Some figures from the fashion world believe the crisis linked to the ongoing pandemic is an opportunity to rethink the industry along more sustainable lines.
A moment will come when the emergency caused by Covid-19 will have passed, when it will seem like a distant memory. An after will arrive. Unfortunately we have not yet reached that point and, in the meantime, there are those who wonder how great the socioeconomic impact will be, as well as the psychological one.
But there are also those who are questioning the future of fashion, the role it will play in rebuilding everyday life and how our approach to purchasing will change. In the meantime, there is no shortage of initiatives from various brands — from the fashion world and beyond — attempting to help the healthcare system with substantial donations, as well as those making efforts to entertain people forced to stay at home. One thing is certain: fashion must slow down if it wants to restart.
"There will be an after, and we must try to stay united to help the people and businesses that will be affected by the consequences of the virus." So explains Emanuele Farneti, editor of Vogue Italia, in an interview given to The business of fashion, the authoritative online fashion magazine. "The impression, however, is that the entire sector is working together to ensure help for others. The priority now is people's health: we'll think about business later." As if to say: there is a time for everything, and this is the time when we must be patient and wait.
But the good news is that, while we wait, we can draw freely from the heart of the publishing house Condé Nast: for the next three months, digital copies of Vogue Italia, Gq, Wired, Ad, La cucina italiana and Traveller will be available to download at no cost, and there will be free access to the online courses from La scuola de La cucina italiana, as well as to the digital archives of Vogue Italia. Back issues, photo shoots, articles, advertising campaigns: everything is there, from 1964 onwards.
This, specifically, was among the very first decisions taken by the publication to ease the quarantine for all Italians forced to stay at home. "The Vogue Italia archive is the heart of our newspaper, our history and the compass for our future. By opening it free of charge to readers, Condé Nast is giving them a ticket for a wonderful journey through space and time," explains Farneti.
"Do we still need fashion? Do we still need to buy more clothes? Does it still make sense to fly a thousand people from one country to another to attend fifteen fashion shows?" These are just some of the pressing questions that Farneti believes deserve serious reflection. It seems certain that we will all emerge from this pandemic changed, but in what way?
"There are many questions out there and now is the time to start discussing them." He does not venture further, however, hazarding answers or solutions to problems that were current long before the coronavirus outbreak — such as the environmental impact of the entire fashion system. But it is already something that the question is being raised.
Vogue Italia is no stranger to initiatives in favour of the environment: one need only recall the special January 2020 issue with illustrated covers and no photo shoots. Farneti's words therefore give cause for optimism about the future: they reveal a certain attentiveness and sensitivity. Here too, however, one must wait — hopefully not in vain.
Read also: Niente servizi fotografici, solo disegni: il numero di gennaio di Vogue Italia per il clima
While waiting for better times, fashion brands are among the first to step up on the front line in the fight against the invisible enemy, with generous donations: from Giorgio Armani to Prada, from Moncler to the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti, from Gucci to Trussardi, from Versace to the fundraiser launched by Chiara Ferragni and Fedez, to name just a few.
Read also: Coronavirus, dal mondo della moda è corsa alle donazioni
And now that the number of infections has risen beyond the Alps and across the ocean as well, foreign companies are following suit: in France Lvmh and Kering, but also Coty and L'Oréal are launching solidarity initiatives; in the United States, Ralph Lauren leads the way. In short, the fashion world is amply demonstrating its ability to be cohesive and united when it comes to facing a global emergency such as that of Covid-19. Which prompts the question: why not for the environment?
Giorgio Armani appears to share Farneti's view, though he has a very clear roadmap for getting back on track once the Covid-19 pandemic is behind us. "The current emergency shows how a careful and intelligent slowdown is the only way out." He writes this in an open letter to Women's wear daily, in response "to the excellent piece Will flood of collections yield to slower fashion?".
Armani says he agrees on every point, especially because "for years I have been raising the same questions at the press conferences following my shows, often going unheard, or being considered a moralist." According to the designer, "the reflection on how absurd the current state of affairs is, with the overproduction of garments and a criminal misalignment between the meteorological season and the commercial season, is courageous and necessary."
Read also: Abiti bruciati per fare spazio alle nuove collezioni. Il lato oscuro della fast fashion
But, he continues, the fashion system has not always been this way: "The decline as we know it began when the luxury sector adopted the operating methods of fast fashion, borrowing its cycle of continuous delivery in the hope of selling more, but forgetting that luxury requires time — to be made and to be appreciated." Armani is categorical: "**Luxury** cannot and must not be fast. It makes no sense for one of my jackets or suits to live in a shop for three weeks before becoming obsolete, replaced by new merchandise that is not all that different. I do not work that way, and I find it immoral to do so.
I have always believed in an idea of timeless elegance, which is not only a precise aesthetic conviction, but also an attitude in the design and creation of garments that suggests a way of purchasing them: so that they last. For the same reason, I find it absurd that in the middle of winter boutiques carry linen dresses, and in summer alpaca coats, for the simple reason that the desire to buy must be satisfied immediately. Who buys something to put in a wardrobe and wait for the right season? Nobody, or very few, I think. But this, driven by department stores, has become the dominant mindset. It is wrong and needs to change. This crisis is a wonderful opportunity to slow down and realign everything, to draw a more truthful horizon."
The designer has already begun working in this direction: "For three weeks now I have been working with my teams so that, once we come out of lockdown, the summer collections remain in boutiques at least until the beginning of September, as is only natural. And this is how we will do things from now on. This crisis is also a wonderful opportunity to restore value to authenticity: enough of fashion as a pure communications game, enough of cruise shows staged around the world to present bland ideas and entertain with grandiose spectacles that are now revealing themselves for what they are: inappropriate and, if you will, even vulgar."
"The moment we are living through is turbulent," Armani adds, "but it also offers us a truly unique opportunity to fix what is wrong, to regain a more human dimension. It is heartening to see that in this respect we are all united. For retail, this will be an important test. To American fashion operators I want to send my most heartfelt encouragement for the difficult weeks we will have to face. Together, we will get through this. But we will have to work in harmony: this is perhaps the most important lesson of this crisis."