The impact of Covid19 in the future of the fashion industry is like almost every other industry: quite high. Fashion is one of the sectors that has been left out due to the pandemic we´re living in because it isn´t a necessity for us and thanks to our current situation the consumers might be starting to cut things out. Besides parties, reunions and celebrations are reduced to the minimum which minimizes the occasions consumers usually feel the desire of buying new clothes.
It is a very challenging time for small, medium, and local brands to continue to grow or even sustain their businesses. In fact, any brand that is not digitalizing their products or services has nearly no chance of surviving the crisis. Many agree the future of fashion is digital.
E-commerce seems to be growing every day and even high-end brands are finding ways to create digital fashion shows. As Giorgio Armani manifests after his 2020 fall collection.
This is something we are all conscious of. What I wanted to acknowledge is the way consumers are looking at fashion at the moment.
Transparency, sustainability, and local-oriented purchases will become substantial, not only to spend less money in the crisis but also to support these local brands that might otherwise go bankrupt, which means global and fast fashion stores are at big risk.
As we saw during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic, this is on account of a shift in how we interpret fashion, having to focus on functionality and quality over quantity that will reflect on an increase in the purchases of more high-quality pieces instead of the constant buying of cheap unnecessary clothes. Also the incorporation of face mask to our wardrobes due to health protection.
Which some say, acts as a wake-up call on how we are focusing on consumerism and mass production instead of slow and meaningful fashion.
In these times brands should be focusing more on staying in touch, supporting their community, and most importantly, bringing value with their products. Going back to the roots, in which fashion reinvents, interprets what the world is feeling or want to portray, and adapt to a change of mentality.
The world is going to be splitting up with disposable items and mass production. We already started to see many stores closing, a descend in prices, and postponed fashion events. This is an influential point in history and like everything else, retail will transform like it hasn´t in 100 years. To maintain themselves brands will have to be smart, sustainable, and viable and maybe we could view fashion as an individual expression again.
Meanwhile, we can hope for better times.
xoxo
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