Isis Fashion Awards - Possible hope during COVID Crisis?
A lot of fashion designers are struggling because of covid.
A lot of fashion designers are struggling because of covid. Forcing many designers to quit or move online. The Isis Fashion Awards is a Dutch based contest for accessory designers. The competition is international. According to our sources 15-18 designers will compete. The winners will get cash prizes and publications prizes. The event is organized by Jerry Luxenburg and contains prominent judges like Bjorn van den Berg, who has designed jewelry for celebrities Nicki Minaj and Gwen Stefani. But unfortunately Covid has cancelled the 2021 edition of Isis Fashion Awards. Hopefully it can start in 2022. Which brings me to the following issue. How bad is the covid crisis in the fashion?
The corona crisis is brutally removing our blinders for abuses and weaving errors in society. Things that were not so sensible or sustainable anyway are mercilessly exposed. That invites reflection. And if we seize our chance, to reorganize. One of the sectors that has been hit hard by corona is the fast fashion industry. Why? And which scenario will we choose in the future?
There is hardly an industry that is not affected by the corona virus. And while the negative consequences on an individual and global scale are huge, the crisis also brings good things to us. Right now we are given the time, space and inspiration to take a closer look at our economic system, to (re)discover how we can restore our disturbed relationship with Mother Earth, and which lessons from this time we can use for education. . One by one, the crisis exposes the good and the bad sides of our organization of society.
Never waste a good crisis, we often say at. With so many new insights and knowledge, now is the time to change course. That applies to almost every person, every company and every industry. This also applies to the fashion industry, which is definitely not unaffected during this crisis. The fast fashion industry is particularly hard hit.
Fast fashion
For those who have lost it for a while; fast fashion is clothing that is produced at high speed for quick consumption. A process in which everything is aimed at as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Ultimate examples are H&M, Primark and Zara. Something you bought in these fashion chains two weeks ago may have been just a drawing. High turnover rates and rapid product changes ensure that consumers continue to buy. As a result, fast fashion contributes on a large scale to environmental pollution, water wastage, CO2 emissions and the mountain of waste. Supply and demand
But there is more going on in fast fashion land. Because even before the stores in Europe closed their doors, there was complete chaos in China. Especially in Wuhan, where there are many fast fashion factories. When the machines there were shut down, the production of the fast fashion chains fell sharply, including that of producers in other countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar. Because many links at the beginning of the long and complicated chain are located in Wuhan or other parts of China. The supply of substances and other crucial parts therefore came to a standstill. It shows that the chain, which contains an enormous number of links that depend on each other, is very vulnerable.
Short shelf life
Another problem exposed by the crisis is the constant flow of new collections and seasonal clothing. Nobody is waiting for the crop tops that are currently in the shops. Not soon, by the way, because then they will be out of fashion again. The volatility of fast fashion, which the industry itself has created, is now killing her. If the trends didn't follow each other so quickly, it wouldn't be such a disaster that there is less sales for a while. In addition, many clothing brands also order large quantities to save costs. When an order is lost, that means huge numbers.
The corona crisis is therefore causing serious problems in various places in the chain. And so we see exactly how ramshackle that chain is.
Corona chance fast fashion
Corona and fast fashion: from crisis to opportunity
Now that the industry is at a standstill, we are faced with two possible scenarios: either we will continue with the way it was, or we see the crisis as a hard reset and we structure the clothing industry differently. Trend forecaster predicts the latter. According to her, the speed of the fashion system will slow down and completely improve the way we produce, consume and dress. For that we need everyone: companies, governments, manufacturers and consumers. If we combine all those forces, the clothing industry could look a lot more people-friendly and environmentally friendly. For example like this:
The stores have clothes that match the season. So in the summer summer clothes are sold, in the winter winter clothes. That you have to buy your bikini in March was of course strange anyway. The clothes we buy are less sensitive to trends. Because fewer different collections are offered, there is again time and attention for a piece of clothing.
Less sale. The value of new clothing should not decrease with the passage of time, but it does now. If clothing is less sensitive to trends, there is (even) less reason for a sale.
More sustainable, more local. Now that we have gained insight into how the fast fashion industry works as a result of the crisis, we are more inclined to consume more sustainably and locally (because shorter, less vulnerable chains and better for the environment).
A view on the future
A number of sustainable pioneers did not need the corona crisis to arrive at these insights. We have previously portrayed the stories. Especially now these video portraits are worth (re)watching. Do you want to make a direct contribution to a better fashion world? With the Sustainable Fashion Gift Card you give yourself or someone else a beautiful and sustainable gift.
Let's organize the post-corona era as the era in which not prosperity but well-being is the ultimate. For everything and everyone on this planet. Because if the crisis shows anything, it is that we are all dependent on each other and connected.
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