At this time last year, who would have imagined that we would be living with so much uncertainty? Who would have imagined that many world industries, especially the fashion industry, would be affected by a pandemic?
A lot has happened since the novel coronavirus started spreading in March, and many fashion brands have had to make certain decisions to stay afloat.
Folake Akindele-Coker, the Creative Director of Tiffany Amber is one person, out of the millions of people in the fashion industry, that has had to refocus her brand strategy and products due to the pandemic.
Tiffany Amber is a luxury fashion brand, one of the first ready-to-wear brands in Nigeria, that puts out unique and beautiful pieces for the modern-day woman. This pandemic, however, brought with it a high level of uncertainty which questioned the survival of the 21-year old fashion brand.
How, then, has Tiffany Amber been able to stay afloat despite the pandemic?
Production Of Personal Protective Equipment
It is no news that as the spread of the coronavirus increased, so did the demand for personal protective equipment, PPE. The Tiffany Amber fashion brand decided to redirect their expertise and production capacity to produce surgical gowns, cloth face masks, scrubs and all other forms of apparel needed to combat the virus.
And as the founder stated,
“It only made sense to focus our expertise in garment production on medical garments and cloth face masks, to help bridge the gap in the supply of medical apparel.”
This decision, however, was not on impulse, as the brand had to be very calculative in their implementation. As we may already know, many nations of the world shut their borders to further prevent the spread of the virus, and Nigeria was certainly not exempted.
So, right before the borders closed in Nigeria, the brand had to secure over 15 tonnes of raw material, ranging from fabrics to elastics, threads, and many more.
Brands That Have Also Contributed In The Fight Against COVID-19
Other fashion brands all over the world such as Zara, Aloha Glamour, 2207 by Bally, and Arthur Bela N’guessan, have also taken to producing cloth face masks, patient gowns, scrubs and many others to support the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Advantages
The Tiffany Amber brand has also been able to create more jobs despite the pandemic, as the company has managed to grow from 100 to 300 employees. By donating ten thousand face masks, they have been able to support the most vulnerable people, thereby contributing in their own little way.
“This decision was a way of keeping our operations alive, so that the staff can still earn an income, and was also our own way of supporting the medical sector in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.” – Folake Akindele-Coker
The Creative Director of Tiffany Amber, Folake Akindele-Coker, also mentioned the possibility of the brand not going back to producing their regular outfits anymore, as a result of this shift.
Being proactive and making pertinent decisions that would affect your brand positively is one trait fashion entrepreneurs need to have, especially in these uncertain times. The Tiffany Amber brand at the end of the day would like to be remembered as a brand that cares and a brand that contributed to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
