Adapting to The New Reality

Ms. YURYANGLA MUILANG

FASHION DESIGNER

ADAPTING THE NEW REALITY

The coronavirus pandemic is the biggest change most of us will have experienced in the lifetime and lead to the evolution of numerous consumer attitude. As lockdown and social distancing continue, staying home is transforming people’s psychology towards fashion, be it the consumer or the fashion creator they are utilizing this time to think about new projects to cope with the future. The virus is a major sign of a planet to the fashion brands to end fast fashion. This is the time to start envisioning different products and experiences. Future Consumer

Life has once again been reduced to the essentials. We are in a stage of rejection unless fashion does fulfil functionality and necessity. Design should now be change in the way that what you offer remains modern. Shifting to Recycling and upcycling to wearing second hand in everyday life can save the Earth from a lot of dumps. I would say passing down outgrowing garments to younger children, swapping, swishing and sharing by giving them a new life is the most convenient way to extend the life of your clothes. It is one key to contribute towards sustainable fashion. Understanding Future Consumer like the way people expect, feel and behave, will encourage us to tackle the changes ahead. We need to look at the modern consumer, and it’s more important than ever to understand what this consumer will want to buy in the short, mid and long-term. According to Andrea Bell, WGSN Insight (May 2020) Industries are having to adapt to a new reality that demands flexibility, resilience and above all creativity. Trends that predicted for the next decade have accelerated to become part of our lives in a matter of weeks. The good news is that times of great crisis lead to tremendous innovation and the designers, creators, strategists, marketers, buyers in fashion industry will rise to this challenge like never. The one thing our current situation can direct us is that the future will come more rapidly than we think. The fashion world will be moving from showrooms to digitally produced campaigns, and a digital shift will prevent buyers from traveling and reduce waste. Holidaying will be local once the lockdown is over, and the consumer will look to natural and biodegradable products. Market Opportunity

The long-term economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is unknown, but the global short-term unemployment rates are daunting. Many people are relying on localized social commerce to supplement income and this shopping behavior will remain strong for the foreseeable future. Identify social commerce platforms for partnerships and Start small by deploying a limited product test, and track what’s gaining in terms of sales and discovery before major investment. 1.Livestream Shopping Coronavirus is normalizing livestream sales for many countries. According to WGSN livestreaming will continue to remain dominant shopping option. It allows them to interact and shop virtually anywhere. Retailers investing in branded live stream shopping events to maximize sales will obtain excellent opportunity. Like how Nike In January 2019, released a limited-edition shoe via livestream on the gaming platform Twitch was able drove high rates of engagement and conversions, and the product soon sold out. 2. AR/VR shopping According to a 2018 Gartner survey, 100 million consumers will shop AR/VR by 2020, and this will continue to grow as a conversational commerce channel. Gartner expects that the implementation of 5G and AR/VR in stores will transform not only customer engagement but also the entire product management cycle of brands and will enhance store traffic issues. Retailers should make the experience sharable as feedback will help to understand the products when purchasing. Around the world, fashion weeks are canceled, postponed, or going virtual. Tokyo, Shanghai, and Moscow have

34 C OV I D - 1 9 A N D C O N S U M E R already explored alternatives with virtual format pecially independent and young designers. And Big live-streaming shows. Abandoning the traditional brands might want to get back to business but it’s a fashion calendar, The British label Burberry anquestion of how long this goes on for. nounced the spring/summer 2021 show on 17th September digitally for those unable to travel and visit. • This pandemic has transformed the world and 3. Sustainable Hub India being one of the most sigtaught to live on only essentials. But When we are nificant producers and exporter of cotton in the back on track, human will forget the new realities world, making of cotton fabric products will mark and will go back to old normal life. a key step in globalizing it. India possesses exten sive capability to build sourcing system using indig • With the economy at an all-time low and layenous facility rather sourcing raw materials from offs becoming more common than ever, conother country. This is the time consumers around sumers are thinking twice before making any the world hunting for anything sustainable. And our purchase. Consumers are looking at value country is blessed with plenty of natural resources. and best prices. India can be a “Sustainable Hub, “ It can’t happen tribute to the welfare of recycling. Old garments can etc. • Consumer Sentiment: Immense Fear and overnight, but this is something which we absolutely need looking forward in long-term fashion market. • Fashion brands have experienced immediate shocks to their supply chains and sales, luxury goods conglomerates stocks are down, and retailers strugWays to Engage gle to retain workers on a payroll. Bain & Company report shows that luxury market is likely to lose be• Talk to a cohort that expects certain things, create tween $65 to $75 billion in sales this year. products and services that meet their lifestyles, focus on hyper-local delivery. Time speed remain the key, Delivery services must shorten time especially in congested urban areas and technology will help overcome this. Every company is bearing losses in this unprecedented global shut down and also need to take care of the mental, physical and financial well-being of the people involved in the process of designs-garment. We react differently in times of crisis, depend• Reduce operating cost and inventory, renego ing on our environment, in terms of fashion, and tiating payment terms to manage daily overthere will be a slowdown. I believe it’s a good time flowing to have immediate cash. Present state to re-evaluate the actual needs and saying goodbye applies the survival of the fittest that ability to to fast fashion buying scam. We can focus more on make best out of it in the fast-changing market. local and sustainable product in the near future in • Peer-to-peer social commerce will continue response to ongoing global issues. Simplicity in derising and focused on supporting commusign, investment in technology, Creativity and colnity members by opting to purchase directly laboration are key in this situation, and we hope this from friends will regenerate local economy. isn’t just a short-term crisis trend. While we continue • Exchanging Leftover materials at the end of each living virtually, everyone among your connections season all at a lower price point than the main range. can keep exchanging a concrete deep idea, thoughts • Bringing garments to new life out of Factories aris a worldwide crisis. The solution must be collecchived deadstock. Rescuing fabrics instead of maktive. We cannot be lonesome; we can only overcome ing them redundant provides opportunity to conthings together. be restyling and sold in Instagram, online website, References The Current Challanges https://m.wgsn.com/iA1B0HWDLWm00Y01miU3Z06 https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-online-post-covid-19 • Traditional and institutional brands and re https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-ontailers will continue losing market share to loline-post-covid-19 cal retailers and local store. And is likely crehttps://www.bing.com/news/search?q=Fashion+Industry+Post+Corating recessions throughout the remainder ona+Virus&qpvt=FASHION+INDUSTRY+POST+CORONA+VIRUS+&FORM=- of the year and possibly trickling into 2021. NWRFSH https://elle.in/article/fashion-industry-post-coronavirus/ and innovation to be more productive. However, this anxiety of environmental and financial unhttps://www.iknockfashion.com/will-covid-19-draw-attention-to-suscertainty due to widespread unemployment tainable-fashion/ urged consumers feel uneasy about the future. https://yourstory.com/2020/06/consumer-shopping-experience-shift-on• Brands that were struggling might disappear, es line-post-covid-19 | AUGUST 2020