Tracking the Fashion Industry's Evolving Response to the Coronavirus Crisis
The world of fashion, like almost every industry and individual around the world, has been dramatically affected by the spread of coronavirus. In an effort to curb the outbreak of COVID-19, high-profile events have been canceled, stores have shuttered, and brands are directing their factories to manufacture essential supplies instead of clothing. Below we’re keeping up with the multitude of ways the industry is responding.
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Brands and retailers are closing their stores
A long list of major retailers and department stores including Abercrombie and Fitch, Patagonia, Nike, Under Armour, Adidas, Levi’s, Vans, Supreme, Allbirds, Everlane, Urban Outfitters, Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom are closing their stores temporarily. Response varies by retailer: Gap is reducing its stores hours, many brands are closing down entirely but keeping their webshops open, and Patagonia is shutting down operations entirely until the end of March.
Smaller brands like Noah and Bode are trying something new in the face of the crisis: one-on-one appointments, which can be made by email. “We’re asking people to buy something,” Noah founder Brendon Babenzian wrote in an open letter. “Not necessarily from us, but from any independent businesses or creative enterprises you believe in.”
High-profile events are morphing or being postponed
On Monday, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour announced the postponement of the annual Met Gala. Vogue will still preview the exhibition in its May issue, but we will be forced to wait for one of fashion’s biggest and most exciting outfit-spotting events of the year.
Meanwhile, Pitti Uomo announced plans to deal with the pandemic while moving ahead with its annual summer fair in June. The event will attempt to combine a physical and digital presence that will allow the brands dependent on sales made through Pitti to still connect with those unable to make it out to the fair in Florence. One of those efforts includes e-PITTI Connect, which will put retailers in touch with remote buyers. As Rachel Tashjian wrote yesterday, what Pitti is doing may offer a look at how the not-so-far-off fashion weeks will move ahead in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Brands are stepping up philanthropically
The fashion industry is in a unique position to help respond and potentially curb the widespread outbreak of COVID-19. For instance, LVMH is using its considerable manufacturing muscle to produce antibacterial gel, which has been in high demand and short supply since the start of the pandemic. Starting Monday, French factories that normally produce perfume and cosmetics Givenchy, Christian Dior, and Guerlain began making the gel with the goal of donating it to French health authorities and the country’s network of hospitals.
Other fashion houses are making donations, too. Prada donated six Intensive Care Units to several hospitals across Milan. Donatella Versace donated €200,000 to another hospital in Milan. Giorgio Armani gave a total of €1.25 million to hospitals in Milan as well as the national Civil Protection Agency, an agency that deals with crisis response in Italy. Moncler is donating €10 million to support the construction of 400 intensive care units in Milan. Kering, the conglomerate that owns brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Saint Laurent, gave $1 million to the Red Cross Society of China. Dolce & Gabbanna is supporting research that will combat coronavirus at Humanitas University.
Factories are pausing production
Gucci and Giorgio Armani are halting all production at their Italian factories. With manufacturers around the world hitting the pause button, it's yet to be seen how the effects of coronavirus will reverberate through the fashion industry for many months to come. Manufacturing and shipping delays are expected at this point, according to Business of Fashion.
Rolex also announced that it is closing down factories in Switzerland for at least the next 10 days. The move highlights the severity of the outbreak as Rolex famously made and provided watches to soldiers during other crises, like World War II.
Originally Appeared on GQ
