Coronavirus forces Chinese brands and buyers to miss Fashion Weeks

The number of victims is rising and the quarantine measures are becoming more and more strict all over the world beginning to have an impact in the fashion industry too. With major airlines canceling flights to and from China due to the Coronavirus, the country's fashion community risks to be completely excluded from the next fashion weeks. Just a few hours ago Masha Ma, Shiatzy Chen, Uma Wang, Jarel Zhang, Calvin Luo and Maison Mai canceled their fashion shows during Paris Fashion Week. According to a press release by La Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the event, which will take place from February 24 to March 3, will have run without these six brands:

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode will make available all its communications platforms to allow these brands to share the work they had planned to present both in France and overseas.

While in Paris, but also in London, they are still working on the details for this alternative system that will allow companies in the areas most affected by the virus to present their creations, the Camera Nazionale della Moda launches the project China, we are with you. During the MFW scheduled from February 19th to 24th, streaming, video links, social media platforms and backstage content created ad hoc will be the bridge that will unite Italy and China, giving buyers the opportunity to keep up to date on the proposals for the FW20. In addition, 8 emerging Chinese designers who were supposed to show their collections in the Fashion Hub space will be able to do so digitally, with video projections and live video calls to illustrate the various details.

Never before as in this moment of quarantine, technology and social media become the essential tools to try to limit financial consequences that, according to the estimates of the Camera della moda, would result in "a contraction in turnover in the fashion industry between -1.5% and 2.5% compared to the first half of 2019 caused by a contraction in exports between -0.5% and -1%". As regards the European and American markets at least. Asia, on the other hand, seems more and more isolated, with luxury brands closing their stores and the Shanghai fashion week scheduled from March 26th to April 2nd and the Chinese fashion week in Beijing scheduled from the 25th to the 31st of the same month, postponed to future dates.