Insiders On Covid-19
Hanna Kovanen
Anina wearing REFINE.
Anina Heé, Founder of REFINE
How are you coping right now?
I am good. I am spending the time in South of France with my boyfriend's family. I feel very lucky to be in quarantine with people I love in a sunny place, and all of us are healthy and well.
How do you cope with REFINE in the prevailing climate?
Luckily, we are still a small business, so we are very agile. We had to put a few projects on hold, but we have quickly initiated new ones that felt more suitable to the current circumstances.
We launched a new collection in March and were wondering, if we should go ahead with it at all in the current climate. We decided to do so as, after all, fashion (even though, not considered a "necessity") is an industry a lot of people's livelihood depends on. We work with small factories in the Northern Italy, which employ people with unique expertise and craftsmanship. As it's an area most touched by the pandemic, we decided to dedicate this collection to those workers and are donating 10% of sales towards payments of their groceries, medicines and other necessities. It is heartbreaking to think about all the people who will lose their job as a result of this pandemic, so I don't think it's right to stop consumption completely. I think, if you have even a small amount of disposable income, it is worth supporting the businesses you appreciate - whether it is a purchase from a fashion brand or a takeout from your favorite restaurant.
How do you think the crisis is going to affect fashion brands in general?
It is hard to speak for the industry as a whole, but what I can say is that the way REFINE is set up has proofed to be an advantage in this time. For example, we are not part of the fashion calendar and produce in very small quantities and then reorder what we see an appetite for. This means we don't have a lot of inventory that we need to shift in a short time frame. It is a more sustainable way of doing business, as we don't overproduce. It shows that doing things slowly and responsibly works in your favor, so I really hope this pandemic will accelerate the shift towards more sustainable standards that are long overdue.
Christie at home & at The Row in NYC.
Christie Tyler, New York Based Influencer
What is your daily routine like?
Now I stay in bed longer than usual… Adam and I cuddle with Rosie and we really take our mornings slow. Then make coffee, make a smoothie of some sort and do an at-home workout. Then, the rest of the day is a mixture of cleaning, working, answering emails, photographing and every other day we take Rosie for a walk with all our protective gear on. Around 6pm, I try to wind down with work and have a glass of wine, and Adam and I cook dinner. Nighttime we just relax, maybe watch a movie or reality tv series that’s on that night. We just take it one day at a time.
How has the pandemic affected your work?
I am one of those lucky ones, truly. The pandemic hasn’t affected my work too much, because now there is even more need for brands to have content, since they can’t have editorial shoots at the moment. I just did a project for Reformation, where I took photos for their webpage and marketing - what would typically be a photoshoot with a team of five or more people, Adam and I did just the two of us in our small apartment. It was tricky, but we made it work and I hope this really makes us all re-evaluate fashion… seeing what can be done with limited resources is inspiring.
We don’t need endless photoshoots, endless productions, endless runway shows. It is contributing majorly to the pollution of our Earth, and I think, at these points, where sustainability and health - mentally as well as physically - are being prioritized, we are seeing that this excess is unnecessary. I think that this has been a wake up call for everyone, to go back to taking things slow, back to prioritizing our health and wellness, to slow overproduction and instead focusing on being truly sustainable in all areas, whether it be travel, work or consumption as a whole.
Find Christie here.
Josephine in DEITAS AW20.
Josephine Dahlin, Founder of DEITAS
How are you and DEITAS coping right now?
My aim with DEITAS was always to build a timeless and sustainable brand. It is central to me to be a value driven company in all the areas of our operations, promoting more healthy and sustainable ways of living. Luckily, DEITAS is a typical new generation company, and we always operated under flexible working hours and communicated via video conferences, so things have not changed dramatically for us.
Meanwhile, our wholesalers such as Net-a-Porter and Harrods are currently partly closed, so the pace of doing things has slowed down and the focus is now fully directed to sales via our e-commerce. This has allowed us to build a stronger relationship with the women that purchase DEITAS and I am incredibly grateful for that.
Right now, I use the time to elevate our operations literally down to the last thread to become a leader in sustainable fashion, making sure DEITAS will still be relevant in the future. I pray that good things will come out of this, and that we have a modern fashion industry ahead of us.
Are you in the mood for shopping?
As a consumer, I’m only spending my money on brands that are authentic and mean something to me. And I take time to elaborate on the concept of needing something and why. That is to make sure it’s not an impulsive purchase, but something that will last a life-time.