How Covid-19 Impacted The Fashion Industry
Honestly, 2020 has been one hell of a ride for everyone living but can it be a blessing in disguise? My best friend always tells me that in every situation there is always a lesson to be learned. And what about the current pandemic that swept the whole world of her feet? Well, to sum it all up, Covid-19 has not only affected the health sector but also the economy and like what I will be talking about today, the fashion industry. So whats’s the hard lesson that all can learn from this?
It may not come as a surprise but the fashion industry does not stop, trends are still changing every season and clothes are still selling out so what really happened when Covid-19 hit? What changed? And how did the Industry adapt? These are some points that I've collated that might answer those questions.
- Changes in the way consumers shop
Before Covid-19, consumers like you, and I would prefer physically going to malls and shop for clothes or jewelry and I must say that I really do miss going to shops trying on different styles and physically touching the materials of clothes which online shopping can’t do. And according to an analysis firm Commerce Signals, there was actually a 45% increase in sales through online channels by the end of April 2020 during the pandemic as in-store purchases plummeted which showed that more consumers are doing more online shopping than in-store. And well that’s another thing, online shopping, and physical shopping is way different. Although there are some pros and cons in online shopping like online scams and oh getting the sizes right such a disappointment eg. EU S is like ASIAN M/L. However, online shopping does provide convenience by delivering it right to your doorstep a week or two later. And how can I forget, those promos and sales are hard to miss!
The sad part that we don't normally are that well-known fashion companies like ZARA, H&M, GAP, and ALDO had to filed for bankruptcy in early 2020 when COVID-19 hit due to the drop in sales. H&M Group CEO Helena Helmersson mentioned that: “It is clear that the rapid changes in customer behavior caused by the pandemic will further speed up the digitalization of fashion retail.” Therefore to avoid consequences suffered by the retail stores have to change their market strategies to attract customers online to keep the business going, which requires the company to think fast and adapt if not they are losing both customers and their business as a whole. The use of technology can both be a benefit yet can pose a major risk if not dealt with properly. Having occasional promotions like 10.10 or 11.11 sales which are done monthly or by using coupons can help boost brand awareness, retaining its customers, and attracting new ones. Something which most physical shops lack.
2 . Fashion Week
A fashion enthusiast like myself had always looked forward to Fashion Week whether it's in Milan, Paris, or anywhere in the world. Fashion Week is not for everyone, well another way to phrase is that not everyone can be or attend Fashion Week, you gotta be like someone of influence in fashion or in the business world. Some of the influencers that I know and look up to who has always attended shows for fashion weeks are Yoyo Cao (@yoyokuala), Heart Evangelista (@iamhearte), and Mae Tan (@marxmae).
courtesy of Balmain fashion show
So before the pandemic, the only fashion news or like sneak peeks I got was from their insta-stories on Instagram. But now ever since COVID, brands like DIOR, PRADA, GUCCI, CHANEL, and many others had put their runway shows online, some found on their Instagram page, Youtube or on their official websites which were fascinating for an enthusiast like me who had always imagine sitting in the front row of fashion week. And now I’m able to experience what’s like to watch the show live, in the comfort of my own home. However, there are some notable differences that physical runway has and online doesn't. Ms. Cao is one of her IG live on Instagram mentioned that the environment and the vibe were totally different from attending a real physical show, during the physical show she was able to talk and hug her friends from all over the world and was able to touch the different fabrics of clothing however with the online show she was unable to do those. But oh well, we just gotta wait and experience what is yet to come.
Fashion to me has always been like ‘expecting the unexpected’ because nothing is certain and many things changed just because of the pandemic. And now moving on to point number 3.
3 . Technology is Fashioning the future
It sounds big, innit? Simply put, it’s just how technology is shaping the future of fashion, be it on the runway or in fashion design herself. VOGUE Singapore was recently launched on 23 September and there was VOGUE Conversation hosted by Norman Tan (@musingmutley) alongside Maghan McDowell (@maghanmcd) from @voguebusiness, Kerry (@kerry_oo) from @the_fab_ric_cant, Angel Chen (@angelchenwig) a designer from @angelchenstudio. I was blessed to be one of the many who attended the zoom call and honestly learned many things that I couldn’t possibly find online cos these experiences are so raw and valuable.
Courtesy of Vogue Singapore
One of the many things I realized when listening and observing was that no matter how high your position is in the industry even if you’re a manager or a fashion designer there are always pockets of room to grow and I was amazed at how seriously they took an hour call to be. It was full of information, the challenges, and how different companies dealt with the changes. The topic of the meeting was “How technology is fashioning the future-runway to retail”.
Remember how I told u that runway wasn’t meant for everyone? Well, its kinda half true, cos due to the advancements in technology, its available for all of us to see which provides a two-way experience for fashion, and now with Instagram being one of the highly used social media platforms in the world, my IG feed used to be bout food and friends but now it’s filled with influencers and friends posing their outfit of the day or what they were doing. It's more like a game to see who got more likes, how your feed looks like rather than posting memorable moments like how it used to be but in a way I didn’t really mind it. Maghan mentioned that more and more people are using their cameras as their keyboards doing all sorts of things without technology, I couldn't imagine how it would be like.
With the pandemic still around, many fashion companies are finding new ways to communicate with consumers and one of them was to actually personalize an interactive experience by allowing the consumers to interact with the brand by narrowing down what they expect from the brand and in a way the consumers are the company’s marketers. Angel who is a designer for her own brand did a fashion show using the help of a green screen. I mean who would have thought of that?
I don’t know whether you’ve heard about 3-D modeling? Cos I have not in my 18 years heard about this but both Maghan and Kerry who are from different companies did a 3-D rendition of themselves online and the purpose is to experiment with a different style of clothing without having to physically try them on. How did they do that? Great question… They stood in the middle of the room in their undergarments with 360-degree cameras surrounding them, monitoring their every move. Cool right? Both Kerry and Maghan was hesitant in doing it at first as they knew that the 3-D version of themselves would be released for the world to see but well in the name of Fashion, they still did it anyway.
And so Kerry thought what if the whole runway was just 3-D models walking the runway with digital clothes on. His fashion brand @the_fab_ric_cant did just that, for their collaboration with PUMA.
Games
Amused enough, MARC JACOBS and VALENTINO had also recently collaborated with Kara Chung to re-create MARC JACOBS looks in-game and the VALENTINO pre-fall 2020 collection in Animal Crossing. GUCCI X Tennis Clash, LOUIS VUITTON X League Of Legends, and many others. So the question in my mind was Why Games? Steven Ekstract, brand director of global licensing group Informa Markets said that luxury and beauty are all about aspiration and emotion, the very same attributes found in gaming. So gaming became a very natural marketing tool for luxury and beauty brands to target consumers.”. So I guess games are just one of the many stepping stones for the fashion industry to reach out to more consumers. And I guess we’re gonna see more of it in the near future
And that was it 45 minutes of experiences and challenges shared by those in the industry. The next five to ten minutes was about what to look and watch out for in the industry if they are interested in using technology.
So basically, there were like 3 points, sort of like a guideline in which help designers or fashion labels to use and better understand technology in fashion.
- Who are your target consumers?
- Investment -be prepared to spend more money on materials and technology
- Having the courage to cut your losses -cos “Rome wasn’t built in a day” so there will be mistakes along the way which means that you have to experiment, test, and make small improvements for the brand.
And the lady from Google (i forgot her name) ended off saying that Fashion is much of an “everything must be perfect” type of industry, therefore using trial and error and feedbacks are essential to collect data along the way to better understand what the consumers want.
And that was essentially it, my one hour spent on a zoom call.
Again, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the industry to finding new ways to adapt to the situation, and oh well fashion herself is always about expecting the unexpected.
I would love to thank Vogue Singapore once again for the amazing opportunity to let me listen in and learned something new.
Well, I hope through this blog, you're able to learn and better understand how Covid-19 impacted the fashion industry. And so my last words, for now, is that I hope everyone is doing well amidst this pandemic, spending time wisely and taking this precious time to catch up with family or your loved ones.
with love,
NARLIN
any questions? feel free to catch me at my socials
Instagram : @xsabrinaxnanaxlimx , @narlinx
Email: xnarlinx@gmail.com
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