BENGALURU: Comfort, community, consciousness and communication, mostly through social media , is what drives Gen Z (the generation born between 1995 and 2005), our youngest creatives of today. Spending almost every waking hour online, in their universe comfort rules – think sweatshirts, tees, trans-seasonal / gender neutral clothing, luxury streetwear, athleisure and sneakers. Local brands, sustainable labels and ethical practices hold value for them, as does anything deemed individualistic and unique.
Three Gen Z designers from namma ooru believe that the millennials take style inspiration not from runways or magazines but from Instagram and Pinterest. They tell us how fashion and luxury to them means a tool to assist in expressing their true self.
“I consider my style as androgynous,” says Vir Naidu, breaking the stigma of traditional male and female clothing, adding that his biggest creative influence has been his mother, Ila Naidu, who always serves some serious style swag.Echoes Vir, “She has always encouraged me to express myself fully, and pushes the limits of my style as well as design.” Being a part of Gen Z, Vir finds that a large part of their consumption is dictated by social media trends. “We want to wear what’s trendy, which causes many of us to consume fast fashion. Fast fashion is affordable but is exploitative.” As creative head for young brand Three Eleven (3xi), he adds, “We wanted to create a brand that provides Gen Z with the ability to consume consciously while looking stylish doing it”. The brand employs local artisans with a made-to-measure business model that focuses on genderless clothing that is eco-conscious!
The market for sustainable athleisure wear was in high demand due to increased hours of spending indoors during thelockdowns. With this, the demand for a stylish comfort wear brand Cava was created by siblings Ria and Shreya Mittal. The sisters describe Gen Z as those who are experimental, conscious and for whom comfort cool is key to their style. They believe the athleisure trend is here to stay. Being part of the new generation of designers, they see the future of fashion to be more accepting of streetwear into high fashion and technology integrated fashion with sustainability at its core .
“Gen Z shopper is someone looking for high-quality fashion at affordable prices,” says Saniya Khanna, founder of knitwear brand Akiva. Having grown up with parents in the industry, fashion has always been an integral part to her. “At Akiva, we have three main mottos- to revolutionise the way a consumer perceives knitwear, to ensure inclusivity, and to create versatility,” adds Saniya. With the growth of online styling videos, she believes that this generation responds more greatly to visual stimuli. Therefore multiple ways of styling a garment will become important in the designing process of the future.
Emerging as the most sustainable generation, there is an acute sense of confidence in Gen Z compared to the millennials. Always with an aim to bring about positive changes, they have already made significant advancements within the fashion industry in terms of inclusivity, diversity, and sustainability.