Youth Trends from MAGIC

In addition to the trade show, MAGIC featured a slew of presentations and seminars. One of them struck my interest: "Global Youth Culture Street Fashion Trends: Definining Fresh New Subcultures + Influences from Music, Sports, Technology, + Street Attitudes." The speaker was Kathleen Gasperini, a co-founder and Senior VP of Label Networks.

Not Your Daddy's Sneakers

• Sneakers are moving into upscale type of look with lots of metallics in textures and materials. In fact, “a lot of influences in fashion in general are starting from the sneaker culture,” according to the presentation.

• In this market it’s possible to reinvent yourself, as New Balance, Swarski, Etnies have done. It is just being tapped into. Women’s sneakers are a great growing market to tap into.

• Online retail for footwear is increasing. The youth market is buying more and more footwear online.

• It’s 714 area code meets the 909, in other words, beach skate lifestlye mashed with East L.A. and Inland Empire

What Matters To the Youth

The research firm asked 13-24 year olds in Europe and North America about what matters to them when buying clothes and sneakers.  Here’s what they found:

In Europe:
1.    Fits right
2.    Looks good
3.    Sale
4.    Brand name

In North America
1.    Looks good
2.    Fits right
3.    On sale 
4.    Original style
5.    Customization
6.    Brand name

• The firm also found that 92.7 percent of this age demographic is concerned with environment in some way, and 95 percent of youth culture in North America is more likely to consider brands that donate to non-profits.

Digital Lifestyle

• It’s the future for reaching the marketplace in the next few years. Marketers must understand how young people communicate. For instance: text messaging campaigns might be a good ideas, since youth send an average of 22 text messages per day. “You have to understand how they communicate in this day and age,” the presenter said.

• TV continues to decrease in popularity, the firm’s research found, and tied with T-Mobile’s Sidekick for 6th place as the item that youth “can’t live without.” Advertisers may just start living without TV campaigns.

Predictions

• Women’s segment of streetwear and sneaker culture has “tremendous potential” for growth.

• Vintage and retro mash-ups  will continue, because they enable youth to “reflect an era that they feel reflects them the most.”

• Retail online and pop-up, accessories, green and humanitarian movements, and new niche lifestyle movements.

-Slav