How will Covid-19 shape the Fashion Industry ?

COVID-19 is changing the way that we live.

Hospitals are crowded, shops are closed and group activities are no longer advised.

While reading this, you are probably at home in quarantine.

It is a difficult time. Fear, anxiety, and boredom are the prevailing attitudes of the moment.

Consumers are taking precautionary measures, purchasing only necessities.

This decrease in consumer spending has huge consequences for the fashion industry.

At this time, the best course of action for customers and businesses may be to on preparing for a better start when life returns normal.

Is it possible to transform this sad situation into an opportunity to create a better ‘’normal’’?

Could the fashion industry restart more sustainably?

Post-pandemic changes for the fashion industry

#Current situation

We have pressed pause on non-essential shopping and are taking measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 .

The fashion industry is one of sectors most impacted by the pandemic.

Shops and factories have been shutdown. Fashion weeks have been postponsed and global supply chains disrupted. 

As sales continue to decline and supply chains break down, many orders are being cancelled (CNN).

Today, the $1.5billion orders cancelled in Bangladesh will impact on more than a million garment workers, who were already considered among most vulnerable workers (Bloomberg).

On the other hand, it seems that this tragic global crisis has had some unexpected silver linings. 

Brands are coming together to fight this disease by making face masks, hand sanitizers and donations to struggling hospitals and small businesses (WWD).  Ever since the shutdowns, the environment has been thriving. Canals in Venice are transparent and the sky in Wuhan has never been bluer (NBC News).

Some studies show that pollution played a role in spreading the disease (The Guardian).

Do you see it? The possibility of a better world?

Post-pandemic changes for the fashion industry

#New type of customers

Now we have the gift of time.

Let’s use it to get informed about the advantages of sustainable fashion.

Now is the time to reflect on how much power we have as customers.

How can we shop conciously with society and the environment in mind?

Has this crisis made you break up with Fast Fashion for good?

Get informed about skin-friendly materials or the ones to avoid if you want to dress sustainably.

Find a comfy sustainable sweater for your quarantine that will help keep a local business afloat during this crisis.

Face masks are sold out everywhere?

Create an account to get alerted when sustainable face masks are back in stock.

Get ready for a sustainable re-start!

Post-pandemic changes for the fashion industry

#New type of business

Fashion has always been shaped by our way of living.

For example, the second world war sparked on the decline of the ever-fashionable lace fabric. Following the war, the feminine world, instead of reverting to the classic elegance and inctracacy of lace, had shifted to traditionally male-dominated spaces such as sports and cars, where lace had no place. (The Guardian).

The current dire state of fashion industry might shine light on important values as traceability, transparency and sustainability.

Fashion, as we know it, could be reimagined in a more sustainable way.

Right now, the crisis has raised questions about age-old traditions such as the need for fashion shows (The New York Times).

They are expensive and polluting. Are they worth it?

What about the number of clothes available in the market? Do we really need that many options?

Sara Maino, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Italia, believes that the Post-Pandemic Fashion will value quality over quantity (Vogue).

The current situation provides an opportunity for a better future. It is time for the fashion industry to realize what is important and to protect it.

‘’At a time of crisis, we have to think about a radical reset’’

Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue & Artistic Director of Conde Nast (The New York Times).

Post-pandemic changes for the fashion industry

# The choice is ours

Do we want to go back to ”normal”?

Is the environment sending us a message?

Is it time to reshape fashion and to make it more sustainable for the planet and for the people it employs?

A better future is in sight.

The choice is ours.