The full impact of COVID-19 on fashion retail remains to be seen, but the past five months have underscored the need for change. Designers are pushing for new delivery dates so clothes are available when they actually make sense: sweaters in the winter, swimsuits in the summer. The pandemic also highlighted the need for flexibility. In March and April, stores canceled orders left and right, leaving many designers with piles of inventory and nowhere to sell it. Some were forced to do sample sales or heavy discounts, and in an effort to avoid the same problem in the fall, they reduced their fall 2020 collections or pushed them to the following season, i.e. resort. The silver lining is that those fall coats and boots will feel a lot more seasonally-appropriate in December.
Who knows what will happen between now and then, though? Retailers have forecast that we’ll be ready to shop again, but it’s impossible to be certain about anything. The general sense of unpredictability should have designers thinking about timeless, seasonless pieces that can be sold now, later, or anytime throughout the year. Swimwear may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but Marysia Reeves has been forced to test that concept for resort. She initially planned to release this collection back in April, for pre-fall 2020; in the past, it was one of her most important seasons, arriving just before our summer vacations. Canceled orders and production delays put the collection on pause, and she decided to finally launch it in September, right in between the fall and resort seasons. It could be good news for women planning fall vacations to make up for the ones they canceled in the spring and summer. Longtime fans will find newness in the cut-out maillots and a few ruched, extra-skimpy styles. Reeves also hopes some of the ready-to-wear pieces will resonate in the fall, namely the watercolor-print silk dresses, which can be layered or styled with boots.
Looking to 2021, Reeves plans to focus on sustainability and size inclusivity rather than seasonal collections and novelty styles. In March, she introduced a capsule of core swimsuits in a new, 100% recycled polyamide fabric; unlike recycled fibers made from post-consumer waste—i.e. plastic bottles, fishing nets—hers is composed of the yarn off-cuts from the original manufacturing process. She plans to shift her entire collection to that lower-impact fabric, and will introduce extended sizes in the new year as well. In our times of crisis, shrinking her label’s carbon footprint and broadening her community is likely to resonate more than a new colorway or print ever could.
