How to Stay Fashionable While Under Lockdown
What data analytics tells us you should be wearing for classes & business meetings over Zoom.
With an increasing number of cities across the United States being put under lockdown — notably areas in California and New York City— spending the next couple of weeks (months?) isolated indoors is closely becoming inevitable.
If you’re like me, a college student recently-evicted from campus and now taking the rest of my courses online, you still have to look presentable & put-together for meetings over video calls (Zoom, anyone?).
This, of course, begs the question: how does one stay fashionable while under lockdown?
First, it is important to acknowledge how the fashion industry is taking a tremendous hit due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Several major fashion houses have completely halted production of new goods, including Chanel, H&M, and Zara. Fashion’s stock prices, like the majority of businesses at the moment, are plummeting.
The world’s two largest fashion conglomerates, LVMH and Kering, are shifting all production resources from clothing to creating protective face masks and hand sanitizers (through their perfume & cosmetic factories).
Needless to say, we won’t be able to go out and buy hot and trending looks anytime soon. Luckily enough, we don’t need to.
I’ve spent the past couple of weeks analyzing fashion trends from runway shows in New York, London, Milan, & Paris. After using python to identify an outfit’s traits & quantify each trend’s popularity, a few staple items stick out.
Here are some basic, staple items data tells us will keep you looking trendy & fashion-focused while in quarantine.
The Button-Down
Button-down shirts have made a tremendous appearance this past fashion month, where the world’s biggest high-fashion brands showcased their new runway collections for the Fall 2020 season.
Versace, for example, included button-down shirts in 32% of its collection. Dior kept the trend in the majority (54%) of its collection, and while Louis Vuitton only displayed button-downs in less than 5% of its looks, they were still on his runway.
Whether you’re styling it tucked in, under a vest, or with a tie, the button-down is a fantastic staple which will have you looking so in right now.
The Blazer
Who says work attire has to die out just because you’re working from home? This past fashion month, high-fashion brands couldn’t get enough of blazers. My personal favorite, Alexander McQueen, utilized the piece in 40% of its collection, with Versace, Prada, and Brandon Maxwell using it in around one quarter of their looks. An honorable mention is given to Dior, who used blazers in just under 20% of its collection.
From plaid-patterned to bold-colored to all-black, the blazer is alive, well, and super-trending.
The Turtleneck
For anyone quarantined in less-than-tropical weather, meet your new best friend: the turtleneck. With Brandon Maxwell using turtlenecks in a whopping 42% of his collection, as well as Versace pushing the look in over one third of its looks, this classic, Steve Jobs-hallmark is high up on the trending charts.
An honorable mention goes to Louis V., who used turtlenecks in one-fifth of its looks this season.
The Cross-body Bag
While under lockdown, if you’re needing a place to store your phone, keys, or wallet when, say, walking around the house, look no further than a cross-body bag. In nearly 40% of Prada’s looks this season as well as around one-quarter of the looks in both Dior and Versace, cross-body bags should be replacing all of your totes and clutches.
An honorable mention goes to whom I consider to be the King of all high-fashion bags, Jacquemus, who used cross-bodies in 14% of its Autumn 2020 Menswear collection.
Monochrome & Neutrals
Colors-wise, the high-fashion industry is preaching that less is truly more. Monochrome outfits, defined as using solely “shades of a single color”, were seen in 57% of Brandon Maxwell’s collection, as well as in a whopping 67% of Jacquemus’.
In fact, Jacquemus’ monochrome-heavy runway was described as “offering a sensation of lightness”. Heavy usage of monochrome and neutral colors, such as beiges and camel-tones, are pushing fashion brands to focus more on the comfort and feel of clothing, scrapping all the smoke and mirrors.
Here’s one color palette I observed from the Saint Laurent runway, demonstrating the brand’s embracing sandy, neutral tones.
Always Accessorize
If you were planning on staying in sweatpants or pajamas all day anyways, the least you can do is accessorize according to current trends.
Jacquemus says that chunky jewelry is the new craze, with 59% of its collection showcasing large, thick necklaces and bangles. Versace is also taking the “more is more” route with regards to accessories, with over one-fifth of its runway models sporting oversized, bug-like sunglasses.
So, there you have it. I’ll be showing up to my 9am lecture in last season’s Medusa Crystal Havana Round glasses and a three-centimeter-thick choker around my neck. There’s just no other way to do it.
What Not to Wear
Whether you’re dressing for a Zoom meeting or for a family dinner over FaceTime, forget about showing up in a graphic tee. In all of the Fall 2020 collections I analyzed, graphic tees only showed up in one; Dior. Even then, the item was seen in less than 4% of the brand’s runway looks.
So, throw your graphic tees in storage and opt for turtlenecks, button-downs, and blazers instead.
Can Staying Fashionable be Good For You?
While remaining inside all day might become dreary and monotonous after a couple of weeks, fashion still exists & remains an important form of self-expression.
Lifestyle brand Goop, founded by American Royalty, Gwyneth Paltrow, claims that dressing for the day as if you were to be leaving the house “is a surprisingly effective mood booster”.
As I lay on the couch finishing up this article, rocking a monochrome outfit (the color of choice today is navy), I’m glad to still have fashion to keep my mind off all the serious, not-so-neutral news in the world around me. Even if it only distracts me for a little while.
I’m a Harvard student studying Computer Science, & researching all the ways in which technology intersects with high-fashion. Read more of my research here, and feel free to get in touch.
