What does luxury mean in the time of Covid-19? How do we feel about fashion? And what purpose does it serve in a time of crisis? It can be difficult to see the value in a dress when you’re mourning a loss, are worried about whether or not a sick loved one will pull through or struggling to make ends meet. As we lean into week six of lockdown, much of our lives has been distilled to two categories: essential and non-essential. And the indulgences we took for granted (a flight to a hot, sandy beach, for instance, or a day out shopping on a crowded high street) now seem impossibly out of reach. And just as we’re all re- evaluating our lives and choices in this period of isolation, so too is fashion.
It now seems a world away, that last round of fashion weeks, when the runway shows powered through New York, London, Milan and Paris, with the at-that- point still novel coronavirus following closely on its heels. At the shows, waiters handed out tiny bottles of hand sanitiser and flutes of champagne on silver trays, as editors squeezed on to benches in crowded venues. We replaced the double kissing with arm squeezes, wry jokes and nervous laughter and hoped for the best. And during backstage interviews, creative directors reminded us that throughout it all we must still get dressed. And we must. Fashion has always had the power to uplift. But what about the $2.4 trillion global industry – the people, the jobs – that hinge on that most basic daily act?
Even before the pandemic ground the fashion industry to a halt, we could sense that it was at a crossroads, as questions about its relentless pace,enormous carbon footprintand patchy track record on diversity overshadowed the clothes. But now, with the world at a standstill, luxury is no longer what it was. It looks much less like a wait-listed handbag or limited-edition trainer, and more like a meandering walk outdoors with family, an afternoon on a sofa reading a book or the simple feel of human touch.
As distressing as the pandemic has been, it has brought out bright spots in the fashion industry, as a global community of big brands, emerging designers and fashion students alike rally to help medical workers on the frontline. We’ve watched image-makers mobilise to support each other as their own businesses and livelihoods hang in the balance. And brands announce new sustainability initiatives as they consider their impact on nature and rethink their practices.
Could the great pause be the thing that rehabilitates fashion and inspires all of us to get dressed in a more mindful way? To buy fewer, better-quality things. To wear and appreciate them often. To recognise the humanity and value the creativity of the people who made them? Judging by our conversations with the following British designers, that shift is already happening. Long may it continue.
Images taken with Google Pixel 4
The Great Rethink: How The UK's Leading Fashion Designers Are Spending Their Time In Lockdown
Quarantine Through The Eyes And Lens Of Britain's Designers
1 of 12Emilia Wickstead on spending time with her children
The New Luxury: Quarantine Through The Eyes And Lens Of Britain's Designers
2 of 12Molly Goddard on finding solace in food
I've been getting vegetable boxes and making lots of roast vegetables, risotto and pasta with really great salads. I've been making bread. It's quite rewarding. I take a lot of pride and joy in making a delicious meal and laying the table really nicely; it takes you away from everything else you've done throughout the day. I'm working from home and trying to keep to a strict structure. I have a morning call with my team at 10am and then work throughout the day, taking a break for lunch when I leave the room.I'll have a nice lunch with lit candles and then go back to work. At the end, I'll cook dinner and lay the table with a pretty tablecloth and candles. I have quite a collection of tablecloths and napkins I've found at markets. I enjoy laying a table and making it look good, even when it's only for me and my partner Tom. It's such a good thing to do at the end of the day – to really switch off is so important.The luxury is in the tiny moments that make you feel normal. It's about really making those moments count.
3 of 12Erdem Moralioglu on the power of nature to inspire
If someone had told me at the beginning of the year that I would have to close the studio and shut the store in Mayfair and have 67 members of my team work remotely I would have never ever believed it. It's interesting how quickly life changes and how quickly you get used to it, in a strange way.For me, luxury is about doing all these things I would never normally do – like a long bath. Before, I would jump in the shower and run out the door. The idea of stopping and having a moment to take everything in, in a bath with a book, is a change for me. I'm really fortunate to be self-isolating with my husband at our house in Hackney; I set up my studio in our living room downstairs. And I found those moments of silence when I'm by myself thinking about work so comforting in a way. There's a luxury to that.And I have good days and bad days – days when you're doing a fitting via Zoom and the only thing you want is to see something in three dimensions and you can't because you're looking at it through your screen. More than anything, I just really miss the studio and the rhythm of our lives. I've been thinking a lot about a book called Modern Nature by Derek Jarman; it's a meditation on his life, written when he discovered he was HIV positive and moved to the coast of Dungeness and started growing his garden. His future was so unknown and yet he found solace in nature and growing plants. We have lots of plants all over our house. I'm not the one with the green thumb, but I appreciate them. I keep thinking of this beautiful quote by David Hockney: 'And remember, they can't cancel the spring.' I think it's very important to remember that, at some point, this will have to end. And this moment will change a lot of things for the better.
4 of 12Michael Halpern on leaning into life’s little pleasures
Honestly, the most luxurious thing I have right now is time. I have a little Brussels Griffon dog named Rupert that I normally don't get a ton of time with when work is crazy. Now, we walk along the embankment near where I live, and that alone feels luxurious.I'm American and a lot of my friends are based stateside. I love being able to actually have the time to get on the phone and just talk, something I do much more of now. And I have shelves and shelves of books, which I finally have the time to read. Similarly, I'm taking my time with my collection, which I'm designing from home. We're going to go slower and design just 15 great dresses that will provide hope for when this is all over.
5 of 12Roksanda Ilincic on flower arranging
I'm a big admirer of flowers: small things that can bring so much joy. Even before quarantine, I'd started drying them. I had a lot of bunches in my bathroom and decided to make some arrangements, curated in a minimal way. The smaller vase I made with my daughter. She was on her Easter break, so I set up a clay class. I used to always feel I was struggling to do everything. That has changed. There is more time, there is the luxury of life and a safe space. You realise you took things for granted – the freedom of movement and of seeing people you love the most.
6 of 12Richard Quinn on baking
Luxury is the things that I don't usually get a chance to do, like making a pistachio cake with lemon glaze. I always watch Bake Off and am obviously always making things. But I rarely get a chance to make food. I like that baking allows me to be creative while at home and it's something everyone can try. I'm with my parents at the moment. And this period has given me time to take a breath and assess everything and actually take a step back. It's quite nice, in a way, to have this time that, hopefully, we'll never get again.
7 of 12Vivienne Westwood on finding comfort in fine art
Art is a great luxury. To look at a painting is to enter a world. I always loved visiting the Wallace collection, in particular for the 17th-century painters such as Titian and Velásquez. The Laughing Cavalier by Frans Hals is marvellous, but then you have three 18th-century geniuses there also: Boucher, Watteau and Fragonard. All three say so much of that age. These decorative, pretty, pretty things. It was so easy for them. There are two fantastic Bouchers as you come up the stairs, one is Apollo Revealing His Divinity Before The Shepherdess Isse, about to get into his chariot, surrounded by all the nymphs as he rises from the ocean. It's absolutely fantastic. Boucher is really sentimental, but you can't call him kitsch because he has such incredible facility. Playful but cynical somehow. He comes from an age that was very convenient for painters; all that mythology was part of a way of communicating in those days.
8 of 12Preen’s Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi on the power of a rethink
What we appreciate most now is the time to spend with our kids. Once we got through that first week or two of not knowing what to expect from lockdown, we started relaxing into it because we're realising we haven't been spending as much time with our seven-year-old, Blythe, and 11-year-old, Fauve, because of work and school.Now, we're all sitting together and reading books and talking about them. We're currently reading The Boy At The Back, about a young refugee trying to adjust to life at a British school. Just having that time together, coupled with the sunny weather, has been so amazing. Being able to appreciate spring together.Our life is normally so full with the fashion schedule. This has forced us to slow down and take a deeper look at our values and reassess our lives. The fashion calendar was relentless. You're on this treadmill, collection after collection. We were all feeling like something had to give. People were getting ill. It was unnecessary. Now, we've all had to stop and re-evaluate.I think things will change for the better. The best thing for creativity is time to pause and think. We're searching and reading and opening ourselves up to new things. For example, sustainability has been so important to us. Now we're thinking through ways to deepen our commitment to this further. We want to have a circular product. That means less for landfill. Nature can thrive if we give it the space. And that's what this time means tous.Wehavetolookatitwitha positive view.
9 of 12Matty Bovan on reassessing consumption
Luxury to me is about craftsmanship and individualisation. I've taken this self-portrait wearing pieces of mine that I customised by hand with paints and drawing. My mum made the diamanté pin with me. My idea of luxury has changed throughout this period. It means feeling joy with colour and texture. The key element to my work is creativity and telling a story. More than ever, I feel consumers are going to want something really special – and to know how and why things are made. Why do we need to produce more and more stuff every season?
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10 of 12Christopher Kane on his heightened appreciation for family
In these times of isolation you start to cherish the one thing you can't have, and that's being with your family and friends. As a designer, I love fashion and the memories and power clothing can give you. Fashion, even in these times, can help you get through by dressing up in your best clothes just to watch a movie or read a book. Anything that lifts your spirit is a good thing. However, as animals we crave other human attention and I think we'll be very happy to see our loved ones in person instead of on FaceTime or Zoom.
11 of 12Jonathan Anderson on staying creative in isolation
Luxury right now is being able to understand where you stand in the world. I've found that when you slow things down you start to notice more. Like the changing of the day. We can take time to appreciate the people who make things. Craft. Creativity. It's a moment to reconnect with nature.
12 of 12Rejina Pyo on social distancing by the sea
I've been coming to Ireland for 10 years and every time it takes my breath away. It's just so wild and different. We're next to Killiney Hill. Having the seafront and mountainside close by makes me feel very lucky. You see different landscapes everywhere. There are windy roads where you'll discover a shed made out of tree branches. At the top, you can look down on the whole of Dublin. If you forget what's happening now, it's just a beautiful country walk. In a way, this moment is forcing us to go back to what's really the essence of human life. That's what I've been thinking about.