5. Many international and Domestic brands, designers and heritage brands employs severalIndian
artisans. , working day and night for creating handmade embroidery and needled embellishments for
the world’s most powerful fashion brands were empowering the major fashion runways of the world.
Since the pandemic started,orders were cancelled and postponed and people lost their job working
for these high fashion brands. With many Western markets still closed, events such as big weddings,
parties and fashion shows have dropped off the calendars of wealthy clients, many of whom are not
in the mood to spend on pricey fashion and accessories
Fashion Trends
The pandemic has caused a shift in the way people engage with their clothing.
While staying at home and working from home, the interest has been shifted to the comfortable and
casualclothing rather than the formal. The Athleisure and Casual-wear sales have seen a huge
acceleration over this pandemic as people shoed interests in comfortable clothing. Loungewear and
paijamas were the most preferred clothing while staying at home. Our clothes aren't the only things
that have become more casualduring the pandemic—so have our accessories,specifically our shoes.
Facemask has become a very important accessory since the start of the pandemic. No other fashion
trend seems to gain popularity as facemask started to earn since the starting of 2020. Small and large
- every scale of industries started making masks and brings it to the marketplaces.
Social media
through digital platforms, direct-to-consumer- Social media has played a key role in the pandemic.
The impact of social media in the fashion industry has resulted in closing the gap between the brand
and the customers. During the time of the pandemic as online sales has been increased so the social
media helped consumers to fulfil their needs through social media marketplace. It became easy to
start a brand or launch a new label for the emerging designers and entrepreneurs because socialmedia
has made it easier to access global consumers. Through Facebook marketplace, Instagram pages
consumers can connect to the sellers and designers.
Also to mention many renowned Fashion houses and designers came forward to lend a helping hand
to the society during the pandemic through social media. For example Designer Manish Malhotra
partnered with iimunofficial for “FIND A BED” campaign to provide beds for covid patients across
the country. Designer Gaurav Gupta partnered with “GivieIndia”, a donation platform for OXYGEN
FOR INDIA for providing oxygen and help India to breath.
in may 2020 Instagram has started a new campaign to encourage the small scale industries, designers
and artisans as the businesses are facing challenges during the covid 19 crisis. With the Support small
business Sticker on Instagram people can easily show their interest and it helps businesses to reach
its customers and stay connected to the people they serve.
Future Perspective
The pandemic has certainly left its imprints in big ways. It showed us that the infrastructure of
the garment Industry is fragile to disruptions and the global/domestic supply chain is weak. So it is
the hightime to reinvent and reconstruct the aspects of the whole industry in a collective level.
Though it was a tough time for the people engaged to the industry yet there are chances to improve
the current situations and create a better environment and sustainable development through
innovative thinking. The adoption of technology can enable faster and more efficient production. We
know that China is the largest exporter of Textiles, however the new anti-Chinese sentiment that has
6. grown due to the virus has brought fresh opportunities for Indian textile and apparel producers. The
Industry need to improve their productivity and quality to replace China as the 'supplier of choice' in
international markets. While companies had already, to some extent, begun investing in digital tools
such as improved data analytics and demand forecasting prior to COVID-19,
The crisis has forced both buyers and manufacturers to more quickly advance their plans to digitalize
the production to be able to better respond to a rapidly changing consumer market. Some experts
indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic could have positive impacts on the industry. It was proposed
that the pandemic would create positive change by the forceful action taken by the industry to address
the major issues. As of now the important aspect is adopting recycling the industry to eliminate waste
and produce more output.
Furthermore, some experts forecasted that COVID-19 will further highlight the benefits of
sustainable practices also from a business perspective, Governments to take responsibility for the
social and environmental impact of the industry. For example, stronger partnerships between buyers
and suppliers and investments in technology, which would enable more transparency, could
contribute to a more sustainable sector over time creating a better environment to work.
There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic will make for a difficult 2020. For some
companies, even survival will be a struggle. If, however, apparel and fashion Industry lead with
compassion and undertake bold actions, they can position themselves not only to weather the crisis
but to emerge from it even stronger.
Sources
1.https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/indias-fashion-artisans-face-extreme-distress-in-
pandemic/articleshow/82254117.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cpps
t
2. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-
bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_755630.pdf
3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/2021/06/24/uk -law-firms-answer-call-for-diversity-equity-and-
inclusion/?sh=5a83ddaa77bb
4. https://www.thequint.com/voices/blogs/covid -hospitalisation-personal-story-time-life-hope-
survival-tryst-with-death-family-children-psychological-impact-road-to-recovery
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_of_the_COVID-19_pandemic_on_the_fashion_industry
6. https://www.ibef.org/exports/apparel-industry-india.aspx
7. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349367809_IMPACT_OF_COVID-
19_ON_TEXTILE_AND_FASHION_INDUSTRY_INDIA_ECONOMIC_PERSPECTIVE
8. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-postpandemic-state-of-fashion