It has been five years since we discovered what Covid-19 was, and five years since it disrupted the world forever. The World Health Organization activated their emergency systems on January 1, 2020, and informed the world by January 4, 2020. By the end of that week, they had set guidelines for various countries to follow. Comparable to the Spanish flu of 1918, more than 7 million people have died of Covid according to official data. Unofficially, no one has an idea. WHO has just this week asked China to provide critical data to understand the virus’s origins as a “moral and scientific imperative”.
Covid-19 is thankfully now a banal flu. Thanks to vaccinations and timely preventive measures, it is now just another one of our quotidian stresses. It barely signals a hospital visit, leave alone death.
But Covid-19 has changed us forever. It has changed how we live, how we interact with each other, how we work (most offices are still practically work-from-home), and most certainly how we buy. Health has become a priority for most of the world, with healthier food (even in the junk-food-crazy US), and more focus on exercise (just look at the fitness trainers on Instagram) and ethical fashion.
From the luxury fashion site Net-a-porter | Instagram@netaporter
Despite the initial run to purchase clothes online, during lockdowns of course, ecommerce the world over is on the wane. In July 2024, online shopping was down 5 per cent as compared to the same month in 2023. By August 2024, it was down 13.5% as compared to 12 months prior.
McKinsey-BOF’s ‘State of Fashion report 2024’ states that most online marketplaces have seen disruption and a plummet in share prices in 2024. “Consumers are returning to in-store shopping at pre-pandemic levels across much of the world, but retailers need to remind shoppers what they love about the in-store experience. That starts with well-trained staff who are empowered to assist and inspire customers,” the report states.
I have barely ever bought clothes online. In fact, I can count all the instances of my online clothes shopping on one hand. Other than a pack of T-shirts or socks for my son, I have loathed the very few items I have bought myself online.
Even if it is Zara or H&M, where sizes are quite standardised, I prefer to try, fall in love, and then buy. Now, before you call me a ‘Boomer’, let me tell you about a friend’s 15-year-old daughter who stopped buying from Shein (when it was available in India) or any of the rubbish fast-fashion websites because she just prefers to buy better quality clothing. Ecommerce sites sell deceptively low-grade clothing thanks to good photography and skinny models.
In India, we are quite spoilt. For example, we can still meet most fashion designers in their boutiques and enjoy the luxury of that. In the US, where would you meet Ralph Lauren or Donna Karan without being stopped by their posse of guards?
More importantly, we can also buy directly from artisans who make the clothes. There are countless craft exhibitions across the country, from Paramparik Karigar to Go Swadeshi, that allow us to. Weavers are also savvy in sharing their phone numbers and making WhatsApp sales at your convenience. The joy of buying something directly from the hands that have made it is unparalleled. This, truth be told, is real luxury.
Our most celebrated designer, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, has just launched his website 25 years after being in the business. And yet, he has no ecommerce.
Online shopping is convenient and easy, but I’ll save it for my supplies. Fashion requires effort, emotion and ethics.
X@namratazakaria