To measure fashion industry’s performance during the COVID-19 crisis, McKinsey & Company and The Business of Fashion surveyed around 100 experts and senior executives, and around a million consumers from around the world. ‘The State of Fashion 2021’ survey forecasts short- to mid-term economic impact of the pandemic on the industry. The sector’s shakeout may prove to be tough for the industry and wipe out some of the biggest names.

Fashion revenues decline by 34 per cent

Over 40 per cent of European consumers curtailed their expenses on clothes this year due to financial and general concerns, the report says. Today, their fashion expenditure is largely influenced by product quality, practicality, comfort and value for money. Consumers are being less influenced by the style and more by comfort. McKinsey’s European consumer survey indicates, sales in basic and casual-wear categories have reached pre-crisis levels while sale of formalwear and special occasion clothing have dipped to 25 per cent of last year.

Fashion revenues from April-June 2020 declined 34 per cent from the corresponding period last year. The industry is likely to lose further this year with fashion companies in Europe and the US including Neiman Marcus, Debenhams being forced to file for bankruptcy and their operations may be restricted to certain locations only.

Industry disruption may continue in 2021 and the global fashion market may recover by 2021, industry leaders need to take bold decisions regarding their channel strategies, geographic expansion, inventory planning and securing supply chains.

A wider gap in pre and post COVID markets

The McKinsey survey of 2,000 executives from across the globe predicts a 12 per cent decline in GDP during the third quarter of this financial year. The survey highlights 16 per cent surge in online fashion sales from January to August 2020. Germany, the UK and Nordic countries were the major drivers of this growth with companies in these countries reporting double- or even triple-digit growth in their online businesses.

Even though growth will eventually slow, the online shopping trend will sustain over the years. An analysis of the fashion scenario by the McKinsey Global Institute in conjunction with Oxford Economics says, global fashion sales may not return to 2019 levels before the third quarter of 2022. The crisis will exacerbate pre-existing trends in the sector creating a wide gap in performance of two markets.

US to lag behind China in luxury sales

Global luxury sector is hugely dependent on the European retail industry. This year, sales in the European luxury sector are predicted to fall by 40 to 50 per cent by the end 2020, with similar drops anticipated in the US. In contrast, luxury sales in China are predicted to increase by 13 per cent in 2020. Shopping events like the Singles Day on November 11, 2020 and Chinese New Year on February 12, 2021 will lead to a spike in online sales. Online marketplaces — such as Tmall and Taobao — will do well with a surge in demand, increased supply, and with retailers moving their excess inventory.

In terms of long-term recovery, US is likely to lag behind China and Europe as demand is unlikely to recover before the second quarter of 2025. The holiday season too is not expected to boost consumer sentiments as corporate parties, charity events and other large gatherings will continue to be either cancelled or move online. Full recovery in the country is not expected before the first quarter of 2023.

Fashion demand will continue to remain subdued in 2021 with only companies making flexible decisions and mirroring consumers’ sentiments in their products emerging as winners from the crisis.

The Performance Days trade fair will take place in December 2020 exclusively as an online event. The Forum Jury will curate the most innovative and sustainable fabrics and ingredients. In addition to the curated Jury selections, exhibitors will present their latest collections in the Performance Days marketplace.

Performance Days also brings to life new call, chat and video chat functions, which enable digital visitors to enter into dialogue with exhibitors. These complement the digital collections with technical data sheets and video presentations, which now allow for questions to be discussed directly online from Asia to Europe and to America. This simplifies the work of designers and buyers, as well as that of suppliers and digital exhibitors. This feature will be available during the two days of the trade fair on December 09-10, and for another 14 days thereafter.

The Focus Topic is displayed online in detail as usual. Under the theme, “Nothing to Waste - Closing the Loop”, the trade fair takes a closer look at the status quo of the textile circular economy, with resulting recommendations for action as inspiration for own (further) developments. The Performance Forum will showcase a selection of relating fabrics and accessories. Expert Talks on industry-relevant topics such as fabric and color trends on both days of the fair will help visitors further their knowledge and participate in current discussions.

The Pakistan government has finalized the Textile Policy 2020-25 with eight objectives starting from encouraging value addition, ensuring profitability of cotton growers to strengthen Pakistan’s expertise in manmade fiber, putting small medium enterprises (SMEs) on priority for infrastructure, compliance, energy efficiency, quality assurance and productivity projects.

The Brand Development Fund (BDF) will be launched to help boost export of textile products. Textiles and apparel machinery will be zero rated. Under the proposed textile policy, electricity tariff will be at 7.5 cent per unit and RLNG tariff at 6.5 cent per MMBTU, while the system gas will be provided to textile sector at Rs786 per MMBTU. However, the current electricity tariff for export industry stands at 9 cent per unit that will be decreased to 7.5 cent per unit for three years (till 2025), once the policy is approved and gets enforced.

The policy also unfolds that Long-Term Financing Facility (LTFF) and Export Financing Scheme (EFS) rates will not be changed and LTFF will continue at 5 per cent and EFS at 3 per cent. The industrialists wanted the government to further lower rates of loans under the LTFF and EFS, but the government didn’t accept the demand of the textile industry.

The government will enact a Trade Resolution Act and strengthen the Directorate General of Trade Resolution Organization (DGTRO) to address trade disputes between suppliers and buyers. Moreover, an online portal will be established to register trade complaints. Textile associations will also be involved to settle trade disputes.

The Ministry of Commerce will extend support to textile associations to devise a media strategy for image building and branding of Pakistan’s textile and apparel industry.

More importantly, international companies will be invited for investment to bridge demand-and-supply gap in manmade fiber (MMF) production. Tariff and customs duty drawback rates of the manmade fiber value-chain will be rationalized. For other natural fibers, a special board will be constituted for development of wool, jute, hemp, and other natural fiber-based textiles and apparel value-chain.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has teamed up with the fashion giant PVH Corp to explore the subject of inclusion and diversity across the US fashion sector.

The goals of the work, which started in late 2019, include: helping companies quantify their culture’s strengths and opportunities for improvement; providing insight into actionable steps towards a more inclusive and diverse future; and fostering a talent pipeline for under-represented communities.

The researchers are currently gathering insights from fashion companies, designers and students and we look forward to sharing our findings in a white paper slated to be released in the coming months. Their research, based on surveys from hundreds of stakeholders, builds upon our co-authored industry briefing Insider/Outsider and our industry-wide forum that delved into dimensions of diversity, outlining opportunities to strengthen our industry.

A Boston Consulting Group survey of 7,000 individuals from six countries suggests the global secondhand luxury clothing market will grow at 15 per cent CAGR over the next five years. According to the survey conducted in collaboration with Vestaire Collective, developed markets may see even greater gains, and some online resale players could potentially experience 100 per cent year-on-year growth.

Though the secondhand luxury apparel market is primarily driven by factors such as affordability, selection availability, uniqueness, consumers’ mounting environmental concerns are also contributing to its growth. Nearly 70 per cent of buyers of preowned clothes are driven by its sustainable factor. Shoppers hope to own fewer, though better items, to reduce overconsumption.

To meet changing needs of consumers, brands should recognize how secondhand consumers can evolve—from occasional shoppers of luxury items to full-fledged brand loyalists. They can capture value from this growing market by selling secondhand themselves, developing their own resale platforms, instituting buy-back programs and partnering with existing resale platforms to leverage outside expertise. According to the report, 62 per cent consumers would buy more from fashion brands that partner with secondhand players.

Gap Inc plans to set up 80 per cent of its stores at strip centers, city centers and outlets by 2023. The company aims to double its e-commerce sales to 50 per cent to drive growth and achieve a 10 per cent operating margin. It looks to double Athleta sales to $2 billion and grow Old Navy to $10 billion.

To achieve its targeted 10 per cent consolidated EBIT margin, the company will have to pull several levers. Its Old Navy and Athleta brands would together need to achieve a 15 per cent margin. If these brands each earn 12 per cent, Gap, Banana Republic and the others would need to reach a 6 per cent margin.

So far, Gap has closed some 500 stores. It further plans to close about 225 Gap and Banana Republic stores in 2020. With the pandemic bolstering consumers desertion of work and formal attires, sales of

Banana Republic have declined by 52 per cent in the second quarter. The company is now moving towards selling more comfortable items, which could boost some sales, says Neil Sauders Managing Director, GlobalData Retail.

Zimbabwe’s clothing sector is suffering from serious competition from second-hand wear and cheap imports that have hit its formal retailers like Edgars hard. Zimbabwe retailers smuggle second-hand clothes from Mozambique while they import cheaper garments from South Africa and Botswana. The Zimbabwean government has banned the importation and sale of second-hand clothing to no avail.

The selling of used clothes has become a source of livelihood for thousands of Zimbabweans in all cities and towns with second-hand clothing markets often teeming with customers. Research and investment analyst Enock Rukarwa highlighted the COVID-19 and other obtaining circumstances have brought in a new set of challenges for all business players adding that clothing companies need to realize that dynamics have changed and the market now demands appropriate positioning to respond with agility to opportunities and challenges that arise.

The major function of the government is to create an enabling environment that fosters business viability. The situation is quite complex because consumer buying power has been eroded by inflation, low incomes and high levels of unemployment which affects credit sales. The government needs to tighten border controls to limit smuggling of second hand clothing. Further, it is necessary to review downwards import duty on raw materials used in clothing manufacturing. Finished clothes should attract higher customs and import duty than raw materials that are used in manufacturing clothes locally by established retailers, said Victor Bhoroma, Economist.

Adidas has launched a new football jersey collection in collaboration with designer Pharrell Williams’ Humanface range. The collection is inspired by the collective memories and significant moments in the world’s top football clubs with their legacies serving as the foundations of the design process, says a Fashion Network report.

Each jersey in this collection has been hand-painted while the shirts have been redesigned in a traditional artistic format. For the Arsenal shirt, Williams explores the Adidas’ ‘bruised banana’ jersey from the 1991-3 seasons and gives it a hand-painted, paint-bleed effect update.

The FC Bayern Munich shirt has been inspired by the red home shirt worn from 1991-93 to reinvent the jersey for a new generation of fans. The kit has been re-imagined by hand using thick acrylic paint.

For Juventus’ jersey, the designer chooses a pink shirt from the 2015-16 season -- the first season of its Adidas partnership. The bold and vivid color of the shirt blurs the lines between sport and style and becomes an icon of modern football culture.

Williams also remixes the Manchester United jersey from the club’s snowflake blue and white print – first seen on the 1990-92 away kit.

The collection has been launched at a time when all games in Europe are being played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will be seen as another way to add interest for match day television viewers.

MarediModa has deferred its physical event, scheduled to take place at Villa Erba in Cernobbio, Italy from November 3 to 5, 2020. The show will now be held in a digital format on the given dates.

The event will be an opportunity for exhibitors and traders to present and to learn about the latest trends of the upcoming season of beach clothing. The fair is a top event for beachwear, lingerie fabrics and accessories.

It is attended every year by exhibitors and visitors from across the globe. It is one of the most important events for beachwear professionals in terms of contacts, exchange and business contacts no matter if new or old.

As per an Ecotextile report, Italian company Fashion Box’s brand Replay is claiming ‘double green standards’ for new denim being launched in partnership with fabric manufacturer ISKO. The new Hyperflex Re-Used denim blends lower impact raw materials with both reused cotton and recycled polyester. Its cotton is made from 10 per cent of waste cotton fibers while the recycled polyester is created from recycled PET bottles and other waste.

Replay has launched a collection of both skinny and straight jeans for men and women with the new material, selling at a hefty £150 per pair. The new material reinforces its focus on sustainability and meets the most stringent internationally-recognized eco-friendly standards.

ISKO, a brand of Turkey's Sanko Group, claims to be the world's largest manufacturer of denim, produces more than 250 million meters of fabric a year for customers in more than 60 countries.