How Fashion Brands Build Community in 2025

0:07Hello and welcome to The Debrief from the Business of Fashion, where each week we delve into our most popular BOF professional stories with the correspondents who created them. I'm senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young. And I'm executive editor Brian Baskin. The fashion industry is facing real economic pressure in 2025, whether it's falling consumer confidence or those tariffs that we've talked about on episode after episode. In that context, brands are scrambling to not just attract customers, but retain them. That's where the idea of community comes in. It's become one of fashion's most popular buzzwords, but what does it actually mean to build one?

0:45And how do you do it authentically? From cult favorite beauty brands to streetwear labels and running clubs, the strongest communities aren't transactional, they're emotional. BOF correspondent Leigh Takanashi recently wrote a deep dive on this very topic, headlined, How Brands Build Genuine Communities. And he's with us today. Leigh, welcome to The Daybrief. Thank you, Brian and Sheena. It's a pleasure to be here again. All right, Leigh. So I'm going to start by basically questioning the entire premise of this amazing case study you wrote about communities and brands. I'm always a little skeptical, personally, when a brand starts talking about its customers as a community.

1:21I mean, convince me there's something real here when a brand basically says, you're not giving us money, we're a family. Well, I definitely understand that skepticism because yes, Camila has for a long time just been a buzzword that's just curiously thrown around. But I think when you think about just the times we're living in right now, it's just more important than ever before. I mean, it's just like really just looking outside and thinking about what do you personally want as just a consumer and also as a human being, you know. So when I'm shopping today, you know, I'm thinking more about what eggs I'm going to buy this week rather than like the latest release from my brand.

1:54So I think what really now drives me to make a purchase is like, what does this brand represent? They go, what are its values? And like, how has it improved my life, you know, beyond just like being something I wear. And I think that's where community really comes in because I think we as consumers, we just naturally gravitate towards brands that align with our identity, align with our values and just align with just something larger than just a product. Okay, I'm convinced there's something here. Now, why don't you tell us, basically outline what a brand community looks like when it's really firing on all cylinders?

2:27Well, I think one is that you have a very engaged customer. You know, it's not just simply just buying something and then they just leave it. There's a sense of loyalty and true passion for the brand and its products. And they keep coming back to it, not just because it's just something that looks cool and shiny, but it's something that like, it represents who I am. And I trust this brand because I believe in what they're doing and they listen to what I want as a customer as well. It's a two-way conversation. I think what also makes a community work, too, is just this general sense of authenticity.

2:59There's just this sense that what this brand is doing is real and they're invested in the customer. Can we talk a little bit about the landscape in 2025, why all of these things are more important? And so like you talk about being an engaged consumer or, you know, feeling like you have an authentic bond with a brand. That's probably always been somewhat true. But you mentioned earlier, like choosing between eggs now and like a new sneaker job. Can we talk about the climate a little bit? Why brands have to do this even more than ever? Yeah, you know, consumers, I think right now we're more cautious spenders now more than ever.

3:32But on top of that, I think we're also just more divided every before socially. like our whole perspective regarding whatever progressive values we find we share with everyone in america is actively even questioned like every single day international conference has reached the boiling point where just your even your opinions on issues in america could lead to consequences that we haven't seen in some time so i think passion has always provided a sense of escapism you know in my case i named one of the sections after this barber crewman came and called um i shopped here for i am you know i love that opinion because i feel like a perfect capture just what consumer means to us, especially as Americans.

4:05We gravitate towards brands that make us believe in something that's bigger than ourselves. And fashion has always provided that escapism for us. So for some people, maybe they just buy a North Face or ArcTorax jacket because that's just what the best product is on the market. But I think for a lot of people, you buy that jacket and you buy into that brand because it represents athletes who reach summits that no man has ever reached. And I think the same goes for whatever luxury brand you are obsessed with, whatever street brand you're obsessed with, it's like there's a bigger thing behind it that pulls you emotionally.

4:36And yeah, I think it's just now we're really searching for that just with these uncertain times. And it doesn't just have to be a brand, right? I mean, you know, I think one of the examples that's been thrown around for many years is a store like REI, the outdoor store, where, you know, people can, you can literally own a share in the company basically and get like profit sharing on some level. And, and, you know, you can buy a lot of that equipment anywhere, you know, camping gear, but you buy it at REI because you feel like you're a part of what they're doing. What's an example that you talked about in your case study?

5:06I know you had some great ones in there. The best one I could think of is just Bandit Running. I think that is a great example of just the brand that consumers are buying into it because they believe that they're being listened to and they're being acknowledged as runners, you know, wherever they are. I thought it was so interesting how this specific brand, right? Like currently they only have two stores in New york one in los angeles and i think it's easy to think that a brand like that it's easy to build community because you know running is an activity everybody runs like especially there are more runners now more than ever before i don't know if everybody runs you're giving me a challenge i don't know if i'm running right now but that's a good it's a good motivator but it's interesting because like i think it's easy to think oh if you're if you're just investing like whatever sport it is yoga you know like just going to the gym right oh there's always a community because you just go to gym you just go on a jog people are running outside right but i think what's really interesting is that um about how bandit approached communities how much they understood that um you have to really talk to the people locally in these like areas like you know if you open a store in like the west village of lower manhattan you don't open a run club there because there's a hundred run clubs in the west village already so what do you do you talk to the community you ask them what do you want from us as a store when we open here and you listen to them what these runners wanted was they wanted a spot to meet up at 7 a.m.

6:24in the morning. So Banswana's only store is in downtown Manhattan that opens at 7 a.m. to accommodate runners. And they all meet up there and then they go on their runs. That's the kind of thing that I think really breaks through. It's like you actually listen to your customer, you address their needs, and you bring something that's additive to their experience with the brand. We keep coming back to communities built around brands that are involved in sports or activities somehow. I know that's one type of community, but there are others, right? You identified three in your case study and activity was one of them.

6:55I think we've gone over that. What are the other two? Yeah, so the other two are personality-driven communities and value-based communities. And I'll just touch upon personality-driven ones since that's the first one I brought up. But I think those are really interesting because I think they're really just prevalent in this era where so many young customers, especially Gen Z, who are anticipated to have the spending power, the most spending power by 2030. 30, they all grew up with like in this environment of like influencers, you know, like whether that's like Mr. Beast on YouTube or Kaisenal on Twitch.

7:27And these personalities that they've grown up with have been like hyper engaged with their following, you know, like they literally like just turn on the video camera and they just like talk to their audience for like hours on end. And I think what that's created is this customer who's really just very invested in the personalities and founders of these brands. Is there downside to that, by the way? Like, I think you're right in terms of like this new age customer that's used to hearing from a brand CEO or celebrity directly. And you'll see these founders like they'll be in their supply house and like packing up packages to be delivered.

8:00It can be very exciting. It can make you feel like you are connected to them. But I imagine there's some downside to that, too. Can you talk a little bit about a downside of a personality driven community? Yeah, I think the biggest challenge there when you create this community is like, you know, when I think about like what you just said, like someone who's packing up orders and stuff, I think about a lot about that Buzzy streetwear brand Cortez, right? The founder of Clint419, all his videos on socials, it's like, I'm packing up your orders to ship them. And he like, he like posts like stories about this all the time.

8:31And just like, please be patient. Like I'm still, our team's working hard and all this type of stuff. I think why people resonate with him, even when like something like that happens where it's like, you know, recently he had, there was some issue of him shipping this like new Nike collaboration. It was taking like a super long time for orders to get out. But I think why people still respect him and love him is because he's transparent with his audience, you know, and he, he also just shows this story of progression. You know, it's like, he always kind of emphasizes like, you know, my company wasn't this five years ago.

9:04I was here in my small apartment packing 400 orders in one week and there was nobody else here but me, you know, it's like, It's that kind of story that I think people really look for. But I think what's important is that people have to see that founder story and kind of see themselves in their shoes, right? And it's like, if he could do it, I could do it too. I was thinking more about the founder that has some big controversy and your whole identity as a brand is caught up in that. And we've seen a lot of those be canceled. Yeah. Another area I'm curious about with these personality-driven brands is how do they, I mean, some of them probably want to build an exclusive community that really is just for fans, but I'm sure a lot of them are hoping people who aren't already in that world will be interested in whatever they're selling.

9:47And I can imagine being, I think it would be quite intimidating with some of these brands that are built around an influencer, let's say, if I've never heard of that person, but I think the product's cool. I might almost be like afraid to wear it or to go to the store if I'm not already in that world. Yeah. I remember one thing that was interesting when talking to Kid Super for this case study is that that's a brand that's like really also strongly built off one person's personality. You know, like all, he told me on day one of his brand, he would just post on Instagram every day. And he realized that, you know, he couldn't just post products.

10:17So he just started posting about his own personal life. And he grew up following just off that, just, you know, him being this quirky, funny, really charismatic brand founder. But one thing he emphasized to me on the call is that, you know, Kid Super is not him. You know, even though everyone calls him, like call him Delaney, the founder of Kid super kids super he says it represents this like larger idea of just like you know tapping into this whimsical childhood sense of self right and i think that's really key there you know with these brands are founded by really just charismatic individuals is you have to figure out what is my brand or what is my person i represent to just a much broader group of people and that could be like an aspirational story or that could be just a larger message of your brand being something that's just inspirational and just to resonate with them on a more human level than just like I'm this cool guy, please buy my stuff.

11:05I think you've really hit on why some influencer brands land and so many don't. It really comes down to that. You talk about values-driven, by the way. I wanted to hear a little bit about the values-driven point. You had great examples like Aerie and Topicals. And Aerie, I know personally around their body positivity stuff has been really engaging to a lot of people, including myself. Let's talk a little bit about that and what that means and why that's important, especially now. In regards to just like values-based brands, I thought it was really interesting to discover in a survey last year from Element that 84 % of consumers across all age groups said they need to share values for a brand in order to buy it.

11:41And basically what that means is that like, you know, what consumers I think are looking for when they purchase a brand is if they represent something that's just like, you know, it could be maybe their own personal political beliefs, maybe their own values of like, you know, like things for like, you know, diversity, body positivity, what have you. And I think it's just, I think, way more important, just factor in one's purchasing decision today.

12:07We'll be back with more of The Debrief right after this.

12:15What about brands trying to do some of that now and the risk in this political climate? Like I've heard a lot of thought leaders talk about the fact that if your community truly believes it, there is no risk. So like if you're going all in on, I don't know, body positivity, let's say diversity for the sake of it, and your community really believes that maybe there is no risk when the political tides turn. Is that true? Like, is there a risk to going too far into this values driven approach or is it just worth it in the end? I think the biggest risk and I think the most interesting thing that I learned from this case, especially when talking to Aerie, which is like been on this positivity beat since like, you know, I think the late 2000s, if I'm correct.

12:54I think they started an area campaign or the area real campaign, like the early 2010s. Yeah, way before the boom and all that in the late 2010s, for sure. What was interesting to hear Stacey McCormack, their chief marketing officer, tell me was that how they had to actually redefine the definition of that over time, right? So I remember one example she brought up was how they used to ask their customers, oh, we have this campaign called show up in the swim you're in. And I was basically asking their customers to just show up in their bathing suits and just feel proud about wearing an airy bathing suit and just be proud of their own body.

13:26But what they learned from just like surveying customers is that they felt like they didn't have to show up in a bathing suit to feel like they love themselves and love the body they're in, which I thought was so interesting. because it's like you have to understand, I guess, how the definition of the values that you preach will change over time. And like, you know, I think, you know, what some consumers thought was like a progressive definition of something 10 years ago is now not that in 2025. And we've seen so many instances of that in general, which is culture. And like, you know, especially like in terms of what was politically correct, like 10 years ago is not politically correct now.

13:58So it's just adapting to how consumers perceive these things and also just being receptive to it and just understanding that, you know, your definition of a value can't be rigid. Yeah, I'm sure, Sheena, you could speak to this, too, because I know you do so much reporting on this topic. But I mean, that is the difference, right? The companies like Target or Walmart that very quickly, you know, backed away from DEI after the election. And then there's a lot of brands that doubled down and they made that part of their identity. and they did that pivot Lays talking about and said, we're actually gonna talk more about this now because it's in the news and it's under attack.

14:34Yeah, it's because I think it's low risk when you actually know your community, to your point about community building, when you know your community, you know who your audience is, you can kind of do this because you won't disenfranchise people. I think when you're trying to do value stuff as like a catch-all, that's the risk because you can't share everyone's values. You have to sort of go all the way in. I was thinking about loyalty, by the way, which we opened this up with. It sounds a lot of this is about loyalty. And I wonder how that's evolved as the way that brands think about it. I remember covering these loyalty programs and the digital boom.

15:05Brands were saying, we have all this data and we're going to be able to connect with our consumers and give them targeted discounts. And it didn't actually have the net result of making customers more loyal. Can you talk about why those don't work? The discounts and get the app, like maybe people will get seven apps and just compare prices. Yeah, I think generally like, programs like never really engendered like a sense of community in anyone like you know i mean personally as a customer like do you go to like when you buy coffee at duncan and get points for it or let's say you make a huge purchase out of your favorite department store and get like a 500 coupon do you feel like you're just part you're part of a bigger community i i don't want to ride the coffee the coffee community that duncan community is dangerous let me tell you that's like the beehive no the and i'm a member of the duncan starbucks lawyer like that works for me, I am loyal.

15:53But I think department stores, you're right. You're just saying two rival coffee chains and saying, well, so I'm loyal to, no, so then I just undid that. I actually am incentivized to buy my coffee from one of those two places every morning because I can just open an app. Now, would I go to bat for any of those brands? Probably not, but I will get my coffee every day from either of those. I support my local coffee shop because I'm a good person. But anyway, continue. Back to values driven, Brian's values driven community here. No, but it's interesting you say that, you know, you go to Dunkin' and you go to Starbucks.

16:26Because, like, it was one interesting data point I found, too, while researching this case. It was a consultancy cap gemini said in a 2024 survey that over 53 % of consumers switch brands and retailers regularly, despite subscribing to their lordsly programs. And I think it's because you don't, like, yeah, like, they might give you a reward if you stay committed to buying Dunkin' or if you stay committed to buying Starbucks, whatever coffee brand you like the most. But at the end of the day, there isn't much of an incentive to stick with them. So what consumers really are looking for today is not necessarily getting rewarded for their purchases, but to have this opportunity to engage with the brand at a deeper level and be rewarded for their engagement with the brand.

17:03So it's like, you know, I think about like brands like Topicals and this platform TOIB, right? How their reward system works there is that, you know, they're asked consumers to answer a question about like, what do you think about our latest, like, you know, beauty product? Like, you know, what color do you want to see this product in the future? It's like things, they're asking questions like that and giving them an opportunity to create something with the brand. So, you know, six months later, you might actually see the results of what you contributed. And that is a much, I think, more impactful reward than just being like, hey, give us a review and we'll give you like a 10 % discount.

17:38Granted that they do have that still, you know, it's not like that disappears. There's more ways to just, you know, give back and then have the customers just also give in too, you know. It's an and, not a but or an either or. And it's an and probably. So a lot of the companies we've been talking about, not all of them, they're on the smaller side. I mean, they can have that intimate relationship with their customers because there aren't millions of them at this point. I mean, how do you scale something like that? I think scaling community is definitely challenging, especially for like, you know, much bigger businesses.

18:11But I think it's possible as long as you stay committed to, I think, a localized approach and understanding that your big company, your big global brand, it's not a one size fits all thing. And I think a great example of that is how brands like Arctorex have managed to build community. You know, they have like local Instagram pages for like various cities. You know, they also work with like key local fitness influencers or leaders in these cities, like in New York. And they're like bring, you know, local programming to gyms. They're very attuned to like what those local communities want from a brand like ArcDirects rather than just being like, oh, let's just do this event.

18:50And then it's across all our cities. You know, it's like, no, we're going to work with this specific gym on this specific program. and they address these athletes in this specific region, right? And, you know, I think the even bigger example of that is just, you know, these Arctorex academies and how they basically put up these outdoor sports clinics and just key mountain destinations throughout the world. It's not just like, oh, like, you know, you get to climb this mountain in this area, but they also implement like programming that speaks to the local mountain culture of these areas. So it might be like, you know, you learn about the history of the area and things like that, or they might have like a vendor fair just full of local retailers and stuff of that nature.

19:29I think store employees play such a big role in scaling too, because I was just thinking when you mentioned Arcturix, I remember we all went to the, one of the new stores they opened and I was looking at like a hiking pack or something. And, and I think that employee could have talked to me all afternoon about hiking packs if I'd wanted to. And I kind of did, but we did have to go at a certain point. But like, I think, you know, you can have hundreds of stores and still find, you know, people who are experts in their field and can really cultivate that feeling. I mean, it's hard. Very few brands manage to do it, but it seems like a big differentiator.

20:01No, it is. It is. I mean, I've seen that particularly, you know, this isn't a business that has hundreds of stores necessarily, but like Supreme, right? Every time they open a new store, they're known for having employees that are literally all hired from the local skateboard scenes of the city they just opened the store in. And I think that very much maintains like, you know, their brand's image, their brand and how it resonates with like just the roots of skateboarding that the brand came from. So yeah, definitely important. Yeah. Luxury brands are so good at that too. I mean, they get people who are just so passionate about what they're selling, or at least can reasonably fake it.

20:36But it really, you know, that's half making the sale right there. So it sounds like all of this takes a very holistic approach. It includes having that very hyper local emphasis. So if you have a strategy around community building, you're also thinking in each local community how you would execute. There's also, as Brian just pointed out, an employee component. So if you hire at your retail stores, these people show up, they understand the brand, they understand your community, they're having real conversations. Is there any other advice or thing that you learned in this case study that you would tell other brands about building community and showing up authentically, that ever elusive concept of authenticity?

21:12I think it's really understanding the nuances of communities in general, just understanding that, you know, it's definitely not this one size fits all approach. And it's also just like having to really be on the ground and just listen to the customers. It's not just like kind of just observing it from afar and being like, yeah, it seems like people that are into this brand or just into this generally, It's like you should really be there in person at pop-ups, you know, shake hands with people, talk to the customer and just like understand them on that level. I feel like every single brand I spoke about in this case study, they have made some effort to show up in real life.

21:50It's not just, you know, metrics that you're recording digitally or seeing how much they engaged with their customer base on Instagram or whatnot. It's like they all make some effort to show up in real life. And I think that's really important now, especially in times when like everything feels so much. It's on this digital social media space when people are really looking to engage just in real life with these brands. I love that. It's a great note to end on too. Leigh, thanks so much for joining us today. It's a pleasure, Brian and Shima. Thank you. Please be sure to check out Leigh's case study, How Brands Build Genuine Communities at businessoffashion.com.

22:26This and other stories are available to BeoF professional subscribers only. and you can find the links in the episode notes. You've been listening to The Debrief, produced and edited by Olivia Davies and Eric Bria. I'm Brian Baskin. And I'm Sheena Butler-Young. We'll be back next week with a new episode. Thanks so much for joining us and be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts.