EDITORIAL
The fashion industry is in reboot mode.
After over a year of stalled growth, shuttered shops and stay-at-home orders, it’s time to meet once again in real life.
Most trade shows are set to open their doors again, enabling the global fashion industry to resume “businessas-usual”. Pitti Uomo will be one of the key events heralding the post-covid era. Taking place at the end of June, its presence signals hope on the horizon for our industry. In the meantime, we’ve compiled a wealth of exciting brands to look out for in our Lookbook, while in our Readbook, you’ll find all the key trends and designers you need to know to accompany a successful buying season.
Despite its struggles, Covid-19 has proved that the fashion industry at large is innovative, adaptive and intelligent. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve seen brands and retailers traversing new outlooks, be it via digitization, acceleration of sustainable strategies or modeling new ways to reach their consumers. Those retailers came out stronger, equipped with a loyal community of customers around them – something that’s more important now than ever before. Brands must work with their retail partners to deliver their brand message to the end consumer, as the entire fashion supply chain will focus on consumer-through-retailer activations. It is time to reward those retailers who have managed to build a loyal bond with their customers, create repeat customers and appear with new, innovative concepts to entice people to shop fashion and trends.
Above all else, the post-pandemic consumer is craving experience. In this edition, we explore how bricks-andmortar locations should be both experimental and experiential. To simply open the doors and present garments on a rack is no longer enough. Now is the time to go that extra mile and welcome customers back with both a smile on your face and a clear-cut strategy in mind. Pop-ups, cross-industry collaborations, in-store activations, eateries, in-house bars, in-house beauty, personalized experiences and – above all else – exceptional customer service are paramount in a post-pandemic climate. The WeAr Academy is at hand to help you train your staff to the highest standard; whether you’re a brand, a retailer or an individual who wants to gain in-depth knowledge about successful fashion sales, we can help.
The digital sphere will remain an essential component of the fashion industry. There’s no doubt that the future of a more strategic, sustainable and prosperous fashion industry lies within the hybridization of both digital and physical worlds. WeAr Digishows was designed to help bring your physical retail or showroom location to a digital audience. We at WeAr have been helping brands worldwide traverse travel bans and open up the doors to wider audiences with our virtual showroom service, enabling our customers to trade from anywhere in the world at any time, with any device, all via video call.
The industry will reunite stronger than before and WeAr will happily report from its forefront. Stay in touch with us at www.wearglobalnetwork.com and subscribe to our newsletter for more updates.
Welcome to a new era of fashion – we are looking forward to embarking on this journey with you.
We wish you a strong and successful start,