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The costumes are out. Stretchy pants are on the line. The coronavirus has wreaked havoc in fashion retail, leading more and more leading brands to file for bankruptcy. Lord and Taylor and Jos. A. Bank are two of the last. NPR retail correspondent Alina Selyukh reports.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: There is a simple truth about clothing, says Vincent Quan of the Fashion Institute of Technology.

VINCENT QUAN: You normally buy new clothes and new products to do what? To show it to others, right? You want to look good, but you also want others to see you.

SELYUKH: This has been turned upside down by our new pandemic reality, where most social interactions are virtual. And nobody really cares what you wear to that Zoom meeting.

QUAN: You’re moping at home, right? No one is really going to see you. You might as well be comfortable. People wear comfort clothes, athleisure.

SELYUKH: So of course we could buy some new matching tracksuits. But overall, demand for new clothes has plummeted this spring. That, plus the temporary closings have been disastrous for retailers who rely on visits to their physical stores. The loss of casual shoppers has been particularly ruthless for struggling clothing stores, leaving a cascade of bankruptcies – J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, JC Penney, Ann Taylor Loft, Brooks Brothers and now also Lord and Taylor, Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank.

KEANAN DUFFTY: What’s happening in clothing has actually been a bit on the cards for a long time.

SELYUKH: Keanan Duffty is Principal at Parsons School of Design. He says the problem with many of these legendary brands was both business and fashion missteps. It’s a familiar retail story. A top chain takes root too much in stores, too little online, then falls behind on fashion, then gets into too much debt and can’t cope with a pandemic. Take Men’s Wearhouse, a costume store known for its founder’s gritty lining.

(SOUND PRESENTATION OF THE ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GEORGE ZIMMER: You’re going to love the way you look. I guarantee it.

SELYUKH: The company, like many bankrupt others, has been stuck – not upscale luxury, cheap or trendy. He bought Jos. A. Bank, in debt. And now the parent company, Tailored Brands, is due to close up to 500 stores. Duffty says modern buyers are suspicious of companies that want to sell you four suits for the price of one. And in general, the dress style of companies is changing. The heads of some of the world’s most valuable companies wear sneakers and t-shirts. Duffty says costume culture began to change decades ago, since casual Friday became a thing.

DUFFTY: I mean, sure, laid back Friday turned into laid back Thursday, Wednesday, Tuesday, and Monday.

SELYUKH: And now it’s rubber bands 24/7.

DUFFTY: Actually, the real tailors are doing a rampant business right now because they have to let everyone’s dress pants out.

SELYUKH: And you know who else is doing a roaring trade? Online sellers, especially those who sell commodities like Amazon, Walmart, Target. In a country where tens of millions of people are still unemployed, expensive office attire has become quite simply inappropriate.

QUAN: When we’re done in 2020, my professional opinion is that the total number of bankrupt retailers will eclipse the total for 2019 and 2018 combined.

SELYUKH: Quan and Duffty both say the question is whether these bankrupt retailers will use the restructuring to significantly recreate their brands or just cut the fat and take another dollar out of investors.

Alina Selyukh, NPR News.

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