On April 20–21, 2020, Fashinnovation hosted its Worldwide Talks 2020 summit online, which featured over 25 panels and saw more than 150 industry participants and 35,000 attendees. The two-day online event was supported by the UN Office for Partnerships and Fashion; it focused on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the fashion industry’s response to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

The summit provided a platform for the leading voices of sustainability in today’s fashion market to discuss business, fashion and sustainability in the midst of the current coronavirus crisis. We highlight three key insights from the event.

Changing Minds and Attitudes Is Key to Fashion’s Survival and Success Exiting the Pandemic 

Throughout the event, speakers aimed to convey a positive message, despite the morbidity of the global environment. During their session on how to adapt in a time of crisis, David Meltzer, Co-Founder of media firm Sports 1 Marketing, and John Assarof, Founder and CEO of training and consulting company NeuroGym, encouraged the audience to think about how they frame their own attitudes to a situation. Assarof posited, “What is positive? What is negative? What is your frame of mind?” He suggested that “the reality you are creating in your head” is a powerful tool in approaching challenges.

For example, rather than focusing on the negativity of the coronavirus crisis, people should look for the opportunities it presents. Consumer priorities are changing due to lockdowns around the world that require self-isolation and social distancing practices. Meltzer explained that people are therefore connecting on deeper levels, by “rethinking how we get together.” In fashion retail, this means that the new normal could be a collaborative environment, transformed from a competitive one. Marie Driscoll, Managing Director, Luxury & Fashion at Coresight Research, highlighted that the fashion industry is already seeing this play out, with discretionary retailers (whose stores are closed due to lockdowns) coming together to find work for their furloughed employees with retailers in other sectors. For instance, CVS is reportedly partnering with Gap Inc.—as well as other companies from different sectors, such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc and Delta Air Lines—to recruit thousands of laid-off workers to meet a surge in business caused by the coronavirus.

Fashion designer Diane Van Furstenberg, interviewed by Business of Fashion’s Imran Amed, stressed that the coronavirus has presented an opportunity to “push the reset button. Crisis in Chinese means both danger and opportunity... Your reality is what you make of it,” she said. Similarly, Tom Bilyue, Co-Founder of post-sales services provider Quest International, suggested that companies should take the time to develop expertise that will differentiate them in the marketplace.

Passion and Purpose Are Intrinsic to Brand Value

For American designer Kenneth Cole, philanthropy has been inextricably linked with his fashion products, beginning in 1982 with the founding of his eponymous brand during the AIDS crisis and recession in the US. He has since made efforts to mobilize the fashion industry to support the fight against AIDS, as well as advocating to remove the stigma associated with mental illness. Cole is approaching the coronavirus pandemic in a similar manner: He has created a program called “First Responders” that honors the men and women on the front lines of the crisis. He has also opened the “Board Room,” to facilitate connections and collaborations aimed at helping “more relevant businesses to emerge.” Cole’s company, American fashion house Kenneth Cole Productions, has committed to donating 20% of its net sales to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

Another support effort from the fashion industry has seen the donation of 30,000 protective masks to healthcare services in the US. Using a “preexisting supply chain,” swimsuit photographer Yu Tsai delivered the equipment—donated by actress Milla Jovovich—to M.J. Day, Editor-in-Chief of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, who transported it to hospitals in New Jersey. Day has developed what she calls a “competitiveness of caring,” using social media to encourage others to take compassionate action during the coronavirus crisis.

Worldwide Talks 2020 also highlighted other fashion leaders that fuse passion with purpose:

• Elizabeth Suda, Founder of jewelry brand Article 22—named after the treatise on human rights—repurposed shrapnel from the Vietnam War into luxury jewelry.
• Aldijana Sisic, Chief of the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women, has long been working with the fashion community through the “Orange Label,” a badge for products that shows their commitment to raising awareness of violence against women and girls. Stressing the influential power of fashion for philanthropic causes, Sisic said, “Fashion can educate [and] fashion can disrupt.”

Retailers Look To Reconfigure Supply Chains, but Keep a Focus on Sustainability

The disruption and demands of the current coronavirus environment have forced many companies to reconfigure their supply chains in order to deepen strategic ties with suppliers. For instance, retailers are considering blockchain-enhanced supply chains that increase traceability and transparency throughout the value chain. Streamlined supply chains also eliminate middlemen and promote a more cost-effective ecofriendly system, allowing companies to partner and collaborate. The focus is on reliability and agility, as companies work to learn lessons from this crisis and protect their operations in future.

Digitalization is also playing a big part in the evolution of supply chains. According to Luisa Herrera Garcia, SVP of Production at men’s fashion retailer John Varvatos, explained that digitalization eliminates layers of costs, because “every time someone touches something they have to be paid.”

With the Worldwide Talks 2020 event being centered around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, it is no surprise that the importance of sustainability in fashion was emphasized heavily. With many companies shifting their efforts toward tackling challenges in the supply chain and securing reliability and agility for the future, as noted above, French luxury group Kering is very much keeping its sustainability strategy at the forefront. Coresight Research spoke with Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Marie-Claire Daveu, during the Fashinnovation summit. Sustainability has been imbued in the company culture of Kering since its formation and exists throughout its many luxury brands. Kering is committed to reducing its ecological footprint by 40% by 2025 and is measuring that footprint from supply chain to boutique presentations—of particular importance is sustainable sourcing, as the company’s supply chain comprises 93% of its existing footprint.