The Future Of Fashion
The beginning of a new decade was nothing like anyone expected. It is no secret that 2020 has been a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone. A global pandemic with devastating deaths, social distancing, new ways of working, studying and shopping, empty cities, massive furloughs, lost jobs and even brutal episodes of racism.
Some people even wish to skip this year to start a brand new one with the hope and expectation that it will be better. But first, important system changes must be made, we can not go on and pretend as nothing happened. This is why the industry must reinvent itself. Fashion is an important part of our daily life, it has the power to make a positive change. It is key for economic and social development as it employs around 60 million people directly along its value chain, according to the CEO Global Fashion Agenda 2019.
As everything is changing every single day and we are currently facing uncertain times, the fashion industry is taking action to evaluate the way things are being done. It is certainly a scary scenario for all industries and all the fashion and beauty fanatics are dealing with a process of grief since the fashion and beauty worlds just as we know them, are about to change.
The fashion industry is not only responsible for the clothes we wear every single day, but it is also responsible for being a dream incubator. In the imagination and plans of students, recent graduates or just fashion or beauty enthusiasts, this unknown and different future of fashion seems unreal.
During difficult times some things become more relevant and crucial, but since fashion is not an essential industry it has been deeply impacted by the pandemic. For the beauty industry, for instance, it is doubtful that we will ever see again dozens of ladies trying on and experimenting with makeup testers at Sephora during their lunch breaks. These simple routines could disappear forever, they are just too risky.
The digital world is a certain future, but the fashion and beauty industries are about creativity and about being yourself. We are social beings and we need a certain degree of human interaction that can not be provided by this new digital era of Zoom meetings.
Many retail companies, such as Barneys New York and now Neiman Marcus, are closing their doors, saying goodbye to our memories of walking around while looking at those perfectly curated shelves and window displays. The digital era of online shopping and free shipping have conquered the ways we shop. The digital wagon is running fast and businesses that don’t grab the train at the right time are at risk of being left behind forever.
This lockdown has accelerated the shift towards new ways of shopping on more online digital channels. These new consumer behaviors could mean the end of brick-and-mortar. According to McKinsey's post-COVID-19 consumer survey, April 2020:
“40% of consumers, who did not shop online previously, started using online channels during COVID-19 and 26% expect to shop less at physical stores following COVID-19.”
Stores like Harrods and Selfridges in London, Saks Fifth Avenue and Barneys in New York or Galeries Lafayette in Paris, are iconic and special spaces that helped us build our identity and our passion for fashion. These used to be the places where fashionistas sought for inspiration and trends. The end of brick-and-mortar stores raises the question if we will ever value human interaction? How can buying through a computer be more satisfying than the experience of shopping in store? What about the future of trying on clothes? Will it even be possible after the highly contagious coronavirus?
PHOTO: Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City, HBO.
“This crisis is offering us a big opportunity — and a responsibility — to rethink our entire business and to correct what is wrong, outdated or environmentally or socially damaging” affirmed Chloé chief executive officer Riccardo Bellini in an interview with WWD, “Most of this problem requires collective solutions”.
Collaboration plays an extremely important role in re-imagining the outdated systems. Alongside collaboration, creativity and innovation are crucial during these times of crisis to save the fashion industry. Even customers are changing, they have new behaviors and values, they are demanding transparency and better quality. The fashion industry has to make the right use of its privilege and power to drive change. Companies have a duty with their customers to drive a more responsible society, where honesty is the best policy and there is space for inclusion and respect.
The future of fashion seems to be about preferring quality over quantity, using sustainable materials and taking care of the whole supply chain to have a positive impact in this new fashion world we want.
The fashion industry is the world’s third-largest manufacturing sector after the automobile and technology industries. The fast-paced and overproduction business model is no longer suitable for the future of fashion, alongside overconsumption and excessive waste. Our society needs to understand that we cannot continue making, buying and discarding clothing at the rate we have done for the past years. These must be top priority issues if we want to contribute to solving the climate crisis.
According to the Fashion Revolution White Paper 2020, the buying behavior of consumers is beginning to shift: "The use of the #SustainableFashion hashtag grew by five times between 2015 and 2018 (Heuritech 2019). Fashion search engine Lyst (2019) reports that searches for “sustainable fashion” on its platform increased 66% in 2018 alone and traffic to second-hand luxury items increased 329%. Lyst predicts that 10% of all purchases processed through the platform will be made with sustainability in mind by the end of 2020".
At the same time, technology, innovation and research are playing a key role in making the industry more sustainable. Consumers may be willing to pay more for something environmentally friendly or ethically made, but the main goal should be for sustainability to be more accessible in the future.
Brands should use their creativity to transform the paradigm of boring or unfashionable sustainable clothing. Brands like Marine Serre, Stella McCartney, Reformation, Patagonia and the conscious sneaker brand Veja, are constantly innovating with their designs and materials to change the perception of the typical only white linen sustainable fashion to make it more appealing for new possible consumers.
The future of fashion requires commitment, communication, dialog from individuals, communities, experts and brands to make the necessary lifestyle changes and transformation of our economic and social systems. This is why we should focus on decisive actions to achieve change: prioritizing people and planet before profit.
But still, in the chaos of the coronavirus crisis, not everything is bad news. The digital London Fashion Week was a success and legendary magazine, Harper's Bazaar named Samira Nasr as their new Editor-in-Chief, which means a significant step forward for diversity and inclusivity in the industry.
“I will work to give all voices a platform to tell stories that would never have been told.”
Brands like Gucci, Dries Van Noten and Saint Laurent are taking the first steps to vision this new modality as they create their fashion calendars. Gucci recently released Gucci Equilibrium, an online platform that commits to "generate positive change for people and our planet. Powered by creativity and collaboration, we are reducing our environmental impact and protecting nature, while also prioritizing inclusivity and respect, so that everyone in our global #GucciCommunity is free to express their authentic, diverse selves".
Fashion should ensure the protection of human rights, fair working conditions of its employees, positive impact within local communities while minimizing waste production and impact on the environment to achieve a bright new future. Slowly, a new industry is rising where creativity, respect and diversity coexist and empower each other.
