The next steps
With strict self-isolation measures in place in response to coronavirus, one of the biggest events on the fashion calendar has been cancelled.
Couture Fashion Week is a key platform for many brands, especially in the region, to showcase the finest craftsmanship. Over the years, the number of Arab designers taking part in the prestigious event has increased, and one of the key designers that we always look forward to seeing is Zuhair Murad.
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Lebanese couturier, and Jennifer Lopez’s favourite designer, is one of many affected by the current global pandemic, and is having to consider new ways of presenting his intricately designed pieces for very affluent clients.
“We have started brainstorming for many ideas and directions to go into for the launch of the upcoming couture collection,” he told Emirates Woman. “Of course, we do not know how things we will be by then, and whether or not we will be able to implement something.
It will depend on the virus’s situation. We will have to wait and see.”
COVID-19 has not only halted major fashion events, but it has also impacted retailers with buyers not placing orders and some stores being forced to shut, including homegrown e-commerce site The Modist. Everyone is working on new alternatives, and digital might offer new ways of showcasing fashion. For example, online fashion shows or virtual showrooms.
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“We would need to shift most of our efforts digitally,” explains Murad. “Couture week may have been cancelled in its physical sense, but now more than ever, everyone into fashion will be closely tuning in across social media platforms to see what brands have to deliver.
“I suppose we’re going to be seeing quite an interesting twist this season.”
Despite the best efforts, appetite for luxury spending will not be the same as it was before. For now, multiple beauty and fashion brands are using their factories to produce hand sanitiser or uniforms for medical staff on the front line to help tackle the further spread of coronavirus.
“As a brand, we are firstly trying to spread awareness through social media by urging people to stay home,” Murad adds. “We have of course closed all of our branches and shifted our business operations to be in accordance with healthcare and governmental guidance, and our employees are working from home.
“Nonetheless, we are supporting many local NGOs who are trying to provide the needed support to all the people affected by this virus, both physically and economically.”
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