COVID-19 AND THE FASHION INDUSTRY FREDERICA JUUTILAINEN
edito’r letter The first time I heard of the coronavirus spreading in Wuhan, China I never imagined it would develop into a worldwide pandemic. Across the globe schools, restaurants and shops closed down. Concerts, conventions and all plans to meet friends, parents and grandparents were cancelled. Lockdowns were implemented, hospitals were overcrowded, deaths were rising, and the virus was spreading. Life as we knew it was gone. The spread of the virus and its consequences were alarming. I followed the news every day from my Amsterdam apartment while keeping in touch with my family in Finland and friends in different places in the world. I was grateful to have my fashion related projects keeping me busy. Seeing that the pandemic would have long economic consequences and alternate the way we think and what we value, I started to keep taps on the its effects on the fashion industry too. In this zine I document the implications of Covid-19 in the fashion world. You can expect information about the business side of things, fashion trends and prognoses about the future of the fashion world. This zine made to document the already happened and the predicted changes in the fashion industry due to the Coronavirus pandemic. It is made to look back and remember this unique time where mindsets, practises and businesses changed in the fashion world. Frederica Juutilainen
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Covid-19 and it’s spread to a worldwide pandemic
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. The COVID-19 virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from the nose when an infected person coughs or sneezes. At this time, there are no s p e c i f i c v a c c i n e s o r t r e a t m e n t s f o r C O V I D - 1 9 . H o w e v e r, t h e r e a r e many ongoing clinical trials evaluating potential treatments. COVID-19 has steadily spread across the world since it originated in Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of China, with roughly 8.3 million cases and over 440,000 deaths globally as of June 18.
the fashion industry’s struggle with covid-19
The virus is increasingly having a negative impact on the fashion i n d u s t r y s p e c i f i c a l l y, h a v i n g e s c a l a t e d i n t h e m i d s t o f t h e f a l l 2020 fashion month season, causing brands and design houses to shutter their doors and postpone upcoming runway shows. Major events, including the Met Gala and the CFDA Awards, have also b e e n p o s t p o n e d i n d e f i n i t e l y. D e p a r t m e n t s t o r e s a c r o s s t h e g l o b e , including Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, Selfridges and Saks Fifth Avenue, have closed their doors. The fashion industr y is just at the beginning of its struggle with COVID-19.
-Closed down factories and stores - Ca n c e ll e d f a s h i o n s h o w s - L a yo f f s - Di s r u p te d s u p p l y cha i n s -Leftover stock - P oo r sa l e s C o v i d - 1 9 h a s d i s r u p t e d f i n a n c i a l m a r ke t s , u p e n d e d s u p p l y c h a i n s a n d c r u s h e d c o n s u m e r d e m a n d a c r o s s t h e g l o b a l e c o n o m y. T h e p a n d e m i c is causing jobelessness and financial hardship for people accross the value chain. Fa s h i o n c o m p a n i e s t h a t w e r e f a i r l y h e a l t h y b e f o r e t h e c o r o n a v i r u s o u t b r e a k w i l l l i ke l y r e c o v e r f r o m a n y d i s r u p t i o n s . B u t f i r m s t h a t w e r e already struggling will find it more difficult to bounce back. The developing world, where most clothing is currently sourced from, will face the most hardship caused by COVID-19, namely Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Honduras, and Ethiopia. While developed nations could recover from COVID-19 relatively fast, these developing counties, especially the least developed ones, may suffer from a more extended period of high unemployment, which means widespread hunger and disease. R e m a ke ’ s P a y U p c a m p a i g n i s h i g l i g h t i n g t h e s e h a r d s h i p s . T h e i r online petition signed by 63,000 people brings to light -the fact that some of the biggest fashion brands in the world owe more than $3 billion to garment factories in Cambodia, Myanmar and Bangladesh f o r c a n c e l l e d o r d e r s i n t h e w a ke o f C o v i d - 1 9 .
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S i g n i f i ca n t s h i f ts i n consumer’s preferences COVID-19 will result in significant shifts in consumers’ preferences: 1) The pandemic will bring values around sustainability into s h a r p f o c u s , i n t e n s i f y i n g d i s c u s s i o n s a r o u n d m a t e r i a l i s m , o v e rconsumption, and irresponsible business practices. 2) A significant drop in consumer spending on apparel will result in massive inventor y build-ups. 3) Social distancing has highlighted the importance of digital channels more than ever and the lockdown has elevated digital as an urgent priority across the entire value chain. The fashion industr y will look ver y different in the post-Covid19 world. 1) The ensuing financial distress will spur industr y consolidation to an extent significantly greater than that caused by the 2008 global financial crisis. 2 ) C O V I D - 1 9 w i l l t u r n f a s h i o n i n t o a n e v e n m o r e “ w i n n e r- t a ke s - a l l ” i n d u s t r y. 3) Innovation will scaled-up along the entire fashion value chain. Regarding sourcing, it means “near sourcing” and “vendor integration.”
FACE MASKS ARE THE NEW HOTTESt FASHION ITEM
P r o t e c t i v e f a c e m a s k s h a v e b e c o m e t h e l a t e s t f a s h i o n a c c e s s o r y. O n e of the ways people are protecting themselves is by wearing surgical face masks when heading out. Even though being in close proximity to another person isn’t advisable, there are times when going outdoors is unavoidable. Fa s h i o n i s t a s h a v e h o w e v e r f o u n d a w a y t o t u r n a n o t h e r w i s e u n a t t r a c t i v e a n d c l i n i c a l l o o k i n g , y e t e s s e n t i a l , i t e m i n t o a f u n k y a c c e s s o r y. Fa s h i o n d e s i g n e r s h a v e b e e n s h o w c a s i n g f a c e m a s k f o r a w h i l e n o w but who knew that the “weird” runway item would in fact become an essential part of our day to day lives?
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LOUNGEWEAR TO THE RESCUE DURING THE PANDEMIC
While fashion retailers are struggling overall, some are seeing a glimmer of hope, stemming from an uptick in sales of certain c a t e g o r i e s – m o s t l y l o u n g e w e a r, p y j a m a s , a n d a t h l e i s u r e w e a r. This resulted to retailers shifteing their categor y focus. Since the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a rise in what’s been dubbed the ‘comfort economy’, i.e. retailers and brands targeting consumers in the context of self-care, and promoting quarantine-related products. Loungewear falls into this, meaning retailers that didn’t rely on this categor y before are now heavily promoting it, and even speeding up production on new ranges. Consumer demand for comfort is soaring.
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-On-Demand Manufacturing - l o ca l m a n u f a c t u r i n g - th e e n d o f f a s h i o n seasons - g o i n g di g ita l
The coronavirus also presents fashion with a chance to reset and completely reshape the industr y’s value chain. It’s time for a mindset change where b r a n d s c a n r e g a i n t h e i r v a l u e a n d c h a n g e t h e i r b u s i n e s s m i s s i o n . Fa s h i o n executives are being urged to place sustainability at the core of their business models to help built resilient and sustainable businesses postCovid-19. I n a d d i t i o n t o s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, o n d e m a n d a n d l o c a l m a n u f a c t u r i n g t h e f o c u s w i l l b e o n t h e c o s t u m e r. T h i s i s a i d e d b y d i g i t a l i z a t i o n t h r o u g h w h i c h t h e r e i s b e t t e r d i r e c t d i a l o g u e b e t w e e n t h e b r a n d a n d t h e c o n s u m e r. D e s i g n e r s c a n a l s o u n d e r s t a n d t h e t a s t e a n d p r e f e r e n c e s o f c u s t o m e r s b e t t e r. With digital escalation brands can strengten digital abilities accross value c h a i n a n d a d a p t b e t t e r t o c o n s u m e r n e e d s a n d t o a n e w m a r ke t e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e r e i s a l s o n e e d f o r n e w i n n o v a t i o n s l i ke t o o l s a n d s t r a t e g i e s a c c r o s s t h e value chain. Meanwhile some of the shifts we will witness in the fashion system such as the digital step change, in-season retail, seasonless design and the decline of wholesale are mostly an acceleration of the inevitable — things that would have happened further down the road if the pandemic had not helped them g a i n s p e e d a n d u r g e n c y n o w.
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