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23.07.2020 13:08:00

Five ways of transforming fashion brands after COVID-19 pandemic

Five ways of transforming fashion brands after COVID-19 pandemic

Corona crisis has cut down on fashion market, but besides having a negative impact on revenue, it has also moved the industry forward in fundamental change.

It is obvious that fashion will no longer be the same. Both young and renowned brands have to adapt to the new conditions. Valeria Krasovska, Director of International Business Development at FCeight, talks about how fashion brands can stay afloat after COVID-19 pandemic and what direction is better to choose for further development.

AGAINST FAST FASHION

It is important for young brands to review and update their business models. Fast fashion brands (mostly mass market brands) have long ignored real needs of customers and swamp them with new collections, shortening life cycles of previous ones. Two serious fashion market players have recently criticized fast fashion.

In mid-May, Dries van Noten, founder of the self-named Belgian brand, called for a new approach to production in an open letter. He called for reducing the volumes, rescheduling the sales calendar to increase the number of purchases at full cost, and replacing traditional fashion shows and presentations with online events.

Earlier, in April, Giorgio Armani announced that the brand would cease overproduction and extend the sales of seasonal collections. He also criticized fast fashion and encouraged colleagues to abandon the endless circle of new collections.

World-leading brands pondered over stopping factories. And young brands began to realize that they needed to make their production more autonomous and resistant to new threats.

FOCUS ON ECOLOGICAL SAFETY

According to the Global Wellness Trends Report 2019, fashion can be described as the main cause of water pollution. Imagine how much water, electricity, and other resources are spent for making one T-shirt. Reconsideration of the traditional system may reduce negative impact on the environment. For example, Pangaia brand has its own proprietary fabric processing technology. They design products made of recycled materials and plastic bottles.

But one should not forget that being green is expensive, especially for young brands.

Omission of unnecessary production steps can reduce overall production costs but cannot offset the cost of using eco-friendly technology. Therefore, even such eco-brands as Reformation (popular with Margot Robbie, Emily Ratajkowski and other actresses) have not overcome the crises. Reformation decided to roll back sustainable development initiatives for a year due to the need to cut costs.

UP-TO-THE-MINUTE TECHNOLOGIES

But if sustainable production is as defenseless as traditional one, how can designers continue to operate in a situation where supplies are disrupted by border closures and factories do not work? The answer for many brands is zero waste approach (waste-free production), with large players making it technological and reducing waste through 3D design.

Lockdown precipitated the revolution that would have occurred naturally within a few years.

In April, Levi’s announced that 3D design would sell images instead of physical samples, thus reducing pollution, increasing production rate and optimizing budgets. Tommy Hilfiger plans to be 100% digitized by the end of 2020. The brand will make 3D design as part of both production process and user experience. Online store will offer a look book with fitting option based on image capture technology.

UPCYCLING

Brands that cannot afford well-paid designers and programmers are looking for inspiration in traditional zero waste. For example, the Ukrainian upcycling brand Ksenia Schnaider launched a collection entirely sewn from shreds of cloth that usually go to waste.

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Another example is the Korean brand Tiger In The Rain, where the designer deconstructs vintage items of famous brands such as Chanel, Burberry, YSL and creates new ones.

NEW LIFE OF SECOND-HAND CLOTHING

Nowadays, almost every consumer focuses on history rather than appearance of clothing or accessories. Buying a vintage dress at a commission store is no longer a sign of low income. For example, the Amsterdam-based Episode is now an international chain with stores in Paris, Copenhagen, London and Brussels. In Paris, vintage stores are spread all over Le Marais district, and in Milan they can be found at almost every corner. USA is also famous for its many commission stores, where you can buy not only clothing but also household items, furniture, tableware, etc.

The fans of unique and eco-friendly things will not hesitate to go to second-hand stores, because used clothing is commonly made of high-quality materials and therefore its wear life will be longer.

Secondary consumption can cover several needs: uniqueness, frequent shift of looks, and conscious consumption. There are really unique concepts of stores selling second-hand clothing. For example, Oxfam store in the UK can tell customers the story of every item. You can listen to these stories with QR code on your smartphone.

The pandemic has made Kids O’clock platform by Laura Roso Vidrequin particularly popular. Here you can rent or resell used children’s branded clothing by Chloé, Christian Dior, Columbia, Zara, etc. The website started last year but came to the attention of journalists and customers during the lockdown.

Trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who has used her finely honed intuition to predict the future of fashion for 45 years, told that the world is in the midst of a “quarantine of consumption”. Due to decline in income, people refuse to buy without thinking. They focus on care for themselves, their relatives and surrounding world. Practicality prevails over impetuosity. This means that young brands that take into account the new consumption model, reduce production and raw material costs, and develop their own unique styles, will benefit in the post-COVID world.

Source: Rau.ua

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