How the coronavirus epidemic affects the fashion industry around the world

The world has gone through phases of recessions, world wars and others, and yet fashion has always come alive, always more than before. However, Covid-19, commonly known as the Corona virus, had an even more striking effect on the fashion industry, bringing the graphics to a halt and the lives of these multinational companies stalled. It is amazing how these big companies choose to survive this virus. So how did a man eat a bat and make it hard for the entire fashion industry to survive, let alone flourish.

Covid-19 is a virus that spreads around the world and has blocked the world. The streets are empty, the offices closed, the schools close for an unimaginable period and people are locked up in the comfort of their homes. In the comfort and joy of being at home, people stopped buying anything and fashion products faced a huge loss. People turned to sweatshirts and sweatpants, using only clothing for casual wear, and as a result, these companies also started selling other things.

Sales of fashion and luxury goods, including accessories and clothing, fell for the first time in the last decade by about 15% overall. This crisis, for obvious reasons, differs between countries and cities according to population, demand and products, but overall, it has experienced a sharp decline. Sales in North America were hit hard due to the above factors. Countries like China, which are now recovering from the virus, are also rapidly gaining market stability and the fashion industries have therefore started to control them. Even if it is not a permanent damage, it nevertheless succeeds in bringing down the economy of all the countries affected. It has been compared to the 2008 recession by different people after an unfortunate introduction to the lack of sales.

These difficult times can also be compared to those of the world wars where women demanded a deviation from fashion through the clothes they wore. It also shattered the fashion industry for a variety of reasons, but currently the situation has worsened due to the foreclosure. The closure not only forced people to stay inside their homes, but also forced the closure of various shopping malls, stores and boutiques, which also starved all sales and money. Kimberly Chrisman- Campbell, a fashion historian, said that in these difficult times, people often normalize changes and therefore a change to casual wear would mean normalizing it and therefore a blow to fashion trends.

The virus has also managed to close everything from access to fashion to fashion weeks. Paris Mens and Haute Couture Week was canceled for the same reason. It may be the first time in the past decade that fashion weeks have been canceled. The creators are looking for alternative methods and means to present their collections to the world. Shanghai Fashion Week has gone digital on Alibaba to avoid making losses. So not only are the designers struggling, but everything and everyone has turned to digital media, making it the biggest platform to present anything currently. The world is going digital, just like fashion.

But that’s not all. Many fashion-related companies and various beauty brands have resorted to the sale of products marketed against coronaviruses to neutralize their losses. H&M and Zara have started selling medical products, including face masks and hand sanitizers, so as not to lose their customers. The French multinational LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Sephora have also decided to manufacture around forty million masks from China and initially finance deliveries. Prada also started to make masks and medical suits. So when fashion was not enough, all these multinationals used charity for the same thing.