FASHION SYSTEMS MIDTERM PAPER — First and only draft.
CLIMATE OF FASHION.
In the past year COVID has tremendously changed the fashion industry by displacing workers, shutting down physical storefronts, stunting the production of raw materials, closing down factories, and completely interrupting the flow of all businesses involved in the world of fashion. With the virus erupting a global quarantine, people involved in purchasing fashion or clothing of any price point, were forced online to corporate platforms like amazon and reselling platforms like depop, grailed, and etsy. We have now seen a shift from traditional in person buying and selling, to the clicking of buttons and a knock on your door to receive your goods.
Although the pandemic posed many issues for the fashion industry, such as the intimacy of purchases, the purpose of retail sales workers, and the concept of “try it before you buy it”, there have been some benefits to the way the industry functions. People are making smarter choices when shopping, especially with making more sustainable purchasing decisions, and retailers have moved their efforts into strong, intimate online platforms that capture the attention of their target audience. Thus we have seen a new world of fashion emerge, a digital one if I may, where people and brands coexist in harmony in cyberspace, minimal contact, and maximum sharing.
Before COVID we had busy malls, massive retail platforms, and customers who wanted to go out and shop, endlessly. But what happened when that all stopped? Well the stores were still there, but we had no workers to open up shop, and no customers to fill the aisles. So the online world persisted because we have computers and technology, so working and purchasing was possible for those privileged enough, but much of the production of clothing and raw material has stopped as well, so for many companies, production couldn’t keep up with demand. Now we have no stores, no one to physically purchase items, and trouble producing the items people want to purchase, so the question for almost everyone in the industry was “What do we do?”.
The industry had to compensate for the absence of what they once thought was their most important tool, the storefront. The purpose of storefronts are, or were I should say, to create a hospitable environment between companies and people who purchase their goods, or people who might potentially purchase their goods. Compensation came in the form of storefronts moving online. Hundreds of companies fought to bring that intimacy we all knew and loved to a platform that for many seemed so false and wrong. Companies had to do justice to those who needed to try clothes on before purchasing, those who refused to buy goods online, and even those who enjoyed the help of a salesman to purchase their perfect outfit. To the joy of many though, intimacy was created and brought to the digital world by the utilization of great content and for some companies, going so far as implementing technology many didn’t know even existed.
Amazon and many companies have implemented AI technology, or artificial intelligence, to let customers try on clothes. This innovation shocked and thrilled millions of people. Though they were home, they were able to feel as if they were somewhere else trying on clothes and enjoying the retail experience they knew and loved. The algorithms built for AI technology can go so far as to help you piece together an outfit based on items your purchased previously or selected, and you can see it all on yourself in real time. We have also seen VR, or virtual reality technology implemented by many companies as well. A VR headset can transport you to a virtual fitting room, or in front of a virtual mirror, and even to the front row of a fashion show. For many bridging the IRL and TECH gap, COVID stood no chance, and even opened up a whole world of opportunity for experimentation with technology. What better than to have a whole world forced upon these new methods so that we are able to see the globe reacting and giving feedback to what is the present and what will be the future.
Yet, large companies weren’t the only ones who saw a plethora of opportunities explode during the pandemic. The world of reselling came into the spotlight after years of building up momentum underneath the shadow of the Golgotha that was the fashion industry for decades. Since millions of people were sucking up to corporations and praising them for overcoming COVID’s attack of all things capitalism and all things corporate, a whole sect of people responded in disgust. I myself was even outraged at the fact that corporations still managed to win over the minds of humanity and continue to steal and take from the people whose backs make for infrastructure that keep them afloat. I mean, why should billions of people continue to support corporations who genuinely do no good for us or the environment?
The answer to that is we shouldn’t. Though many seem to be forced into this cycle or buy and throw away and buy, platforms like etsy, depop, grailed, and poshmark have created a community of resellers, buyers or preloved and vintage clothing, and people who are saying no to companies pushing products that continue to create waste in a world where so much goes unused and unappreciated. It’s hard to stay away from what’s “in”, and “cool”, especially when we have trends like the futuristic foam slides coming in super hot, and on top of that they’re YEEZY, so the traction is immeasurable, but people love a good vintage revival. Vintage jackets, belts, and cottage core attire are all in extremely high demand right now. I’m a reseller and a collector of preloved/vintage goods, and I can testify that I’ve shifted many of my friends from their traditional socialized buying patterns, to making smarter, more conscious choices.
Since COVID forced almost everyone into isolation, many people lost a lot, many lost it all, many even lost themselves. The only place a lot of people found community was within the digital world, and many even got lost in that. Some people are still getting adjusted to the real world again, while some are still stuck in cyberspace. I found peace in fashion, and from the community I lay with, we’ve kept open arms to those who’ve struggled with COVID. Fashion in itself is a community and a very strong one at that, with diverse human beings from very different places, and it’s important that we stay strong together to continue the tradition of sharing intimate, heartfelt moments through the clothes we choose to wear.
I know many people saw Moschino’s puppet fashion show with heartfelt eyes thinking “That could be me wearing that, if only I could go outside.”, and even gazed upon Jacquemus and how they took their fashion show to some desolate place where everyone could enjoy their own space, viewing in envy of a world where we have our own space. COVID has shown people and an industry that’s suffered so much that maybe we’re so wired to be dependent, that personal space isn’t necessarily what we need, or at least forced personal space. We cannot live behind closed doors, waiting for packages from corporate villains white we try on our clothes with battery operated glasses. We aren’t a cave dwelling species, the fashion industry is not one to be appreciated from a far.
In order to recover from this, the industry must ensure that it never fully moved to digital space, or else our intimate relationship with fabrics, retail stores, and even the people, real people, who made the clothes we wear will be destroyed. After COVID we are all trying to heal, and the industry is patching itself together with wires, yet, I think the best thing for people in fashion, and the industry itself to do, is to drop this digital crap and stop fooling themselves that its okay to systematically manipulate people with the charm of doing less all for instant gratification. We are better than that, the tradition of fashion is better than that. We must get back to our needles and threads, to less production, less waste, and less brainwash so that those who really appreciate the craft can flourish in a world filled with distractions. This will also give room to breathe for those who are underpaid and overworked. Jobs should shift from production to recycling and designers and corporations should be responsible for picking the world back up after COVID has left it broken.
