With trends toward minimalism and modern design in full force throughout the fashion world, some brands have adopted a contrarian angle towards the futuristic, stripped-down designs seen so often today. These brands are looking to the past for inspiration and exploring how more classic looks could become part of today’s fashion zeitgeist.
This trend has been spurred on by the fact that many fast-fashion brands such as Zara and H&M focus more on sleek, modern looks. Premium, higher-priced brands are looking to set themselves apart from many of their fast-fashion competitors and stand out in the industry.
It isn’t surprising that premium brands are looking to distinguish themselves from their low-cost, nearly ubiquitous fast-fashion competitors by showing off retro, classic looks. H&M has specialized in offering affordable Scandinavian-influenced designs, being that the company originated in Sweden. In fact, the brand gets its name from the Swedish word Hannes, meaning “hers” and Mauritz, the namesake of a fishing and hunting apparel store that H&M bought early in its history.
It is no surprise, therefore, that H&M features many futuristic, minimalist designs with surprising splashes of color that have come to characterize a Scandinavian design sensibility.
Banana Republic Looks Towards the Future Via the Past
These popular and accessible designs are precisely the kinds of looks that brands like Banana Republic are trying to stand out from. Since 2000, Banana Republic focused on traditional chinos, dress shirts, and rather unassuming white-collar clothing. The brand has consistently produced quality clothing with well-sourced fabric, but it has noticed in recent years that this more conventional design approach is simply no longer working.
Banana Republic reported a 29% decrease in net sales, after which its owner, Gap, announced that they would close 130 Banana Republic retail locations. Realizing that the brand had to pivot, management decided that it was time to look to the past to inspire Banana Republic’s future.
Banana Republic unveiled a new line of outdoors-oriented clothing that was based on the styles sold in the brand’s infancy. It embraced an abrupt departure from the traditional white-collar clothing it had become known for and instead embraced a rugged outdoorsy aesthetic. The move, at least so far, has proven to be a success.
The brand amassed a collection of 225 items of its clothing dating back to the 1980s and 1990s, and sold them online through popular vintage eCommerce stores, selling 50% of its stock on the first day. Among the items on offer were camo pants, suede jackets, and rugged vests.
In addition to the safari-style retro designs of their past, brands like Sanctuary are also finding an audience by integrating the creativity, authenticity, and artistry of urban fashion into their designs.
Urban fashion is well-known for its ability to cross cultural boundaries, integrate creative motifs, and appeal to a wide audience.
Other Brands to Consider — and Furniture Alike
However, Banana Republic is not the only brand that is looking to the past for what’s cool now. The trend can be seen in countless other clothing brands as well as furniture designs. Tommy Hilfiger, for example, found that many of the designs popular in its 1980s and 1990s glory days have reached a new audience in Millennial consumers. In fact, the brand recently announced that it would be reissuing many of its retro designs, to the delight of many young buyers.
Tommy Hilfiger isn’t alone, with Nautica, Guess Jeans, and Ralph Lauren also recently announcing that they are reissuing retro styles.
In different areas of fashion and design, it seems that young consumers, in particular, possess a taste for vintage or retro looks that hearken back to a different time period. Vintage stores in Williamsburg, Brooklyn are still surprised to find that vintage clothing and furniture pieces fly off the shelves or are sold online within minutes of them being available.
One vintage store called Home Depot reports that the demand for 1970s Mads Capriani teak floor lamps is absolutely off-the-charts. The store states that the $2,200 Danish piece is gone within seconds of it being posted on the company’s highly-trafficked Instagram page.
The lockdowns, quarantines, and regulations implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic seem to only stoke the flames of young consumers’ passion for vintage styles. Many Millennials spent great lengths of time on Instagram, following influencers and content creators that showed viewers how to repurpose vintage looks for the modern age. Long periods of indoor isolation combined with a nostalgic yearning for simpler times were the perfect combination to propel many consumers to reach for vintage styles.
The value of specific designs is boosted impressively when consumers spot them in the house or on the body of their favorite influencers. Many buyers in their 20s and 30s today seem to have a particular fascination with 1980s-inspired designs that are easy-going, fun, and quirky.
Aged furniture has become popular for this reason, often reminding Millennials buyers of the ease and comfort of their parent’s homes.
It seems that countless brands across several industries are looking to the past to find out what’s cool now and tap into some of the nostalgic impulses among young consumers. It’s a trend that is likely to continue, with many companies searching for new ways to appeal to consumers using old styles and aesthetics.