Fashion in 2021: How will fashion change?
2020 is a disruptive year for fashion. Today, the sector is questioning everything: the rhythm of collections, fashion weeks, our purchasing behavior... The moment of truth has arrived. Insight into the people, brands, concepts and hashtags working for big change through our fashion ABCs. The B. a.-ba of the future?
The ABCs of fashion in 2021
Art
There are few famous artists who have not collaborated with a fashion brand. Painters, sculptors, filmmakers, architects, musicians are the new employees of the sector. "The luxury industry is the one that employs the greatest number of creative people today. No one wants to pay for the productions of the mind anymore: films, music, articles, everything must be free... Fortunately, luxury brands are there to pay for talent", explains Astrid Wendlandt, author of the book "The Luxury to conquer the world ” in an interview with Antidote. Brands build their foundations and put cultural interest at the heart of their marketing challenges. Selling clothes is no longer enough, you now have to be patrons. For a more accessible culture?
Piece of string
Buttons and zippers make it difficult to recycle garments. To remove these small details requires manual work which makes the process expensive. The Belgian company Resortecs has developed a yarn that dissolves at high temperatures (170°C and 195°C), allowing clothes to be disassembled quickly to reuse the fabric over and over again.
Common Objective
This is the LinkedIn of ethical fashion brands. We register to meet all the professionals in the production chain united around the same cause: making sustainable fashion the norm. Commonobjective.co
Data
Since 2013, companies like Heuritech, Launchmetrics, Linkfluence, and Tagwalk have been helping fashion brands predict future trends through data analytics. What looks work on social networks? Which pieces are popular in online stores? At Zara, they adjust their production according to these algorithms. A dress that barely makes a few clicks disappears from the offer. Proponents see artificial intelligence as a tool for better inventory management, less overproduction and therefore less pollution. Opponents see her as an idea killer. How can you be creative if the store offer only confirms what the consumer already wants?
Commitment
Over $138 million in orders canceled in Bangladesh, 15 factories closed in Myanmar with over 10,000 employees out of work, thousands of manufacturers out of work in Cambodia, the consequences of Covid- 19 on textile manufacturers are unprecedented. In question, canceled and postponed orders. A solidarity movement has therefore formed around the hashtag #payup aimed at brands like Primark, Forever21 or Anthropologie: it's time to pay!
Femvertising
According to a Havas study (2019), 55% of consumers believe that companies have a more important role to play than governments in building a better world. Feminist commitment is now one of the causes put at the center of the catwalk. A moderate feminism that allows you to engage your community and give an echo to the fights for equality. This type of marketing has a name, " Femvertising ". If it was considered opportunist in past years, the concrete commitment of brands (grants, prizes, foundations) now makes it the new assumed ally of the 4th feminist wave.
Capsule wardrobe
Change fashion, start with your wardrobe. This is the motto of the "capsule wardrobe", which has a maximum of 33 items to wear per season (or three months). Including the shoes! We therefore choose high-quality basic parts that can be easily combined as well as some must-haves. A minimalist, practical and thoughtful capsule wardrobe. We force ourselves, so to speak, to stop impulse buying. Susie Faux and Donna Karan were already promoting the "capsule wardrobe" in the 1970s. Blogger Courtney Carver made it a popular social media challenge with #project333.
Haptics
The digital revolution is based on four pillars, the 4Ds (developed by Georges Nahon, president of Orange Institute Sillicon Valley): digitalization. demonetization. Disintermediation. Digital disruption, i.e. technological inventions that completely disrupt the economy and create new opportunities. Among them, there is one that is talking about it: haptics. The missing link of " hyperreality ", this technology which invents the internet of touch allows the manipulation of virtual objects by creating a sensory interaction with the screen. How ? Via connected sensory interfaces that transmit the impression of textures, in particular. The company Fulu has also developed a tip to put on the finger which transmits sensations of textures such as sand, animal hair or the sea. This technology has already won over fashion: Google Jacquard, Levi's, Saint Laurent are The precursors.
ISO20121
Fashion weeks attract around 230,000 visitors to New York each year. For Gucci alone, 900 employees are busy – including the models. While more than 70 designers parade in New York, there are also fashion weeks in Milan, London and Paris. Calculate the ecological footprint of all those plane tickets, landscapes and restoration. The ISO20121 standard for sustainable events still seems a distant future for fashion weeks. " But we offset the CO2 impact of our show by investing in environmental projects ", said Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri. Since 2019, Burberry has also been organizing climate-neutral shows. Copenhagen Fashion Week aims for zero waste by 2022.
Young talent building the future
Marine Serre. Queen of upcycling, ecological awareness is at the center of her collections. Sander Lake. The designer of the Sies Marjan brand and protected by Dries Van Noten is a hit in the States. Telfar Clemens is the canker of unisex fashion. Richard Quinn is revolutionizing print.
Kool and Konscious
No more searching for stylish and sustainable fashion brands, the Kool And Konscious platform brings together the best ethical brands. koolandkonscious.com
Lucy Siegle
We remember the documentary " True Costs " broadcast on Netlfix on the costs of the fashion industry. Originally, there was a book "To Die For: is fashion wearing out the world?" “, written by the journalist Lucie Siegle. But this is not her first essay: "Green Living in the Urban Jungle" and "Turning the Tide on Plastic" truly make her an author to follow.
Minimalism
Will fashion finally enter its "less is more" phase? Minimalism is not synonymous with boredom: "We don't need to find a single, absolute solution for this 'new normal'. Less is more should not become a symbol of depression or come in a single aesthetic sense", explains Virgil Abloh to "Vogue". Less logistics, less travel, less waste, but more creativity!
#nonewclothes
Remake is a collective fighting to put an end to fast fashion. In June 2020, they launched the #nonewclothes movement to challenge us not to buy new clothes for 90 days! A great challenge well worth trying.
Out of stock
The "Zero Inventory" approach is gaining more and more followers! This is undoubtedly one of the biggest challenges of a production line. The principle ? It is a business strategy for brands that aspire to hold little or no stock. The goal is therefore to order the exact quantity of clothes that must be sold based on new technologies.
Phygital
A contraction of "physical" and "digital": shows have been broadcast live online for years, but the format is intensifying. Drastically. The September fashion weeks are not canceled, but the brands face a year 2020 with a third loss of turnover. Result: ultra-confidential fashion shows with hand-picked guests, such as during the presentation of Jacquemus' summer 2021 collection in July. Fewer people, but unprecedented digital coverage. Virtual showrooms are multiplying thanks to start-ups like Obsess, which specializes in creating immersive universes for online shops. Designer Anifa Mvuemba, of the Hanifa brand, made a name for herself by parading her clothes without a model for an Instagram live. What a buzz! Because the problem with this " phygitalisation " is that it could well sideline small brands that do not have the financial means for this visibility. Hoping that they find creative solutions to get through the web woven by luxury groups.
Quora.com
The knowledge sharing platform. Straddling Wikipedia and Facebook, it functions as a social network of scientific and critical content on subjects as vast as literature, music, biology, astronomy, but also on fashion!
Re-FREAM
This is the European support program for innovations in fashion. In the form of a collaborative research project, it unites designers and scientists to rethink the manufacturing process with three axes: 3D printing, technological textiles and sustainable finishes. The key to this program is a grant of €55,000 for the most innovative designer. Applications are open until 30/09 on re-fream.eu.
Samira Nasr
The first dark-skinned female editor-in-chief of America's " Harper's Bazaar ". As the #blacklivesmatters protests have grown, many employees in the press have railed against the lack of diversity within the teams, particularly at Condé Nast and Hearst (let's mention Edward Enninful at the head of the " Vogue UK ” and Elaine Welteroth at “ Teen Vogue USA ”). "I will work to give all voices a platform to tell stories that have never been told. “A message that we hope to see multiply in other renowned magazines.
TikTok
The music network for 15-25 year olds continues to grow in influence. Now, fashion is taking over the concept of "Collab Houses" to distribute its content. What is this ? Gather social media stars (e.g. Charli D'Amelio, Chase Hudson or Addison Rae) in a luxurious property to create creative content and strengthen their respective communities. But the trend does not escape fashion and ready-to-wear brands do not hesitate to sponsor them to surf on this visibility, like the Boohoo brand. It is difficult to have hindsight to know if this new marketing strategy is paying off, it is developing and offering new sponsorship opportunities to influencers.
Upcycling
As the Antwerp designer Rushemy Botter said, " upcycling is a state of mind, not a concept ". On good terms…
Vegan Fashion Week
According to the organizers of Vegan Fashion Week, the meter and a half is not the ultimate solution to the crisis. Social distancing is a temporary remedy. What we really need is respect for the planet and animal welfare. After the cancellation of the huge vegan fashion, make-up and gastronomy event in Los Angeles, the ethical fashion movement is going virtual. Sign up for their roundtables at ethicfashiontalks.com.
Webinars
MAD Brussels, the Brussels expertise platform for fashion and design, broadcast no less than nine webinars around the world during the lockdown. For all fashion players who want to know how to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Topics vary from crisis communication on online stores to the right pricing. Speakers such as Édouard Vermeulen, Siré Kaba and Émilie Duchêne share their thoughts.
X/M/V
Gender neutrality – not m/f, but x – is gaining ground. Pioneers like Pierre Cardin and Paco Rabanne already experimented with the unisex look in the 60s and 70s. Later, Belgian talents Ann Demeulemeester and Martin Margiela crowned our country as the epicenter of androgyny. Since the spring and summer 2019 collections, gender fluidity has been everywhere: from Céline and Givenchy to Louis Vuitton.
Yoga
The "athleisure" clothing market is booming. That's not bad news because we place high demands on activewear and leisurewear – they need to be breathable, yet protective and waterproof, comfortable, yet stylish… This fashion niche is innovating with techniques and materials revolutionaries. The textiles of the future can be imagined on a yoga mat!
Zero tolerance
In July 2020, the Austrian Nadine Leopold concluded an amicable agreement with the magazine " Madame ". She had explicitly stated after a photo shoot that she was not comfortable with the topless photos being taken and that they should not be used. The magazine casually published them. Before #MeToo this might not have been a big deal, but today the HOFF (Humans of Fashion Foundation) has committed to zero tolerance against sexual harassment in the fashion industry. They arm young models like Nadine Leopold against abuse, including providing them with free legal aid. humansoffashion.org
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