[E-Daily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] The competitive arena in the fashion industry is expanding from the closet to everyday life. Brands are teaching people how to wear a suit and enjoy whiskey, offering opportunities to run through the city in running shoes, and launching campaigns that involve hiking. This strategy aims to turn consumers into “fans” by allowing them to directly experience the tastes and culture that the brand embodies, rather than simply selling a single outfit. As it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate solely through products, the depth of the relationship between brands and consumers is emerging as a new competitive edge.

◇From Whiskey to Running and Hiking… Fashion That Goes Beyond Clothing

According to industry sources on the 7th, major fashion companies such as LF(093050), Musinsa, and K2 are successively expanding brand experiences that directly involve consumers. Whereas in the past, brands conveyed their image through famous models and advertisements, the current approach is to draw consumers into the lifestyle the brand aspires to. There is also a growing trend of building relationships with consumers by sustaining programs or turning them into annual campaigns, rather than limiting them to a single event.

A prime example of this shift is the fusion of fashion with other interests. Daks, a classic British brand under LF(093050), hosted a “British Suit Lifestyle” class in collaboration with the whiskey brand Glenfiddich on the 20th of last month at the HotelShilla in Seoul, inviting artist Cho Seung-yeon and others. Attendees listened to a talk on British suit culture and sampled whiskey. Daks will also host art and culture lectures and styling classes for VIP customers this coming November. The company’s vision is to move beyond simply selling suits to suggesting tastes that complement them and creating shared experiences with customers.

Brand experiences are also evolving into participatory formats that get consumers actively involved. Last April, Musinsa opened “Musinsa Run Seoul Forest,” a specialty running boutique in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, and is currently operating a “trial service” for running shoes. Customers can do more than just try on running shoes in the store; they can borrow them to run on the outdoor course at Seoul Forest and personally evaluate the fit and performance. Customers can try out running shoes from brands such as Puma, Salomon, Brooks, and Adidas. In effect, this transforms the product selection process itself—beyond mere shopping—into a running experience.

In the outdoor industry, some brands continue to run annual campaigns to build a loyal fan base. A prime example is K2’s participatory hiking campaign “Awesome Hiking,” launched in 2018, which is now in its seventh year. This year, for the first time, participants were selected via a raffle, attracting 13,426 applicants for 1,000 spots. Of the applicants, 91.8% were in their 20s to 40s, and women accounted for 54.9%. Participants hiked individually on 11 mountains across the country and shared photos and reviews. This approach draws consumers into the brand by leveraging a shared interest in hiking.

◇Taste and Narrative Over Logos… Brand Competition Also Shifts Toward ‘Fandom’

The fashion industry is placing such emphasis on experiences and community because consumer behavior itself is changing. The Samsung Fashion Research Institute identified “Lavish on Experience” as one of this year’s key keywords for the fashion market. The analysis suggests that consumers’ spending priorities are shifting away from fashion toward experiential areas such as hobbies, leisure, and travel. According to data from NH Nonghyup Bank cited by the institute, people in their 20s and 30s have reduced spending on activities like department store shopping while increasing spending on experiences such as sports events, performances, swimming pools, and ski resorts.

Criteria for choosing brands are also changing. The institute analyzed that while consumers used to express themselves through brand logos, there is now a clear trend toward selecting brands that tell a story reflecting their tastes, values, and lifestyles. This means more consumers are looking for “brands that suit them” rather than simply opting for well-known brands. This is why the industry is now selling not just products, but also experiences and narratives.

The industry views this trend as fundamentally changing the very nature of brand competition. An official in the fashion industry stated, “Advertisements are forgotten once they end, but memories of running together or climbing a mountain remain as reasons to return to the brand,” adding, “The structure is shifting toward building relationships before selling clothes.” He continued, “However, since it’s difficult to measure the effectiveness of such programs in terms of short-term sales, and they must be sustained consistently to build a fan base, the gap between brands will widen based on how long they can keep these initiatives going.”