Английская Википедия:Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the fashion industry

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Файл:Ruwanthi's collection at TFDA 2021.jpg

Face masks integrated into a 2021 fashion show outfit.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects the global fashion industry as governments close down manufacturing plants, and through store closures, and event cancellations to attempt to slow the spread of the virus. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on fashion brands worldwide. At the same time, the fashion industry faces challenges in consumer demand. New opportunities are also presenting themselves as fashion brands shift to making fashionable COVID-19 face masks. Domenico de Sole, chairman of Tom Ford International, remarked that "I have seen a lot of difficult situations in my long career and this has been the most devastating event, not just for fashion and luxury, but all industries."

Manufacturing

In the first months following the start of the global lock-down, the fashion sector was shaken by the sudden stop of all retail stores sales worldwide. The supply chain froze for a few weeks in some countries, which materialized by a lack of fabric availability and order cancellations. Many fashion designers saw the pandemic as a catalyst for change, a way to break away from the industry's constraints. Most fashion companies focused on innovation with online sales to maintain revenue afloat. According to Bloomberg, Bangladesh was severely hit by the sudden halt of production. In many countries, financial programs were launched to support suddenly jobless workers of the fashion industry. "The global trade union which works to give workers around the world a voice, says that millions of garment makers have already lost their jobs as a result of the virus and have no access to social or financial safety nets to help them weather this storm." This has affected many fashion brands directly, as they face challenges by no longer having their manufacturers to rely on. Brands typically pay their suppliers weeks or even months after delivery, rather than upon order. Suppliers, though, need to pay upfront the cost of materials and fibers used to make the products they have been asked to produce from brands. The issue is that with the unfolding situation of the pandemic, fashion brands and retailers are cancelling orders, due to low demands of clothing, and cancelling payments for orders that have already been placed with their manufacturers. Hence, fashion brands take no responsibility for the impact this has on the people working under their supply chains; their manufacturers who have already worked on crafting their products at their own cost and no longer receive anything in return. Given the situation, factories are left with no other choice than to keep hold of unwanted goods already made or destroy them, and laying off workers to afford the crisis or shutting down their factories indefinitely. With this scenario happening all over the globe, fashion brands are highly affected when it comes to the manufacturing of their goods.

Sales

Файл:Hugo Boss store during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brisbane, Australia 03.jpg

Shuttered Hugo Boss store in Brisbane, Australia (March 2020)

In early April 2020, Forrester published a report predicting a $2.1 trillion loss in sales for the global retail industry in 2020.

With store closures, some fashion companies had their spring sales fell by 60%. A mid-April report by the Census Bureau estimated the decline of retail sales to -8,7% in March 2020, with clothing sales falling hard with a 50.5% sales drop. The New York Times found the data comparable to those of the months following the 2008 financial crisis, even though stores remained opened that time. Sales of casualwear and sleepwear, to adapt to the lockdown lifestyle, boomed. Department stores, which were already losing the competition to online sales, all announced a major crisis to come, being unable to compensate their losses with online sales. In April 2020, clothing sales fell 79% in the USA. The industry recorded a 9.6% global decline in 2020.

The demand for tracksuits, pajamas, hoodies, sportswear, and other leisurewear highly rose. Baggy jeans, for example, are replacing tight ones. Sweatpants sales grew 80% in 2020 in the USA. The fashion needs and interests of people are highly shifting, as they prefer comfortable clothes over high design. Consumer changes in tastes in accordance to apparel and styles have led businesses to pivot towards a greater focus in loungewear and activewear, ideal for a stay at home situation. Moreover, with the shift in customer attention to safety, health and wellness, retailers are facing the post-pandemic challenge of capturing new customer needs with a greater focus in hygiene and safety to retain their clientele.

Marketing

The economic crisis hit the larger department stores first: J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers and JCPenney all filed for bankruptcy within the months following the coronavirus outbreak. On the other end, the outbreak was also the start of booming online sales for some smaller, low-overhead clothing companies that foster a close relationship with their customers.

As retail stores shut their doors and stay-at-home orders kept people inside, there was a dramatic shift towards digital commerce that is likely to continue post-pandemic. Consumers had to increase their use of services like social commerce and curbside pickup and retailers had to offer digital solutions in order to survive. Sales from physical brick-and-mortar stores and department stores are down and expected to continue decreasing while direct-to-consumer online retailers are on the rise. Some dressmakers and seamstresses have shifted to making masks, including specialized masks for Sikhs and wearers of turbans, hijabs, and hearing aids, as well as those with full beards. According to Shashin Shah of TotalRetail, the industry's new challenge is to deliver "contactless yet engaging customer experiences."

The lockdown led to a surge of new TikTok users, with 2 million app downloads during the week of March 16, 2020 (1.7 million the prior week), but its gross revenue grew by 34% that same week. According to Isabel Slone, TikTok rewards people for "retreating into their own niches and discovering new interests".

According to the Harvard Business Review (2021), the covid crisis led to a great decline in traditional advertising spending, and a historic ROI from social media, leading fashion companies and brands to boost their online and digital presence. About 61% of CMOs indicated that they have "shifted resources to building customer-facing digital interfaces" and 56.2% are planning to "transform their go-to-market business models to focus on digital opportunities".

Sustainability

The fashion industry is well ranked as one of the world's largest polluting industries. Its impact on this planet has only been getting worse, as the industry has grown throughout the years. With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry is facing a stage of reassessment and is searching for new alternatives that are mindful of our people and planet. Just recently, the State of Fashion Report of 2019 claimed the industry was undergoing a "year of awakening" as consumers demanded greater social responsibility from fashion retailers big and small. Nonetheless, with the rise of the pandemic at the start of the 2020 year, the fashion industry's sustainability efforts began to slow down. Sustainability was becoming way less of a priority for fashion retail, as fashion retail businesses were undergoing a state of emergency and fighting for survival. Now though, as the crisis aligns consumer, environmental, and ethical interests, the spotlight on sustainability has been brought back to light. Numerous reports and studies have shown the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on focusing our minds towards helping to create a better, healthier planet. Consumer fashion purchasing behavior has evolved and people are leaning towards more environmentally-friendly, sustainable, and/or ethical purchases. The resale apparel market, which includes online resell as well as thrift and donation stores, is set to skyrocket in a post-COVID-19 world. Many collaborations and projects have arisen within brands, to support recycling, resale, sustainable collections, or material innovations. In addition, many brands have published their accelerated sustainability goals in terms of plastic, carbon, and energy reduction. With the impact the pandemic has had on consumer purchasing behavior, environmental awareness, and sustainable consumption, several efforts are being carried out globally to build a sustainable fashion future.

LVMH launched the deadstock resale platform Nona Source to boost the industry's circularity.

Secondhand fashion

The pandemic propelled an already existing surge for secondhand fashion. Websites such as The RealReal, ThredUp, or Poshmark, saw a surge of activity during the pandemic. In March 2021, the luxury group Kering acquired 5% of the secondhand resale platform Vestiaire Collective. In early 2024, the Gucci Vault (marketplace of exclusive collaborations and It products) was replaced by Gucci Vintage (reconditioned secondhand clothes).

Events

Designers have adapted with producing and showcasing their fashion products by streaming presentations online without a live audience present. The British Fashion Council made an announcement in April 2020 that it would develop a digital "cultural fashion week platform" that designers could use in any way that they thought would work for them rather than facilitating the typical format and setting of a fashion show. Shanghai and Moscow fashion weeks were presented digitally in late March and April 2020. Ermenegildo Zegna coined the word phygital to describe "physical space and digital technologies" as its new way of showcasing fashion.

As art galleries and museums were closed, First American Art Magazine organized a virtual art exhibition and asked the Native art community to submit masks. More than seventy artists handed in 125 masks, from functional masks to decorated ones.

High fashion

Файл:Mannequin with bathing suit and matching face mask Roncesvalles.jog.jpg

Trikini

The COVID-19 pandemic caused change in the fashion industry. The necessity to purchase clothing on a frequent basis no longer exists, and numerous brands and historic department stores have closed for good. Face masks are a "piece of clothing ... that began as purely protective transforming into a fashion statement in no time at all." The trikini in Italy, for example, consists of two piece beachwear and a matching mask. More broadly they have appeared on the catwalk as a part of the haute couture's industry turn towards a utilitarian flair, and furthermore with the global rollout of effective vaccines thought is now being given to "the post-COVID look".

See also

• 2020s in fashion
• Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail