By Hayley Meerdo
Leaning away from the tips and tricks this month, I wanted to share how different fashion
brands we all likely know and love are using social media to market products and branding in the fashion industry successfully. These are the top fast fashion brands currently dominating social media strategies and campaigns:
As we know, fashion trends shift constantly and social media is the main influence of these
trends. Fast fashion appeals to consumers like us because although many of these brands are not entirely sustainable, they are convenient, affordable, and quick to change as trends transition.
Instagram, 2024
Zara
Zara’s brand image on Instagram at first glance is simple, mature and elegant. With 61.4 million followers, Zara attracts consumers worldwide. This large following impacts what content is posted. If you look at the products on social media and online compared to the clothes actually sold in most of the physical retail stores, they are very different, yet appealing to all fashion trends. The billion-dollar brand appeals to customers because of its convenient and affordable products, that are sold through digitally dominant platforms.
Instagram, 2024
Pretty Little Thing
With 17.9 million followers, Pretty Little Thing is forming quite the name for itself. Its brand image on social media uses a consistent pink and black color palette, following trendy and aesthetic posts.
The brand also connects to consumers by integrating light-hearted posts about various influencers between the promotional posts of its clothing. Some of these include Justin Bieber, the Jenner sisters, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter. This creates more interaction on social media. Pretty Little Thing uses its platform to engage consumers worldwide between strong digital marketing strategies and giving back through giveaways, trips and new deals on products.
Why support these two fast-fashion brands?
It’s simple really. Although the manufacturing of the clothing between Zara and Pretty Little
Thing may not be the most natural or renewable, but both brands carry on well-built brand initiatives to make up for the lack of product sustainability. We know that fast fashion is usually not made with high-end, resourced materials, but rather convenient, quick and relatively cheap materials to provide fast and affordable products. It is important to look at what these companies are doing to keep the well-being and concerns of consumers in mind.
Zara has been aiming to improve its social and environmental goals by starting a #JoinLife initiative where the company is taking milestones to move closer to sustainability. This includes fabrics, materials and packaging, and recycling of old and unused materials. The campaign even provides customers with access to clothing care guides that inform them how to maintain the lifespan of clothing pieces and encourage clothing donations for upcycling.
Zara, 2024
Pretty Little Thing, 2024
Pretty Little Thing doesn’t seem to have the highest ratings on the sustainability scale, but the brand has an abundance of campaigns supporting things like body positivity and breast cancer awareness, some are of interest to consumer-based concerns in the fashion industry. Pretty Little Thing x Coppafeel was a campaign in which clothing profits would fundraise money for breast cancer awareness and research. All in all, PLT is a brand that shows its support for women around the world.
To learn more about either of these brand’s descriptions, missions or newsletters, visit zara.com and prettylittlething.com.