The apparel industry is going through the gloomy phase as apparel production slowed down drastically due to decreased demand rate.
The global pandemic badly affected the physical retail segment across the world and the related creative job sector. Looks like we are back to the baby steps phase and still a lot has to be learned and invented.
It's not happening the first time. When we talk about the future we forget past experiences and when history repeats we go back to square one.
How time has influenced fashion? How time has updated the thinking process of design creativity?
Time has influenced the creative industry many times bringing a lot more challenges and creative innovations fulfilling the essence of time.
It happens, every era goes through a fashion & creativity cycle and that era leaves its footprints on fashion. And that's how fashion refreshes its cycles whenever it's required to repeat.
You must have seen how Fashion of the 70s, Fashion of 80's repeating time to time and getting new twists & updates whenever shows up, based on different locations and cultural trends.
People adapt to different fashion eras differently at a different time & place.
For example, You may see a 70's jacket in a different avatar in the year 2020. The brand new updated 70's jacket will be called as 2020's fashion if it gets repeated!
Though, nobody wants to remember the year 2020 again, after it passes on.
There is a lot of uncertainty in the market about the usual fashion business practice. Pandemic will affect fashion business as Spanish Flu did 100 yrs back, loses are more this time.
How crises forced creativity to innovation in the fashion field?
Crisis demands flexibility and way forward to look for new rules & practices that can bring revolution. Fashion has always shown the mirror reflection of the time we are passing through.
For example, After the first World War, the heavy corsets wore by women were replaced by an androgynous style. They chose to dress like men in which they felt much more comfortable as compared to the super fitted corsets.
The dresses with long trails were discarded and were replaced by above the knee pinafores. Seems women were choosing Comfort as their style statement after the first World War.
During the Spanish flu, people use to wear masks all the time. Mask became the necessary item & fashion element at that time.
How health pandemic is pushing the fashion industry to evolve and innovate?
Today's fashion world was never prepared for the corona crisis. This COVID-19 has given a huge shockwave to the creative industry & manufacturing industry.
With so many global inventions and advancements in the health sector, the world became reluctant to the deadly virus and never took the danger seriously.
When the medicine world is talking about the head transplant, heart transplant, and other organ transplants then who is scared of this tiny virus, and that's where we missed our safety.
This pandemic has almost shattered every process and practice built in the past 60-70 years, to do fast-paced fashion businesses across the world.
Nobody can complain as it was a sudden spread that did not give time to the creative crowd to think and mark their track.
Creative minds can't even blame for unpreparedness to their happy mood which drives them to give shape to their ideas into creativity. They just never thought of it.
The main fashion driving countries in Europe like Paris, Spain, Italy got badly affected and due to that many design houses closed down affecting worldwide fashion supplies.
Designers, Fashion photographers, fashion models, merchandisers, workers, weavers, and many more associated with fashion businesses have lost their livelihood.
The pandemic has created a steep global economic crisis right now. People are scared & closed in their doors as a precautionary measure & that has almost stopped their income.
Essentials became the priority as food & shelter comes first in demand.
The fashion Industry was demanding changes since long, amidst ignorance. We were so overconfident that we never thought something like 'complete shutdown' in our dreams.
We have to start somewhere again. As it's well said, "Crisis is the mother of innovation." It compels to think about the solution which in hence leads to innovation.
This is the perfect time to reboot, rethink, reinvent ourselves.
Top 10 changes that the fashion industry will see in coming time-
1) No Season specific merchandise in the store for a year or two - Stock clearance mode-
Now nobody is caring about fashion seasons. As there is already a huge stockpile of garments in retail shops and warehouses due to the current situation.
The season-specific garments from the previous seasons are still hanging in the stores. Retailers are not showing interest in buying new stuff, instead, they are trying to liquidate the current stockpile at a discount rate. A way forward to pull out the floating cash.
So, when it's cold and you go to the store for shopping then you may find more bikinis & summer products out there. No wonder, as this is all we can expect for few months and a year or two.
The focus of population buyings will be more on essentials amidst the crisis.
2) casual comforts will be the new cool-
Ignoring the daily surge in new infections, countries have started unlocking to improve the mental and physical health of the populations.
People are desperate to go out to live the normal life which they use to live earlier. They want to spend their time in restaurants, pubs, bars, playgrounds, parks, and cafes.
World Health Organisation has already announced that it's expecting the second wave of the deadly pandemic in the last quarter of 2020, after analyzing the current surge in infection rate.
This news has already created a fear in the people's mind. They might spend lesser time outside as compared to pre-corona days.
And in that case, they will opt for comfort casuals like T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants loungewear, activewear, business casuals, joggers, etc.
So, there will be a rise in demand for loungewear and activewear in the coming days
3) Minimalism in fashion can make appearance widely-
This is the time that is taking a toll on finances as well. People will like to spend more on necessity items. Fashion is a discretionary good and it comes next to the necessary goods.
At this point, there will be a minimum requirement of unnecessary items leading to a less financial burden.
Hence, minimalism in fashion will come back. There are a lot of minimalist fashion bloggers who shown up during this global tragedy and started talking about minimalist fashion over the internet.
The minimalist fashion bloggers teach you about how to buy less and keep yourself away from worldly possessions of excess stuff.
Minimalism in fashion buying may destroy the mere existence of the fashion industry during the health pandemic. It will be a kind of self-destruction mode for brands, and none of the brands would like to promote this idea when there is negligible business around the world.
Creative beginners & professionals should study minimalism in fashion and they should dig in to bring innovative ideas to explore it deeply. Fashion bloggers will have to unclear the doubts related to minimalism in fashion.
Japanese designers are well known for their minimalist fashion ideas & silhouettes.
Minimalism in creating the product may help in showing the way to the niche designers to showcase creative ideas and talents they have.
Look of design can be minimalist, not the lifestyle, for the survival of the fashion industry.
4) Digital wearing or virtual wearing will play a vital role-
Touching & feeling the outfit plays the most important role in the sales of fashion merchandise. Most of the customer's psychology is to take a trial before purchasing the outfit for themselves.
But during this 'touch-me-not phase' due to global pandemic COVID-19, people are scared to go for trial or touching the used ones. And to cope up with this situation, the fashion sector may opt for digitalisation and technological innovation.
Digital draping could be a possible innovation, which we can expect on every fashion brand's website very soon.
People won't mind uploading their images on their favourite brand's websites to see how the garment will look like on them - a kind of digital wearing concept.
The technology already exists but now fashion brands will take it seriously and the world can expect a digital revolution in the fashion industry soon.
5) Digital Fashion Weeks over Social media-
Fashion marketing has already been improved in the past few years. Runways shows are still an important medium for designers to showcase their creativity. We cannot deny the fact that pandemic has given the worst show to the show business industry.
Most of the brands are working on virtual fashion weeks and digital shows to showcase their creativity in 15 min slot time. A live show on Instagram & Facebook may work well for them for better coverage.
Though, brands will have to arrange the clap sound separately.
Presenting runway shows on the internet will be more impactful & precise with more number of audiences.
6) Rise of Social Media Influencer Marketing-
Brands are cutting down the traditional advertising methods & costs and opting for social media and Instagram to showcase their products.
They will hire more social media influencers to market their products instead of hiring print media for traditional marketing and runway coverages.
Nobody is going outside to look at promos and posters. Everything will be on the internet. Brands must start approaching to hire PR teams & creative agencies who are dealing with influencers for digital marketing.
Fashion Nova does this since long with more than 3000 influencers across the globe.
Read more about how Fashion nova became the leader in the fashion business by adopting the Influencer Marketing technique with only 5 stores in the world.
Creativity agencies can help brands in building relationships with niche social media influencers.
7) Ultra-Fast fashion may slow down-
Ultra-Fast fashion works on instant creativity and instant availability business model. The shutdown across the globe hampered the global supply chain of Ultra-fast fashion brands. The lockdown has severely affected those brands which were living on an Ultra-fast fashion concept.
Zara, HNM, and many more brands that use to update their store shelves weekly had to close many of their stores.
Creative photography and creative writing may help to some extent to still hold fashion followers over Instagram & Facebook.
Posting 'click n buy' products every day over social media will be a big challenge for the brands.
8) Discount culture will boom-
"Save Money And Money Will Save You."
It's a famous quote that is very relevant right now. People will shop only for those items which will have discounts. Full price buying won't happen right now.
Brands will have to reduce their profit margin for the next 2 years if they want their products to leave the showroom. Multipliers ratio needs to come down to sustain the brand's presence.
Usually, an average brand used to make a profit by multiplying 3 to 5 times the actual cost of the product to set the MRP of the product.
Famous brands like Zara, HNM, Shein, and many more have already started selling their products at a discounted price.
'Discount stores' may not change their strategy as their products are already at the lowest margin. But You never know if they want to join the race and may squeeze out their suppliers to give more discounts on products sitting at the warehouse.
So, that they can give some more discounts on the floor.
9) Globalisation to localisation-
We are in the era of globalisation. Products are being exported and imported across the world within no time. But, the current situation has paused the process of the global supply chain. The world is closed & borders are closed for the movement of goods.
Ships are standing in the dockyard, goods are lying at the ports, the aviation industry is at a halt. The transport system and supply chain industry is choking due to the health pandemic.
People will have to rely on the products which are available locally.
Local boutiques, local designers, local crafts, and artisans will play an important role to keep on moving the fashion industry. It will increase novelty amongst them. The local supply chain may come in the picture.
People would like to invest their time & money in local handicrafts, crochets, embroidery, etc. This may change the pattern of existing fashion flow.
10) 3D Runway Show & Virtual trade show software will be the future of fashion business-
Few software agencies have launched software for a 3D fashion show & virtual trade show. Where you will be able to see the illustrated model or catwalk with ghost model (no model - only shape, curves & walk).
Virtual trade show software is designed so well that you will be amazed by the catwalk style and design clarity. Endless options of walking styles, silhouette creation, pattern creation, lighting options, model choices will be inbuilt to click and play a show.
It is a great idea for Ultra-Fast fashion brands to adopt for Ultra-Fast runway show within no time. An up-gradation for fashion marketing.
Also, with Virtual trade show software, it will be easy for fashion buyers to do fashion buys easily without traveling across the globe.
European brands are preparing for digital fashion weeks.
Even Denimandjeans is organising a Virtual trade show this year.
"Creativity brings new ideas and innovation applies those ideas to create a new thing."
Fashion is the industry of creativity, innovation, and talents. Tough time will go away someday as every day cannot be 'Monday'.
The world is sure and confident about creative minds in bringing solutions to creative challenges.
The crisis will change the way we were thinking and it will lead to ways for fashion innovations. The Fashion Industry needs to improve and work on creativity and innovation, then only things will move ahead.
This one small virus has this much efficacy that it has forced the fraternity to rethink, rebuilt, and reinvent.
Creativity and technology hand in hand would be amazing. ��
ReplyDelete