3 Hot Selling Niches in the Fashion Industry Right Now

Experts predict that the global apparel market will grow from 1.5 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020 to approximately 2.25 trillion U.S. dollars by 2025, showing that the demand for clothing will increase worldwide. Womenswear is the best-selling apparel category, which generated twice the revenue as compared to menswear. There are countless apparel manufacturers and retailers worldwide, but only a handful of brands control most markets. Thus, it is essential to find out the hot-selling fashion niche clothing and stock up on them to maximize profits. Nowadays, most brands focus on a single niche before the collection they offer expands. The more you niche down, the lesser the competition, but you need to ensure that the market should not be too small. To help you save time and start niching down as soon as possible, we have compiled a list of the top three best-selling niche clothing items.

Vintage Clothing

The vintage niche clothing offers intrinsic versatility, allows the wearer to curate personal styles, and is one of the most sustainable fashion forms. These reasons have led to the increased popularity of vintage niche clothing among fashion enthusiasts. Most celebrities and influencers promote vintage clothing to convey their pro-sustainability ideas or showcase their unique style. Before stocking up on vintage collections, you need to know what the vintage niche is all about.

The word vintage is used to describe old and exquisite apparel capable of reflecting the trends and styles of a particular era. Garments that are twenty to a hundred years old are vintage. You can sell vintage clothing from mainstream brands, haute couture labels, hand-made brands, or even from rare materials. Most influencers and celebrities mix vintage garments and accessories with modern styles for elegant outfits, which has led to a growing interest in vintage niche clothing. ‘#vintage’ has claimed over 150 million posts on Instagram and is set to garner more each year. In the era of social media with talks focused on sustainability, vintage is the most profitable niche clothing.

Athleisure Clothing Lines

Early in the 20th century, people focused on leisure clothing and started blending those with athletics in the ‘80s. Athleisure came into existence, and the word was taken literally to denote athletic clothing worn in our daily lives. Around 2017, sportswear became a type of fashion clothing, and celebrities began to promote the comfort of the niche clothing. However, the majority of the revenue drawn in by athleisure is claimed by the major sportswear brands. Recently, independent athleisure brands like Lululemon started appealing to the athletic lifestyle. They identified their target customers, observed their lifestyles, and launched products that fit the needs of every customer. Work from home boosted the popularity of casual dress codes, the COVID-19 pandemic promoted greater health awareness, and ingenious fabric innovations have moved athleisure to the spot of mainstream niche clothing.

The athleisure market is a big business, relevant to the current lifestyle of the masses, and is predicted to be around for a long time. Fashion-driven athletic apparel and accessories are in demand, and people are looking for more non-intimidating brands that fit directly into their daily lives. Homegrown brand Spunkwear has observed a 20% annual increase in its sales over eight years. According to Morgan Stanley, activewear was expected to generate 83 billion USD in sales by 2020 and capture a significant market share from non-athletic clothing apparel. The exact numbers predicting the future trends are unclear, but brands and experts expect the athleisure niche clothing to draw in a broader variety of consumers.

Genderless Apparel

Thanks to the mainstream media and popular shows, inclusion and diversity have become the focus in fashion. Most brands are looking for ways to represent different gender identities, body sizes, and body shapes. The primary stakeholders and small businesses are casting models from a broader gender spectrum and creating gender-fluid or unisex collections. Global brands like H&M and Zara have tried out their hand at genderless niche clothing and have received massive appreciation. Gen Z rules most social media, and appealing to them is necessary. Rob Smith, the founder of the Phluid Project, said at the WWD Culture Conference that around 56% of Gen Z customers shop outside their assigned gendered area. Thus, brands catering to more gender-neutral apparel and offering people the freedom to dress how they want to are more popular. 

Celebrities like Billie Eilish, Harry Styles, and Jaden Smith are famous advocates of genderless fashion. Genderless niche clothing is about letting go of traditional labels and setting the imagination free. Major brands include the conventional feminine and masculine details like frills, ruffles, and bright colors. Thus, these brands allow wearers to celebrate and showcase their styles rather than forcing them to stick to particular looks. According to an analysis of yearly published books scanned by Google, the use of the phrase ‘gender-fluid’ has seen an exponential increase since its first usage in 1992.

Moreover, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) added a ‘unisex/non-binary’ category to its shows in 2018. CFDA’s move was attributed to increasing consumer interest in gender-fluid clothing and the doubled amount of ‘genderless, gender-neutral, or unisex’ products in the U.S. since October 2020. Thus, genderless niche clothing has garnered exceeding popularity among the present consumers and is a profitable niche to focus on.

Wrapping Up!

Now that you know about the current top three hot-selling niche clothing in the fashion industry, we hope you will be able to curate a fashion line catering to many consumers. As in any in-demand niche, the competition can be harsh. The significant stakeholders dominate most of the internet, making it more necessary to pinpoint the consumer’s exact needs and provide relevant services. With the right amount of resources, you can get to the top and make an identity for your brand.
To take the sourcing and manufacturing burden off your shoulders, create the fashion line of your dreams, draw in your target customers, contact Fashinza experts and eliminate unnecessary confusion. Social media and fashion blogs are great ways to drive traffic and make as much revenue as possible.