For the purposes of this Market Assessment, the UK teenage fashionwear market will be defined as clothing for girls and boys aged between 13 and 24 years old. This includes the sale of clothing, footwear and accessories, as well as sales from teenage-specific retailers and clothes collections aimed at adults but purchased by the younger generation. In 2010, Key Note estimates that the total teenage fashion market reached 10.2bn. Prior to this, sales had grown year-on-year until 2009, when a 0.7% decline was observed due to the downturn in the economy.
An interest in fashion is believed to start from a young age, notably among girls, and childrenswear often follows similar trends to that of adult's fashion. Children are also becoming more independent at a much younger age, making their own choices regarding clothing. While girls are believed to be more fashion conscious from a younger age, there are similar trends in both genders. This includes an emphasis on casual trends, where staple items, such as jeans, basic t-shirts, hoodies and casual footwear, are popular among the younger generation. Branding is also believed to play an important role in teenage fashion, as trends regarding the latest essentials are very influential.
Over the last decade, a number of trends have come in and out of fashion in the teenage clothing market, including goth, emo and chav', among others. These labels are often related to the trends of the moment. While some of these styles are still evident among younger people, they can change very quickly from being fashionable to unpopular. This is most notable in the chav' trend, which saw youths being labelled as anti-social by the media.
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Companies Mentioned:
- ABERCROMBIE and FITCH (UK) LTD
- ARCADIA GROUP LTD
- DEBENHAMS PLC
- GAP INC
- HandM HENNES and MAURITZ UK LTD
- MARKS AND SPENCER PLC
- NEW LOOK RETAILERS LTD
- NEXT PLC
- PRIMARK STORES LTD
- RIVER ISLAND CLOTHING CO LTD
For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/60cb92/teenage_fashionwea.