How Tech is Enabling the Next-Generation of Independent Designers and Driving Circular Systems
This session first aired during the 2022 Sustainable Fashion Forum and was made accessible to the SFF community in partnership with vveave.
From social justice to climate change, GenZ is known for leading the charge against some of the most pressing issues of our time. Though they may be the new kids on the block, GenZ has strong opinions and even higher expectations regarding the brands they engage with.
Well-informed and increasingly wary of the implications of fast fashion, many GenZers have evolved from conscious consumers to sustainably-minded, small business owners dedicated to filling the gaps they identified as consumers while upholding their values.
As a digitally native generation, social media and tech have been an integral part of GenZ businesses, with many GenZ entrepreneurs starting on Depop, TikTok, and Instagram before turning their side-hustles into fully-fledged companies that rival prominent brands.
“The playing field is leveled now,” says Bowery Showroom founder Matthew Choon. “Everyone is competing in the same arena, so big fashion brands and smaller designers can influence the younger generation in almost the same way. If you do it properly, you can have a greater impact.”
Emerging as a tech solution to support the cohort of GenZ content creators and emerging independent designers, vveave connects designers with customers providing the infrastructure for designers of all levels to develop and expand their customer base while reducing waste and promoting upcycling.
“I started doing focus groups with independent designers, and many of the issues they said they were having were being able to manage projects in an organized way,” said vveave co-founder Sarah Lamarche. “vveave creates systems so that people can create their brands and be more independent in an organized way.”
Through the platform, shoppers can create a project by entering relevant information, including sizing, budget, due date, and pictures showing the current piece and inspiration. From there, shoppers can post their projects to the vveave community to receive personalized quotes from designers or send them directly to a specific designer. Once the designer accepts the project, shoppers can track the project and follow the process until completion.
“For many emerging designers, having to pre-purchase materials to make their items can be a barrier which is why a lot of them got into thrifting and then upcycling. But they still found it really expensive even when they bought it secondhand. And then they would have to take the time to make the item, hope that someone could find them, would like it, and would purchase it; otherwise, it would end up in the landfill or taking up room in their closet or studio. Essentially, we're reducing that need where independent designers get the materials from the customers and get a job right away.”
From all the reports and articles analyzing the youngest generation, one thing is abundantly clear. GenZ has its own way of doing things and isn't afraid to create its own table if they aren't invited to sit at existing tables.
“A lot of these large gatekeepers in industries like media and fashion are no longer needed. In the past, when you wanted to do a commercial, you'd have to go through television networks. Now you can just take your phone and go viral overnight,” said Choon. “If you want to make clothes, instead of going through a big factory, we can now work with our community through platforms like vveave and get around gatekeepers. Everything is being democratized through the advent of tech and the ability to connect with your community through a single platform.”
How is GenZ redefining the definition of fashion, style, and business? How is the newest generation of GenZ content creators and emerging independent designers using tech to grow their businesses and create a fashion system?
Head over to our YouTube to watch vveave co-founder and CEO Sarah Lamarche and GenZ founders and TikTok giants Emma Rogue and Matt Choon discuss.
