Ignoring older consumers while courting millennials and Gen Zers could cost the fashion industry over US$14 billion
The real question is not whether retailers and brands can effectively market to the ‘young’ and ‘older’ generations – it’s whether they want to put in the effort
Fashion has a long history of ageism. However, in setting its sights on younger people, the industry risks alienating a multibillion-dollar industry. On January 5, The Guardian reported on a study by the International Longevity Centre-UK that says ageism could cost the fashion industry a staggering £11 billion (over US$14 billion) in the next 20 years.
“For too long the fashion and beauty industries have been bewilderingly resistant to recognising just how fashionable and stylish the generation of older consumers are and want to remain,” Diane Kenwood, an ILC trustee, said.
“The potential of these consumers is huge and it has been shamefully sidelined. I do, though, sense a shift in attitudes starting to stir, and I’m hopeful that change will gather momentum.”
The cost of ageism is a hefty one
Older models have been more active in the fashion and beauty industries. Actress Helen Mirren, 72, serves as a brand ambassador for L’Oreal; then-82-year-old author Joan Didion was tapped to star in a campaign for Celine in 2015; singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, 76, had a campaign with luxury house Saint Laurent in 2015; and 92-year-old Iris Apfel signed a 2019 modelling contract with IMG.
As reported by The Guardian, those considered to be “older people” (Gen Xers and boomers) have increased their spending on fashion by nearly 21 per cent from 2011 to 2018. And though, as the centre’s research found, women typically stop spending money on fashion once they reach the age of 75, they are still interested in looking and feeling stylish.
But the increase in advertisements and spending power alone may not be enough to sway the fashion industry into not leaving older consumers behind. In speaking with The Guardian, Ari Seth Cohen, creator of the blog Advanced Style, said that the fashion industry has a fear of mortality.
“Fashion and beauty brands have been ignoring their older customers for ages,” Cohen said. “Rather than trying to reach this savvy demographic, they prey on their insecurities and use fear and ageist propaganda to sell beauty products that promise the ridiculous and harmful ideology of ‘anti-ageing’.”