As we all know, the entire world has become victim to the new Coronavirus pandemic, and has caused us to change every corner of our reality - including the fashion world. How does a respiratory illness affect fashion, and specifically, sustainable fashion? Keep reading and you'll understand.
One of the most obvious ways that the worldwide spread of this illness has affected the fashion industry is fashion weeks and show dates. COVID-19 hit Italy in the middle of Milan Fashion Week, causing it to be cancelled, and many other designer houses such as Armani, Dior, Gucci and Burberry to cancel or postpone their 2020 Fall shows and 2021 international Resort shows. Entire fashion weeks have been also cancelled, for instance New York Men's Week, Paris Men's Week and Paris Couture Week.
Haute couture is not the only fashion sector being altered. Huge retail chains have been temporarily closing their stores, including Nike, Chanel and Sephora. Some stores have also closed their websites, making their sales come to a halt.
Why does this matter?
The fashion industry is one of the most mesmerizing but contaminating industries in the world, due to its use of synthetic fabrics, overproduction and agricultural pollution. Many fashion fanatics tend to turn a blind eye to this, and the contamination important events such as the distinct fashion weeks cause will be ignored.
The truth is, fashion weeks are not sustainable and the cancellation of these might just show us how unnecessary these are. In order to attend the four main Fashion Weeks of the year, a buyer or seller will create around 241,000 tons of CO2 emissions, a study shows. Some may say that these shows only demonstrate everything that's wrong with the industry - the pollution from the planes and cars buyers and sellers use to get from one place to another, the fancy sets only to be used for ten minutes and then be thrown into a landfill, the plastic disposable gifts left behind. The fashion world has changed. Less people attend shows since they can see the outfits later online, and some clothes produced will only be bought for an isolated Instagram post and nothing more. Why do brands feel the need to participate in Fashion Week after Fashion Week, show after show? Sure, it may create more interest in the brand, but it also creates more and more contamination.
It's a similar conversation regarding the consumption of fast fashion. The rapid consumption of consumers means a rapid production, brands need to find an easier, faster way to get out new clothes due to the consumer's need for a new dress, a new shirt to go with the latest trends. People are realizing how much damage to the environment buying a polyester shirt may cause, and thanks to this there has been a decline in this industry. Instead of going to the mall, it's become a popular trend to go to thrift stores with your friends or use platforms such as Depop to buy used clothes.
The cancellation and closing of these shows and stores will definitely help the environment temporarily, but we can make this a permanent change if we realize that there are ways to be fashionable without excessive buying or huge fashion shows. Buying from sustainable brands or used clothing, and less fashion shows (once or twice a year, who even watches Pre-Fall?) will help fix the damage the industry has caused and show us a completely sustainable fashion future is possible.