Jaiden Shoushounova – LaSalle College Vancouver 

We are all aware of the pandemic going around known as COVID-19. It has impacted everyone, and no one knows how long it will last. Many people have lost their jobs,schools have gone online, and businesses have been affected. That brings me to this weeks topic, how will COVID-19 change the fashion industry? This topic is being discussed in all fashion media. Today I am here to share my opinion on it and what I think will happen to our industry as the virus continues.

One of the primary uses for fashion is protection, protection from the elements and in this case, it will be crucial in protecting people from COVID-19. Companies have stopped production on many products that were to be released in the following months. The Spring/Summer 2021 collections have been either cancelled or postponed and trends are going to change drastically. As with every pandemic, change will happen.

It feels as though the world has come to a stop. Many businesses, including the fashion industry, are doing their part to help out during this time of panic. Multiple companies and brands are producing protective clothing to help people feel safe during this pandemic. They are donating clothing and masks to hospitals and sewing reusable masks to help people stay protected; they are coming out with face masks, gloves, and even coats that will cover the face to prevent the virus from spreading. With so many people working from home and stores closing down, making sales will not be easy. Larger brands are even encouraging their consumers to shop locally to help out smaller brands that could go bankrupt, which will decrease sales on bigger brands and hopefully, help local brands expand.

People do not need to buy the latest fashion trends; they will remain home in lounge-wear due to them not leaving the house. Brands will produce more leisurewear now that people are no longer buying “going out” clothing. This will help benefit the environment as they will be buying essentials and cut down on fast fashion. This could possibly lead to fast fashion brands shutting down and people sticking to long-lasting, sustainable pieces. Within the next 6-12 months, brands will be focusing more on sustainable clothing!

Consumers will focus more on buying lounge-wear and even workout clothing as people are turning to yoga and home workouts to remain busy. Concentrating on mindful mediation and yoga can help relieve stress and anxiety. The colours will most likely be in softer neutral tones to help settle the mind. Unfortunately, in some cases, smaller brands may have to shut down entirely if they do not make enough money to run their online businesses. People will be trying to support local shops, and companies may have settled into their “new normal lifestyle” by 2021. The future is a mystery; fashion, and other industries, will be doing their best to keep sales up while helping people feel more at ease and comfortable during the hard times. They are doing the best they can do.

That’s my opinion on what will happen. We have no proof of knowing how this will impact the industry. I have been keeping up with the news worldwide as well as fashion-oriented news sources to understand and learn what people are doing and how fashion designers are taking action. Only time will tell, and all we can do is stay home and wait for things to clear up while supporting local companies.

This is a repost of an article I wrote for my school’s fashion blog club I run but had to close down due to covid*