INDUSTRY ANALYSIS & COMPETITORS (2nd post)

Fast Fashion in Singapore can be seen from the level of mass market interest from the Singaporean themselves, who are very interested in a wide range of promotions, such as designer collaborations, or famous celebrity endorsement of a fast fashion brand. "masstige" or mass market with prestige, has become one of the good strategies for promoting sales in the fast fashion market (Leow, 2016).

Usually by buying "masstige", the customer or consumer will feel that they encompass prestige and luxury because they can own something from a brand that is normally out of their reach. Examples of "masstige" include Kenzo with H&M, also Lemaire x Uniqlo, where in the latter case, the prestige lies in the fact that Christophe Lemaire is a former creative director of Hermes. Lemaire also brought back the trend of the U-Line shirt. There is also the Kendall + Kylie collaboration with Topshop, as well as Kate Moss with Topshop, and much more. Strategies like these can be helpful in the sales of fast fashion brands since Singaporeans will always be excited by such things. This is evidenced by the enthusiastic Singaporeans queuing for the launch of H&M by Balmain or Alexander Wang.

 (Leow, 2016)

(Leow, 2016)

Another sales strategy of fast fashion that is applicable globally is to recycle the product. The North Face, H&M, and Levi's are a few examples of brands running this idea of recycling. Recycling is more than just separating clothes that are not used anymore and then dumped it. According Mr. Olle Bidholm, Environmental Sustainability Manager of H&M, it is good even from a business perspective to show concern for the environment and social issues, and act on them (Woo, 2017).

According to the 2015 Global Report by research firm Nielsen, Generation Z or millenials, or children aged 15-20, are nowadays more willing to pay for services or products that have good environmental and social standing (Woo, 2017). Also, sometimes several fast fashion brands will give discounts or shopping vouchers if customers want to recycle, which is then a win-win situation.

In addition, today's fast fashion can be said to be for everyone, because the collection is not only attractive to the public, but is also worn by celebrities and influencers, and some also use them as formal outfits when they attend large events, such as the Met Gala, or Emmys. Therefore, to put it simply, people today will not pay for an original idea. If you can find something by a fast fashion brand that is similar to a luxury brand, why buy products from the brand that is more expensive? Fashion is not simply about slapping on luxury brands and huge logos and calling it "style". Style must come from within us (Yin, 2017).

COMPETITOR:

MDS & LOVE BONITO 

MDS

("Shop women's clothes, dresses, accessories & more at MDS", 2016)

MDS was established online in 2006 by Georgiana Yeo and Joe Phua, who were originally school mates. MDS is one of the largest retail fashion stores in Singapore. There are branches of MDS in South East Asian countries, such as Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Japan. MDS is inspired by cutting-edge runway fashion. MDS also updates their product and designs twice-weekly, with 40-60 pieces of new designs. They are currently having a 100-strong staff count with 12 physical retail outlets across Singapore ("About Us | International Online Fashion Store | MDS", 2015).

MDS style is similar to The Editor's Market, since they also have the same colour tones. The difference is MDS is a more feminine style compared with The Editor's Market, which has a minimalistic and simple style.

LOVE, BONITO

(Tan, 2014)

Love, Bonito is an online shop project that began in 2006. This brand was built by three young women who have same passion in fashion, but one has since left the company. Very positive responses from customers have enabled Love, Bonito to stay strong until now. Their network and promotion first started by word of mouth from their customers. Over time, they became full fledged entrepreneurs. 

Love, Bonito was built on the basis of women's self-awareness; they wanted women to love themselves, and they hope their clothing will boost women's confidence when they feel down. Love, Bonito believes they can create a positive change in society and can inspire all women. In return, women believe in Love, Bonito. 

Love, Bonito and MDS also have the same style. Love, Bonito can be said to be "winning" from their campaign, for we can see Love, Bonito place their campaign strategically (example: Somerset MRT), and it is an inspiring campaign that looks beyond race and reflects on how to raise awareness in every woman.

REFERENCES:

About Us | International Online Fashion Store | MDS. (2015). Mdscollections.com. Retrieved from http://www.mdscollections.com/about_us.cfm

About us - Love, Bonito. (2006). Lovebonito.com. Retrieved from https://www.lovebonito.com/content/4-about-us

Tan, F. (2014). Love Bonito’s latest bridesmaid dress collection is going places. herworldPLUS. Retrieved from http://www.herworldplus.com/weddings/updates/love-bonito%E2%80%99s-latest-bridesmaid-dress-collection-going-places

Shop women's clothes, dresses, accessories & more at MDS. (2016). Mdscollections.com. Retrieved from http://www.mdscollections.com/

Leow, A. (2016). 7 fast-fashion tie-ups with designers that drew buyers in Singapore. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/fashion/7-fast-fashion-tie-ups-with-designers-that-drew-buyers-in-singapore

Woo, A. (2017). Recycling old clothes more common now. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/fashion/fast-fashion-wears-green

Yin, C. (2017). The Death of Style: How Millennials and Singapore Approach Fashion » Popspoken SG | Things To Do in Singapore | Culture | Lifestyle. Popspoken. Retrieved from http://popspoken.com/issues/2017/01/how-millennials-singapore-approach-fashion