Fashion in 2020
Current economic times made me think of the upcoming struggles and necessary steps the fashion world is up against in the near future.
Previously widely known tough economic times were the Great Depression in 1929 and WW2. During the GD some styles that were going away in the beginning of 20s emerged again, like long modest skirts. Some believe this is due to women being able to cover legs without making known the absence of tights. Hosiery at that time was made of silk, which were very expensive and not available for purchase. The slogan of fashion at that time was to conserve, repair, recycle and eliminate waste. There were many breakthroughs in fashion during that decade like sportswear and bathing suits and introduction of flapper suits for women but it took nearly 10 years for it to come back to runways. Nylon was first produced as a cheap alternative fabric.
Before that - clothes were custom-made by either American designers or seamstresses replicating it for people. Both were expensive. Then during the Great Depression ready-to-wear emerged in the US. Designers became particularly aware of potential for low-prices fashion which was produced in higher quantities and it became extremely successful right away. Dresses and suits were available for order by phone or mail, eliminating the need for custom-tailoring.
World War 2 in 1939 made its impact on fashion as well. Assets were prioritized towards the war so American War Production forced limits on certain luxury fabrics like wool and silk. Many restrictions in design were put to place. Skirts became relatively short for that time in order to conserve the fabric and only wide enough to maybe ride a bicycle. Decorative details and pleats were forbidden. Metal zipper production stopped and was replaced with buttons but no more than 3 buttons were allowed on jackets. Cinema promoted recycling of textiles (yet again). Utility suits were introduced and accepted for women to wear since they were now the majority of work force.
I don’t really care for the styles about to take on our streets post-Covid. We already know the ads for loungewear now have estate space on majority of retail websites’ homepages - something only seen during Christmas. I’m more interested in economic stand of fashion we are about to enter. I bet fast fashion will boom just like lower tag RTW did in the past, but with the right strategy in marketing of course. While fast fashion is still #2 polluter of the world, words like “sustainable” and “responsibly sourced” will be thrown around like confetti. Design will adhere to smarter use of resources already on hand rather than investing into new. Supplies already bought into will more likely be used through future seasons. As luxury designers try to get their wheel rolling again, innovation on a restricted budget will play a major key in future success.
