Fashion Management in Crisis
The world is reeling under the traumatic impact of the COVID -19 pandemic. The fashion capitals of the world France & Italy have been hit the hardest. But in these times of crisis, fashion & lifestyle houses have managed to put on a brave face and have put in hours of good deed to help combat the crisis.
Initiatives Made By High Fashion Brands:
- Hand Sanitizers
LVMH Group mobilized production facilities at Guerlain, Parfums Christian Dior and Parfums Givenchy to make hydroalcoholic gel. Almost 50 to 60 tons of gel is now being produced each week and production will continue as long as needed. Similarly Bvlgari is tirelessly producing hand sanitizers to provide hospitals, supermarkets and the police across Europe.
Grey Goose has dedicated its distillery in Cognac to donate 7,600 gallons of alcohol per day in boosting supply of hand sanitizers to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. With their help L’Oréal is producing close to 60,000 gallons (230,000 liters) of hand sanitizer to benefit local pharmacies, hospitals, emergency services and care homes in US & Europe.
- Masks & Respirators
LVMH also funded a major operation to import over 40 million face masks (surgical and FFP2), 261 respirators, more than 400,000 serology tests & 8 machines for automated processing of hundreds of thousands of diagnostic tests and turned them over directly to the French health authorities.
Christian Dior has repurposed their production workshops to make alternative non-surgical face masks for the general public.
Jewellery house Fred is making full face shields for hospital medical staff. The first batch has been delivered to Paris public hospitals, with many more to follow in the weeks ahead.
- Protective Gear
LVMH has delivered 80,000 disposable or washable gowns to hospitals in and around Paris, and 65,000 pairs of gloves. Currently they are sourcing for two million disposable gowns for Paris hospitals too. Celine has mobilized its resources to deliver 50,000 gowns. Moët Hennessy has sent nearly 1, 400 gowns to self-employed nurses. Also Kenzo has made fabric available – including from the DEFI platform – to enable the manufacture of gowns.
Christian Dior reopened its Redon workshop in Brittany, which normally makes Baby Dior clothes to make protective gear to help flatten the curve. So far it has delivered 300 gowns to American hospitals.
Crisis Management Lesson
Being responsible toward the society at large is always in fashion, which is why high-end brands have redirected their efforts to act against the pandemic together. This right here is a fine example of espirit-de-corps, i.e., teamwork. Being responsible and responding to the real needs as an industry, is a joint act of bravery by corporate houses that banks majorly upon the patronage of the high end consumers.
With donations and free supplies these brands are putting their money where their mouth is. In return they are scoring on brand loyalty by setting responsible benchmarks, and ensuring a goodwill that will translate to their revenue post pandemic. As in every business, the biggest risks give the best rewards, and this social management approach has turned a high risk problem into an opportunity to build valuable brand loyalty. So business management in fashion is a unique aspect that needs specialised expertise.
These and many such similar real life case studies in fashion management help us shape the future brand managers of high end lifestyle and fashion brands. Dedicated courses like B.Sc. in Fashion Design & Management helps our students become the professionals this industry needs. Find out more about the course here.
