OUR local fashion designers have adapted as well as they could during this pandemic. But what of their creative counterparts overseas? Some, like the ones in the US and UK, not only have to deal with the impact of Covid-19 but also the massive protests against racism and police brutality.
The designers know that they need to evolve to survive, either by pivoting to protective clothing or resetting their business platform to adapt to a changing financial climate.
Here are five inspiring global Filipino fashion entrepreneurs in their own fighting words:
- REYNIER ABELLO (Phnom Penh, Cambodia). Since all the shows and collection launches this year are canceled, we are trying to divert onto online platforms. At the moment we are in the process of creating a motion capture lookbook to be streamed later this month.
Clients are more conscious when it comes to spending and they need clothes that could last long, something they can maximize and use for varied purposes and occasions. The major challenge for me as a designer is that supplies are not coming in because of the logistics challenges. However, this is also an opportunity for me to be more adaptable and creative by sourcing materials locally. It is when the constraints are high that one strives for innovation.
My brand, Armada by Abello, launched in 2014, is looking at going for Normcore fashion. Something unpretentious and egalitarian to accommodate the current socioeconomic climate. Once the situation improves, our plan is to transition toward digital marketing and maximize our presence in the e-commerce sphere.
- LEN NEPOMUCENO-MORTEL (Bangkok, Thailand). My brand name is L. (short for Len Nepomuceno Mortel). The company name is L.Official Corp., launched 10 years ago, and under it are L.Shoes, BridesbyLen (RTW bridal gowns), Len Nepomuceno Mortel (made-to-order), and in November 2019, I opened La Cesta del Pan (couture bread, stylish sandwiches, fashionable shop-resto).
My fashion line is on hold. Weddings scheduled for this year are postponed, and social functions are canceled. My clients for fashion are all requesting to put their orders on hold, and even shipments of shoes are on hold, too, since they are coming from other countries, and Thailand’s borders are closed. Some clients are requesting for a virtual fashion show, which I am planning to do soon, with Dong Omaga-Diaz directing via Zoom.
Also early on in this pandemic, I started to design and make masks, but they are not for sale. I give them away to clients and friends here in Bangkok, since people are not allowed to go anywhere outside their homes without a mask on.
Even though Thailand is slowly getting back to normal, I guess I will still practice social distancing with my clients, limiting the number and scheduling fittings to later dates. I am just fortunate and thankful to still have pending work for next year, some weddings to finish, and resetting the business to the “new normal” is something that I will have to get used to. I guess the masks will stay on for a long time, hand sanitizers and masks are freebies that are included when my clients receive their orders.
- RC CAYLAN (Michigan, USA). I am patiently waiting for this pandemic to subside. Since my business RC Caylan Atelier, established in 2016, was deemed nonessential, our governor asked us to temporarily close. In the meantime, I created an initiative making masks with other volunteers. We made 1,857 masks that we donated to our local frontliners at hospitals, and essential market employees.
It is a very difficult and challenging time. Besides Covid-19, there are Black Lives Matter protests in Grand Rapids. I’m one of the lucky ones that didn’t
get looted because my studio is in the third floor, while all businesses that were on street level were all damaged.
Most of my clients who were getting married this year postponed their plans. That affects my income. Literally, no income for three months. But our governor issued in early June an executive order allowing partially opening up businesses.
- PAULA FIGUERAS (Lisbon, Portugal). My main business, apart from the production of the bags
called GustoKo, launched six years ago, is the distribution of our bags to various luxury stores around Portugal and to our stockists around the world. I consider the owners of the shops that we work with as my main clients.
During the lockdown period here, I felt fortunate that I made that decision of closing my own store in 2016 to focus on penetrating a larger market by partnering with more established boutiques who already have a vast and loyal client list. My partner told me about their difficulties of having their shops closed for two months and still they needed to continue paying their fixed costs without any sales coming in. Most of them have requested for slightly longer payment terms as they slowly recuperate from the financial blow because of the pandemic.
During the last few months, we all saw the importance of having a strong online presence for brands and retail shops. We are quite active on social media through our Instagram account, but our brand doesn’t have its own web site yet. I had been working closely with an online fashion boutique here in Portugal, www.meliestore.com, for online sales, and it has saved me a lot of time, money and effort to let them handle our online sales.
With the pandemic effects, though, I realized that we need to be more solid with our online presence. To grow as a brand, we need to show our own identity to our clients through our own web site. So as part of our adaptation to the recent effects of the pandemic, we are now constructing our own web site.
I would say financial and moral difficulties are what I am dealing with the most now. I expected so much from 2020 because we had such a fantastic in 2019. I have the pandemic to blame but there’s no point in dwelling and feeling sorry for what happened. We are taking things slowly now. As I said before, we are assessing our businesses practices and brand positioning in the market to see how we can improve our work and our brand. My goal now during this downtime is to be able to pinpoint our weaknesses and address them. We plan to come out of this crisis stronger and with a better perspective and sustainable plan. Hopefully, Lisbon resident Madonna will notice our brand soon!
- CABRINI ROY (London, United Kingdom). My namesake brand has actually hit a pause due to the pandemic. For example, my fabric and material supplier has had issues with production, so I’ve had to put my online shop on pause. However, if anyone wants to order, just send us an e-mail at info@cabriniroy.com and we can add you to the VIP list of first orders to complete when we open up.
As we are a made-to-order brand, we only order the fabrics we need, so we have low spoilage. Still, it’s been extremely hard especially as we only launched in February right before lockdown happened here in the UK. However, I’m staying positive and I know this time will pass.
I would love to help (make protective gear and face masks). If I were to do this, I would make face masks for free for every client, make free face masks for the National Health Services, or if I was to sell it I would donate all the money to our health heroes. However, this is not possible because I’m unable to get to my studio due to the lockdown. With everything opening up again, this could change in the near future.
I will reset my business by continuing how we were before the pandemic, but changing the way of work in my studio.