Post Covid-19 fashion

What’s ‘in’ for the future.

The fashion industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. And the reality is anything but glamourous. Models have no work, because there are no fashion shoots. There are no fashion shows, no campaigns, no advertising and that means photographers, make-up artists, and all the fashion world is out of work and will be for some time.

That said, there has been high online demand for products and clothing items that people associate with comfort. While sales of spa and beauty products went up because we were all lounging around in our leggings or tracksuits with no need to put on a new cocktail dresses for our Zoom girls’ night in. And these current comfort-buying trends aren’t going away anytime soon. There’s also a been a rise in demand for cashmere, pyjamas, slippers and a lot of streetwear.

However, now that things are slowly beginning to return to normal, people are starting to dress up when they go out. Could there be frenzied responses like when China reopened, Hermès had the biggest day of sales in its history in one store in Guangzho? Who knows. But many fashion insiders believe there is ‘no season’ right now with no new specific trends. Some fashion houses are even putting out old campaigns. Like this one The New York Times reprinted a few weeks ago. It’s a Louis Vuitton ad shot in Tibet back in 1998, featuring children wearing monogrammed backpacks and astronaut helmets that looked strangely pandemic-friendly and perfectly relevant.

But with London Fashion Week (and many others) cancelled and being replaced by virtual shows, fashion leaders are rethinking their business model to address the new demand post Covid-19. We could also see a rise in more immersive and interactive experiences rather than live catwalk shows. The beauty of this? It could also lead towards a greener, more sustainable fashion industry, with zero-waste fashion production becoming more common and reduced air miles throughout the sector, from manufacturing to meetings.

Post covid-19, will also bring a shift from global to local. While the high street may not necessarily disappear, it may instead host more smaller businesses, as big chains close stores. There will be a rise in local merchants on the high street and a return to bookshops and stationers, that were forgotten about when the big chains came in and put them out of business.

But one thing that’s for sure, for now tracksuits, leggings and pyjamas are the must-have fashion items. So, for most of us, that means we’re already in style this season!