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The Systemic Change Needed in the Fashion Industry & Those Leading the Way
Words Bethany Boyo
ShutterstockAs COVID-19 continues to impact the fashion industry, many retail giants have been hit mercilessly amidst store closures and immense reduction of footfall. This is due to the lengthened lockdown implementations globally, therefore it comes as no surprise that renowned retail chains such as Neiman Marcus, J.Crew and JCPenney have all filed for bankruptcy. This has heightened worries regarding the end of an era within the history of fashion of the Multi department retail brand.
The fashion landscape as we once knew it has changed forever. It has now become an unpredictable entity, with fashion events worldwide being either cancelled or postponed for the foreseeable future. Organizations and brands have been forced to re-analyse the way things will operate going forward. In a bid to rapidly adapt to the present and future circumstances, many are grappling with different strategies and marketing techniques to stay ahead of the curve.
Alessandro Michele of Gucci has become a pioneer during these times as he has begun a new way of thinking — a ‘new normal' of what fashion will be like on the other side of COVID-19. An industry where collections are not consistently delivered at a fast pace — as is the norm, allowing more time for creative input. Other brands that are also following suit are Saint Laurent and Dries Van Noten. Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele has decided that the brand will step out of the traditional fashion calendar and show its collection only twice a year. Michele based this decision on adopting a slower approach and going back to basics, taking note of the history books from a time when pre-collections and resort collections didn’t exist.
Many brands are beginning to embrace the need for the essentials which has become a post-COVID ‘new normal’ as opposed to the mass consumerism which reigned pre-COVID. Saint Laurent has also decided to move away from the fashion calendar and show its collection in their own time, whilst Dries Van Noten has assembled a forum of designers who are calling for a re-alignment of the fashion deliveries calendar and also a stop to early discounting. Focusing on a more creative product is now the approach being implemented by many fashion houses.
These strategies have also been backed by both the British Fashion Council and The Council of Fashion Designers of America, who have called for all brands to ‘slow down.’ Many are predicting the end of fast fashion retail as we know it, as consumers are narrowing down on what they buy, to essentials of quality presented in a creative way. The question everyone is asking now is who willing to take this opportunity to adapt and stay ahead and who will fall behind?