Fallout from Covid-19 has impacted every sector of society and has led to dramatic changes in the fashion industry which is struggling to chart a new course amidst big chain closures, the end of the runway calendar and uncertainty from head to toe. A number of the key players on the scene here explain how they’ve been affected and where their future lies.
“It is all about technology, sustainability and eliminating waste. We will be looking at blended learning upon return with students on campus three days a week.” – Anne Melinn, Limerick School of Art & Design
When the lockdown occurred, colleges had to abruptly close too, leaving students uncertain as to how their last semester was going to pan out. As the head of the Fashion Department in the Limerick School of Art and Design, Anne Melinn has embraced the moment as a “motivator for change”. “If I’m being perfectly honest, I find it very exciting. It is a challenge that had to happen and we are well placed from a technology point of view. We are all up-skilling which is a bit mind-blowing but thrilling too.”
“It is all about technology, sustainability and eliminating waste. We will be looking at blended learning upon return with students on campus three days a week,” says Melinn adhering to the old adage about necessity being the mother of invention.
She cites Julie Wainwright, e-commerce entrepreneur and founder of The RealReal which is an online e-commerce portal for pre-owned luxury and high-end designer goods that customers can trust as well as Another Tomorrow, a platform for a technology-based circular economy built on modern business principles of community, transparency, and organic scarcity.
“The new reality is that job opportunities in fashion are much broader now. Everything we do and teach is based around collaboration whether that is with our print and graphic design departments.
Over the past three years we have commissioned a film with stylist Kieran Kilgannon (a regular contributor to this magazine) so our graduates have an online presence. They are absolutely disappointed about not having the static show but we will do one when allowed. This also has given them more time to select, edit and reassess their work.”
