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Fashion trends during the the era of inflation

ended 26. November 2023

Inflation has been the defining narrative for the past 12-18 months. And even though it fell back to 4.6% in October, it's still more than double the Bank of England's target. Against this backdrop, a journalist at a national newspaper has asked Newspage to seek views from smaller fashion retailers — online, bricks and mortar or hybrid — on how the inflationary crisis, which is far from over has affected fashion trends since the summer of 2021 when prices started rising sharply, hitting 11.1% in October 2022). So a handful of Qs:

  • What key trends have you seen since the summer of 2021, for example, people spending less, buying cheaper items or buying quality items that will potentially last longer?
  • Have inflation and higher interest rates affected people's views on fashion, e.g. has fashion fallen out of fashion?
  • Have things picked up for you as a fashion retailer (whether that's clothes, accessories or jewellery) in recent months as inflation has come down from its October 2022 peak?
  • How has the run-up to Christmas 2023 been so far for you? Better than last year or worse?
  • Are you feeling positive or negative about 2024 in terms of sales?

Any other thoughts, fire away. We will be issuing your comments to local, national and trade media as well as to the journalist in question.

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Leila
Jeweller - Owner - Designer at Lilac Tree
Since summer 2021, I’ve noticed two key trends. The first is that customers are trending towards more minimalist jewellery designs that they can wear everyday and won’t go out of fashion. The second is that, while my customers are buying fewer items, they are spending more on higher quality, higher value pieces with a special meaning that they can keep forever. Both of these trends coalesce. The majority of pieces that my customers are attracted to at the moment are not big, statement pieces but more simple and minimal, perhaps so that it will be something they will be able to wear again and again rather than languishing in a jewellery box for a “special occasion”. Plus, customers are really keen for a personal and meaningful purchase, which can come at a higher cost, but is something that has a special resonance with them. My birthstone promise rings are a perfect example of this. They have a simple, elegant design and a special meaning to represent the customer or a loved one.
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Jo Spolton
Founder at Rumage
Whilst not a direct-to-customer fashion retailer, we have noticed the growing trend for preloved fashion over new. 2022 saw the percentage of searches on Rumage for apparel, rise from 35% to 42%, and what is new is the search for high-value brands this summer.
Good quality clothes which last, were the original foundations of the secondhand and charity shop industry.
After a flood of fast fashion entering the shops on the peer-to-peer marketplaces over the last decade, quality bargain hunting has returned with price not being the only criterion. Our average cost per item of "new to me" clothing has gone up 12%; leaning away from preloved high street brands into household names.
In response to this consumer behaviour, we have seen our partner websites focusing more on the top names, iterating on categorisation and filtering, as well as new businesses emerging which exclusively focus on high-end, secondhand fashion.