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| Christian Louboutin | The new nude fashion, beauty brands expand options for diverse skin tones |
Brands, retailers and start-ups need to understand that diversity is imperative at every stage of the creative process from design to final product.
Following excerpt from WGSN / Please read the full article
here.
The importance of diversity in design teams is not a problem that is limited to one particular arts collective – approximately 86% of professional designers are Caucasian, according to statistics released by US design trade body AIGA. The percentage of black students at design schools is in the single digits. Diversity in the fashion industry is often spoken about as something important from an outward perspective – with much of the conversation focused on diversifying catwalks and in ad campaigns. While this is incredibly important,
Diversity in design is imperative for businesses wanting to succeed into the future
In the US, non-Hispanic whites will not make up the majority of the US population by 2055. According to forecasts by the Pew Research Centre: “Non-Hispanic whites are projected to become less than half of the US population by 2055 and 46% by 2065,” the report says. Retailers are increasingly serving a global, rather than a national or regional audience, so having a workforce that reflects that population is going to be key to business success. We’re already seeing this in some businesses.
Louboutin Decides to Extend Its Nude Collection to Include ALL Skin Tones Take Christian Louboutin, the famed French luxury designer whose shoes are synonymous with red-lacquered soles. When he debuted his Nudes collection in 2013, it only included heels in a few shades of beige. A team member’s remark that beige isn’t the colour of her skin prompted him to diversify the collection, which now includes seven shades from fair to dark. This spring, ballet flats were added to the mix.
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| Nude fashion colour options for diverse skin tones |
“I have clients from every continent and want to make them happy,” the designer said in a statement. The Nudes are now among the brand’s best sellers."
Diversity is not a soft HR attribute that companies can trot out in order to seem like good corporate citizens, but a business imperative. For retailers and brands looking to succeed into the future, knowing your customer is key. But your customer is changing, and to serve them, you need a workforce that represents and understands them.
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| Pantone Nude 7506C |
In the worlds of fashion and beauty, there’s little that’s natural about the color nude. Pantone depicts it as a pale pink-ish hue. Meanwhile, what’s considered flesh-colored by one designer might be champagne, porcelain or mocha to another. Today, 'nude' somehow seems to mean a colour close to beige, while skin colour covers a wide range. In fact, the Pantone skin tone chart has 24 shades on it.
“...Nude is not a colour, it’s a concept.”
The religious make-up of the world is changing too.
In 2010, the number of Muslims in the world accounted for 23.2% of the population, and Pew expects this to increase to 29.7% by 2050. In the second half of the century Muslims, are expected to surpass Christians as the world’s largest religious group. There are huge business opportunities here: The global Muslim clothing market is forecast to be worth $327 bn by 2020, according to the latest Global Islamic Economy report. Smart retailers are already tapping into this shift, with retailers like Marks and Spencer launching a line of burkinis, Uniqlo launching a “modest wear” collection, and a number of other brands like Mango, unveiling Ramadan specific collections and promotions.[...]
