We have already talked about the possible post-pandemic scenarios that the world of fashion will find, quoting the words of Simone Cipriani on the online magazine Drapers; there we were referring above all to the heavy fallout of the pandemic on the economies of the poorest countries, of canceled orders, of the tons of products piled up in warehouses pending the resumption of trade flows.
But of course, the pandemic has also led to the reflection of the designers, CEOs and owners of the major international brands who in the last few dramatic months have spoken out for a radical change in the system whose mechanisms they must accept themselves.
The first to emerge from the pandemic outbreak was Giorgio Armani with his open letter in early April to WWD Women’s Wear Daily magazine, in which he expressed the absurdity of the current state of affairs, “with the overproduction of garments and a criminal misalignment between time and the commercial season “. The strong desire for a slowdown, to privilege the “luxury of time”, to no longer be slaves to the crazy cycles of fast fashion to which the luxury segment has adapted by imitating its operating methods represent for Armani “the only way out” to restore value to the work of designers.
Armani’s letter, a solicitation to awaken the consciences of the whole sector, was followed on 12 May by another letter, or rather a real online manifesto, Open Letter to the Fashion Industry, signed by a group of luxury designers and retailers headed by Dries Van Noten and to which, among others, Erdem Moralioglu, Thom Browne and Tory Burch joined together with retailers such as Nordstrom and Selfridges.
What does the manifesto consist of? First of all, the goal is to adjust the seasonality of both womenswear and menswear goods, starting with the Autumn/Winter 2020 season, creating a more balanced flow and at the same time giving more time to use the products. Then focus on sustainability along the entire supply chain, with less unnecessary products, less waste in fabrics and inventory, less travel. And then more use of the digital medium by reviewing and adapting fashion shows. The manifesto ends with the hope that “working together, we hope these steps will allow our industry to become more responsible for our impact on our customers, on the planet and on the fashion community, and bring back the magic and creativity that has made fashion such an important part of our world. “
The open letter to the fashion industry is the result of a series of conversations that took place during the pandemic between ‘actors’ who are part of that industry with prominent roles; about his initiative, Dries Van Noten told Vogue that a step back was necessary, asking himself at the same time how much it made sense to continue that way.
And the latest post-pandemic stance came from Alessandro Michele di Gucci who, meeting yesterday the press by videoconference, announced that he wanted to eliminate three appointments because “doing 5 shows is no longer acceptable”. Even for Michele, the time has come to slow down, giving “oxygen even to the little ones, because the system allows only adults to run”.
The wind of change blows strongly on the post-pandemic. Go on like this.
