By Richa Kharshandi
The outbreak of COVID-19 has taken the sheen off many sectors and the glamour industry, including fashion. The razzle dazzle vanished suddenly as people scurried for essentials and spending became judicious. Fashion industry is in the doldrums and designers, especially local fashion entrepreneurs, are struggling to keep their businesses running.
From fashion retailers to e-commerce companies, everyone is facing difficulty to reach out to new clients and keep even the niche buyers they have.
“Keeping in view with the prevailing situation, the fashion industry has been affected tremendously. In a situation where our major source of income comes from weddings, birthdays, social events and others, and when all that have been kept on standby, it has a huge impact on the flow of income, especially when that inflow is the only way we can pay our rents, salaries and other expenses,” says renowned designer Daniel Syiem.
Fusion fashion designer Duncan Kharmon shares Syiem’s apprehensions when he says “everything falls on zero”.
“The lockdown is affecting not just the fashion industry but everybody else. All works are on pause only with the hope to attain normalcy soon. Due to the pandemic everything else is kept aside,” he says.
People cannot bother about fashion when the need of the hour is food and medicines. Designers who depend on retail shops for sales have been hit hard as the apparel business around the world is bleeding with revenues hitting a nadir. India’s largest fashion body, the Fashion Design Council of India, reportedly cancelled its bi-annual ready-to-wear fashion week in March.
“There is hardly any client at the moment and I understand that in times like this, people are not bothered about fashion. All these are secondary things, what’s primary and important is food, shelter, health and safety,” rightly observes Inker Marwein, a young designer from Nongstoin.
The current situation is definitely affecting the local designers’ daily lives, instilling anxiety and uncertainty in the minds of almost everyone. The struggle gets harder as livelihood of many people, like fabric dealers and those tailoring for fashion houses, is also being impacted. Obadaya Suchiang, owner of OB Customs, sums up the situation in two words, “financially devastating”.
Procuring raw materials have become a problem as the lockdown has been extended and may go on for some more weeks after May 17 depending on the status of the crisis. Flagging the problem, Marwein says raw materials and trimmings, which she used to get from markets in Shillong, are hard to get as the city remains in the orange zone. Police Bazar and Bara Bazar, the two economic points in Shillong, have remained completely shut since the lockdown began and there is no hope of normalcy soon after the detection of the positive cases in the city.
“As designers we face a lot of adversities on a daily basis. However, this pandemic is one of the most extreme situations. It has forced us to cancel or delay orders and stall production lines. Import of materials has been put on hold too. Luckily some of the designers can continue to do a lot of work from home in terms of designing and getting creative,” EVK Design Studio owner Effie Kahit says.
The helplessness is palpable in the words of Rupert Wanlambok Lynrah, another young and talented designer from the state. “It is very difficult to do anything right now… There are many out there left without food or other essentials, so clothes are far off their minds,” Lynrah shares his concerns.
Safety first
Despite the crisis and zero orders, the designers are trying to help their employees survive the pandemic.
Kahit has three in-house staff with separate domicile and an additional four staff who are safely and efficiently working from their respective homes.
“My designs and my instructions are clearly communicated to them via conference calls. This minimises close proximity, contact and promotes social distancing, which is a pertinent guideline set by our government,” she explains.
Marwein has two employees and they are working from home following the safety precautions.
“OB Customs has four employees and yes we do follow the norms strictly by wearing masks and gloves during working hours,” Suchiang says.
About paying their staff, the designers say they are doing their best to help the employees. “I am paying right now because we have to but I am not sure for how long I can pay. It is difficult to pay salary at a time when there is no income,” Lynrah worries. “I am praying the lockdown is lifted soon.”
At the Daniel Syiem’s Ethnic Fashion House production unit, there are 11 staff. “We are giving them salary but only 50 per cent considering the situation, our flow of income and the fact that business is on standby,” says Syiem.
Survival strategy
According to a report by Fortune, some of the world’s top fashion houses and designers were among the first to suspend their own production, repurposing supply lines to churn out personal protective equipment like masks and medical gowns.
A similar adaptability can be seen on the home front too where designers are finding ways and means to survive in the woods. In an attempt to help people in this time of crisis, the designers are also making masks and distributing them for free.
“Personally I’m thinking of ways where we can find alternatives to use our resources to get back into the market. Before the lockdown, we started making masks using the leftover fabrics and gave them to the homeless that was not and will never be a business initiative for us,” says Syiem, who is credited for taking ryndia, a local fabric, to the international fashion stage.
Marwein is also stitching protective masks at home in her free time. She says she has materials to make mask for now and there is no price tag on them. “I am also working with Northeast Institute of Professional Studies (NeIPS), Nongstoin, I am helping my students in making protective masks and contributing to those in need here in our locality. So far, we have made around 2,000 masks. I am glad that through our small efforts at the NeIPS training unit, we are being able to assist in and contribute to making these masks for the safety of our people here,” she adds.
The young designer is simultaneously trying to use the social media platform to promote her works.
Kharmon has made as many as 150 face masks and “it is a small contribution from my side”. He was assigned the task by the Directorate of Commerce and Industries, Shillong.
Lynrah is helping family and friends with his designer masks.
Team Suchiang’s custom-made masks are for a handful of clients as “mass production is difficult due to lack of raw materials”.
“We are making with local supply and each mask costs around Rs 9. We are also planning to supply for wholesale subsidiary to any retail shop and if a government agency needs we can help,” Suchiang says.
Scarcity of fabric is also a problem for Kahit who is making non-surgical masks and scrub suits for family members and clients who are the frontline warriors in this pandemic. “This is a charitable project of mine and I am providing these at no cost to a few clients and family members,” she says.
The designers say they are following the norms by staying home, spending time with families and finishing their previous orders. “It has been tough for me but somehow I am managing with fewer orders from clients. I tried to finish some layovers and previous orders with the materials I was left with,” Marwein said.
Uncertain future
Though most of the designers are hopeful that the pandemic will be over soon and everyone will survive the lockdown, they do not sound too optimistic about business turning around anytime soon. They all agree that running business will be difficult and different for some time after life limps back to normal.
Syiem says certain things — like ensuring standard operating procedures to maintain health and hygiene at workplace and communicating with clients through voice or video calls to the maximum possible — will change post-lockdown and a new norm towards doing business will be in place.
“The pandemic has cut the country’s GDP growth affecting all sections of the society. Even after the world is back to normal, it will take a lot of time for the economy to recover, especially in the fashion industry,” says Marwein.
According to Kahit, after the crisis there will be a lot of changes in shopping patterns. “We might be seeing a much slower market, customers may opt for slow fashion rather than fast fashion, clothing that is investment pieces and designs that will last for a substantial amount of time. We might experience a lot of social change, weddings might not be a grand affair anymore, people will be more careful on what they spend. And if that’s what is going to happen we will have to tackle another problem on how to keep our prices competitive when there’s higher cost of production.”
Lynrah believes that even after the COVID-19 pandemic, people will be afraid to go out or be in a public places which definitely will affect the fashion market. “I don’t see a lot of functions, parties, weddings etc happening. The market will not pick up straight away. People will not go for high-priced designer dresses. They will buy more commercial, sustainable or affordable clothes in order to avoid any financial fall through.”
But for now, the designers are fighting the crisis together with their loved ones, besides exploring other facets of their creativity.
“I am spending my time focusing on my two other favourite Fs — Fitness and Food. I do have plans to expand my creativity to the food industry as well, perhaps in the near future. Afterall, food and clothing are our basic needs,” Syiem says.
Suchiang spends most of his time doing what he does best — painting and designing.
“I spend most of my time making masks during the day time and in the evening I do my pending works,” Marwein says about her lockdown routine.
As for Kahit, she said apart from quality family time, her hours are dedicated to new collections, designs and improving business acumen.
“We are all in this situation together and there is nothing much that we can do, except for hoping that somehow they find a cure to the COVID-19 virus and we can all go back to work,” Lynrah concludes.
Photos sourced from designers