Future of Fashion and Gender

As society changes, e-commerce keeps up with its needs. In recent years and decades, LGBTQ visibility has been getting more and more prominent, and thus, companies take action to be more inclusive in their corporate culture, their language, and their product range. Today, we will discuss an industry where gender distinction is traditionally considered necessary: Fashion. But is it always necessary? Let’s dig into the future of fashion and gender.

Fashion

Similar to e-commerce, Fashion also keeps up with society, shaping and pioneering its trends from time to time. Even though it seems like a new trend, gender-neutral clothing roots back to the 1930s. On the other hand, today, unlike those days, gender-neutral clothing is not only shown on the stage but also present on the streets. As the world changes, people who are not conforming to binary gender roles such as masculine and feminine are becoming more visible in society.

As a result of this, needs are redefined to be more inclusive. We are familiar with the fashion industry, the “main” sections refer to the style. But of course, these rules don’t apply to a person who identifies as non-binary, genderfluid, or people who simply don’t want to have a label. This issue will be more and more significant in the following decades but is the fashion industry ready for it?

Category structures

The category structures in the e-commerce industry are usually complex structures with many subcategories and specific features. It is not always easy to make changes to these. Therefore, most retailers use Product Information Management systems to control their structures and product content. In addition to all the other features, retailers can build their category structure flexibly thanks to the PIM systems.

Usually, fashion categories are limited to Men’s, Women’s, Kids and Accessories. However, as mentioned before, E-Commerce tends to keep up with societal needs. Thus, brands and retailers gradually offer gender-neutral clothing and categories. This can be a switch on/off button or an additional main category to be more inclusive.

It is essential to keep up with the needs of one’s client base and be inclusive of every individual. Adding a gender-neutral category or making arrangements to comply with this new industry standard will be necessary, and the train has already taken off. Icecat’s custom taxonomy service can be used to sort the products. And Icecat PIM’s custom categories provide such a category structure.

Gen Z

In the last quarter of 2022, the overview of the industry trends indicates progression to be more inclusive, especially with the rising Gen Z. Time will tell what the trends will be for Generation Z and Alpha. We will also keep an eye on the developments to keep our systems adaptive.