Global Fashion Roundup: Diesel Creates Virus Halting Fabric, BFC Calls For Government Support To Save Industry Jobs, And Many More

This week in global fashion news, Diesel introduces ViralOff technology that halts 99% of viral activity on fabrics, Dior presents their first all-black fashion show and many more. Here are highlights of fashion news from within the week, in case you missed it.

Diesel Announces Introduction Of Denim Treatment To Halt Viral Activity On Fabrics

As its contribution towards the fight to end the coronavirus pandemic, Diesel announced the introduction of an ultra-innovative denim treatment that physically halts 99% of any viral activity on fabrics. 

The denim label developed this innovative virus halting fabric in collaboration with Swedish firm Polygiene but retains exclusive use of the ViralOff treatment on denim. The brand plans to implement ViralOff across a selection of its Spring/Summer 2021 styles, with the aim of including it in an even wider range moving forward. 

The brand said the technology is always on and has the capacity to disable more than 99% of viral activity within 2 hours of contact between the pathogens and fabric. The technology is said to work by interacting with key proteins, thereby, inhibiting the virus from attaching to textile fibres. 

The British Fashion Council Calls For Government Support To Save Industry Jobs

This week, the British Fashion Council (BFC) called on the UK government for support to help save up to 24,000 industry jobs, which are predicted to be lost in the coming months. This prediction came from data released by Oxford Economics who predicted that 240,000 direct jobs will be lost, and a further 110,000 indirect jobs will be at risk for the fashion industry.

In light of this, the BFC laid out 7 proposed measures that are tailored to the needs of fashion companies to try to save the sector from these job losses. These measures include; internet-free loans for businesses, helping businesses to renegotiate expensive leases on retail spaces, legislation to prevent larger businesses from cancelling orders from smaller companies, and an embargo placed on tariffs to encourage international trade. 

The BFC further stressed the importance of the fashion industry during the pandemic in its supply of 2,000,000,000 pieces of personal protective equipment and highlighted that a whole generation of talent could be wiped out if these job losses are not prevented. It is also asking for charitable donations to aid with its fundraising initiatives to help British designers. 

Dior Presents First All-Black Fashion Show

At the presentation of their latest collection at men’s fashion week, luxury fashion brand, Dior for the first time used all black models. The collection, titled Portrait of an Artist, was done in collaboration with Ghanian artist Amoako Boafo and was showcased through a series of videos.

“It’s not political: we started this back in December,” said Jones, the artistic director of menswear. “But one of the things designers can do is [reflect] the time they are in. For me, diversity is a natural thing; a reflection of the wider world.”

The collection which confronted issues of diversity on the runway was presented through a series of films, one which was partly shot in London and partly in Boafo’s studio in Ghana, and another which followed more of a traditional catwalk setting.

The designs in the collection reflect Boafo’s painting and some even have his work printed onto the clothes. 

Vogue, Amazon Fashion, And CFDA’s Digital Storefront Add Designer Cushnie And More 

The initiative, Common Threads: Vogue x Amazon Fashion, an online digital storefront, which started as a partnership between Vogue, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) pandemic relief fund, A Common Thread, and Amazon in May has added a second round of designers to the storefront.

The e-commerce giant which took on board 20 independent small and mid-size fashion brands known to sell everything apart from niche designer fashion has added 10 more names to the collection. This next round of designers include labels such as Anna Sui, Cushnie, Thakoon, and Billy Reid. 

NRF Calls On Retailers To Set Nationwide Mask Policy

The National Retail Federation (NRF) of the US has encouraged all retailers to adopt a nationwide policy that requires customers to wear face coverings or masks to protect the health and well-being of customers, associates, and partners during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Shopping in a store is a privilege, not a right. If a customer refuses to adhere to store policies, they are putting employees and other customers at undue risk,” said NRF in a statement. “Workers serving customers should not have to make a critical decision as to whether they should risk exposure to infection or lose their jobs because a minority of people refuse to wear masks in order to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.”

This statement comes because, since the onset of the pandemic, retailers of all sizes have been on the front lines safely serving customers and supporting their communities. Stores are private businesses that can adopt policies permitted by law for the health and safety of their associates and customers.

NRF applauded companies like Walmart, Starbucks, Best Buy, Apple, Costco, and others that have implemented nationwide mask mandates while highlighting that the health and safety of associates and customers are retailers’ priority.

ING Bank Launches Fashion Marketplace in Romania

The fourth-largest bank by assets in Romania, ING Bank, has launched its online shopping platform  DealWise in the country. Products sold on the platform include apparel, sports equipment, personal care items, and toys with some offers available directly on the platform, and others linking to the website of retailers like Zara or Mango.

The DealWise app was developed as a ‘beyond banking service’ and is available to any customer, whether they are ING customers or not. In the future, however, it plans to provide extra benefits to ING customers by being integrated into ING banking apps.