The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
To subscribe to the BoF Podcast, please follow this link.
LONDON, United Kingdom — For Fendi Creative Director Silvia Venturini Fendi, a third-generation member of the Italian fashion house, the industry won't return to its pre-crisis normal. And that may not be a bad thing.
"There's a huge question mark on everything," she told BoF Editor-at-Large Tim Blanks on a special edition of the BoF Podcast. "It's a beautiful opportunity to change things and look at things differently and to evolve in a positive way."
As the industry grapples with an upended global economy and shifting consumer behaviour, Fendi predicts the future of fashion lies in smart clothing, from T-shirts that measure someone's blood pressure or gloves that calculate oxygen saturation. Now more than ever, technology is going to play a pivotal role in the buying and selling of merchandise, including digital showrooms and the use of virtual reality to showcase collections.
“[At Fendi] we always embrace change with excitement and we’ve always seen it as an opportunity. From change, we’ve always felt renewed,” she said.
While stores across the globe have closed their doors to curb the spread of the virus and government-imposed lockdown measures continue, Fendi has found that “inaction and inactivity can be very stimulating.” She is embracing this period of quiet reflection to reconsider the brand’s approach to design, focussing her attention on usability and practical, long-lasting garments, as well as rewoking pieces from the archive.
Fendi suggests that, in a post-Covid-19 climate, the fashion industry at large is going to have to address its consumption problem and consider the scaling down of fashion shows. “We have learnt a very big lesson out of this situation… that we are not going to forget,” she said. “To slow down the pace of fashion is going to be something very healthy… I think we’re going to see a big difference in the future.”
Tune into this episode of the BoF Podcast, where the duo discuss why the industry must pause and reset its priorities in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Subscribe to BoF Professional for unlimited access to BoF articles, plus exclusive benefits for members. For a limited time, enjoy a 25 percent discount on the first year of an annual membership, exclusively for podcast listeners. Simply, click here, select the Annual Package and use code PODCASTPRO at the checkout.
To contact The Business of Fashion with comments, questions, or speaker ideas please e-mail podcast@businessoffashion.com.
As the French luxury group attempts to get back on track, investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned, reports Bloomberg.
After growing the brand’s annual sales to nearly €2.5 billion, the star designer has been locked in a thorny contract negotiation with owner LVMH that could lead to his exit, sources say. BoF breaks down what Slimane brought to Celine and what his departure could mean.
Balenciaga’s deputy CEO Laura du Rusquec will replace Andrea Baldo as the Danish brand aims to elevate its image.
This week, more luxury brands will report first-quarter results, offering clues as to how broad and how deep the downturn is going to get.