Fashion's Disconnect: Are Brands Putting Profits Before People?

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I've been a fashion enthusiast for years, and lately, something feels off. It's like the magic is gone. Remember when brands used to tell stories with their clothes? When the experience of buying a piece, whether it was a high-end designer item or something from your favorite boutique, felt special? Now, it just feels… transactional. Like brands are more interested in hitting quarterly targets than actually connecting with their customers.

Take Coach, for example. I used to love their leather bags. The quality was amazing, and the designs were classic. But now? The leather feels thinner, the stitching isn't as precise, and the designs seem… watered down. Yet, the prices keep climbing! It feels like they're cutting corners on quality while maximizing profits. And it's not just them. I see it everywhere.

Then there's the whole celebrity endorsement thing. It feels like every brand is throwing money at some influencer or celebrity, regardless of whether they actually embody the brand's values. It feels so inauthentic. Like, does Kendall Jenner really use that specific skincare product she's promoting? Or are they just getting a paycheck? It makes me question the brand's integrity. It's like they're relying on hype instead of focusing on creating genuinely desirable products.

I miss the days when fashion felt more personal, more about self-expression and less about keeping up with the latest micro-trend. I miss the focus on quality and craftsmanship. I miss the feeling of discovering a unique piece that you knew you would cherish for years. Now, it feels like everything is disposable, designed to be replaced next season.

So, yeah, I definitely think a lot of brands are prioritizing profits over people – and over the planet, too, if we're being honest. I'm not saying all brands are bad, but the shift is definitely noticeable. I'm curious to know if other people feel the same way. Are we just being nostalgic, or is there a real disconnect happening here?
 
I have the opposite view.
Brands aren’t putting profits over people. It has always been like that.
I think however that today, consumers are over stimulated. People are bombarded by images, by collections and by informations.

Today, an average regular consumer is aware of the financial difficulties of a brand.

It’s a 360 thing. Before it was easy to sell a product disguise by great marketing. Today customers wants their bag to be an « investment » before being a product they like and that fit their lifestyle.

And about the planet? People were simply not aware. In the 2000’s, brands produced the same number of collections (without the collabs). At the end of the season, stuff that were unsold after the sales was destroyed.
 
I have the opposite view.
Brands aren’t putting profits over people. It has always been like that.
I think however that today, consumers are over stimulated. People are bombarded by images, by collections and by informations.

Today, an average regular consumer is aware of the financial difficulties of a brand.

It’s a 360 thing. Before it was easy to sell a product disguise by great marketing. Today customers wants their bag to be an « investment » before being a product they like and that fit their lifestyle.

And about the planet? People were simply not aware. In the 2000’s, brands produced the same number of collections (without the collabs). At the end of the season, stuff that were unsold after the sales was destroyed.
I see where you're coming from, and I agree that consumers today are more informed and have different expectations. But I think that actually reinforces my point - if anything, brands should be more accountable now, not less. The fact that people are looking at bags as "investments" rather than as objects of personal style speaks to how much the landscape has shifted. When did buying something because you love it become secondary to its resale value? That feels like a symptom of the problem, not a justification for it.

And yes, brands have always been profit-driven - that's the nature of business. But the balance between profit and product feels off now. In the past, great marketing might have sold a product, but at least the product itself still had inherent value. Today, it often feels like brands expect hype alone to carry them, even when quality and design are compromised.

As for sustainability, you're right that waste has always been an issue. But the difference is that now, brands know better and so do we. Yet, instead of meaningfully changing, many are just greenwashing while still overproducing.

So, I don’t think this is just nostalgia. The shift is real. The question is: are brands adapting in ways that actually benefit consumers and the planet, or are they just adapting their marketing to keep up appearances?
 
I think people who are worried about resale value aren’t really fashion customers. In my opinion the Christian Dior target customer can buy 6k bags without worrying about resale.

I think fashionistas have never been happier. Clothing quality has never been better, there really are no bad clothes anymore anywhere. Walking around in public is way nicer than say 2002. Everyone is fashionable now even if they’re not.
 
Clothing quality has never been better, there really are no bad clothes anymore anywhere. Walking around in public is way nicer than say 2002. Everyone is fashionable now even if they’re not.
What??
 
I see where you're coming from, and I agree that consumers today are more informed and have different expectations. But I think that actually reinforces my point - if anything, brands should be more accountable now, not less. The fact that people are looking at bags as "investments" rather than as objects of personal style speaks to how much the landscape has shifted. When did buying something because you love it become secondary to its resale value? That feels like a symptom of the problem, not a justification for it.

And yes, brands have always been profit-driven - that's the nature of business. But the balance between profit and product feels off now. In the past, great marketing might have sold a product, but at least the product itself still had inherent value. Today, it often feels like brands expect hype alone to carry them, even when quality and design are compromised.

As for sustainability, you're right that waste has always been an issue. But the difference is that now, brands know better and so do we. Yet, instead of meaningfully changing, many are just greenwashing while still overproducing.

So, I don’t think this is just nostalgia. The shift is real. The question is: are brands adapting in ways that actually benefit consumers and the planet, or are they just adapting their marketing to keep up appearances?
Unfortunately I don’t think that brands can do both. And because we are in the world we are, the goal will always be to benefit the consumer. And what the consumer want is to actually consume more.
There are more options than ever.

Is the consumer really ready to be responsible?

There was a real desire from people in the industry to do a reset during the pandemic and believe me that it wasn’t just talk. They were very utopic about the issue.

But consumers and their wallets talked.

You can’t have more, more more and require better and also sustainable.

And we are talking on a grand scale not little entities.

In essence what @Nimsay said is true.
People dress better as a whole today than in 2002. And while there’s fashion nova and all, the clothes are slightly better in quality and cut.
There was a huge gap back then between commercial clothes and fashion clothes in terms of cut, fabrics and finishing.
 

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