Fashion Journalism Article

In response to the global pandemic, Vogue organizes webinars on Zoom to answer questions concerning the future of fashion. Anna Wintour raised the question on how do we help each other to build the future of fashion. Full of hope for the future, she is certain profound challenges for the fashion industry are inevitable. Changes must be done, so that fashion can come back stronger from this crisis, from reevaluating the runway show model, to how brands interact with their customers.

In the first part Edward Enninful interviewed Marc Jacobs. He stated that life itself stimulates imagination and is a catalyst for creativity. Marc Jacobs tells us that living in the past is comforting and can be fun to revisit by unveiling memories and fantastic experiences, therefore carrying the past does not seem the best way to move forward into the future. From his human experience, according to him, what’s harder in this crisis is to let go of old ideas, and go for a world of uncertainty, start in a new changed system and do things differently. Creativity will never stop. Creativity is essential. The things created before this pandemic will never exist the same way. Marc Jacobs declares that fashion is done to inspire. This is a statement to inspire and to engage companies in the conversation of fashion. Fashion’s thoughts and ideas affect many more. He completes his speech with these encouraging words: “we, as individuals in society, can take decisions and make changes in our lives”. By looking inward, every individual all around the world can contribute for a better future. Kenneth Ize runs a Nigerian craft focused brand that supports small local handcraft communities. The Covid-19 forces his sustainable brand to renew the inspiration, creativity, fabrics, and observation of the world. Kenneth Ize mentions that education is very important for fashion, and that fashion is very educated. New stories must be told by the generation of tomorrow. Creativity keeps moving.

In the second part, Eugenia de la Torriente aims to facilitate a discussion with Stella McCartney and Gabriela Hearst around sustainability. From their perspectives, sustainability is still very hard to explain. It is about being mindful about the process. It is about balance. It is about sourcing materials years in advance. Sustainability is a practice to balance production and consumption. In Stella McCartney’s eyes, this crisis gives us time to think. We will come up from it with hope, we can do better. I liked her metaphor about spring. She’s fascinated how spring is coming during this complicated time, bringing the idea of rebirth and renew. Yes, there is hope for the future. What if we got leftover? We can use them for the SS21 collection. Wait, will we even have one? From another eye Gabriela Hearst, founder of a brand established on two pillars: sustainability and long-term view, reveals her own personal narrative. Her personal story brought her to be concerned about transparency and not over-distributing while running her business. Empathy is key, because behind passion there is care.

Time is now our ultimate luxury. We are running out of time to save our own planet and people. Fashion will drastically change in the future. Creativity will never die, and the future generations will use it in an agile way to develop a new system for fashion. Fashion, as a moral choice. Sustainability is very emotional. We must think in advance, and in a circular way. The future of fashion is yet to come.