bonprix Fashion Report 2023: comprehensive study examines women's relationship with fashion

What do women expect from fashion and from those responsible for fashion? To find out, international fashion brand bonprix teamed up with market research institute Ipsos to survey over 1,000 women in Germany in a representative quota sample online. Four thematic areas provide not only interesting insights into the average wardrobe, but also shed light on the emotional significance of fashion, shopping behaviour and sources of inspiration, and survey attitudes towards sustainability, innovation in the textile sector, self-acceptance and diversity. bonprix is publishing the results today in the ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 – the new fashion consciousness’. This paints a picture of how women approach fashion in a self-determined way and what demands and wishes they express.

"Fashion is a mirror of identity. As an international fashion brand with a predominantly female target group, we wanted to determine what fashion means to women today and what expectations they have of the fashion industry," says Carolin Klar, Managing Director at bonprix for Purchasing, Procurement and Corporate Responsibility, explaining the reasons behind the comprehensive survey. The bonprix Fashion Report 2023 provides valuable insights into the thinking and behaviour of women in Germany. "We chose the title “The New Fashion Consciousness” for our study because the findings clearly show that women have a conscious and self-confident approach to fashion. They use trends and sources of inspiration in a targeted manner to emphasise or develop their own style. Over 80 per cent of those surveyed say they feel confident when they are well dressed. However, a critical attitude is also evident: Almost 90 per cent believe that fashion trends are only created for certain ideals of beauty and figure. And three-quarters of those surveyed find the topic of sustainability in fashion complex and are often unsure about what is truly sustainable. I see this as a mandate for us as a fashion brand and for our industry to meet the needs and desires of consumers for more transparency and diversity."

For the Fashion Report 2023, the Otto Group company collaborated with the Hamburg-based market research institute Ipsos and surveyed a total of 1,016 women* aged 18 to 70 in Germany in a representative** quota sample online in January and February 2023. The results can be divided into four dimensions: ‘Feel’ is about the importance of fashion, trends and clothing styles; ‘Act’ highlights fashion budgets, purchasing behaviour and sources of inspiration; “Change” deals with the topics of sustainability and innovation; and ‘Empower’ looks at aspects such as self-acceptance and diversity.

The most important results at a glance

Feel: The importance of fashion, the significance of trends and insights into wardrobes

For around two-thirds of respondents, fashion is very important (64%) and reflects their personality (69%). More than eight out of ten women (83%) feel more confident when they feel well dressed. Trends appear to be playing an increasingly minor role: the vast majority (94%) say they buy what they like – regardless of trends – and three-quarters (74%) agree that, in their view, there are too many and too extreme fashion trends. A look inside the wardrobe reveals: Respondents own an estimated average of just under 100 items of clothing, of which, surprisingly, one in three (37%) is rarely or never worn. The women surveyed predominantly describe their style as casual*** (87%) and particularly love the colour black (67%). The most frequently mentioned favourite item is the jumper (35%).

Act: Fashion budget, purchasing behaviour and sources of inspiration

How often and where do the women surveyed shop, what are their most common purchasing incentives and where do they find fashion inspiration? Self-reward plays a major role in fashion purchases: eight out of ten women surveyed (83%) treat themselves when buying new clothes. The top purchasing incentives are bargains (53%) and spontaneous purchases (52%) – this is consistent with the fact that the majority of respondents say they browse online fashion shops at least once a month (62%). Over half (52%) of the fashion budget is spent online and 43% in brick-and-mortar shops. On average, the women surveyed spend an estimated £116 per month on fashion. They are most likely to find inspiration in their immediate environment – among friends or colleagues (32%) and on the street (30%). But social media also plays a role, with around a third of women finding inspiration there. Instagram is the most widely used channel (42%).

Change: sustainability and innovation in the fashion sector

Another focus of the bonprix Fashion Report 2023 highlights how the women surveyed deal with the issues of sustainability and innovation in the textile industry. It is clear that there is a growing awareness of these issues, but at the same time, this awareness is characterised by uncertainty and ambivalence. For the majority of respondents, the reuse of used clothing is important. 84% say they donate discarded clothing to charity shops. Second-hand fashion is also on trend: almost seven out of ten women buy (67%) or sell (69%) used clothing today.

Most (85%) also think it is good that many fashion retailers are placing greater emphasis on sustainability and expanding their ranges accordingly, and almost half (49%) would be willing to pay more for more sustainable fashion. At the same time, 77% of the women surveyed admit that they do not always look for more sustainable clothing when shopping. The majority (76%) find the topic of sustainability in fashion very complicated overall and are often unsure what sustainable actually means.

When it comes to materials, natural fibres are clearly preferred over chemical fibres, with cotton (91%) and organic cotton (72%) being by far the most popular fibres.

In the area of fashion innovations, high awareness and popularity are met with low usage: for example, 60% of those surveyed are familiar with take-back systems offered by fashion retailers – but only 13% actually use them.

Empower: self-acceptance and body image

Three quarters (74%) of women describe themselves as self-confident, over half (55%) are satisfied with their figure, and almost all (95%) agree that everyone should wear what they like. At the same time, nine out of ten (91%) believe that society conveys unrealistic ideals of beauty and figure, and almost as many (87%) think that fashion trends are often created only for certain ideals of beauty and figure. Just under two-thirds of women (63%) also say they have difficulty finding beautiful and suitable clothing. However, seven out of ten women (69%) also find that both the selection of models and the clothing offered by fashion retailers is becoming increasingly diverse. The most common wishes for the fashion industry are: no unrealistic beauty and body ideals (64%), authentic, genuine photos (58%) and more diversity in the body types of models or more clothing for all sizes (50%).

Summary

bonprix enlisted the help of renowned retail expert and futurologist Theresa Schleicher to evaluate the results. She sees the study results as confirmation of overarching trends in society: "Current fashion consciousness is influenced by social changes, above all the rapid development of sustainability, and the demands placed on fashion are changing completely. Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their purchases and consumption. At the same time, they have a desire to express diversity, modernity, identity and cultural variety through their choice of clothing. Last but not least, years of working from home have changed clothing styles: women and men are paying even more attention to comfort and good materials, while “making oneself look particularly pretty” is becoming a valued moment. This new balancing act encompasses the areas of need in which responsibility, diversity and fashionable “escapism” from everyday life are reflected.‘

bonprix Managing Director Carolin Klar draws important conclusions from the study: ’The Fashion Report offers us a very valuable addition to the insights we already have about our target group from our own international market research. We can draw concrete conclusions from the results, and they confirm our ambitions and activities – for example, that we should communicate our progress in terms of sustainability and innovation, which we pursue as a high priority, even more clearly to our customers, in a transparent, understandable and equal manner. In the next step, we will evaluate the findings from the surveys in other key European markets, which promise to yield particularly interesting results when compared. Because this much can be revealed: when it comes to their relationship with fashion, there are both similarities and remarkable differences among the respondents in Europe," says Carolin Klar, announcing the next study publication. The survey was conducted in six other countries (Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland) in the first half of 2023. The total sample size, including the survey in Germany, is more than 7,100 people across all countries. bonprix will publish a country comparison report in the second half of 2023.

*Possible answer options: women and people of diverse genders **Representative by age, region, education and household size ***Casual clothing style serves here as a collective term for the styles surveyed: casual, relaxed/casual, sporty, uncomplicated, minimalist. Multiple answers were possible for this question.