The world has stopped abruptly; is that a full stop for the fashion industry? or will it finally modify consciously?
Fashion industry, as many know, works in cycles- one day you are in and the next day out. This was the true nature of the industry and its motives. Variety of mediums still debate about the trends that are going to hit the runway and the ones that are going to qualify someone as a “fashion victim” or “ignorant of all the recent trends”. Cue to the fashion leaders that have swung fashion weeks into the prime gala of industry’s important persons. These leading fashion brands have the power to turn, bend and make fashion the exclusive affair that it was always supposed to be. Fashion has dabbled, struggled and won with labels and a label that fashion prides itself with was being “Elitist’’
Post 2010, the fashion industry saw something drastic and that was being touted as the “social media frenzy”. The slow but yet steady descent online saw the power of fashion shifting slowly to, what we call, “Consumer”. As the simplest definition of consumer being “the one who consumes” started to change the rules. Social media gave the consumer the power to swipe, comment, like and overthrow everything in a blink of an eye. Soon everyone was embracing the wave and this huge wave was here to stay.
The shift made the fashion leaders and their followers welcome the concept of “listening to the consumer”. Trends were created but now trends were selected, dropped, forecasted and penetrated into the consumers, giving impetus to the retail industry. Fashion Industry started looking at better marketing campaigns, advertisements and doing everything that would keep them relevant in such times.
2013 brought the true face of the industry with the Rana Plaza Tragedy. And nothing was ever the same. Conversations started to pour, more opinions started to add on the social media, ethics and fair trade started to take the centrestage and the second wave of reality hit the industry. Keywords shifted and consumers again spoke of a new way of fashion that would honor the life of everyone working behind the scenes. Sustainability replaced all the labels fashion earlier adorned. Alarming climatic conditions made everything in life more conscious and considerate.
Recently, pandemic hit the world, starting from Wuhan, China to all over the world in the span of 3 months. This was fashion’s worst hit since the 2013 tragedy. The world was brought to an abrupt stoppage due to the ill effects of the virus affecting the existence of human life. This made the fashion industry to cancel, postpone and push all the major events, trade shows, fashion shows temporarily. Internally, production was shut and all the design work was moved to work from home (which coined another trend (sort of) ‘WFH’). Fashion brands thanked the social media and their online existences to be relevant and “in it together with the consumer” ideology. The tough times are the actual testing times of the industry.
Change is inevitable, as once said by Benjamin Disraeli, and the fashion industry has been changing and evolving constantly. Owing to the 4 season routine in a typical fashion year, we can see and analyze how dynamic the industry actually is. After all the changes that the industry has been through, this one right now in front us seems too important and cannot be ignored. This is not just anymore about trends falling and getting out of place, this is about lives being saved and the new normal being the best interest of every living individual on this planet. The look of fashion will have to change. It won’t be anymore about the runway, who wore what?, who can be the actual leader. It has to be about how effectively we are tackling, eradicating the spread of the virus. Businesses are being affected economically and strategically. So, the main question arises how and why does the fashion industry must change its course after the pandemic finally rests?
The answer is simple but yet complicated. Fashion Industry needs to understand the shift of culture. The masses have turned themselves in their homes, WFH is an actual thing and businesses are managing fine with this new workplace, social influencers, bloggers et al. are creating content in a snap and people are ready to read, learn, educate, prioritize self worth (mental health, lifestyle being the top most priority) etc. This is so far the outline of lives that the masses are living right now and this might be a fixture for sometime. So how does this affect the nature of fashion?
Everything goes online, that is how. People’s spending time on their electronic devices has risen and they have the time to experiment with which experience they want to actually spend their time, money and attention to. This is the prime explanation on why the fashion industry must change post COVID-19.
Consumer’s demand demands something that would make them believe in necessity (say goodbye to fantasies and dreamy feelings). This is a contradiction to what we have always been listening to, next day is a new day. Well, with the threat outside, next day is a day to thrive successfully and manage our resources carefully. So, when the consumer is managing their resources carefully because of the uncertainty; Fashion industry needs to look out for the same linkages. Tapping into the consumer’s need now stands true. These consumer shifts, cultural shifts and careful mindsets have to be what fashion businesses will have to follow.
Fashion shows and fashion weeks, which pre-covid looked too elaborate and exclusive even though the core was shifting towards more inclusive set ups, is actually most buyers have the access to, so their experience shouldn’t be challenged. Survival and relevance moves up with the aid of technology.
The internal set ups need to update as well. A typical fashion brand sees 4 collections dropping in but now with limited access it will have to be altered and made two full fledged seasons. Earlier in the month of april, fashion experts, designers and buyers decided collectively about the dropping of the seasons and their durations letting the time for the pre-production, production and post production activities to be more flexible and breathable. The great tension of having shows, editorial shoots, etc in locations will be limited. So homegrown ideas would now have great relevance.
This way the fashion planning of seasons, styles and shows should be adjusted. This is the new way to conduct the business. The day to day functioning must be disrupted but WFH is saving a lot on productivity and better performance. Hiring better professionals who not only work under pressure but also under these dynamic circumstances will be a necessity. A range of good professionals dealing in graphic design, communication design and content creation would be essential assets with the majority of businesses making their online presences more convenient and bold.
The fashion industry has to deal with the produce. Everything that is being produced has to be relevant, necessary and conscious. There is a great relevance to products that don’t stress on the environment or add up to the destruction and exploitation of all resources that has always been in the industry. Collections need to bend towards righteousness and be more conscious. Sustainability is a long term goal and now is the time to plan and execute successful plans with meticulous and considerate outcomes.
COVID-19 has made the world abruptly stop. This stop has made us more aware of our surroundings. We are being more observant and keeping tracks of our lives, what we read, what we watch and what we essentially need. Modification is a process and that’s what we are doing at this stage- modifying consciously. But we are aware of the reality that is out there and the fashion industry needs to look from the same point of view. We all are in it together, as coined by every medium possible, really needs to stand of prime importance. The lens through which the world views this pandemic, has to be the same lens through which the industry sees the consumer base, their needs and their acceptance. Custom made might make a great comeback, people will start doing good with their skills and re-use, recycle and repair, pop culture is beaming with creativity in a single room, freelance is getting more recognition, creators are creating for real test of the time- this is how the forecast is seen from the lens and the fashion industry just needs to understand these small but quite impactful shifts. On a global production level, a new structure explaining better allocation, usage and slight shifts in payment modules and delivery modules will help the industry to re-adjust priority. This is the time and the time is here!
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