With thoughtful eyes, little Barney once looked directly at us and said: “you’ll all need clothes.”
Today, Barney’s is bankrupt, the stores have shuttered, and we aren’t worried about our clothes, we’re worried about the future of our industry - and we all want to survive in this crazy coronavirus environment.
We worry about our health, we worry about our employees, we worry about our families, we worry about our customers, we worry about our rent, and sometimes we just worry to worry. Honestly, If the federal government doesn’t help us fund our short-term future, then our long-term vision could easily resemble a horror story out of Tales from the Crypt.
It is beyond encouraging that Anna Wintour, Tory Burch, and several other industry notables are reaching out to Government, in an effort to encourage them to create a financial package for our industry. It is critical that fashion be included in the financial distribution. The reasons for inclusion are obvious. Retail directly employs about 12% of America, and indirectly employs 25% of America. Our consumer represents 66% of our nations GDP. While fashion isn’t the only component of retail, we are often the most visible. When we lead, others follow.
If our Government wants the economic “bounce back” (that they expect to happen when we reopen), then it is critical that they support the industries that can provide it. It is also appalling to listen to news conferences, when they inevitably talk about supporting the cruise line industry. Let’s get that one thing straight, while most of us love cruising, the cruise industry supports about 422,000 jobs and retail supports about 52 million jobs. If we don’t have a job in the next year, how are we going to take a cruise?
Right now, fashion is getting hammered every day, and the messaging from Government to our industry has been, at best, weak.
We bought goods months ago for the spring season. Now spring has arrived, and the customers have left. Our product (that we sourced from around the world) has been delayed, cancellations are running in the millions, landlords are asking for rent, and employees need to be paid. To make matters worse, the Administration continues to charge tariffs to our inbound invoices, and that adds insult to our injury, and causes us to pay far more for less. The scenario that we are operating under is just about as retail ugly as it can possibly get.
If government helps us with funding, if the virus storm abates, if customers are released from lock-down, if we can afford to stay the course, then we will all survive. Truth be told, we were hurting before the virus, now the pain has just become more intense. Let’s support our trade associations who are advocating for us, and let’s support our industry notables that have made their case to Capitol Hill, and let’s hope that the Administration is listening.
As industry colleagues search for good news, in a tweet on Friday, seemingly out of the blue, beloved designer Christian Siriano wrote: “If @NYGovCuomo says we need masks, my team will help make some. I have a full sewing team still on staff working from home that can help.”
History always presents poignant moments, and Christian Siriano’s single heroic tweet immediately shifted our short-term dynamic to action. In minutes, our industry rose and mobilized. Masks and gowns are on the way. This is what we do.
In addition to Christian, we soon learned of several excellent American companies including Parkdale Mills, Hanes, and Fruit of the Loom who are ramping up the production of face masks. It is expected that they will be reaching millions per week!
Little Barney had it right. Yes, we all need clothes, but our industry will continue to do what we can to lead, and others will certainly follow.
As we all struggle through difficult times, think about what YOU can do to help.
vestidos de noche
Think about Christian Siriano, think about that great quote from the Children’s book, The Little Engine That Could:
“I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I know I can.”
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