Is The Fashion World That We Know Best At The End Of The Epidemic?

If you look at the present world in contrast to the "ten disasters of Egypt" in Exodus, you may cast your eyes on your eldest son (the last disaster in the ten disaster is "the disaster of the eldest son", that is, the first child born of every Egyptian family ordered by God must die). In the first ten weeks of 2020s, we experienced the inferno of Australia, the flood of the British "Millennium", the superstrong tornadoes of the United States, the locusts disaster in the east of Africa, and a pandemic that swept the globe.

In January 10th, when I left for Milan to attend the fashion show for men's clothing, the outbreak of new coronavirus pneumonia was still concentrated in Hubei, China. At that time, I was focused on the fire in Australia - my family and friends were there. In January 30th, the first case of new crown pneumonia was reported in Italy. In February 19th, when I returned to Milan to take part in the women's fashion show, I also reported two cases. Five days later, when I left Milan for Paris, the figure jumped to 157. Soon, Britain began to rain incessant. At the end of February, the report estimated that the size of the locust swarm in Kenya had reached 200 billion, while 1128 cases of new crown pneumonia in Italy were reported. Today, the number of confirmed deaths and deaths in Italy has surpassed that in China, and similar epidemics have increased in many western countries.

I have always been a world doomsday. I even had this belief in life when I was young: imagine the worst, and then no matter what happens, you will be pleasantly surprised. Every time we leave home for holiday, I will say goodbye to my house solemnly, because I vaguely know that this one may never see it again. Later, this idea naturally became a morbid mentality in adolescence. From the emotional ruins of Andy Warhol's Factory studio to the cosmic catastrophe of H.P. Lovecraft, all kinds of disasters attract me. In addition, I was fascinated by the "Charles Fort", the "The Book of the Damned". It was first published in 1919 and compiled many unexplained supernatural phenomena. This book has a special resonance with this strange era. Human insignificance is a clue, and human pride is also a clue. How dare they question the great multiverse instead of trying to find their place in the changeable flood of fate?

Nature is full of unsolved mysteries. Because of this, we all love David Attenborough. His film records the mystery of nature and makes us wonder. Nature also has an irresistible power. I often think of horseshoe crab, why is it called "living fossil"? Because it has existed on the earth for at least 450 million years, earlier than dinosaurs, and is still alive and thrive until today. Unless its copper rich blood is a very practical tool, it can be used to identify bacterial endotoxins in medical applications, and its population will still be very prosperous. Of course, the use of Limulus blood is a representative of Homo sapiens. (I will introduce the Homo sapiens written by Yuval Noah Harari, a brief history of mankind), so that you can understand the fate of what happened to our advantage. )

Homo sapiens probably has a history of 300 thousand years. Because of the constant adjustment of fossil records, it is difficult for us to keep abreast of the latest figures. But how can a wise man play with the horseshoe crab in the palm of his hand? I like to play a game like this: compressing the whole history of the earth into 12 hours. On this timeline, we know human beings in the last 2 seconds, and we now label the world as the beginning of the industrial revolution in 1792 - the "human world" began 0. seconds ago. Therefore, the destruction of Homo sapiens in this short instant will make you dizzy. In the long geological age, horseshoe crab has a harmonious coexistence with its environment, and has witnessed the wanton nature of human beings.

The beginning of all this is the concept of "man dominates all things". The Bible, which is used in the oath written by the people, reads, "God says," we will make man in our image according to our image, and make them manage the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the livestock on the ground and all the land, and all the insects crawling on the ground. " Other institutionalized human beliefs generally express the same concept. Do you understand the power of domination as a guardian of horseshoe crab and all other living things and every plant and animal community on earth, or as an invitation to use and abuse at will?

I have recently joined the @thesavemovement, a strict vegetarian organization, and have passed the message of the organization to as many people as any enthusiastic convert. My father-in-law stopped eating meat. If we did not let the concept of karma reintegrate into consciousness, it would be very difficult for us to follow strict vegetarianism day after day. Human exploitation of animals has been practising unscaped and insensitive abuses, which seems to cause the creator to respond - or at least to remind us that human beings are also a kind of life, not a destroyer of life. (quantum physicists are the most spiritual scientists, because they are most likely to comprehend the existence of a great designer in the multiverse, right?) the epidemic is the reminder of the creator from the bottom of his heart. The outbreak of new crown pneumonia forced human activities to decrease. After more than a month, some of the smoky parts of China reappeared the blue sky. There are also rumors of swans and dolphins in Venice's canal. Ah, how we wish to believe that the world after the disappearance of mankind is such a dreamland.

When designers create the 2020 autumn and winter series, the new crown pneumonia has not yet attracted much attention. Their background of creation is the climate crisis. In the long run, the threat posed by climate problems to human survival is much more serious than that of new crown pneumonia (although the threat of pandemic is more likely to cause more media attention than the crumbling Antarctic ice shelf). Before the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, the biggest problem facing the fashion industry is sustainability.

Fashion and time are inextricably linked: passage of time, waste of time, and the time that is left behind. Fashion is always enjoying the various forms of time. Time is a tyrant. The swinging pendulum of the Gucci's men's wear show will be a forbidding omen of time. The neon metronome on the stage of the Gucci women's show "merry go round" shows the relentless time. Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele made time a cycle. He himself returned to her childhood through this cycle. Francesco Risso slowed down its footsteps in its Marni men's show, and later used the classical tapestry woven by Da Vinci's loom in the Marni women's wear show to reverse the time in Venice. Marc Jacobs turned time into a modern-day vanguard. Nicolas Ghesqui re let Louis Vuitton fashion show "cross" to the theater hundreds of years ago. Demna Gvasalia has turned the Balenciaga fashion show into a chronicle of anti Utopia, presenting a fire, flood and total solar eclipse.

The inherent link between fashion and time is to highlight the importance of fashion and to emphasize how fashion constitutes a substantial cultural context. The next big event of the Metropolitan Museum of clothing society is about this. During the fashion week in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum held a press conference to introduce the theme of "About Time: Fashion and Duration" annual exhibition and Met Gala charity evening, pointing out that fashion will connect the past, the present and the future. Max Hollein, director of the Metropolitan Museum, said the exhibition "will reveal the linear and cyclical changes in fashion." Andrew Bolton, the curator of the exhibition, adds that fashion not only reflects and represents the spirit of the times, but also develops and changes along with the changes of the times. It acts as a sensitive and precise timer. "Time is like a clock in my heart," Boy George once sang. So is fashion a "watch" of time?

However, a virus emerged later, which slowed down or even regressed the pace of human schedules. In an ideal situation, this can prompt people to liquidate in a deliberate way. The Internet is now full of preaching, and blockade is again viewed as an opportunity, not an obstacle. The more ideal situation is the rebirth of creativity, such as the black death, which gave birth to the Renaissance. We are far from the scale of "mass selective slaughter" - I do not think people will allow this pandemic to such a degree - but the new round of Renaissance will be the last hope, right? I believe that people are ready. Well, human beings must pay something for this.

If nature has an irresistible power, it will be a perfect manifestation of such a variable pathogen like coronavirus. As an archaeologist of catastrophe, I once imagined that the giant of Lovecraft would spin down from the Pleiades and create "cosmic terror" on the earth. Imagine if such a monster does exist, then the news we read or hear every day will also be filled with domestic violence, mental patients and serial killers. How will tabloids report space monsters? This nightmare can help me shift my attention. But there is a real threat beyond human power that brings me together with another 91 year old mother and 8 year old nephew under the same cloud. Faced with this situation, mankind needs to reach the unity of the commonplace Hollywood blockbuster to effectively respond.

At present, mankind seems to be ununited. I was shocked when I read the new Nazis in the United States brazenly hoping to "weaponate" the new coronavirus to fight federal agents and non white people. This is the common story of human hatred. But the topic has shifted to the industry I have been working for decades. I really want to know what inevitable changes will take place in the fashion industry. Overnight, sustainability means just tomorrow, not to mention the next season, not to mention the year. The impact of the epidemic on supply chain and sales is immediate. Shoppers' habits, preferences and emotions will change. This change is already happening, and everything is just beginning. "Change or die" has become the only way to go. There is no choice. In addition, through the existence of "echo room effect" social media, we can see countless people begging people to listen to the warning issued by nature (fire, flood, plague and unfounded wind) - the master of the Apocalypse novel, J.G. Ballard, has obviously become a great public relations officer. At this time, we can embrace universal humanity, and also show the humble attitude that mankind lacks in the current relationship with nature.

In short, an ambitious industry still faces challenges for the "$one billion class" business. Think of brands that will "eliminate waste" as the business goal. Under the continuous influence of the new crown pneumonia epidemic situation, when the target customers' mood is "no demand", how will these brands feel? It is not easy to survive. Please be prepared for earth worship.

Translation: Panda translation agency Yang Wei