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As global fashion month is underway, the headlines focus on an industry's survival

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Fashion

As global fashion month is officially underway, the flurry of men’s and couture presentations in January have shown the headlines aren’t much about catwalks, trends and new season fashion, but rather about survival, an industry getting to grips with Brexit and fast-tracking digital.

When shops and factories first closed one year ago the move to strengthening fashion’s digital future and online presence duly began. There was some success, as booming online sales doubled in 2020 according to Altagamma, even if brick and mortar revenue slumped. Pureplayers like MyTheresa and Farfetch continue to outperform traditional retailers and luxury conglomerate LVMH invested in hiring its first ever director of omni-channel with the intention of having its own portfolio of brands on one e-commerce platform. What it all means is the only way to survive is for fashion to have robust digital businesses. No brand can afford reluctance to change.

Brexit overshadows fashion week

In the UK, a post Brexit fashion landscape is dampening designers’ fashion week efforts. High levels of uncertainty and rising trade costs culminated in an open letter sent to Boris Johnson last week signed by 451 industry leaders who warn work visa restrictions for designers and models and the additional tariffs that have to be paid when goods leave the UK for Europe threaten to “decimate” UK fashion.

The trade agreement with Europe, which was only finalised on Christmas Eve, has left an industry needing urgent attention. Without support, it could “jeopardise the immediate and long term future of the sector” said the letter.

No-one is concerned with the fleeting glow of a catwalk trend, and sadly, much of last month’s online fashion week’s presentations have come and gone, most leaving little impact on the fashion ether. Despite short-lived spikes on social media and YouTube views, the focus remains on survival. And securing sales.

The collapse of the UK high street’s Arcadia Group and department stores saw online retailers pounce on their domains. Not so much as to resurrect these ailing companies and their portfolio of stores, but with the intent to buy their intellectual property for small sums and boost their own websites with these once-loved brands. Topshop will never be Topshop again.

How can fashion bring us together

Amidst this backdrop, fashion designers must get on with what they do: designing collections for the coming season, without letting an industry in flux dampen their creativity. But at the height of haute couture week in January, a parade of eveningwear and occasion dressing fell flat. Not in terms of design and beauty, but in relevance. Fashion is fleeting, and hopefully so are these current times.

Image via London Fashion Week Facebook

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