Global Fashion Roundup: Fashionpreneurs Talk On Ways To Conquer COVID-19, Rented Fashion Is The Next Big Thing, And Many More

The fashion industry is an ever-evolving one and one that keeps becoming more relevant with time. During the week, a lot happened in fashion, and just in case you missed it, here is a roundup of top fashion news around the globe.

Fashionpreneurs Talk On Ways To Conquer COVID-19

On Tuesday, the African Development Bank’s Fashionomics Africa (AfDB) initiative launched its first webinar series with the theme for the first being: “What does the COVID-19 disruption mean for Africa’s Fashion Market? Opportunities and Threats for Fashionpreneurs and Investors.”

The webinar series was launched to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and a total of 136 fashion entrepreneurs, digital innovators, and creative minds were in attendance. The participants exchanged ideas and shared lessons learned on how to take advantage of online tools to strengthen businesses in these times.

Panelists included representatives from the HEVA Fund for financing creative industries, supply chain giant Maersk, the founder of made-in-Africa online brand Tongoro, and Afrikrea – an African e-commerce platform specializing in fashion and crafts.

It was noted that fashion entrepreneurs need to go digital, build their unique business models, be innovative, and turn to the future of fashion which is sustainable fashion. The Fashionomics Africa webinars will be available on the Fashionomics Africa Digital Marketplace and Mobile App (available both on IOS and Android).

Lebanese-Ghanian Fashion Designer Takes African Fashion To Lebanon

Lebanese-born emerging fashion designer, Kinda Hamoui, of Fusion by HK fashion brand is taking Lebanon by storm with her unique bespoke pieces. The designer, who lived in Ghana from the time she was a toddler till the time she was 17, draws inspiration for her outfits from her African roots and is very proud to put them on display. 

Kinda started with making customised t-shirts, with her first fashion business HK Designs, to making gowns, casual wear, and jewellery that consist not only of Afro-inspired pieces but Western too.

The designer had a simple goal – to bring a bit of Ghana to Lebanon and give fashion meaning in an exclusive manner where every piece has a story. With this goal, she has managed to take create a beautiful marriage between African and Western fashion.

Rented Fashion Is The Next Big Thing

With the release of the statement by the BFC to the fashion industry encouraging “brands, designers, and retailers, who are used to fashion’s fast, unforgiving pace, to slow down”, questions have arisen. Many are wondering how to maintain their love for designer fashion and indulge in seasonal trends, whilst being conscious consumers.

Harper’s Bazaar believes that rented fashion is the answer to these questions. Rented fashion which was kicked off by fashion giant, Rent the Runway, over a decade ago has experienced a spike in growth over the past few years with fashion startups embracing the idea.

Rented fashion startups are now one of the fastest-growing trends on the market.

The rented fashion trend offers a diverse choice of outfit options for a fraction of the buying cost of a new designer frock. This is an attractive option for many who plan to wear an outfit only once.

Dubai based Designer 24 offers a bespoke rental service for consumers who are seeking eco-friendly and accessible designer fashion has long embraced the idea of rented fashion. Eshita Kabra-Davies also embraced the idea and set up a peer-to-peer fashion rental app By Rotation which offers women the chance to rent a modern and expansive designer wardrobe at an affordable price.View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Designer-24 UAE 🇦🇪 (@designer_24uae) on May 27, 2020 at 3:08am PDT

Fashion Brands Jump On The Black Lives Matter Bandwagon After Looting

With the recent brutality on African Americans in the United States, there have been a series of protests and looting of several luxury boutiques in the country. Amidst all this, fashion brands such as Versace, Gucci, and L’Oreal have posted messages pledging solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Gucci reposted a poem by writer Cleo Wade about how to end racism and bigotry and Prada SpA uploaded a statement that it was outraged and saddened by the injustices facing the black community. L’Oreal posted “Speaking out is worth it” on its social media accounts while Adidas reposted a “For Once, Don’t Do It.” video by Nike to end racism.

CFDA Launches Plan To Make Fashion More Socially Balanced

With fashion brands saying they support protests against racial injustice, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) released a four-part initiative on Thursday. This initiative is to provide a way for its members to find and hire black talent in the industry. The initiative states that they will;

1. Create an employment program that matches black creatives with fashion brands that are hiring.
2. Launch an internship and mentorship program to place black students and recent grads with established brands. 
3. Implement an organisation-wide diversity and inclusion training program. 
4. Commit to fundraising for racial equality organizations like the NAACP. 

Seeing as America’s fashion corporate workforce consists of mainly by white people, this initiative is out to fix the inequality gap from entry-level internships to the very top of the industry.

Stockholm Fashion Week Goes Digital With A Focus On Sustainability

The governing body of the Swedish Fashion Association is set to launch a digital platform debuting for the spring 2021 fashion season, from August 26 – 28. This platform is designed to be actively consumer-facing unlike the usual media- and buyer-centric show system.

The show will consist of many prerecorded presentations as well as live events staged from a central studio and interviews with designers and commentary from top players in the fashion industry. The show will be focused on sustainability with talks on conscious fashion and other related activities. 

The Swedish market is one that is focused on function and value as it adds sustainability to accessibility which is a recipe for real change in the fashion industry. The show will air on stockholmfashionweek.se come August.