What McKinsey’s Latest Report Teaches Us About the Fashion Industry

For the past five years, management consulting company McKinsey lists the upcoming prominent trends of the fashion industry based on recent development. The State of Fashion is a highly informative and anticipated report. 

This year is no different, but it is also very different. Due to the outbreak, most current industry trends could not have been predicted a year ago. That’s why it’s even more important to study the report and understand where the fashion business is headed. To make life easier for you, here are a few trends we can expect to see in 2021 according to McKinsey. 

Some things are slowing down, while others are on the rise

The report offers some bad news and some good ones. On the negative side, many retailers suffered a hit due to the pandemic. There are no surprises here, as the combination of supply chain shifts and economic struggles wasn’t very kind to many of our colleagues. 

On a much more positive note, procedures that were waiting for a boost finally received it, and accelerated digital transformations were sensed across the board. The trend “Digital Sprint” was one of the report’s top three themes to notice. Even the most traditional retailers discovered the magic of digital textile processes and embraced it this year. The report predicts more of this exciting advancement in 2021, and we cannot wait. 

Time to make better decisions

The shift towards a more conscious fashion business has been in motion for a few years now, with fair trade and sustainable fashion on manufacturers’ and shoppers’ minds. Some might say that many are unfashionably late to the party, but this change is positive and is becoming more noticeable in 2020-2021. 

McKinsey’s report discusses issues like the protection of employees’ rights and social awareness. We add a focus on sustainability and remember that accountability is key. The fashion industry must face the harm that some of its actions cause and develop creative solutions to fix it. Luckily for us, creativity is what fashion is all about.  

Performance-based retail 

Another theme that was highlighted in the report is ROI. Current market conditions encourage retailers to take a closer look at their business decisions and understand what works and what doesn’t. There are many blind spots to shed light on and a need for better technology that enables that. 

When we launched Kornit Konnect, we felt that textile printing businesses need to gather data and base their decisions on the insights they reach. This year, we’ll see similar technologies enter other corners of the fashion world, and many retailers who’ll be somewhat surprised to learn new information regarding the business they have been running for years. 

If there’s one message to take from McKinsey’s report, it’s that we can always grow and do better. This is true when it comes to innovation, consciousness, productivity, and more. We hope that despite the recent challenges the industry and the entire world have been experiencing lately, 2021 will bring prosperity and growth to everyone.