I open this month of June, which starts our life towards the so-called phase 3 of the post-pandemic (a further step towards normality with the opening up between regions) touching again on a topic addressed in various aspects in these last weeks of leaving the emergency.
I refer to the changes that the fashion sector is going through, to the reflections and proposals that are emerging from the employees themselves, whether they are designers, retailers, producers, such as the open letter to the fashion industry of Dries Va Noten of which we talked a few days ago about.
In this regard, the study conducted by Espresso Communication for Bigi Cravatte Milano on over 20 international newspapers of trends and current affairs in the fields of fashion, design and lifestyle is interesting and dedicated to the phenomenon of ‘back in time’, a trend that aims to bring back the fashion to a virtuous past, rediscovering the values of the past, to repair the damage caused by the 7 deadly sins of fast fashion.
Quarantine has forced all of us to slow down, opening the door to a simpler lifestyle, made almost exclusively of necessary purchases, less waste and more time spent in the family. And this is how, amplifying a trend already in place for some time, we start to give further importance to craftsmanship and handmade products and in a sustainable way.
The idea would therefore be to rediscover the past and take back some of its values, taking the opportunity to remedy the capital sins to which part of fashion has given up in recent years:
- – pride, or to think to be more important than the Planet, it is therefore necessary to rethink the production system, preferring fabrics and processes compatible with the health of the Earth and its inhabitants;
- – greed, that is, to be guided exclusively by profit and to opt for low-priced manufactures; preferring industrial processes to manual and quality ones may not be the winning choice, since today craftsmanship represents an added value, capable of guiding consumer choices and increasing sales;
- – lust, which means trying to satisfy the pleasures of customers with garments made not to last. On the other hand, rediscovering forgotten clothes and readjusting them is a useful trick to renew the wardrobe without making new purchases;
- – envy, or wanting to be like someone who produces a lot, not like someone who produces well. For some time now, there have been several brands that have opted for massive relocations, while local production will return to the protagonist of an expansion phase and the artisan workshops will experience a moment of rebirth. The key word will be glocalization, an approach that consists in maintaining local specificities, while opening up to a global market;
- – gluttony, that is, to produce an excessive amount of garments during the course of the year. The possible antidote could be to create only one collection per season and re-propose the inventories of previous years;
- – wrath, getting angry about the ongoing emergency: at this moment the imperative is not to just observe the current situation with frustration, but to use this time to organize and build a new relationship with customers;
- – finally sloth, resistance to change: despite the evidence showing the weaknesses of fast fashion, the sector has not changed its habits in recent years. And now fashion is forced to overcome this aversion to renewal and to build a different future.
- Therefore, focusing on glocalization, sustainability, craftsmanship, consistency and tradition, looking to the past but to build a different future, can represent the right and most respectful way to start again after this terrible stop.
- The cover photo is by Will Buckner
