What do San Francisco and Tokyo have in common? They are the symbols of the way Coronavirus distorts fashion, its agenda and its way of working. In the first city Gucci canceled the presentation of the cruise collection, scheduled for May 18th. In the Japanese capital, the organisers given up the next edition of Fashion Week, which should have been held from March 16th for six days. It is the fourth Asian fashion week skipped, after Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul. The virus forces the global fashion industry to review its plans.
Stock exchange and business
The consequences, so far, are like a leopard spot, as is the manifestation of Covid-19 itself. The pressure on Italian manufacturing, as we have told you, is already being felt. From the stock exchange point of view, prices in the United States are not yet affected. The situation is different in Europe, where Coronavirus manifested itself in advance compared to the other side of the Atlantic: here prices of the brands have already gone up on a roller coaster. Retail then plays a separate game. In Hong Kong, the distribution turnover in January lost 21.4% of the value. At WWD, the reference association explains that it expects a drop of between 40 and 60% for fashion in February, even more serious for jewellery.
Coronavirus turning fashion upside down
WWD continues to review the countermeasures taken so far by international brands. Nike has closed the headquarters in Oregon for a maxi-sanitisation of the premises, planning the same intervention also for the Dutch headquarters. Ralph Lauren imposes restrictions on travels to Asia and the 15-day precautionary withdrawal for all employees who have been there in the past two weeks. The PVH group accelerates on smart working, reviewing travel and production policies. Until March 15, Tapestry limits travelling not only to Asia, but also to areas of the world considered to be Coronavirus hot spots. Meanwhile, observes the newspaper, it is not only fashion managers who travel less: “The flow of goods along the global supply chain slows down”.
Photo of a shopping street in Tokyo(Shutterstock)
