IFM Fashion Reboot 2024: Trump, China, consumer distrust and quiet luxury

The election of Donald Trump, the slowdown of French luxury brands in the Chinese market, the feeling of being misled by marketing, and the quiet strength of Quiet Luxury are the four main themes addressed by the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) at its Fashion Reboot 2024 event.

This traditional end-of-year gathering organised by the IFM for industry professionals provides an overview of the social and economic landscape of fashion, complemented by testimonials on winning profiles and innovative ideas.

"The same goes for the customs tariffs, which the future president has described as 'more beautiful than love', and the same goes for the Paris Agreement on climate, which he wishes to withdraw from," added the editorialist. Even if he won't have free rein, given that he doesn't have Congress behind him, diplomatic economic negotiation and lobbying will be key levers for continuing to sell to the United States and preventing customs charges from skyrocketing (the promise is 60 percent on Chinese products, and some French brands that export manufacture in China).

The tool for trade negotiations with China is to require them to sell on our terms

China was also a key topic of discussion. "For the first time, the Chinese state has invested in household consumption. If China doesn't have a domestic market, it will have to export, but the US is closing itself off," Denis Ferrand, managing director of Rexecode, the second speaker at Fashion Reboot 2024, said. "As a result, Europe is the natural market and the dream target for the Chinese economy. We must leverage this for negotiations. We need to consider the conditions under which we accept Chinese products."

He added that their technology is such – 450 robots for every 10,000 industrial jobs – that the barrier is probably not reindustrialisation, "we must drop our arrogance," but in demanding compliance with environmental and social standards. This is all the more crucial as inflation falls and French consumption rises, as shown by the latest IFM studies which are conducted monthly.

Gildas Minvielle, Director of the IFM's Economic Observatory, then took the floor to present his quantified report on the economic activity of fashion in France. "This year, we have been particularly interested in consumers," he noted in his introduction. First data point: 58 percent of branded retailers regret a decline in footfall.

While 67.5 percent of consumers surveyed indicated that inflation has influenced their consumption habits, the verbatim comments collected signal a loss of confidence in the product: "Clothes from well-known brands are too expensive and not particularly durable," "The quality of clothing has declined, I prefer not to spend too much given their lifespan."

Result: 46 percent of consumers have bought fewer clothes in the last twelve months (27 percent have bought cheaper items, 19 percent have bought at the same price or more expensive). The testimonials gathered on this subject show their disengagement, or rather their desire to invest in quality: "I buy fewer low-end clothes and more quality items," "I buy more thoughtfully: instead of buying four pieces, I'll buy one, a little more expensive, that I'll keep longer." Except that, as is often the case, there's the expressed intention and then there's the reality.

Decathlon is the number one destination for both physical and online purchases

In reality, the most frequented shops and websites are not those that can boast of striving for excellence. For physical shops, the podium is occupied by Decathlon (26.9 percent), Kiabi (26.9 percent) and Zara (17.9 percent). Followed by H&M, Nike, Celio and then Intersport. For online business, we find Amazon (26.3 percent), Decathlon (21.4 percent) and Shein (19.9 percent). Followed closely by Zalando, Vinted and Kiabi.

While online commerce experienced a 5 percent decline in 2023, the trend is positive again in 2024 with a 1.7 percent increase at the end of September (+7 percent compared to 2019). The Observatory estimates that its share should be around 23 percent in value, including 6 percent for the trio Shein, Amazon, Temu. Is there cause for concern about the uninhibited purchasing behaviour in the face of ultra-fast fashion?

Yes and no, according to the comments collected from the panel of consumers surveyed: "I sometimes buy fashion products made in China, but I prefer other origins" (40 percent), "I systematically avoid buying fashion products made in China" (27 percent), "I don't pay attention to the country of manufacture when I buy fashion products" (21 percent), "I sometimes buy fashion products made in China, the quality seems comparable to that of other countries" (10 percent). Here again, one can question the existing discrepancy between what is said and what is done.

To these facts, we must add the development of secondhand fashion, which could contribute to blurring the consumer's perception of price. 32 percent of them systematically favour secondhand. Today, the French market for secondhand clothing, footwear and leather goods represents nearly 12 percent of purchases. 58 percent of retailers sell secondhand (+10 points vs 2023). It's in the pipeline for 25 percent of them.

The afternoon of Fashion Reboot 2024 was devoted to current topics such as the polarisation of fashion ("ultra-fast fashion vs ultra-luxury"), artificial intelligence and textile waste management. But what caught our attention most was the desire to highlight brands emblematic of Quiet Luxury. This, to counteract a certain fatigue with luxury and logo mania.

In his presentation, Thomas Delattre, Director of the IFM's Fashion Entrepreneurship Center, quoted an interview given by Frédéric Grangié, president of Watches and Fine Jewellery at Chanel, to Le Temps magazine: "There is a worrying factor that explains why this crisis will potentially last longer than others: it can be called 'banalisation', I prefer to speak of 'luxury fatigue'. This feeling is affecting mature markets [...] Customers are tired of being bombarded with luxury."

The presentations by Laetitia Mergui, CEO of Lemaire, Freja Day, CEO of fashion label Sœur, and Guillaume de Seynes, president of Upstream and Investments at Hermès, all pointed in the same direction: Quiet Luxury. This means prioritising product creation over marketing, being kind, taking the time to develop one's brand ("beauty is in the journey"), managerial independence, savoir-faire, repairability and quality. It is on these enduring values that Fashion Reboot concluded its 2024 presentation.