HOW COVID-19 IS AFFECTING THE FASHION INDUSTRY
Coronavirus has impacted every corner of society and one area heavily affected is the garment industry. The global pandemic and U.K. lockdown of 23 March led to a sales plummet of 34%, a cease in supply resulting in a possible humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh, fashion shows and events postponed and retailers shutting up shop with staff furloughed as part of the government's £60bn Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Topshop's Sir Phillip Green famously furloughed 14,500 of his Arcadia team much to the dismay of Twitter users who told the 68-year-old to 'sell one of his two yachts' as did Victoria Beckham to the wrath of Piers Morgan. The virus has given businesses a push over the cliff with Oasis and Warehouse filing for administration and department store Debenhams seeking bankruptcy protection amid five store closures and 1,400 redundancies. BoF Founder and CEO Imran Amed calls it 'the largest crisis that the modern industry has ever faced' and 'we're going to see a wave of insolvencies and bankruptcies as the year continues.' At a time when the industry was on "On High Alert" and the struggles of the high street commonplace, COVID-19 has only deepened their financial woes.
This isolation has led the queen of style Anna Wintour to think that it is the wake-up call the fashion industry and consumers needed to help the environment. 'I think it's an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and to look at our lives and to rethink our values and to really think about the waste and the amount of money and consumption and excess—and I obviously include myself in this—that we have all indulged in and how we really need to rethink what this industry stands for,' she told Naomi Campbell for her No Filter YouTube show. 'I feel very strongly that when we come out at the other end—which we will do—people's values are really going to have shifted.' From an industry perspective, this means creating clothing in a circular way by ensuring leftovers are disposed of correctly. BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush tells Euronews Now that fashion designers should be compelled to consider recycling their excess stock of garments 'so that the product we have is re-used, shredded, goes back into new yarns and created for the future.' The crisis in Bangladesh has also highlighted the need for brands to take care of the people who make their clothes. Social media has been a powerful tool in that the #PayUp campaign has urged some labels to pay for orders that were cancelled or postponed. As Aditi Mayer puts it to The Guardian: 'My hope for a post-coronavirus future is one that values those in the supply chain.' The dependency on China has emphasised the requirement to diversify sourcing routes and bring some manufacturing home. According to head of Bretton Woods Research, LLC Vladimir Signorelli to Forbes:
COVID-19 has also called for a slowing down in the churning out and showcasing of clothes as seen with Saint Laurent and backed up by Vogue's Grace Coddington and Anna Wintour so that people can 'enjoy it much more and not always be saying: What's new? What's next?' Giorgio Armani also reiterated his long-term support for slow fashion in an Open Letter to WWD on 3 April: 'A careful and intelligent slowdown is the only way out . . . that will make final customers perceive its true importance and value.' Fast fashion is the main culprit but so are luxury labels who despite not producing as much are the key inspiration for high street retailers who base their quick and affordable designs on seasoned runway looks. From a public perspective is the notion of buying less, buying better, which means investing in quality pieces with sustainability and craftsmanship at their core. 'We hope that consumers become more cautious with their spending [and] shift towards consuming less but investing in brands which are more durable, better quality, more considered,' says PR consultant and jewellery curator Valery Demure to Vanity Fair. Co-Founder of Fashion Revolution Orsola de Castro also hopes 'that we pause and realise we don’t necessarily need 12 pairs of jeans and God knows how many sweatpants.' There was evidence of this shift recently when Hermès rang up $2.7m in sales at the reopening of its Guangzhou flagship, according to WWD. The concept has a steeper price tag but over time it pays off if one rewears, repairs and passes on. 'It's chic to repeat!' says Cameron Silver, the owner of Decades, an iconic “pre-loved luxury” boutique in Los Angeles, to British Vogue. 'Fashion can bring us pleasure, but it shouldn’t be a fleeting moment of pleasure. The treasures in your closet continue to bring you joy season to season because of the memories they carry – the memories we create by wearing them. Maybe it’s time to make more memories in the things we own.'
The reason for the fallout is due to lockdown restrictions and the stay-at-home order. 'No-one wants to buy clothes to sit at home in' said Next's CEO Simon Wolfson in March. The requirement to social distance and inability to travel also means opportunities where fashion purchases could be made such as special occasions or foreign holidays have been put a stop to. 'As you’re sat at home and you’re not going out to events, to dinners restaurants, into work, the need for clothes – or really the opportunity to buy – just isn’t there' BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush told Euronews Now. A further factor is that consumer spending habits have shifted towards essential items like food and 🚽 roll as oppose to frivolous things like clothes and accessories. An article in the BBC even has the headline 'Shoppers swap clothes for alcohol amid record sales drop.' Pay cuts and lay-offs have also tightened people's purse strings as the public wait out this period of uncertainty and turmoil.
Store closures across the U.K. have also impacted garment sales as physical stores make up according to Imran Amed 'more than 80% of transactions in the fashion industry.' Selfridges were one of the first to bring down their shutters with a statement saying ‘employees will continue to be paid their contracted hours throughout our closure’ followed by Harvey Nichols, Liberty London and Harrods. H&M Group, Inditex and Arcadia also shut up shops as did Primark on 22 March going 'from making sales of £650m each month' to 'nothing.' John Lewis announced for the first time in its 155 year history, ‘during which time we have faced many difficult periods, including two world wars and the 2008 financial crisis,' that they would be closing their stores on the same day Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the nationwide lockdown. If stores remain closed for two months, McKinsey analysis approximates that 80% of publicly listed fashion companies in Europe and North America will be in financial distress. Closing has led to the conundrum of stock building with analysts in the UK thinking around £10bn worth of high street fashion is piling up in warehouses. Primark have reportedly drafted in Savills to help find space for their £1.5bn surplus and retailers are offering online discounts in an attempt to shift theirs.
The pandemic has not only wrecked havoc on demand but also on supply. A report in The Guardian claims Western clothing brands have cancelled or suspended £2.4bn in existing orders from Bangladeshi suppliers, according to BGMEA. Amongst the labels are Primark who said in a statement that while it recognised and was 'deeply saddened' by the effect this would have further down its supply chain, it had had 'no option' but to cancel goods. 'If we had not taken this action, we would be taking delivery of stock that we simply could not sell.' Chief Executive of Bangladesh Apparel Exchange and Managing Director of Denim Expert Ltd. Mostafiz Uddin told The Guardian: 'We have had to temporarily close our factory for the health and safety of our workers but we are facing ruin because brands and retailers are cancelling orders that we have already produced and if they don’t pay, I can’t pay the workers.' The South Asian nation is the world's second largest supplier of ready-made garments accounting for 84 per cent of the country’s export earnings. When furloughed or laid off, the employees receive nothing; there are no unemployment benefits. On 13 April, hundreds of RMG workers from Tex Tailor Export (BD) took to the streets of Dhaka to protest payment of due wages with Sajedul Islam telling AFP: 'If we stay at home, we may save ourselves from the virus. But who will save us from starvation?'
Another area where manufacturing has become affected is in China, the world’s largest producer of textiles accounting for nearly 38 percent of fashion exports in 2018. The sickness spread throughout the East Asian nation putting much of the 1.43bn population in lockdown. This has presented problems for labels who use the country as a supplier of raw materials and fabrics as factories are closed and workers are being kept home. 'The problem is that factories around China are still shuttered, and it’s unclear when they will be up and running again. This means that all fashion brands that source from China are going to see major delays in getting their inventory over the next few months' writes Fast Company's Elizabeth Segran. 'Significant added costs from order backlogs and logistics delays are now expected, as well as a looming threat to global trade' adds The New York Times. The disease has revealed how dependent the industry is on the Far East with designer Thakoon Panichgul telling Fast Company: 'We’re all seeing what happens when you place all your eggs in one basket.' Fashion's biggest spender also hails from China but what with quarantine labels like Louis Vuitton and Levi’s have been forced to close their physical stores in the country. Burberry shut 24 of its 64 shops with CEO Marco Gobbetti stating that the outbreak is having 'a material negative effect' on luxury demand. Victoria Beckham also called China a 'big market' when she spoke to CNBC's Tania Bryer adding 'it's the same for everybody’ and ‘I think it’s horrific.’ According to a Bain & Company study, 35% of all luxury goods purchases in 2019 were either conducted in China or made by Chinese nationals traveling abroad. Flight restrictions have prevented tourists from purchasing big-ticket items and the country's press, influencers and buyers were absent from the FROWS of recent shows. 'In London at our Fashion Week we saw a drop in attendance from China, which was expected in the circumstances,' said Caroline Rush, CEO of the British Fashion Council. 'As all businesses look at financial impact there is also great concern and empathy for those working in the fashion industry that are at greater risk of contracting the virus and for their family and friends.'
Fashion week cancellations have also affected the industry as runway shows are a vital PR tool for brands to showcase future collections. MFW was one of the first to get hit as the disease swept across Northern Italy. Guests in street style shots could be seen wearing masks and Giorgio Armani famously barred his invitees from attending his event last minute asking them to live stream it on the GA website and social media platforms instead. According to a statement, the Italian designer wanted 'to safeguard the well-being of all his invited guests by not having them attend crowded spaces.' Five days prior, Chanel announced they would no longer be staging their Métiers d’Art in Beijing in May despite the label's Paris Fashion Week show going ahead with the exception of U.S. staff and attendees receiving masks. Cruise collections have also been impacted as on 17 February Prada announced the annulment of its Resort 2021 due to take place on 21 May in Shanghai, followed on 2 March by Gucci's show in San Francisco, 5 March by Versace's event in America and 11 March by Hermès' presentation in London. The pandemic has forced fashion week organisers to think of new ways to present pieces with Kering's François-Henri Pinault wondering whether the industry should begin digitizing showrooms and considering a new system, according to The New York Times. Shanghai Fashion Week became the first to go virtual with 150 established and emerging designers showcasing creations through live streams, short videos and a See Now, Buy Now format. In what is the biggest challenge to the traditional fashion week, on 21 April the British Fashion Council announced LFW Men's will merge into 'one gender neutral . . . digital-only platform . . . to allow designers greater flexibility . . . in light of the current environment.' BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush CBE added: 'By creating a cultural fashion week platform, we are adapting digital innovation to best fit our needs today and something to build on as a global showcase for the future. Designers will be able to share their stories, and for those that have them, their collections, with a wider global community; we hope that as well as personal perspectives on this difficult time, there will be inspiration in bucketloads. It is what British fashion is known for.' Following suit on 6 May, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana announced the first Milano Digital Fashion Week - July Issue and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode confirmed Paris Fashion Week Men's to be a film-only format. The ailment has highlighted the importance of online not just for sales but also for shows with BoF saying 'digital escalation' is key for brands to survive the crisis.
On 1 May, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris Carine Roitfeld hosted a star-studded 30-min virtual fashion show from YouTube, the first-of-its-kind on the platform, to raise awareness and funds for COVID-19 research efforts led by amfAR. Entitled CR Runway with amfAR Against COVID-19: Fashion Unites, supermodels to take part included Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Karlie Kloss and Natasha Poly who filmed themselves walking in glamorous and extravagant Richard Quinn, Dior, Burberry and Balmain pieces from their living rooms, hallways, gardens and porches. Hailed by YouTube's Derek Blasberg as 'a high-fashion runway show entirely from home' each model could be seen doing his or her hair and makeup reminding the viewer that the infection has impacted those behind the scenes. Speaking to Blasberg, Roitfeld said: 'We're going to see all the models doing a special catwalk for you, and talking and prepping . . . you see them at home, sometimes their walking with the dog, sometimes with the kid . . . it's not just to have fun, it's something to raise money for a great cause and put a smile on your face.' The event not only encourages people to stay at home but inspires a sense of togetherness alongside uplifting entertainment in isolation. By using the pandemic's limitations to her advantage, Carine has juxtaposed high fashion with the everyday. Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli added 'sometimes very tough moments can help us to dig out our best creativity, our best ideas, and our connection' and Balmain's Olivier Rousteing thanked the CR Fashion Book founder for 'breaking the isolation' calling it 'a new way of presenting the fashion show.'
Saint Laurent have gone a step further by breaking free from the 2020 fashion calendar. In a statement on 27 April, the French fashion house said: 'Conscious of the current circumstance and its waves of radical change, Saint Laurent has decided to take control of its pace and reshape its schedule.' This going against the grain is in keeping with the label's punk aesthetic with creative director Anthony Vaccerello speaking exclusively to WWD on his decision to 'forgo the traditional fashion show': 'This is not about going against the authorities. It’s about being positive, not passive. We have known for years that something has to change. The time is now. . . I don’t want to rush a collection just because there is a deadline. This season, I want to present a collection when I am ready to show it.' This desire to slow down is a prevalent theme throughout the industry with former creative director of American Vogue Grace Coddington also agreeing that designers need to 'do less, but better.' In an interview with Naomi Campbell for her No Filter YouTube series, U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour says: 'We are all in agreement that we need to show less.' What is also apparent in the case of Saint Laurent is a desire for the designs to connect with people on a real level: 'Now more than ever, the brand will lead its own rhythm, legitimizing the value of time and connecting with people globally by getting closer to them in their own space and lives.'
Events are key to fashion PR, but what with the virus, traditional agency operations have turned on their heads. Working from home is now the new normal not only in Public Relations but across many industries. In a PRCA survey of 194 PR professionals, remote working policies (62%) and event cancellations (58%) were the most common responses to the crisis taken by organisations. PR's are also communicating entirely virtually which may prove strange in a sector that thrives off relationship building. Zoom and Skype are the main apps to interact with colleagues, clients and the media. The press have also made adjustments that may affect editorial coverage including dialling down on distribution, cancelling or postponing photoshoots and shifting content almost totally towards the pandemic and its affects on people's lives. This change in news opens up opportunities for new and interesting angles and a pitch that is more thoughtful and empathetic. It is also a great time for companies to become publishers in their own right and share brand stories via podcasts and social media platforms, which have seen a surge in use by 9 billion minutes due to everyone being stuck at home. According to Stephen Waddington of Wadds Inc., 'COVID-19 is accelerating the modernisation of PR practice and skills.' Recruitment has also taken a tumble with Julia Fenwick of Boldmove saying: 'PR recruitment . . . has pretty much ground to a halt.' Unemployment numbers in the U.K. are startling with 1.36 million out of work in the three months leading up to the outbreak. Skills and attributes such as optimism, hard work, flexibility, trust and online communications are now more important than ever.
Fashion publications have also had to think outside the box, particularly in regards to stories as reality has been encapsulated by something more serious, and imagery as the traditional photoshoot is off limits due to social distancing rules. The New York Times even asks 'What's the Point of a Fashion Magazine Now?' In a rare interview with Naomi Campbell for her No Filter YouTube show, American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour speaks from quarantine on how coronavirus has changed operations at the magazine: 'We're finding a whole new way to work and its creative and interesting and different, but I think we all miss a human connection.' For June/July's cover, the 70-year-old features a single rose symbolising, according to Condé Nast’s creative director Raul Martinez, 'beauty, hope, and reawakening.' 'It’s also a conduit between Vogue’s past and its present, as it was photographed by Irving Penn, a longtime contributor to the magazine,' writes Laird Borrelli-Persson. Inside, fashionistas from Gucci's Alessandro Michelle to actress Sienna Miller share self-rendered images of life at home. British Vogue have also shifted content towards the crisis with online articles like 'How To Stay Positive During A Pandemic, According to Diane Von Furstenberg' and 'How To Make The Most Of Solitude, And Spend Time Alone Well.' Covers are considerate with April's Vogue Italia showcasing a blank white space and the same month's Vogue Portugal featuring a man and woman kissing reminiscent of René Magritte's 1928 painting The Lovers. April's Vanity Fair Italy 'was not a supermodel lounging on a yacht in an Etro caftan, or a movie star in Gucci, but rather a lung specialist in a starched white lab coat.' In terms of creativity, i-D win by using virtual communication to create 19 unique covers each with a different model on FaceTime.
Trends too have been influenced by SARS CoV-2. WFH and Zoom clothes are the latest looks that encompass a stylish top half and pyjamas on the bottom. British Vogue even have an article entitled 'Waist-Up Dressing Ideas For Chic #WFH Video Moments.' On 28 April an ABC News Correspondent took the fad amusingly further through a slight mishap whilst appearing on Good Morning America. Will Reeve, the son of late actor Christopher Reeve, could be seen on Zoom in a shirt, jacket and no pants 😂. The 27-year-old later advised everyone to use 'well-lit areas' with 'minimal distractions' 'and also get dressed fully.' Loungewear is also lusted with Anna Wintour confessing she was 'wearing sweatpants' to Gayle King of CBS This Morning. According to Dana Thomas, 'cosy' is amongst 'the new retail buzzwords' with Browns reporting a 70% increase in sales of loungewear and tracksuit bottoms up 1,303 per cent at Net-A-Porter. The sickness has shown how influenced style is by the zeitgeist with fashion historian Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell giving an earlier example to NPR's Michel Martin: 'The French Revolution . . . did away with a lot of the over-the-top fashions associated with the old regime - hair powder, hoop petticoats, lace.' On the other hand, 'all dressed up and nowhere to go' has never rung truer with The New Yorker's Rachel Syme starting a movement to get people to 'wear outfits' on Sunday and 'show it to the world,' and photographer Robin Sinha asking his neighbours in Walthamstow to pose on their doorsteps dressed as if ready for a night out. Chrisman-Campbell thinks: 'We may see a real renaissance of fashion of people going way over the top just because they've been cooped up,' and Browns' Heather Gramston telling Harpers BAZAAR: 'People will be looking for opportunities to get dressed up.' Masks have gone from medical attire to the latest must-have accessory with Robin Givhan of The Washington Post writing: 'There may be no other piece of clothing that has had a trajectory like face masks — something that began as purely protective transforming into a fashion statement in no time at all.'
Instagram have also hopped on the quarantine fashion wagon with humour and lightheartedness. Queens of memes My Therapist Says keep their 5.6m followers entertained with posts including Kim Kardashian West squeezing into a gold latex ensemble, which is supposed to resemble: 'Everyone getting ready to go back to work after wearing nothing but pyjamas.' Paper in their signature informal style shared a picture of Bella Hadid alongside the caption: 'Got all dressed up to sit in my living room. Again.' Alexa Chung and Amanda Holden have also been getting clad in their glad rags for an evening at home or to take the bins out. The juxtaposition of glamour and the mundane is a recurring theme with British Vogue headlining: 'Why Dressing Up With Nowhere To Go In Quarantine Is Okay — Even Essential.' Broadway actor Billy Porter began a Quarantine Fashion Challenge where he asked his 1.6m followers to share their 'chicest couch potato / #StayAtHome lewk!', and as 2020's Met Gala was cancelled, the Kinky Boots star teamed up with American Vogue to invite ordinary folk to recreate red carpet looks as part of a competition entitled #MetGalaChallenge.
A positive to emerge from the pandemic is that it has created a sense of solidarity and rallying together making it excellent PR by changing fashion's image from frivolous and wasteful to human and kind. British Vogue call it 'a spontaneous community effort' and The Independent say it is 'a display of solidarity that may come to define this moment in history.' An example of unity is in the shortage of PPE prompting designers to make masks, gloves and gowns for frontline workers themselves. In the U.K., Burberry repurposed its Yorkshire trench coat factory to create non-surgical gowns and masks and adapted its global supply chain to fast track the delivery of 100,000 surgical masks to NHS staff. Michael Halpern is also 'swapping sequins for surgical gowns' as two days a week the designer cycles to a Chelsea sewing facility to sow them for the Royal Brompton Hospital. 'I hope community spirit is the new norm, and not just something we’re doing in a crisis,' he opines to Vogue's Alice Newbold. Small brands have also boarded the COVID-19 relief train including Phoebe English who tells Vogue's Sarah Mower: 'I can’t sit here just staring at the wall.' Speaking to The Independent, British Fashion Council CEO Caroline Rush said: 'In times of crisis, the fashion industry is known for coming together. This has been the case with coronavirus. We are very proud and touched to see how emerging and large fashion businesses come together to help produce personal protective equipment, reinforcing the much-needed sense of community; especially in the UK, where smaller independent designers are facing a very uncertain future.' In France, LVMH announced on 21 March that the luxury-goods company had ordered 40 million FFP2 and surgical masks to be distributed to French healthcare workers, and on 23 March, Kering revealed they were repurposing sites in Angers and Paris to manufacture some. Six days later, Chanel said in a statement: 'Today we are mobilising our workforce and our partners... to produce protective masks and blouses.' In Italy, Prada confirmed that the label had begun the production of 80,000 medical overalls and 110,000 masks, and Gucci 'could be able to donate 1,100,000 surgical masks and 55,000 medical overalls in the coming weeks, subject to relevant authorisations.'
Designers have also opened their purses for COVID-19 causes despite the financial difficulties they themselves are facing. Of the first to chip in were LVMH who donated $2.3m to the Red Cross Society of China, and Kering, who pledged $1.8m to the Hubei Red Cross Foundation. 'Our thoughts are with the many impacted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, and therefore we have decided to donate the funds as an immediate contribution to assist,' the group's CEO François-Henri Pinault told WWD. Versace have also made a substantial contribution to the CRCF followed by a personal donation of 200,000 euros to the intensive care unit of San Raffaele Hospital in Milan. 'This is when we, as a society, need to stand together and care for one another,' Donatella wrote in a statement. Gucci made a huge €2m pledge and have called on their 'global community . . . to be the changemakers in this crisis, to stand together with us in the fight against the Coronavirus. We are all in this together.' Dolce & Gabbana, who came under fire last November for an advertisement seeming to mock Chinese culture, were one of the first to offer support on 17 February before the infection spread across Italy. The duo have financed a study by Humanitas University aiming to clarify the responses of the immune system to Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In a statement, Domenico and Stefano said: 'We felt we had to do something to fight this devastating virus, which started from China but is threatening all mankind.'
On 24 March, U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour announced that the publication and Council of Fashion Designers of America will 'repurpose the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund to provide support for those in the fashion community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.' Alongside the relief is a storytelling initiative entitled A Common Thread, a video series that shines a light on those behind the scenes to raise awareness and donations for American labels and their workforce. Chairman of the CFDA Tom Ford says: 'Our goal with A Common Thread is not only to highlight all of the designers whom you know and love, but also focus on those individuals who keep our industry running.' In a live stream with Naomi Campbell, Anna adds: 'I think we've raised nearly five million dollars . . . we have had nearly 850 applicants.' The editor also spoke about the effort to Gayle King of CBS This Morning: ‘We’re going to be giving out what we call micro loans, like 5, 10, 15, 20, up to 100 thousand dollars just to try and help the ones that we feel need it the most, so that they can get through these next few months and be able to survive.’ Brands to come on board include Brandon Maxwell's pattern maker Jennifer Miller, rising star and 2019 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner Christopher John Rogers, assistant to Alexander Wang Worthy Dye and the designer himself who ends his Common Thread message on a positive and optimistic note: 'Remember that we will get through this and that it will pass . . . there are brighter days ahead, but without the thunder doesn't come the rainbow.' Sustainable retail platform Maison De Mode have launched a special Kabbalah-esqe bracelet by SHASHI with 100% of net proceeds going to the cause. The accessory has been sported by Olivia Palermo and Naomi Campbell 'to remind us we are all bound by one common thread, and what effects one of us in this industry effects all of us.'
A further ray of light is that the pandemic and pause in purchasing clothes has helped sustainability as factories are no longer churning out garments and consumers are no longer disposing in droves. Alice Cary of British Vogue writes about how nature is benefiting from the global slow-down with fish seen swimming in the clear Venetian waters and dolphins spotted again in the port of Cagliari. Travel limitations have also meant that some cities are experiencing a sharp drop in pollution. The fashion industry is hugely polluting, producing about 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon emissions every year, as reported by the BBC. In a piece by The Guardian, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated that the garment industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions annually. Fast fashion is the key culprit as the average person now buys 60 per cent more clothing than in 2000, but keeps each piece half as long, according to McKinsey. In another study by Barnado's, the average item of clothing is worn seven times before being tossed, as written by Vogue.
This isolation has led the queen of style Anna Wintour to think that it is the wake-up call the fashion industry and consumers needed to help the environment. 'I think it's an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and to look at our lives and to rethink our values and to really think about the waste and the amount of money and consumption and excess—and I obviously include myself in this—that we have all indulged in and how we really need to rethink what this industry stands for,' she told Naomi Campbell for her No Filter YouTube show. 'I feel very strongly that when we come out at the other end—which we will do—people's values are really going to have shifted.' From an industry perspective, this means creating clothing in a circular way by ensuring leftovers are disposed of correctly. BFC Chief Executive Caroline Rush tells Euronews Now that fashion designers should be compelled to consider recycling their excess stock of garments 'so that the product we have is re-used, shredded, goes back into new yarns and created for the future.' The crisis in Bangladesh has also highlighted the need for brands to take care of the people who make their clothes. Social media has been a powerful tool in that the #PayUp campaign has urged some labels to pay for orders that were cancelled or postponed. As Aditi Mayer puts it to The Guardian: 'My hope for a post-coronavirus future is one that values those in the supply chain.' The dependency on China has emphasised the requirement to diversify sourcing routes and bring some manufacturing home. According to head of Bretton Woods Research, LLC Vladimir Signorelli to Forbes: