A trend that’s been strengthened during the pandemic is the decision to forgo the frenetic pace of runway calendar shows.
The pandemic has torn a multibillion-dollar bite out of the fabric of Europe’s fashion industry, stopped runway shows and forced brands to show their designs digitally instead.
Answers vary. Some think the Fashion Week format, in use since the 1940s, will be radically rethought. Others believe Asia will consolidate its huge gains in influence. Many see brands seeking greater sustainability to court a younger cliente “The impact of the pandemic will be unquestionably to increase the importance and influence of Asia on fashion,” said Gildas Minvielle, economist at the Institut Francais de la Mode in Paris.
“They spent on European brands.” Asian buyers are still considered a largely untapped market, yet their wealth has recently tipped over that of Westerners. China, in particular, was already considered the worldwide engine of growth in the luxury industry before the pandemic. Its quicker containment of the virus will leave it in an even stronger position.
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This could see a designer aesthetic that panders more to Chinese tastes. Another trend that’s been strengthened during the pandemic is the decision to forgo the frenetic pace of runway calendar shows.
As the virus tore across the globe from East to West, these morphed overnight from a live, in-person, sensory experience to a pre-taped digital display released online. Many predicted devastation for the industry, but houses have proved surprisingly resilient. That’s because the system was already overdue a shift.
“Each brand is a media entity unto itself,” Nguyen said, calling the way the industry operates “obsolete.”
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