P as in Prada, or P as in Pandemic?
As our society and communities around the world face a second fatal wave of new COVID-19 cases, we should examine what happened in the months prior that led to a new wave and the possibility of being locked in our houses for days on end…again. We all know the pandemic has been handled extremely poorly by many countries that faced a first wave. Because of this, economies all over the world have suffered terrible setbacks, and the industries that drive those economies face even greater losses. For example, Italy’s fashion industry, a multi-billion-dollar industry, and a leading factor in Italy’s economy faced terrible damage during Europe’s first wave of cases, and now with a second wave, could face irreversible damage. Similar situations arise in other fashion dominated cities such as Paris and New York. The difference is that New York may have saved its reputation when it came to Fashion Week during the pandemic. Milan on the other hand, with Fashion Week held in September, may have had the right idea of wanting to get the economy back on track, but missed the mark and ended up with more issues surrounding the pandemic than they started with. Could the solution of online fashion shows for New York Fashion Week have worked for Italy’s faltering fashion industry, and could it have saved Milan Fashion Week from blame for new coronavirus cases?
Fashion Week is a term known around the world, from Milan to New York to Tokyo. Milan Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week are the powerhouses of showcasing multiple designer’s new collections, and they have all had to re-imagine what it would look like this year. In the middle of a pandemic each city has adopted a different way of presenting fashion week.
In Milan we saw multiple in-person fashion shows, ultimately leading to a spike in coronavirus cases. In Paris we saw the same thing. In New York we saw that fashion designers chose to take everything to the Zoom platform or cancel their shows altogether. With no in-person catwalks and everything done virtually, guests were kept safe in their homes and were still able to enjoy the show. Although it was not even remotely close to attending fashion shows in-person, New Yorkers were able to safely be part of it. While I understand the pandemic situation in Europe was seemingly coming to a halt and in-person fashion shows were doable, the shows in Paris and Milan still created an unsafe environment where people could have infected one another. The European Fashion Weeks should have followed the smart ideas presented by New York Fashion Week because it allowed for the fashion industry in America to avoid the scrutiny and blame of rising cases due to in-person shows. I sympathize with designers and the whole Fashion Week corporation that it is a punch to the gut to have to transfer a catwalk online, or cancel a show, but at least you evade any issues that may arise because of the pandemic. The whole industry should have thought about the bigger picture before being so careless.
Both America and Europe, two of the places hit hardest by the virus over the course of 2020, have been in a very fragile situation and nearing a new peak. With fashion shows held in September in Europe, many eyes turn to the people who attended these fashion shows, and the designers that decided to go through with holding an in-person show in order to justify the rising numbers. In America we are also seeing record-breaking numbers every day, but at least with how the situation was handled with New York Fashion Week, all eyes turn elsewhere.
In Europe, Fashion Weeks in Paris, London and Milan all had to be confronted a little differently this year. Some labels decided to show their collections through online shows, but the majority of designers decided they would continue with in-person shows, despite the newly established restrictions due to rising coronavirus cases. For example, in Paris, in October, as new restrictions had been put in place due to cases across France rising rapidly, French fashion powerhouses such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton decided to hold their shows despite the warnings, “Chanel and Louis Vuitton, two of the French fashion capital’s most famed brands, will close this very unusual season tomorrow with in-person shows — even after the French government said today that Paris and nearby suburbs are now on ‘maximum alert.’ Yesterday, France reported more than 12,500 cases after recording about 17,000 cases a day earlier” (Abel). While the typical international crowds of the Fashion Weeks were limited this year, the fashion industry severely risks being blamed for a rise in further cases by gathering in person (Abel).
Furthermore, as Milan was beginning to recover from its own closures and as the lockdown began to ease and multiple shops began opening up, the fashion industry questioned how it was going to approach FW in a pandemic. With canceled Couture weeks during July in Paris and the uncertainty of what would happen if shows weren’t held, the Italian fashion industry was struggling to answer whether they would survive. Elizabeth Paton from the New York Times published an article detailing the uncertainty of the future of fashion in the wake of the coronavirus. Paton mentions that the industry has returned to work, but it is far from the usual influx of business for small suppliers such as artisans, as well as luxury brands and retailers. Throughout the article, Paton details the struggles big-name brands are dealing with, but this is no comparison to what small businesses such as embroidery shops, that have little liquidity and a weaker consumer profile, are facing. Paton also gives a perfect description of the grandness of the fashion industry in Italy, and the major problems the pandemic could have on its future, “Italy’s 165 billion euro ($180 billion) fashion industry is known to the world for its glamorous brands, but it is built on a vast and tightly woven network of designers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers, large and small, that help make up the foundation of Europe’s fourth-largest economy. For these companies, for this style of doing business, the future has never looked more uncertain” (Paton). She argues that with what we are seeing now, it is quite hard to determine what will come of the fashion business, a leading factor in Italy’s economy, in the coming months. Milan, a city known for being the fashion capital of the world, now faces the dilemma of finding a place for the fashion industry in the middle of a pandemic and rebuilding the economy along the way.
In late September, Jess Cartner-Morley of the Guardian gave us a glimpse as to how Italy has handled getting fashion back on track in the midst of a pandemic. While Paton’s concern was real and quite tangible, Morley now introduces the idea that Italy has begun to face a new normal as fashion resumes. The Italian fashion industry is back in business, although not business as usual. The author notes that while fashion week has sped full steam ahead, safety precautions are the top priority of designers. Social-distancing and masks are being enforced at all the shows, and some designers have even decided to host “virtual runways” with no in-person viewing. Just a few months ago many people, including Ms. Paton did not believe this could have been possible, but what is mentioned by Morley is just the beginning of Italy’s re-building of its fashion enterprise.
While it is great that Milan took the first step in recovering Italy’s economy and designers took all necessary precautions, I think Morley misses the mark when thinking about what could come after fashion week is over. Milan, Paris and New York FW are all the length of about a week, hence the clever term, but what happens once the runways are disassembled, and the models and spectators are back home? We are still in the middle of a pandemic and I believe it was quite foolish for fashion empires such as Fendi, Dolce Gabbana and Etro to launch an in-person show.
Currently, Europe is facing a new surge of cases with over 20,000 new cases in one day in certain cities (Stewart). Cities such as Paris and Madrid have had to implement new curfews for their citizens. While European fashion weeks are not the only cause of a flood of new cases, they are certainly a contributing factor. Certain companies in the fashion industry lacked compassion when it came to keeping people safe. Yes, masks were worn, and safety was a priority, but not having in-person catwalks would have most likely helped keep case numbers down. Brands such as Gucci and Ermenegildo Zegna were much more considerate of their spectators and held live digital fashion shows. I believe it was irrational for the big luxury brands and companies to inaugurate fashion week as they would every year.
By contrast, almost all the shows that were scheduled for New York Fashion Week were transferred to an online platform. New York’s approach to their very fragile coronavirus situation, on top of their Fashion Week, showcased a job well-done when it came to maintaining any cases that would result from in-person shows. While an online fashion show is in no way close to the real deal, it prevents cities, such as New York, from inching closer to a second lockdown, because a source that could’ve potentially given rise to case numbers, was avoided. Unlike in Paris, London and Milan, New York Fashion Week was not a contributing factor to a rise in virus cases.
While the rise in cases in Milan, Paris and even London are not solely due to in-person Fashion Weeks, the trends that we see between these large events held in September and October and steeper case numbers, are an indication that they did contribute. Hosting large events only threw salt in the wound, rather than helping economies and business to get back up. The COVID-19 virus is transmitted primarily through close, person-to-person interactions. If you place hundreds of people in the same room or area, even if they wear masks, they are more likely to contract the virus than if they were to not congregate. These physical distancing policies can only control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 if they are able to reduce the amount of close interpersonal contact in a population (Feehan and Mahmud). In person events, such as what we have witnessed during European FW’s not only have a high impact on the health of the people that attend these events, and then the people they unknowingly come into contact with, but these in-person events create a domino effect when it comes to the economy. What do I mean by this? Well, when in-person events that include a large population are hosted, more people become infected. The higher infection rates usually lead governments to completely shut-down cities in order to try and eradicate the issue. When we face these shutdowns, that’s when the economy suffers. You have less hustle and bustle in cities such as Milan where a leading factor in its economy is the very thing that led to an increase in cases and contributing to a second lockdown: Fashion Week! The same goes for Paris. While fashion is not as great a contributor to Paris’ economy, it is significant enough that an interruption of fashion can make a dent in the city’s economic prosperity.
When we look at these vulnerable fashion oriented cities, especially Milan which is heavily dependent on its fashion industry when it comes to the economy, it is obvious that the cost of another lockdown is too great; it could cause the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression (Codagnone et. al). Bringing FW online does not exactly scream excitement for brands, but they might have been saving themselves from the inquiry of “did FW contribute to our rise in cases?”. While an online show contributes to the economy a fraction of what an in-person show would, an online show would still be contributing in a safe way, not causing another shut-down. In keeping the fashion industry going, even if it is transported online, while it is not optimal, it does benefit the economy regardless. Rather than risk having an increase in cases by hosting big runway vents with hundreds of people, New York chose to bring their FW shows online. Milan and other cities on the other hand, have ended up with another complete shutdown in the same year. This year, 2020 Fashion Week shows in Europe ended up doing more harm than good because they contributed to an increase in cases, which ultimately contributed to a second lockdown.
Fashion is a huge part of Italy’s culture and economy. This only reinforces the idea that without it the economy does not fare well, and Italy’s long history of incredible fashion comes to a halt. The fashion industry found a solution to showcase their new collections, holding fashion week primarily in person and I agree that Italy’s fashion industry had to do something for fashion week in order to get back on its feet, but it seemed to be at the expense of new cases and a possible second lockdown in just a year. This second shutdown could drive Italy’s fashion empires and one of Europe’s leading economies so far back that it could take decades to remediate the damage. By bringing fashion online in Europe, such as NYFW did, we might be saving the economy of countries where fashion is vital for economic prosperity, even if the contribution isn’t as large or great as we would want it to be because we would be working to prevent any more shutdowns in countries that cannot take such damage.
Works Cited
Abel, Katie. “As Paris Cases Rise and New Restrictions Take Hold, the Shows Will Go On at Chanel & Louis Vuitton.” Footwear News, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2020, footwearnews.com/2020/business/retail/paris-coronavirus-restrictions-fashion-week-1203063590/.
Browchuk, Eliseé. “Digital Fashion Weeks and Virtual Shows: A Rundown of Fashion’s New Rhythm.” Vogue.com, 29 June 2020, www.vogue.com/article/digital-fashion-weeks-2020.
Cartner-Morley, Jess. “Milan Fashion Week: Italy Embraces New Normal at Fendi Show.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 23 Sept. 2020, www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/sep/23/milan-fashion-week-italy-embraces-new-normal-at-fendi-show.
Cerami, Chiara, et al. “Covid-19 Outbreak In Italy: Are We Ready for the Psychosocial and the Economic Crisis? Baseline Findings From the PsyCovid Study.” Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 11, 10 June 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00556.
Codagnone, Cristiano, et al. Assessing Concerns for the Economic Consequence of the COVID-19 Response and Mental Health Problems Associated with Economic Vulnerability and Negative Economic Shock in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, 27 Oct. 2020, doi:10.31235/osf.io/x9m36.
Dinm, Rua. “ Models Are Strutting the Runway Despite Rising COVID-19 Cases.” The Stillman Exchange, 30 Sept. 2020, blogs.shu.edu/stillmanexchange/2020/09/30/models-are-strutting-the-runway-despite-rising-covid-19-cases/.
Feehan, Dennis, and Ayesha Mahmud. “Quantifying Population Contact Patterns in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” MedRxiv, 29 Aug. 2020, doi:10.1101/2020.04.13.20064014.
Hanna, Ehab Y. “How Fragile We Are.” Authorea, 2020, pp. 1–12., doi:10.22541/au.158646515.51090952.
Paton, Elizabeth. “The Artisans Behind Italian Fashion Tremble at Their Future.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 May 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/23/business/italy-luxury-fashion-coronavirus.html.
Scott, Fiona Sinclair. “Paris Fashion Week Strides on despite Rising Covid-19 Cases.” CNN, Cable News Network, 28 Sept. 2020, www.cnn.com/style/article/paris-fashion-week-sept-2020/index.html.
Stewart, Conor. “Europe: Coronavirus Cases by Day.” Statista, 11 Nov. 2020, www.statista.com/statistics/1102209/coronavirus-cases-development-europe/.
