belt and pumps. The vast array of colours really and finally signifies happiness for the character. In this reboot, she is the one with her head screwed on – suggesting a change for Charlotte.

 

 

 

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Similar skirt ASOS DESIGN asymmetric high shine skirt in blue spot print | ASOS
Similar top Fluid Women's Puff Sleeve Wide Neck Top White | Mandmdirect

When Carrie Meets Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera really outdid herself here with her elegant yet modern midi shirt dress. The vibrant colour really makes this piece eye-catching and an iconic dress for Carrie. The chunky black belt accentuates her waist, defining her body well. Matched with some black court heels, her pearl necklace implies her wealth and luxury. And what more would you want when visiting your late husband's ex? Carrie has brought her A-game here, and fans were completely idolised by this stunning piece.

 

 

 

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Similar dresses Glamorous midi tiered shirt dress in pastel pink | ASOS
Hot Pink Cotton Poplin Puff Sleeve Frill Detail Smock Dress | Dresses | Smock dress | I SAW IT FIRST

Miranda's Look

Miranda's relaxed plaid dress was a hit from the fans. The neutral colours, from creams to browns and mustard, was loved as these shades are in for the season. Her brown leather belt did complete this outfit to perfection, due to the maxi dress being loose, the belt really enables Miranda not to be lost in the dress. The splits of either side of the dress as well, allow some leg to be seen and makes this entire piece a little more stylish and youthful. The shirt style dress really incorporates Miranda's personality as the character has just begun a degree, whilst the whacky prints and colours leave memories of her past outfits.

 

 

 

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Similar dresses Free People Sadie Plaid Maxi Dress in Natural Combo | REVOLVE
Flow The Label Cotton Plaid Dress in Brown | Lyst

This sequel with our favourite girls from New York is definitely making people and fans talk about fashion but in a more in-depth way. As many things have happened to Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda, so too their outfits have changed to reflect the new women we see on the big screen.

There is one staple piece in everyone's wardrobe that literally made history. There is one true fashion must-have that crossed generations, yet never felt outdated. You can have a guess. It is denim.

Very.co.uk

Although timeless, denim jeans marked a drastic change in everyday fashion this year. Jeans are our flag of freedom. We have seen it throughout 2021 and these autumn/winter trends are not an exception.

The humble workers' denim passed through centuries and generations and, as such, it is a trustful mirror of our times. Maybe it is the new post-pandemic lifestyle or today's feminist stream but 2021 waved 'goodbye' to super skinny jeans to welcome (back) baggy forms to put everyone at ease. Here we go, exploring the 5 top denim trends for this autumn/winter season.

1 Mom's Jeans

Missguided - Riot Highwaisted Clean Mom Jeans

Ten years ago, moms had a certain 'uncool' factor. Could you believe mom's jeans were going to conquer a big slice in stores' displays and people's shopping charts? High-waisted and relaxed, mom jeans are not anymore for leisure time and gardening but a comfortable ally now that home is our office.

2 Upcycled Jeans

V by Very - Sustainable Slim Cut Jeans

The call to make something for the planet translates into sustainable jeans. Whether they are made from vintage stocks, eco-consciously produced, recycled or thrifted by you; green jeans have a richer story and feel lighter on the environment.

3 '70s: Flared Legs And Flavours

RI Petite - Amelie Flare Dane Jean

Jeans as a flag of freedom could not but take big inspiration from the '70s. The 'peace & love' decade revival is in flared silhouettes, patterns and patchwork. Added to the upcycling trends, looking for a true vintage makes a trip to second-hand stores definitely more adventurous and rewarding.

4 Baggy Jeans

New Look - Noosa Baggy Jean

'The wider, the better', this is the motto of the year. Mom jeans already offer some room for our real shapes, but this season we can exceed as we look back at the '90s. Think about rappers and skaters' styles when looking for our next pair of denim. The must-have jeans for the last bits of this 2021 are super baggy and slouchy. Young and unapologetic with added distress for an extra touch of street style.

5 Light Jeans

Levi's - 501® Crop

Nothing says 'denim' more than an original Levi's 501. The American brand invented the real jeans at the end of the 19th century but it proves to be always fashion-forward. Here is how Levi's reinvented its 501 this year.

Denim signature colour is blue but we can set free from the tradition with pale blues, neutrals and even white.

These are only 5 of the top denim trends that we can rock this autumn/winter season but the list may go on and on with pleated jeans, straight cuts and low-rise waist. This year's array of denim as seen on Very.co.uk says it clearly: denim must make you comfortable in your own skin. 2021 jeans are a liberation, liberation from strict and unrealistic ideals proposed by the media for many decades. It was time to change, the evergreen denim made it.

Gen Z is fashion-forward and makes a big slice of the global fashion customer base with its generous $200 billion (more than £147 billion) annual global spend power. A new study by UNiDAYS shed light on the decisional power of the 'zoomers' and their commitment to clean and ethical fashion.

A new report commissioned by UNiDAYS, the world’s largest student affinity network, looked into the approach of Gen Z toward fashion, trends, e-commerce, and more. The result: Gen Z demands ethical fashion out loud.

Nearly seven in ten (68%) of Gen Z members demand that their clothes are manufactured to the highest ethical standards and 57% feel brands championing sustainability, equality and diversity are getting it right. These figures come from the recent report run by UNiDAYS surveying a panel of more than 18k Gen Z students to explore Gen Z’ fashion trends and preferences, their attitudes to retailers, sustainability, pricing and more.

Ph. Rodnae Production, Pexels

UNiDAYS Gen Z Fashion Report – Clean Fashion And Gendered Clothing

UNiDAYS asked a panel of their 20m+ verified student members for their opinions on all things fashion, in a series of surveys and polls. Over 18k Gen Z students provided insights about their relationships with their devices, platforms, fashion favourites and retail habits. The polls revealed passionate feelings towards clean-washing, conversation commerce, brand intrusion, third gender marketing and lack of trust when shopping through new social media checkout features.

As the role of real-world fashion adapts, fluid and device-driven business models must emerge for the fashion industry to serve the world’s first, and largest, generation of digital natives.

With global digital ad spend on social platforms predicted to hit $517 billion by 2023 (more than £380 billion), insight into the world’s biggest consumer demographic will support the bricks-and-mortar survivors and define the establishment of new fashion brands rising through the metaverse, all with Gen Z at their core.

Meet Gen Z

Born between 1996–2012, Gen Z is the most hyper-informed, hyper-connected and demanding generation of consumers in history. At 40% of total consumers, 'zoomers' are the biggest generation globally with a $3 trillion indirect annual spending power.

Unique Behaviours

Zoomers expect customised, personalised products and services plus value, across every device and every platform all with free delivery. Their real-world and digital existence are basically one and the same, with nuanced values that can seem contradictory on the surface: they love filters but resent retouching, they live and breathe social media, instant messaging, video games and live-streaming often all at the same time.

Gen Z' attention span is 8 seconds. Compared to 12 seconds for Millenials.

Make Connections

Their unwavering style, ethics and thrift make Gen Z the ultimate Apex Consumer. Brands must urgently connect with this high-potential, savvy, digital-native generation that is reshaping social commerce. Both start-ups and legacy brands could find this new world order daunting, but it represents great possibility.

• 2 BN direct annual global spending power
• 92% use discount codes 
• 40% of total consumers in the UK, US, Europe & BRIC

Fashion-phoria

• 90% say looking good is important to them
• 96% say fabulous clothes make them feel confident
• 93% love how great clothes make them feel
• 80% enjoy a mix of styles
• 87% say great clothes make them feel sexy
• 56% say they do not follow fashion trends

GEN Z members are full-on fashionistas, their style, habits and ethics drive and dominate the trends and patterns are seen through social media and the surrounding generations today. 87% of zoomers agree that great clothes make them feel sexy, 96% say fabulous clothes make them feel confident and 79% state sustainable fashion is important to them. But they never pay full price. For anything.

If Gen Z Is Not Your Core Consumer Now, They Soon Will Be...

Gen Z maintains its own personal brands physically and across their platforms, with defined standards and values that dictate the brands they associate with. The average Gen Z spends 10.6 hours a day online (Adobe), 93% love great clothes, and 85% of them research everything online before buying. Zoomers' appetite for social is huge and brands have been quick to embrace the fun and engagement that quality content generates. But with 75% of Gen Z stating they do not trust shopping on social media, there is a disconnect between entertainment and commerce which brands must fast address. Gen Z is consuming culture and marketing in a fundamentally different way than Millennials or Gen X (the over the forties).

Of those surveyed, 87% of Gen Z mostly communicate with their friends through instant messaging, just 13% call them direct, and only 14% would try a new fashion retailer based on seeing a TV ad. Fashion brands must get creative to establish and nurture these new relationships to ensure they stand the test of time.

Viviane Paxinos, global GM at UNiDAYS, states: 'We found that, for Gen Z, TikTok is the place to be on social, followed by Instagram. Given that fashion purchases made by 49% of those we spoke to were influenced by brands they saw on social media, platforms like TikTok and Instagram are a growth opportunity for fashion retail marketers looking to drive brand awareness and social commerce. Another important factor stems from TikTok's early guidance to marketers: don’t make ads. Make TikTok's.'

Good News For Fashions

• 76% are looking forward to partying again
• 64% expect to spend more on outfits for events now
• 78% plan to dress up party now that lockdown has eased
• 54% will spend more on beauty now social occasions are back

Despite 18 months in lockdown, 90% of Gen Z still value looking good. However, 65% expect their fashion purchases not only to be affordable but to be made to the highest ethical standards. Fashion, fast or otherwise, can no longer rely on value alone.

'Audiences go to the likes of TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube for exclusive moments, entertainment, advice, humour, and authenticity in content. Fashion brands need to create content that feels genuine for the environment, or Gen Z consumers will swipe to the next video. Fashion brands should also be looking at social commerce as part of their wider omnichannel retail strategy, driving consumers in-store for brands where bricks and mortar play an important role. 84% of Gen Z are looking forward to returning to shops, and it shouldn’t be underestimated how impactful a shareable, interactive store experience would be in driving positive online endorsement and sales.'
Viviane Paxinos, global GM at UNiDAYS

Extreme Value

• 95% always keep an eye out for a bargain or offer
• 75% are used to buying clothes solely online due to lockdowns
• 53% say shopping is a social experience shared with friends
• 85% research online before committing to a purchase
• 82% are loyal to brands that offer regular discounts
• 66% intend to spend more on clothes when they go back to Uni
• 63% spent less on clothes during lockdown while 37% spent more
• 84% are looking forward to returning to shops

Trust And Confidence

• 49% do not mind advertising if it’s relevant to them
• 76% see too many ads on their feeds
• 83% want to cut their time spent on social media
• 75% do not trust shopping directly on social media
• 53% believe social media is bad for society
• 93% say social media promotes unrealistic life and body goals/ beauty standards
• 90% believe that unlabelled, retouched imagery should be illegal for influencers to use when endorsing brands/products

For the majority of Gen Z, online is its preferred way to shop; 85% research online first but 75% do not trust shopping directly on social media. Brands creating Instagram and TikTok content and those collaborating with influencers should be cautious, 90% of Gen Z believe it should be illegal for Influencers to use unlabelled and retouched images, while 93% believe social media promotes unrealistic life and body goals. Despite being the world’s first fully digital native consumer whose digital presence is as real as their physical one, they challenge everything they see.

Clean Fashion

Gen Z is conflicted: 59% of zoomers consider themselves woke, but one in four do not know where their clothes are manufactured.

Fast fashion serves zoomers' obsession for new and fresh, but grates against their ethical guilty conscience of quality not quantity. The rise of Depop and co. signifies a new dawn for wardrobe resale hacks that do not cost the earth, but where does that leave fast fashion brands? How deep does their culture of sustainability go?

Gen Z’s Earth-friendly attitudes and spending behaviours have triggered fashion to clean up their emissions and exploitation records, so a happy medium is emerging. Sustainability is finally being addressed by brands keen to be on the right side of history and stay relevant. Gen Z has zero tolerance for irresponsible brands, they are the sole demographic with the passion, power and platforms to take sustainability into the corporate boardrooms. Their digital and physical life are one of the same, which ensures their social media posts will continue to elevate those brands that champion change and shame those that blatantly do not.

Sad But True

It takes 3,781 litres of water and 33.4 Kg of carbon emissions to make one pair of jeans. Up to 175,000 tonnes of plastic microfibres are dumped into the ocean each year, equivalent to over 17bn plastic bottles, all from synthetic clothing. Microfibres cannot be easily extracted from water and pollute the marine wildlife food chain.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Gen Z on Clean Clothing

• 26% unsure where their clothes are manufactured
• 79% say sustainable fashion is important to them
• 68% want clothes manufactured to the highest ethical standards
• 59% consider themselves ‘woke’
• 23% feel peer pressure to shop more sustainably
• 39% would buy pre-loved because it is more sustainable
• 33% pick recycled items because they are cheaper
• 67% prefer fashion brands that appeal to their social conscience
• 33% feel that brands who champion sustainability do so in the right way

Gen Z On Clean Beauty

• 86% say clean beauty is important to them
• 33% always read the ingredients label before a purchase
• 88% prefer natural beauty and skincare products
• 78% have returned a product to the shelf because of the ingredient

Responsibility

Who does Gen Z think should be responsible for regulating the beauty industry to ensure they use sustainable and harmless ingredients in their products?

• 20% the government
• 47% the brands themselves
• 29% an independent industry regulator

Increased Desire For Gender Neutrality

'More than ever, mainstream consumers are being challenged to rethink accepted societal norms and structures driven solely by gen z’s passion for post-gender diversity and inclusion.'
Viviane Paxinos, global GM at UNiDAYS

Gen Z embraces gender-neutral products and marketing. Zoomers acceptance has generated a wave of opportunity for fashion and beauty brands to expand into non-binary clothing and product lines. Six years ago, at its height of popularity, Facebook added a third, customisable gender choice that offers 58 identity options such as androgyne, transmale, trans-person and more other brands soon followed.

The beauty industry saw campaigns for cosmetics start to include trans models and cis straight men. Global fashion brands including Farfetch, Missguided, ASOS and Boohoo have all recently launched high profile campaigns featuring diverse and empowering models to promote their inclusive collections.

Blurred Lines

Generation gender-neutral has the least concern over owning ‘gender appropriate’ clothing, preferring to shop by personal style of self-expression, rather than traditional labels.

• 43% believe that assigned gender does not play a role in choosing clothes
• 23% think gendered language in stores is outdated or offensive
• 79% are not put off buying clothes that are marketed to the opposite gender
• 64% have bought clothing for themselves that is marketed to the opposite gender

Luxury Brands Must Adapt...

'Be aware, brand equity that triggers gen x will not trigger Gen Z. 79% of young consumers agree that sustainable fashion is important to them and 68% want clothes manufactured to the highest ethical standards. Luxury brands must adapt their narrative to apply to the new apex consumer that is gen z. Generic claims of craftsmanship will not cut it with this demanding ethics driven group, they want specifics.' Josh Rathour, found and CEO of UNIDAYS

Label Lovers

Luxury brands obviously find engaging with young consumers difficult as 71% of Gen Z feel designer brands are not relevant to them. But by over-focusing on Gen X (the over the forties) and not connecting with a younger audience, aspirational brands risk not only alienating their appeal to Millennials but their future core consumer too. Brands that underestimate Gen Z risk their relevance and label longevity. Gen Z is the most demanding, informed and least loyal consumers in history, if they find a brand irrelevant now, the likelihood is they will never buy into the brand at all. Affinity is seeded in youth. Luxury brands that do not emotionally engage with their future consumer will ultimately fail.

Designer Desire

• 32% follow designers
• 47% buy luxury clothing as a treat
• 40% have an eye for limited-editions
• 27% buy luxury clothing for the quality
• 54% describe themselves as loyal to certain fashion brands

Loving Luxe

• 30% have bought 1-2 pieces of designer clothing this year
• 50% say they have bought more fashion in 2021 than previous years
• 47% name design as their top consideration when buying luxury fashion
• 64% name price as their top consideration when buying luxury fashion

HOWEVER...

• 54% do not love labels
• 27% believe designer clothes are of higher quality
• 77% say they cannot afford designer brands
• 54% have not bought any luxury fashion this year
• 71% do not feel designer brands are relevant to them

Do Not Survive, Thrive

If Gen Z is not your core consumer now, they soon will be.
Gen Z is defining which fashion brands survive and which brands thrive. Those labels comfortable with Gen X and Millennials must learn what triggers Gen Z and fast. Affinity is seeded in the young, fashion brands that do not bother engaging Gen Z will ultimately fail. But despite being the world’s first fully digital native consumer with defined personal brands, and whose digital presence is as real as their physical one, Gen Z’s relationship with the platforms they populate is guarded at best.

Brands must work hard to win trust in the social space. Gen Z' unwavering standards, ethics and thrift make Gen Z the ultimate Apex Consumer. Brands must urgently connect with this unfamiliar, contrary, digital-native generation who are reshaping social commerce. Fashion start-ups and legacy brands could find this new world order daunting, but it represents great possibility.

Some people see luxury handbags as an unnecessary expense and many say that you're paying simply for the name. Others will disagree and say that they are one of the best investments that you can make, and they'd be right.