Since the 24th of March of this year, the United Kingdom has been living in times that will come to be known as alien in the history books. The country, since this date, has issued an immediate lockdown of all ‘non- essential’ travel, and gatherings, with shops and food venues amongst those affected. But what about our fashion world? What happens now?
Stay at home fashion
The pressure to have a perfect lockdown outfit is real, and with online influencers selling their idea of the perfect fit, it is hard to ignore.
It would be almost unreasonable to suggest that those who have been affected the most by these of another world changes are the staff of retail outlets, and those who work behind the scenes in packaging factories for companies such as Amazon.
With the still constant demand for consumption of clothes and “stay at home fashion”, we have to take a step back and realise what kind of effect is this having on not only the environment, but the people who are working around the clock to deliver goods to those who buy from fast fashion brands such as Nasty Gal and Shein.
I suppose it can’t be helped. With nothing to do on a day to day basis other than mope around the house and try to entertain ourselves, a little spending spree is at the bottom of our list of worries in this strange and unsettling time.
Something to look forward to
Personally, I am guilty of buying unnecessary clothes for the sake of it. I think I have around three outfits planned for when the lockdown is lifted, and I bought them all online recently. But what is the need? When will I, realistically, be wearing anything other than my pjs and loungewear for the foreseeable future?
It gives us something to look forward to, and reminds us that there will be a day when life will be normal again.
And i’m not suggesting that the continuation of online shopping is one of the biggest worries at the moment. But we should be conscious of the fact that it is still damaging the environment, putting hard workers into overdrive, and perpetuating the idea of consumption, consumption, consumption.
Encouraged to spend
Online websites seem to be in a frenzy over sales. I have noticed a slight increase of reductions with online shops, as well as an almost “force down your throat” readily available discount codes. It feels as though fashion conglomerates are over encouraging people to spend money.
It puts an enormous strain and a huge amount of pressure on those who are working around the clock to deliver goods to people.
Is this right, or even ethical? That big fashion companies are making profit out of a situation that has brought death and tragedy to many thousands of people?
Is this the kind of behaviour we want to be encouraging when it seems as though the world is falling down around us?
This surge in online shopping, although always there, begs another question for the world after Coronavirus. Will this be the death of shops and retailers, thus the end of retail as we know it.
For the moment, it is quite hard to imagine life beyond Covid-19. Perhaps our shopping experiences will be changed forever.