“Authenticity is the currency of the moment,” said Carl Tillessen right at the beginning of his zeitgeist analysis of the German fashion institute (DMI) for the autumn/winter 2027. Not only for relevance, but also for the success of fashion companies and the essential buying decisions of the customers: inside.
The presentation that kept Tillessen at this year’s online fashion day was under the lead motif “Certificate of Authenticity”-a term that defines authenticity as a new must-have in an increasingly polarizing world that fluctuates between filter bubbles and fake news. But what does an industry that historically often defined by staging mean by authenticity? And how does a brand get the so -called “certificate of authenticity”?
How does authenticity work?
“Everyone wants to be authentic – but nobody knows exactly how to get it,” admits Tillessen. The desire for authenticity is omnipresent, but at the same time the term was overused and became a buzzword. It is therefore not as easy for the term to assign its original and true meaning again. “By definition, people perceive something as authentic if the appearance matches being,” the trend researcher quotes the original origin of the term and at the same time discloses the current dilemma. Many brands rely on their appearance for a long time, the real being was not only neglected, but even buried.
Now both have to be brought back into harmony, because the congruence – between what you show and what you are – is more in demand today than ever. It is about a new honesty that consumes the trust of consumers. And trust, according to Tillessen, is the prerequisite for people to be willing to spend money.
The DMI is measurable for this change in values and the desire of the consumers: on the inside of authenticity. Almost 80 percent of the Gen z-Kund indicate that it is more important to them than ever before. Distributed across all age groups, more than half of the consumers are ready to pay more for brands that they trust. Say, those who perceive them as authentic. 67 percent of the customers: Inside, they also explain that they are loyalty to brands that they trust in the long term.
Reason enough to deal with what is known: inside as ‘trustworthy’, because in most cases it is not just about honesty in the narrower sense, or even mere quality features, but about comprehensive authenticity. This new consciousness not only demands transparency, but integrity. Anyone who is committed to their history and in particular their origin – including breaks and contradictions – has the chance of emotional response more than ever.
DNA as capital
In autumn, authenticity is currently very popular. Salmatic success stories give way to unpotes, because it is no longer a question of telling the most beautiful story, but the true, according to Tillessen. The times of the glossy seem to be over for the time being and in particular the young consumers: inside sympathized with so-called “underdog perspectives” and narrative depth. An attitude that designer has made: inside like Willy Chavarria or Grace Wales Bonner. Chavarria, the son of a Mexican immigrant, addresses the precarious but proud realities of the Latinx community in the USA in his fashion. Bonner, in turn, transforms her very personal migration history into fashion, the “European heritage penetrates with an Afro-Atlantic spirit”. What initially appeared like a niche topic became a mainstream thanks to her authenticity – and German sporting goods Adidas wanted to have a piece of this success in both cases and collaborated with the young talents.
Especially in the case of Wales Bonner’s collaboration with Adidas, it can be seen what effect can develop in one’s own reality today. The designer insisted that the sneaker model Samba should be the heart of her cooperation with the sporting goods manufacturer. Although Adidas initially hesitated, Bonner’s credible and authentic history and sources of inspiration helped the shoe – and the brand – to an incredible comeback. The fact that an apparently “unknown” newcomer can lead a global company to new heights impressively shows what power authentic stories currently have – and that these stories are almost always rooted in the origin of a brand or person.
This focus is also reflected in the current fashion campaigns of international houses. Of the ten best campaigns of the past year, as the specialist medium The Impression chose, seven celebrated the origin of the respective brand – a clear signal for the importance of real, historically rooted stories.
The struggle with the origin
The pursuit of authenticity poses a special challenge for German brands – especially when it comes to origin and history. “Many German brands have deliberately veiled their identity in the past,” explains Carl Tillessen. A decision that seemed understandable for a long time. Because while France used his handbag myths and Italy staged its shoe history, Germany had little to show. And so Tillessen says: “And what do we tell in Germany? That our brands sounded French?”
An exaggerated question – and yet close to reality. Because in fact, many German fashion companies were busy concealing their origins for decades: René Lezard, Strenesse, Esprit, Escada-melodious names with Anglo-French facade, born for an international flair. But with the advent of the Internet, disillusionment came. “The network looks like a lie detector,” says Tillessen. What was once considered a clever branding became a mortgage. Brand identities based on fiction look unbelievable today. A fact that the development of many of these companies also reflects, because they have lost massive relevance, some even had to register bankruptcy.
However, all of this is not a reason for trump bubbles, or to give up, because there are also examples of successful course corrections. The Italian shoe manufacturer of death originally invented an American founding story, only to initiate a radical strategy change in the course of digitization. Instead of the west coast of the United States, the focus was on the ‘Italian Lifestyle DNA’ and the group began to communicate its actual brand history rooted in Italy, which still shapes and makes you successful. German brands also began to no longer disguise their origins, but deliberately to tell them – with noticeable success.
Heidemarie Jiline Sander put Jil Sander on an Anglophone name and was able to position himself internationally, but quickly realized that origin cannot be denied – but it does not context. Sander remembered the German design tradition, especially the Bauhaus, and made the functionalist design as a “Queen of Less” to the brand core of her still internationally celebrated aesthetics. “Sander not only accepted her origin, but also actively converted it into the positive,” emphasizes Tillessen.
So maybe the success is ultimately to find the right side of your own story – and to tell you courageously. “The best brand story is not invented, but a found one,” concluded the trend researcher. In the future, brands will do well to no longer pretend, but to confess themselves to their roots – and not just as a compulsory exercise.