Dec 31, 2021
Online Jewelry Design Software Allow Brands to Tap on the Latest Consumer Trends
In the last couple of years, fashion has transformed a lot. It has provided a new platform to buyers and allowed fashion companies to rebrand and re-emerge, especially during the lockdown. Even in the current scenario where restrictions for people to step out continue and its return to normalcy seems to bit far. Accessory brands need to adopt new strategies that will help them sustain themselves amid the turbulent period. The jewelry design software helps fashion companies provide customization solutions to their buyers and determine the designs they want on their rings, pendants, and bracelets. The tool enables your customers to preview the designed product using 3d technology before they head for the final payment.
Online Jewelry Design Software Allow Brands to Gain Competitive Advantage
Though the world is witnessing another wave of the pandemic, the glamour world seems to be recovering from the previous years’ setbacks, and customers, too, are ready to dress up and flaunt their styles to the outside world. They are fed up with the athleisure they have been wearing for the past two years and are preferring to don going-out clothes and office attire. However, as more versatile and comfortable apparel are being introduced, customers want to try out more comfortable and funky accessories to complement them, and for that, they need to step into the in-person shopping stores that are more closely tied to digital elements, such as Live Streaming, YouTube, and TikTok content. And as the fashion industry and virtual technologies have collaborated, they have taken off the market this year, and even with physical stores and events returning, they still have to be more aligned with the digital solutions. The new business model is the only way forward as it serves the best way for people to distress themselves. With virtual reality taking a new shape in the form of the metaverse, people are dressing up in this digital world and seamlessly adapting to this new change and new solution. Though these changes might be new for the leading brands and may find a little resistance, they can turn their heads away from it. Whether they are too advanced or not, brands and retailers have no choice other than to align themselves with the latest digital trends and solutions.
In 2020, the fashion and accessories sector began the online trend, and the year following that witnessed the macro trends being set in the parts of the world with the market being reopened and fashion’s tectonic plates continued to shift. The new shopping trends brought in by these tectonic shifts have blurred lines between old and new, offline and online, and across gender. Few aesthetic trends, such as Y2K fashion, have stuck around, but dominating the trends cycle this year was a pre-pandemic and pandemic life hybrid approach to where, how and what people shop. And as we move to a new year, it is imperative that we reflect on what has happened in the past and how we can move from there and evolve to become a better industry that garners high revenue and caters to customers demands and looks after the environment. Let us explore more opportunities in the fashion market to help jewelry brands and retailers tap on the unventured avenues.
Here are some trends that will determine the progress in the accessory market for brands:
1. High-end Products Receive Rising Investments
For a long time, the fashion sector has been promoting the “buy less, buy better” approach to its buyers, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears, especially after the lockdowns were lifted across the globe and people were free to travel, shop, offices, and parties once again. This means they are once again inclined towards higher-priced goods, such as expensive jewelry, bags, shoes, and many others that sell well across retailers. Additionally, as resale and rental flourish, young shoppers are keener to purchase iconic handbags and more extravagant clothing, with the knowledge they can resell it or rent it to recover their investment costs. According to experts, customers are coming out of pretty stressful moments, and they want to ensure that whatever they buy must stick around for a while. For instance, StockX emulates the stock market, plays well into young people’s interest in finance. Buyers increasingly see clothes and other accessory products as an alternative investment class and agree that fashion investment is one of the biggest trends of the year. In the second half of 2021, fashion returned to glamour, where customers are not afraid to experiment with their classy eveningwear, elegant ornaments, and other complementary accessories to help them stand out in the crowd and also enjoy the evening. Additionally, customers are willing to invest from a buy now, wear now perspective, so it isn’t surprising to see the ‘going out-out trend truly performing as we approach the holiday and party season.
In mid-2020, during the height of the pandemic, According to sales at the Browns, fine jewelry, watches, and classic designer handbags have outperformed customers that are looking for acquiring investment styles or pieces that hold value. And according to Selfridge, these categories continue to do extremely well for retailers and other big market players. These trends have been especially noted among females who are desperate to dress up and go out for parties or any other functions or even vacations. However, the notion of dressing in 2020 and 2021 and beyond is extremely different from during 2018 and 2019.
2. New Evolved Technologies for Better Business Opportunities
As discussed in the blog, metaverse has changed the way people perceive fashion and has taken the fashion industry to the next stage, and it is believed to be the successor of the internet age. Depending on the use of an area of retail, the metaverse has extended to digital fashion, social media, augmented reality, virtual stores, videos games and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), meaning that many brands had jumped on the metaverse vagabond even before the term became commonplace. The fashion term becomes increasingly entrenched in the metaverse, and its core Gen Z customer base spends more of its time playing, socializing and shopping there; understanding its full potential is crucial.
Further convergence of our physical and digital lives through the metaverse is breaking free from the rectangles in our hands, desks, and walls and being all around us. Mathew Ball has worked with Virgil Abloh to tap and develop a digital-only fashion brand. The new-age solution believes that more of our time spent in leisure, socializing, and working will take place in virtual environments. The metaverse is the idea that we will spend an ever-increasing amount of our lives connected to persistent virtual simulations. Likewise, the 3D jewelry design online is a customization solution enabling ornament brands and retailers to provide marvellous customer experiences that ensure leisure and socialization among buyers. The tool is the epitome of providing great customer services through its 3d technology before heading for the final payments.
3. Gender Fluidity Across Many Fashion Segments
According to Bain and Company and Depop, young buyers, in particular, are resisting all kinds of categorization regarding fashion retail and marketing. Gen Z want brands to offer them gender fluid merchandising, physical and digital activations, resale and retail in one place. No boundaries exist anymore between commerce and connections, consumption, and production. The lines between entertainment and entrepreneurship are also blurring, and therefore, this extends to how the generation views life and society and fashion. When it comes to newness, this generation has a new lens through which they see ‘new’, which comes with gender fluidity. They no longer want to be associated with brands to societal norms that determine what gender-based rules should be and how people should dress up according to their gender. This trend had started very early in the market, but in 2021, it began to gain most of its traction. Brands such as Saks Off Fifth have worked tirelessly to work towards this goal and entice young buyers by removing all gendered signage this year from over 100 stores. Likewise, Harris Reeds, the well-known designer brand, was named the fourth hottest brand in the world by Lyst Year in Review. Celebrities too gained a big name in the review list and included people like Lil Nas X and featured as the third most influential person of 2021. The celebrity has inspired people of all genders to dress how they feel. It’s not just fashion; consumers are resisting gendered categories across jewlery and beauty, too.
The gender fluidity gained many buyers, other business models, and resale and retail, where customers have blended their gender preferences and bought things they genuinely liked. Gerailed that received investment from Goat Group, has sold second-hand and new fashion and streetwear in one place. This strategy has helped the brand reach over 7 million users and over 3 million listings. This year, Net-a-Porter has also collaborated with Reflaunt and allowed customers to resell their luxury goods to receive store credit or cash. Similarly, Browns has launched a take-back programme with Thrift+ as the brand believes that fashion is fluid these days, and customers’ taste has evolved a lot in the last couple of decades. The resale and take-back models are extremely significant for fashion houses, and they believe that this gender fluidity would take them to a more sustainable future. Therefore, brands like The Reflaunt had been launched when customers at scale were seeking this type of service. Over the past 19 months, customers have been shopping more responsibly, and whatever product they buy generally has some purpose behind it. In fact, a survey by Net-a-Porter reveals that 66 per cent of customers are willing to buy and sell already pre-owned designer items. This fact indicates there is an appetite among buyers who are trying to be more gender fluid, and their interest within this space continues to grow, and retailers are “excited” to see how it evolves in the upcoming years.
People these days are willing to shop from a hybrid store that allows collaboration between the physical and digital fashion. Therefore, brands are launching collaborations between real-world and virtual products, including Balmain’s NFT sneakers to the Balenciaga x Fortnite collaboration, which dropped in-game and real-life products on the same day in September. The most significant element about these projects is the role of NFT that brings every digital aspect into a physical experience.
4. Pop Culture Reference Gain More Traction
Music, TV series, films, and memes have become some of the best pop culture references among buyers when they go for purchasing any product. Some of the most influential fashion players across TV, Music industries, or traditional influencers have played a significant role in spurring sales in the last year. According to Lyst’s year in review, pop star Dua Lipa and actor Zendaya topped the influence charts first and second, respectively. In collaboration with her stylist Law Roach, the actress has had standout red-carpet moments, including Balmain’s latex dress, which caused a 190 per cent surge in searches for Balmain dresses shortly after, per Lyst.
Brands must tap on the latest pop cultures as they are a great way of enticing young buyers and associating or forming warm relations with customers. Dior Men collaborates with many artists and musicians; Gucci has formed a partnership with Harry Styles for several appearances and tours, while Dua Lipa is the face of Versace and has also boosted the profile of smaller brands such as Maximilian, Knwls, and Luar.
Wrapping Up-
The trends in the fashion industry indicate it has evolved immensely in the last few years, yet many other elements and marketplaces are untapped. Our jewelry design software by iDesigniBuy helps brands and retailers tap on these unexplored avenues of the fashion business and make their business models more flexible. These customization solutions and digital features allow brands and their buyers to be transparent with one another and engage more creatively.
