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The retailer hit the mark on several fronts, creating eco-friendly, gender-neutral clothing and promoting it via livestreamed shopping events.
By Theresa Hegel | asicentral.com
A new collection from retailer PacSun converges several hot apparel trends: gender-neutral styles, sustainability, tie-dye prints and livestreamed shopping events. For promo industry professionals looking to keep a finger on the pulse, the lifestyle retailer’s Colour Range line is worth a look.
Made from fabrics that are partially recycled and include organic yarn, the collection includes adult and children’s styles, in a range of relaxed staples, including T-shirts, sweatpants, and cargo and slim-fit pants in solid colors and tie-dye prints.
“Colour Range is a natural extension of the PacSun brand as we continue to focus on advancing our designs and product offerings to eliminate gender bias and empower self-expression,” said Brie Olson, president of PacSun, in a press release. “These hand-picked styles were truly curated without a specific gender in mind, to dress the new generation with silhouettes made for everyone.”
Gender-neutral styles have been a growing category for PacSun, reaching more than 20% of its offerings, according to Alfred Chang, CEO of PacSun. The retailer initially unveiled its Gender-Neutral Shop in September 2020 as a step toward a more inclusive future and shopping experience. In the spring of 2021, PacSun hosted a gender-neutral design competition with the Fashion Scholarship Fund. And the retailer has also released a dedicated kids’ label with a full range of gender-free pieces.
To kick off the new line, PacSun held a livestream shopping experience at its downtown Los Angeles location. Onsite attendees were able to purchase pieces from the collection featuring custom embroidery options (showcasing the continued power and popularity of live decoration). Livestreaming has been a successful way for the brand to prompt high engagement, showing consumers a new way to shop online with new collaborations and drops, according to PacSun.
The brand plans to continue promoting Colour Range by connecting with “micro-content creators” on TikTok to show how fashion inspires their day-to-day life.