This pandemic that swept the world will change us. It has actually already changed us. He pushed us to inner recollection. The silence has hit us and inevitably forced to listen to us, to rethink our lives when, once the emergency is over covid19, we'll go back out there. Someone says that we will forget quickly. But such a strong experience will leave indelible marks. We will resume our routine, it is true, but we will not be the same. From the world of fashion, the first to sound the alarm is Giorgio Armani.
The Piacenza stylist from the pages of wwd, the most important American fashion and luxury newspaper, invites you to review the rules of fashion system. Ecosystem's staff is coronavirus will have a socio-economic impact remarkable. Like any great "revolution" it will change the most intimate aspects of society. It will change our way of being and how we want to appear to others. We will dress differently, in the wake of those comfortable habits that we have acquired in these long weeks of quarantine. We will be less likely to waste. We will not buy the latest news on impulse but we will focus on durable clothing. We will return to the "little, but good". Lightweight cabinets, essential for people who look at life from another perspective.
Armani: "We find a more human dimension"
“Enough with the waste of money for shows - he writes Armani in his open letter to WWD - (...) the moment we are going through is turbulent, but it offers us the possibility, truly unique, of fix what's wrong, to remove the superfluous, to rediscover a more human dimension. This is perhaps the most important lesson of this crisis ”.
For Armani, the grandiose shows, organized to present collections around the world, “seem today inappropriate and even vulgar". The stylist informs that with his team, since the the Italian government has blocked all non-essential economic activities, is working on the summer collections. Unlike what has happened so far, they will remain in stores until the end of September. “And so I intend to do from now on,” writes Armani. “The decline of the fashion system, as we know it, began when the luxury sector adopted the operating methods of fast fashion with the delivery cycle continuing, hoping to sell more. I don't want to work like this anymore, it's immoral ”. “I have always believed - concludes the designer - in an idea of timeless elegance (…) This crisis is a wonderful opportunity to slow everything down, to realign everything, to draw a more authentic and true horizon".
Fashion "gets a makeover"
That the fashion system was at a crossroads was already in the air for some time. Consumption was taking a new direction and now, this forced isolation will push us on new paths. It is not just Armani who underlines the change taking place. Also Lidewij Edelkoort, one of the most important and influential fashion experts in the world, talks about "rethinking of values". The textile sector is facing a difficult period. The whole system risks collapse. The "consumption quarantine", As Edelkoort defined it in an interview with Dezeen, will definitely change the way we choose what to design, what to produce, how much to produce and how to buy. The winners will be the brands capable of accepting this challenge and aiming for a revolution and rationalization of their productions.
Return to minimal
This pandemic has initiated a profound reflection on the current business models of the fashion world. We will aim for minimal and we will no longer be tempted by yet another low-cost trousers, because we will lean towards more prudent purchases.
Armani has shown that he has the sensitivity to grasp what has been happening for some time. Even before the alarm broke out in Italy, the designer decided to parade behind closed doors at Milan fashion week. Live only on Instagram. Prior to the government's shutdown of all non-essential commercial activities, it had already shut down Armani Hotels. He did important donations to hospitals on the front line in the fight against covid19. And finally reconverted its production for make disposable gowns for healthcare personnel. A production performed almost exclusively in hand or with sewing machines. We need to look at our future in a different way. Now is the time for a change.
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