What fashion Gen Z marketing looks like in 2027

Fashion is an essential role in shaping personal identity. It allows people to express their uniqueness, stand out from the crowd, and display aspects of their personality.

It can make you unique and stand out from the crowd. This is particularly important for Gen Z as well. According to the PION100 report Wave 2, 85% of 16–24s love brands, but 73% are budgeting carefully.

Most fashion brands have not unlocked Gen Z’s full spending power. Because once you bridge the gap between what Gen Z would love to buy and what they can actually afford, you will capture the attention and spending of the most loyal consumer group.

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How does Gen Z spend their money on fashion?

44% of 16–14 year olds love to spend their money on fashion. This makes it the second highest sector that Gen Z spends their money on, however they aren’t willing to spend their money on anything.

On average, 16–24 year olds spend $200 a month on things that they deem are worth spending money on.

There are 4 ways Gen Z spend their money nowadays:

• 38% are supported, but cautious of spending their money
• 35% are independent, but cautious of the spending their money
• 14% are parent-supported splurgers
• 13% are working and playing hard

The report found that Gen Z who are either supported, but cautious or parent-supported tend to spend less than the consumer average compared to the ones who are independent cautious and work hard, play hard groups who spend above the average.

In order for Gen Z to spend their money on a fashion brand they like, they must discover them first.

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How do Gen Z discover fashion brands?

In the past, people often discovered fashion brands through limited sources, such as televisions advertisements or magazines. However, advances in technology have given Gen Z access to a much wider range of platforms that allow them to find fashion brands and products that they find interesting.

In our PION100 report Wave 2, it was reported that these were the main ways that Gen Z discovered a new fashion brand:

• 41% discovered them through organic feeds/explore pages
• 35% discovered them through paid ads
• 38% discovered them through influencers/creators

Organic social media is something that can be particularly beneficial for fashion brands. Through social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram, fashion brands can appear more genuine and build a closer connection to the Gen Z audience. Brands don’t need to have posts that are polished or out of the world, but the content needs to be native and authentic enough in order to stand out on these platforms.

The power of exclusive offers

Another way Gen Z discovers fashion brands is through discounts. There has been over 50% of students using student discounts in the US for the first time ever, which means it’s becoming more of a common behavior for young consumers.

Deals are now becoming a standard for young consumers when they are shopping for essentials and as a result, fashion brands should recognize this expectation and try to meet them in order to gain their trust.

Fashion brands need to be authentic and loud with their marketing and deals in order to capture the attention of these consumers and convince them to invest in their products.

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Success story: Old Navy

Old Navy has had the biggest out of all the fashion brand in of the PION100 report, climbing 38 spots from #63 in Wave 1 last year to #25 most-loved Gen Z brandnow in Wave 2. In addition, they have earned a 74% of the love score among young consumers.

How did Old Navy do it?

Old Navy decided to align with trends and have drops such as “The Occasion” dress collection, better denim, and Studio Smooth activewear that helped the brand step out of its zone. The brand has also done popular campaigns with celebrities like Lindsay Lohan, Cardi B, and Jennifer Hudson which has built the brand’s cultural credibility and tightened its connection with audiences, especially Gen Z.

This shows that even though brands have built a good foundation for themselves, they still need to strengthen their connection with the audience, especially younger ones. By sticking with the current culture and making their marketing intriguing, they will be able to convince audiences to choose their brand.

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How fashion brands can succeed

In order for fashion brands to keep their relevancy these day they need to follow these two steps:

1. Don’t change your brand identity. Make it better. Just because you’re at the top, that doesn’t mean you’ve automatically won over young consumers. Like Old Navy, you can make your brand recapture the attention of young consumers by learning and understanding the current Gen Z culture and improving your brand based on that.
2. Make a deal that feels rewarding to young consumers. Setting up a student discount for your brand will quickly gain the attention and trust of young consumers because they want a brand that will make them look unique and not break their bank at the same time.

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Connect with Gen Z through Pion

Fashion is a very diverse sector. There isn’t just one type of Gen Z consumer, and there isn’t one answer to winning them over. In order to be prepared for what the future holds in 2027, fashion brands need to be authentic, be consistent, and build a connection with Gen Z consumers. Brands who do this will be able to achieve the success that Old Navy and Nike has gotten.