Promote Indian craft and work on quality: Fashion designers prepare for post-COVID-19 era

“Being versatile and adapting to change – these are the best ways to overcome challenges post this global pandemic,” said designer Anamika Khanna, while talking about the future of fashion industry after lockdown. The Fashion Design Council Of India (FDCI) has started a virtual campaign, #FDCInsights, where designers share their views on challenges that the fashion and textile industry will face in the post COVID-19 era, and how they plan to overcome those challenges. In a video posted by the FDCI on social media, Anamika shared that she is hopeful about the future and is looking forward to a lot of changes. “I do not believe that this is the end. These are difficult times as economies around the world are crumbling, but I feel that with time, everything will fall in place. Let’s not forget that we are a country of festivals. It is important for us to celebrate, so people might not spend on designer wear like they used to, but I think they will invest in quality. Consumers will not be buying riff-raff anymore. Also, we will have to rework our pricing and work on our design and quality,” said Anamika.In her video message, designer Anju Modi suggested that designers should be working towards promoting Indian craft and woven fabrics. “Once this lockdown phase is over, we should be focusing more than ever on promoting our woven fabrics and craft like jamdani, chikankari and many others. Also, I believe that after this experience of fighting the global pandemic, consumer demand and spending patterns would be different. There would be a lot of new trends. We should be promoting mix and match. For example, I might just be offering a dupatta that could be paired with an old sari or a lehenga or a jacket top that could be paired with a sari, lehenga or a trouser, as per the occasion,” said Anju.