Urban Outfitters:Let the Good Times Roll

Festival Culture & Nomadic Adventure

Urban Outfitters is a multi-channel retailer that specializes in women’s apparel and

accessories, men’s apparel and accessories, and home goods. Urban Outfitters has

established a strong lifestyle brand by providing its customers with the most current and

up to date trends, as well as offering eclectic styles in their merchandise mix.

As a brand, Urban Outfitters reaches out to their customer by promoting a lifestyle

to young, urban minded individuals who have a strong interest in fashion, art and music.

The target customer for urban outfitters is a young man/woman, ages 18-30 years old, with

an income of $40,000-80,000 and who is educated with a college degree or beyond. (Urban

Outfitters.com) He/she spends their free time and disposable income attending music

festivals such as Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Sasquatch. They have a strong interest in

fashion with a bohemian, edgy and eclectic style. They also enjoy outdoor activities such as

beach trips, hiking, biking, camping and traveling.

Using influences of music, world travel and nature, the macro-trend our team will

focus on for the Spring/Summer collection of 2014 will be Festival Culture & Nomadic

Adventure: Let the Good Times Roll. The feeling of this trend encompasses gypsy lifestyle,

and the care-free, light hearted nature of wanderers. Choosing easy breezy styles with

earth-tones, lush greens and vintage prints will embody the mood of this trend. There is an

essence of nostalgia that pairs with chic, hippy styles in faded colors and prints. The use of

florals, vintage prints, and ethnic patterns will also drive this collection.

More specifically, looks termed Wanderers and Songs, Camping and Nostalgia,

Hippies and Holiday, and Gypsies ad Fashion have really driven this trend. The quote “Not

all those who wander are lost” by J.R.R. Tolkien really sets the mood for this trend. These

styles encompass the nomadic wanderer and their carefree life style of singing songs on the

side of the highway, the free spirit hippy listening to music with friends at the latest music

festival, and those retreating back to nature and exotic cultures through travel and

adventure. (Nomadism, Trend Union Sp/Su13)

Festival fashion has proven to be a strong and successful trend for Urban Outfitters

in past and current seasons; however our forecast shows a shift in attitude of this target-

market. Our team sees this trend evolving from the up-beat, electronic energy created with

bright neon accents, rainbow color schemes and bold graphics that have dominated this

current season. Let the Good Times Roll exudes an easy going attitude of peace, love and

happiness that transpire colors inspired by nature. These include colors of seashells in the

sand, the red-burnt earth of the dessert, lush rolling green hills, paired with flashy accents

of gypsy gold, bright purple, urban orange and ethnic prints.

As the Fashion Directors of Urban Outfitters, we see this trend being successfully

adapted to the lifestyles of our customers. As a lifestyle brand, Urban Outfitters will not

only create this nostalgic feeling through apparel and accessories but also provide home

goods that represent the trend as well. By staying consistent with the Festival Culture and

Nomadic Adventure: Let the Good Times Roll trend throughout each category, Urban

Outfitters will continue to build brand equity by strengthening the lifestyle that embodies

the brand.

Sources:

Edelkoort, Li. Nomadism, On The Road To Fashion. Paris(30 Boulevard Saint Jacques,

75014): Trend Union, 2012. Print

"URBN INC : Urban Outfitters." URBN INC : Urban Outfitters. N.p., 2013. Web. 11 June 20