bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - International study: Women's emotions and attitudes vary between countries

Following the launch of its large-scale fashion study in Germany in July of this year, the international fashion brand bonprix is today publishing findings on women's fashion awareness in seven European countries in the ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - International Edition’.

Does fashion mean different things to women in different countries? What do they think about trends, sustainability and diversity? bonprix, together with the market research institute Ipsos, surveyed over 7,000 women in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland in a representative online study. The European country comparison reveals similarities, but also country-specific differences. For example, the study shows that fashion is more emotionally charged for women in Italy and Poland than in other countries. For example, an above-average emotional relationship to clothing and its function as a ‘lucky charm’ is cited here. There are also interesting differences when it comes to sustainability: Here, sustainability awareness is higher among Polish, French and Italian women than among women in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands. The respondents were ambivalent about the relevance of trends.

‘As a fashion brand, we are now active in more than 25 countries. Therefore, in addition to the Fashion Report published in July on the fashion awareness of women in Germany, we are naturally also interested in the international perspective, for which we took a closer look at our European core markets. This additional look was more than worthwhile, as the results paint an exciting picture. I find it particularly pleasing that fashion gives 85 per cent of all women surveyed self-confidence and 65 per cent already pay attention to sustainability when it comes to fashion,’ says Carolin Klar, Managing Director of Purchasing, Procurement and Corporate Responsibility at bonprix.

Commonalities: Self-confident women and wishes for the fashion industry

Women in all the countries surveyed share a self-determined approach to fashion. Only a few allow themselves to be influenced by trends: Over 90 per cent of them say they buy what they like, regardless of trends. The women surveyed are also characterised by a high level of self-confidence. Clothing can be recognised as a reinforcement here, as 85 percent of all respondents feel very confident when they feel well dressed. This is also where the favourite items of clothing come into play: the number one item among the women surveyed across all countries is clearly jeans. Only in Germany and the Netherlands did the jumper rank ahead of the fashion classic.

Women are also unanimous when it comes to their expectations of the fashion industry: at the top of their wish list are real, authentic photos without filters and image editing and a move away from unrealistic beauty and figure ideals, with almost 50 per cent of respondents in each case.

At the same time, around three quarters of all women surveyed are of the opinion that there is already enough diversity in fashion - with Italians and Polish women leading the way at around 80 per cent. Nevertheless, more than half of the women in the countries surveyed (59 per cent) feel that it is not easy to find beautiful clothes that suit them and their body. In addition, almost half of all women surveyed would like to see more clothing for all sizes.

Differences: Varying attitudes towards emotions, trends and sustainability

Fashion is very important to a total of 73 per cent of all women surveyed for the report. However, the personal attachment to clothing varies from country to country: in Italy and Poland, for example, fashion appears to be more emotionally charged than elsewhere. 83 per cent of Polish women and 74 per cent of Italian women say that they have an emotional attachment to some of their clothes. The figure for Germans is significantly lower at 53 per cent. For Polish women (70 per cent) and Italians (59 per cent), clothing also acts as a ‘lucky charm’ more often than for other women.

Women also apparently attach different importance to trends depending on the country.

For Polish (68 per cent), French (67 per cent) and Italian (66 per cent) women in particular, it is very important that the clothes they buy are trendy. This is less the case for Swiss, Austrian and German women, where all figures are below 60 per cent. This reveals an interesting ambivalence: over 90 per cent of all women surveyed stated that they buy independently of fashion trends. Nevertheless, orientation towards trends remains an important purchasing criterion, particularly in Poland, France and Italy - as can be seen in the results above.

‘The alleged independence from fashion trends and simultaneous orientation towards them reveals a so-called ‘attitude behaviour gap’,’ explains Carl Tillessen, trend analyst at DMI (Deutsches Mode-Institut) and bestselling author, who classified the study results in an interview as part of the report. ‘In everyday life, people often don't behave in a way that corresponds to the attitudes they express in surveys. This is particularly evident in their resolutions to become more sustainable. People have now also made such resolutions in relation to trends. Fashion trends that change too quickly are increasingly criticised and the durability of clothing is becoming more and more important.

A country comparison shows that 65 per cent of all women surveyed already pay attention to the issue of sustainability when it comes to fashion. This is less pronounced among Germans, where this aspect is relevant for just over half. However, sustainability awareness appears to be particularly high among Polish, French and Italian women - the figures are over 70 per cent in each case. These countries also have the most positive scores when it comes to assessing the fashion industry's commitment: over 50 per cent of the women surveyed in Poland, France and Italy perceive the industry as sustainable. In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands, the approval rates are lower: here again, clearly less than half perceive the fashion industry as sustainable.

There is again greater agreement on the issue of how comprehensible sustainability is: 76 per cent of all respondents find sustainability in fashion very complicated and are often unsure what is actually sustainable. ‘The task facing us and other suppliers is clear: more transparency and education are required. Consumers shouldn't have the feeling that sustainability is a complicated endeavour. We need to make it easy for them to make conscious decisions in favour of sustainable fashion that makes them feel well-dressed and confident at the same time,’ concludes Carolin Klar.

Carl Tillessen adds: ‘The study shows very clearly that topics such as sustainability, longevity, fair trade and body positivity are no longer only discussed in an elitist bubble, but have already arrived in the mainstream and will have an increasingly important influence on the quality and quantity of our fashion consumption in the future.’

Background to the study by bonprix and Ipsos

For the ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - International Edition’, bonprix collaborated with the Hamburg-based market research institute Ipsos and surveyed 7,175 women* aged 18 to 70 in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland in a representative** online study.

As with the ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - das neue ModeBewusstSein’ for Germany, which the Otto Group company published together with Ipsos in July 2023, the results of the international study can also be divided into four dimensions: ‘Feel’ (importance of fashion, trends and clothing styles), ‘Act’ (fashion budget, purchasing behaviour and sources of inspiration), ‘Change’ (sustainability and innovation) and ‘Empower’ (self-acceptance).

The entire ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - International Edition’ is available for download.

*The possible answer options were ‘women’ and ‘people of diverse gender’. Almost 100 per cent chose the answer option ‘women’. In the ‘bonprix Fashion Report 2023 - International Edition’, we refer to ‘women’, which includes all respondents.

**Representative by age, region, education and household size