A future by design
IN FASHION, THE moments when the sands have shifted arrive often, and unfortunately, on the coattails of disaster. Wars, depressions and recessions have given rise, phoenix-like, to the ideas that altered fashion’s course. In 2020, our number is now up: the Covid-19 pandemic is indiscriminate in spread and the areas of life it touches, and it has unmoored everything. Production schedules have stalled, globally reliant logistics chains have unravelled, spending has waned, along with social media solipsism that a distracted public doesn’t have the stomach for, all distending into an industry facing upheaval. The old co-ordinates are useless; the time is now to punch in a new set and try with intent and purpose to set course for new shores. But what kind of landscape awaits when we arrive?
Fashion historians know how consequential our choices will be right now: shockwaves can outlive a generation. Pamela Golbin, former chief curator of fashion and textiles at the Musée des Arts
