By Irish Goff
The COVID-19 crisis has made a huge impact on the fashion industry.
When the lockdown started everybody panicked about how the virus was spreading quickly all over the world. What they didn’t realise was that their health would not be the only part of their life affected by the insidious virus, which has even made an impact on the choice of clothing we wear.
Everyone has a different experience of lockdown, and that’s true for our sartorial choices as well. Some people use social media to check out the latest loungewear and slipper trends, and impatiently count the days until they can resume their former shopping habits. Others don’t care what kind of clothing they are wearing, as they cannot go out and meet friends, unless it’s a walk with one other person.
“I’m going nowhere! I don’t care – I’m getting dressed and I wear what I want to wear,” said Marites Sagacio, a 37-year-old fulltime mother in Brentwood Essex.
“I love fashion and it doesn’t matter what people say, I feel alive again and inspired by wearing my favourite clothes. Covid won’t stop me doing what I want, especially wearing my favourite clothes.”
New life, new style
While the lockdown has changed fashion cautiously, that’s not the point. The fashion industry created a lot of new styles that were unheard of before COVID-19, but are now quickly gaining in popularity. We have seen a slew of fashionable face masks, matching loungewear and colourful indoor slippers, to name but a few.
Loungewear and sportswear are probably two of the biggest winners in the COVID-19 stakes, whether you want to complete an indoor workout in style or make yourself comfortable while carrying out your household chores. Then there are mandatory online events that most of us have to face several times a day, such as Zoom meetings and remote classes, whether for work or for play.
It’s true that a nice top, a stylish necklace and simple yet elegant earrings can make you look presentable on camera – along with a decent haircut and some slap. Online shopping has proved that most of us want to put our best faces forward, even though at the moment we cannot visit our favourite shops in person.
There are simple solutions to satisfy your fashion needs: either have items delivered directly to your door, or simply click and collect at your nearest shop.
“To be honest, I don’t mind what to wear because most of the time I stayed home and play with my son. And there’s nowhere to go as the high street is empty. Normally, I wear comfortable short jogging pants and with a t-shirt on top,” says Jonas Carlo Santiago, a 30-year-old chef at Zizzi Italian Restaurant in Brentwood Essex.
“I usually like buying my favourite style of clothes and spoiling myself before the lockdown started, but when the shops completely shut down I stopped for a while because it’s a waste of money – especially when you can’t go out and can only enjoy and meet friends outside.”
Online retailers “are already anticipating a hit to sales and profits once high streets, shopping centres and retail parks begin to fully reopen”, according to Retail Gazette. in an article titled “Will consumers ditch online shopping once lockdown ends?”.
“Ecommerce giants like Boohoo and ASOS are making strong investments to direct consumers towards online and are especially targeting younger consumers that are shopping in new ways, such as through social media,” the publication quoted Ed Hill, senior vice president at retail tech firm Bazaarvoice, as saying.
What is the future of the High Street? “There is an opportunity now to create innovative solutions… Someone is going to come up with very cool stuff,” says Alex Erinle, founder of Thrill Digital, at the recent London Metropolitan University fashion debate.
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