Come again? Does fashion even matter in crisis? More than ever. I’ve spoken before about how our identity forms through fashion, even through something as seemingly menial as Jem & The Holograms.
With the outbreak of COVID-19 around the world, the fashion industry has been hit hard. I go into detail in my recent podcast with the wonderful Marie Oakes, founder of the Trend Academy and host of the Podcast Trend Academy. Take a listen here as we discuss how to best cope during the lockdown, how I’ve found a new headspace to be creative and how you can do it too, the one thing that has helped me stay resilient, and why this is the time to start questioning the way we do things in the fashion industry, not only as a creator of fashion but also as a consumer (i.e YOU!)
What does crisis mean to small independent brands like CARO GOMEZ? OPPORTUNITY. Thanks to our small and mighty size we can adapt super quickly to these changes, we’re used to working in “scarcity” (mindset caveat: we have everything we need), and so this time of reflection can be used to create. To create from the heart. And that’s how the Mother of Dragons Robe came to be. I had designed the textiles for these robes a while back but it wasn’t until now that I truly saw them as a superhero cape that would lift your mood in an instant. How we feel during a crisis matters, and what we wear has the power to change that.
And it happened by accident. I didn’t even know the power these had until the sales started coming in and you kept raving about them. The thunder print is available in pink, electric blue, and neon yellow. Whilst the VIVA LA VULVA print is a riot of colour, style and power. Wear it over an evening gown (for when the lockdown is finally over!) or simply wear it with trainers as a dress. V.E.R.S.A.T.I.L.E
For a limited time only get 20%OFF these versatile robes with code WEARYOURPOWER20 (unless you're an email subscriber ;) you get so much more)
Last and certainly not least, there's the Geometric print. It has all the tribal feels, inspired by the textiles from far away ancestral lands and with each element carefully placed to create a work of art on your body.
The beautiful Mrs.Shauna (she's your go-to woman for all things parenting!) embracing her power (top left) and Celia embracing her joy (bottom right)
It’s not just the small and mighty that are embracing change. Already luxury fashion brands have announced they will be altering their own delivery of collections to coincide with their own calendars, and will no longer adhere to traditional fashion dates. Enter Saint Laurent.
“This season, I want to present a collection when I am ready to show it,” artistic director Anthony Vaccarello said in an interview. Francesca Belletini (Saint Laurent’s CEO) and Vaccarello stressed the importance of brand building and slow fashion, suggesting smaller aesthetic shifts between seasonal collections and a stronger core product offering.
Well, halle-fucking-luja! That’s one brand out thousands but I’m glad to see someone taking a stand.
Some heritage luxury brands have been around for over 100 years, so they would’ve survived World Wars and economic collapse. For instance, did you know that during WWII Hermes could only get access to orange cardboard boxes (the colour nobody wanted), which was not the beige they’d traditionally used? Yes, the orange hue we know now, is from back then. It’s also trademarked.
It is a privilege to be able to see the silver linings during this situation, and I don’t take it loosely. I can also see that our mother earth needed a break from all the pressure we apply to it every day and I have to admit going back to “normal” raises my anxiety levels a little. I like this new normal, and I hope to bring with me as much of it as possible to life post-Corona.
Is there anything you'd like to bring from this time, onwards?
