The Big Issues Facing the Future of Fashion

Like it or not, fashion is political and social. Fashion can be seen as a ‘sign of the times’ and represents the current social zeitgeist. But when there is nothing happening, what is the role of fashion then?

Thisis not to say that brands are political or social actors as I have previously discussed, but what is ‘in fashion’ represents what is going on more broadly in society. People tend to use fashion as a practice to reflect the broader social and cultural mores.

Fashion is also fascinating because the modes of production have not actually changed much since its inception as an industry. As such, the actual innovation as the level of the product is very static. We don’t have flying shoes, colour changing clothing or anything of the like, and the closest that we come to technological advancement in fashion is the Apple Watch. That being said, I’m not sure we would want any of these things, but it bears noting. Because of this, fashion has always heavily relied on the dream factor, and has created itself to be a place of beauty and splendor, and not actual technological advancement.

Fashion is therefore not a place where we expect technological change in the product, but we do expect a product that is reflective of societal wishes. What people desire in clothing is what they wish to reflect to the world. What people wear is a sign of the times. And this is the source of one of the great issues facing fashion going forward:

After the coronavirus, what will people want?

As I see it, at the moment Fashion is in a crisis, and it is trying to figure out what to do with itself going forward. This is not helped by the fact that fashion is relational, and quarantine is by its nature a solo activity. And then, we have the industry more broadly. While there is no way to tell what people will want at a micro level, we are seeing signs of what they want from the industry more broadly. And so the question we can deal with at the moment has become:

How do we use this time to rework the industry?

Right now, there are some core issues that future designers and brands will have to consider going forward:

1. How does this very physical industry weather the storm? The industry is set to shift, that is for sure, but how do we navigate what the role of fashion is in an increasingly digital and at home world?

2. What do people want from their clothing in a public health, or during an economic crisis? There have been many suggestions that the form of clothing will change to be more health and safety related. Further, what will be the purpose of our clothing during a recession? What will we want to say and express through our fashion choices then?

3. What is the responsibility of our industry towards the planet and building more responsible business models in our institutions? This is the question that concerns supply chains, sustainable fabrics, waste, and eco conscious consumption.

4. How does fashion deal with racial discriminations and injustice both in the US and worldwide? There is increasing pressure for fashion to change and respond to these pressures. How will the industry shift inline with these pressures?

A recent BOF lecture on the future of fashion highlighted these issues (and more), and polled respondents to see how important they felt each issue was to them. The results are below:

•               Coronavirus and the global economic crisis- 38%

•               Inclusion? Racism and racial diversity- 38%

•               Supply Chain and garment workers rights- 13%

•               Sustainability and the climate emergency- 12%

I for one believe that there needs to be a full redirection and reworking of both the front end and the back end of the industry in line with these issues, and there is no better time than now. While we wait for our world to return in whatever form it does, we can start to shift the back end elements to reflect this new normal, and to bring fashion in line with the new world.